The Son Who Trusted the Father
Press to start, His life within supplies the power for the road ahead.
Devotional Credit
Day by Day by Grace, Bob Hoekstra
Photo Credit
Unsplash
Jesus did not live from independent power. He trusted the Father, step by step, and the Father kept Him. Isaiah sings of the Servant formed from the womb, preserved by God in the day of salvation. John lets us overhear the Son saying that He does nothing from Himself, but only what He sees the Father doing. This is not cold doctrine. It is the warm center of how a true human life was lived in perfect reliance on God.
Today I want to thank Bob Hoekstra for drawing our eyes to this center again. He helps us notice that grace is not only for pardon, it is for living. We stand in grace by faith. Jesus shows us what that faith looks like in real time, trusting the Father to be His strength, His path, His vindication.
Through our abiding life lens, this does not turn the Christian life into a ladder to climb. The Servant secured salvation for a people in Himself, and by union with Him we share His life. We do not reach up to earn. We receive and present. As we learned Christ, so we walk in Him, by faith that leans on His indwelling life rather than on our own resolve.
If Jesus, the Righteous One, walked this road of dependence, then I can stop carrying the weight of self-management. I can abide. I can present myself to God. I can keep step with the Spirit. I can love the person in front of me from the life of Jesus within. This is not passivity. It is a living yes to the One who already lives in me.
Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
I formed My Servant from the womb and preserved Him in the day of salvation. He trusted Me, and I upheld Him. He did not act from Himself. He watched, He listened, and He walked in what I showed Him. I sent Him, and He came. He delighted to do My will. In Him all My promises find their yes.
Now you are in Him, and My Spirit dwells in you. You have access by faith into grace. You are crucified with the Messiah, and the life you now live in the body you live by faith in the Son of God. Reckon yourself alive to Me in Jesus, and present yourself to Me as one brought from death to life. As you received Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him. Abide in Him and let His words abide in you. Keep step with Me, and you will not gratify the flesh. I work in you to will and to do for My good pleasure, so your obedience rises from union, not from strain.
The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you. I am your wisdom, your patience, your courage. Christ in you is the hope of glory. In your weakness My grace is sufficient. In your ordinary moments I supply what I command. When you step forward in faith, I am the One who bears the fruit.
Stand in what is already true. You are My workmanship in Jesus, created for good works that I prepared beforehand, that you should walk in them. Walk. I am with you.
Real-Life Analogy
Think about a push-button car ignition. You place your foot on the brake, press the start button, and the engine comes alive. The motion of the car does not come from the button, or from your effort. It comes from the engine that is already present under the hood. Your part is a trusting engagement, not self-propulsion.
In the same way, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus, is the living power within you. You do not strain to manufacture love or peace. You engage Him in trust. So, when a tense conversation lands on your desk today, you might quietly turn to the Lord and say, Lord, I trust You to speak Your patience and truth through me right here. Then open your mouth with a gentle tone, ask an honest question, and let His life carry the moment.
Prayer of Confidence
Father, thank You that I stand in grace through Jesus. Thank You that Your Spirit lives in me, that union with Jesus is my true life. Thank You that You work in me to will and to do, that the fruit comes from Your presence, not my pressure. Today I rest my weight on Your faithfulness. I present myself to You as Yours. In every conversation and decision, thank You that Jesus is my wisdom, patience, courage, and love within. Amen.
Scripture References for the Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture Section
Isaiah 49:5, 8; Matthew 1:20-21; John 5:19; Psalm 40:7-8; Hebrews 10:5-7; John 6:38; John 20:21; Romans 5:2; Galatians 2:20; Romans 6:1-14; Colossians 2:6-7; John 15:4-5, 7; Galatians 5:16-25; Philippians 2:13; Romans 8:9-11; Colossians 1:27; 2 Corinthians 1:20; Ephesians 2:8-10; Hebrews 12:2; 2 Corinthians 12:9