Standing Firm Before the Lord
The choice to rise, even when the soul resists—because Christ is already alive in me.
Devotional Credit: My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers
Photo Credit: Unsplash
Oswald Chambers reminds us that after we are born again, we enter into a process of transformation that requires patient obedience—not merely inspiration. While we receive a new spiritual nature instantly at salvation, the soul must grow into alignment with that new life. This construction of the soul—our mind, will, and emotions—is neither automatic nor passive. It’s a patient yielding to Christ within, day by day.
Chambers corrects a common error in Christian experience: mistaking emotional moods or inner sluggishness for spiritual attack, and trying to pray them away instead of confronting them with Spirit-empowered action. Moods, he says, are kicked—not coddled. The real challenge is learning not to listen to ourselves but to obey Christ, even when our souls resist.
This devotion isn’t about stoic self-discipline—it’s about learning to cooperate with the indwelling Spirit, resisting our former patterns, and standing firm in the truth that our life is now hidden with Christ in God. When we obey from this place of union, our soul learns to harmonize with our new spirit. And that soul, steadily yielded, is the ground where the Spirit expresses the life of Christ in fullness.
Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit
I am the Life within you. I have made you new in spirit, and now I draw your soul—your thoughts, your desires, your feelings—into harmony with what I’ve already completed in your innermost being. This is not a struggle to become something you are not. This is a yielding to who I already am in you.
Your moods do not define you. They are echoes of an old self that no longer reigns. When irritation rises, or when weariness whispers discouragement, do not stop to coddle them. Stand. Do not lend your ear to their voice. Obey Me. Lift your heart to truth and act from your union with Me.
When you trust Me in these small things, you will watch your soul begin to walk in step with the Spirit. I do not shame you for how you feel—I simply invite you to live from a deeper place than your feelings. I do not tell you to fake joy. I am your joy. I do not ask you to muster willpower. I am your strength. Obey Me from rest, not effort. My grace moves your will into motion.
Stand firm in Me. When you do, you will find that the life you thought impossible is already yours.
Scriptures: Luke 21:19, Galatians 2:20, Romans 6:11–13, Colossians 3:1–4, Philippians 2:13
Real-Life Analogy
It’s like waking up in a cold room and not wanting to leave the warmth of the bed. Every part of you resists the chill of the morning air. But the moment you pull back the covers and put your feet on the floor, your body adjusts. You begin to move, and what seemed unbearable becomes manageable. The hardest part wasn’t the cold—it was believing you could rise.
Prayer of Confidence
Father, thank You that my life is hidden with Christ in You. You have already placed Your Spirit within me, and I lack nothing. I trust You in this moment to live Your life through me. I choose to rise—by faith, not by feeling. I agree with the truth that my soul is not in charge; my life is in Christ. And in Him, I stand firm. Thank You for building a soul that reflects the life You've already placed within me.