The Battle Within: Slain by Love, Raised in Grace
Trying to manage sin in the flesh is like holding a beach ball underwater. Grace invites us to let go and trust Christ within.
Devotional Source:
Abide Above: The Real Enemy
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Unsplash
Today’s reflection from Miles Stanford calls our attention to a difficult but liberating truth. The real enemy in the Christian life is not the world around us, but the self-life within us. Though it may feel more natural to direct anger or frustration outward, true victory in the Christian life begins when we stop defending the old man and instead count him crucified. The victorious life is not about exerting more willpower or achieving more moral perfection. It’s about surrendering to the grace of God that refuses to let sin have dominion over us.
Today’s devotional reminds us that we win by losing. We triumph not through force but through yielding. This is not passivity. It is the active entrusting of ourselves to the indwelling Christ who lives in us and through us. The cross is not just where Jesus died. It is where the old man was also crucified with Him. And as we reckon this truth, we begin to experience the freedom of no longer being under law, but under grace.
The love of God is not indifferent to our sin. But rather than responding with condemnation, He responds with correction as a Father who disciplines in love. He cannot treat sin lightly. Yet, because we are His children, He deals with us in grace so that we may partake in His holiness. His discipline is never punitive. It is always restorative.
Ultimately, grace does not give permission to sin. It gives power to walk in newness of life. Grace reigns, and in its reign, sin is dethroned. Not by effort, but by surrender. Not by striving, but by trusting. The crown we wear is one of thorns, and the throne we share is shaped like a cross. But in that place of surrender, the risen Christ lives through us.
Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
You have been crucified with Christ, and you no longer live. I live in you. The life you now live in your body, you live by faith in Me, the Son of God, who loved you and gave Myself for you. You are no longer a debtor to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will not thrive. But if by My Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
Do not be surprised that I call you to lose your life. That is where you will find it. To the world, this seems like defeat, but to you, it is the fragrance of victory. My power is made perfect in your weakness. My grace is sufficient, not just to pardon you, but to transform you. I discipline you not out of anger but out of love, that you might walk as a child of light, fully alive in Me.
You are no longer under law. You are under grace. Sin shall not reign in your mortal body. Do not offer yourself to it. Offer yourself to Me, as one who has been brought from death to life. Present the members of your body as instruments of righteousness. The old man was crucified so that the body of sin might be rendered powerless. Walk in the Spirit. Rest in Me. Trust Me to do what only I can do within you.
Scripture References:
Galatians 2:20, Romans 6:6–14, Romans 8:12–13, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Ephesians 5:8, Hebrews 12:10, Romans 12:1, 1 Corinthians 1:25
Real-Life Analogy
It’s like trying to hold a beach ball underwater. You can use all your strength to keep it submerged, but eventually, it pops back up. That’s what it’s like trying to manage sin in the flesh. It will always rise again. But grace teaches us to let go of the ball entirely, not because sin has disappeared, but because the old you holding it is dead.
In everyday life, this might look like responding to criticism at work. Instead of defending yourself or resenting the person, you pause. You remember that the real enemy is not them, nor is it you trying to be better. You surrender that moment to Me. You may say quietly in your heart, “Lord, I trust You to respond through me with peace, gentleness, and wisdom.” That is how I live through you.
Prayer of Confidence
Father, thank You that sin is no longer my master. Thank You that I am not under law, but under grace. I rejoice that my old self has been crucified with Christ, and I now live by Your life within me. Even when I stumble, I rest in Your love that disciplines, restores, and conforms me into the image of Jesus. You do not deal lightly with sin, yet You deal graciously with me. I trust You fully to reign in me today. I yield to Your Spirit and rejoice in the freedom I have in Christ.