When My Effort Ends, His Life Begins
When the Source within turns on, the haze gives way to a clear road ahead.
Devotional Credit: Abide Above, Miles Stanford
Photo Credit: Unsplash
We all learn sooner or later that willpower has a ceiling. Romans 7 gives language to that discovery, the ache of wanting what is good yet finding another power inside that pulls the other way. Miles Stanford points us there with a gentle hand, not to trap us in defeat, but to usher us to the threshold of Romans 8 where Life takes over. I am grateful for his steady witness that the way through is not gritting our teeth, it is yielding to the indwelling Life of Jesus.
Today’s reading makes a hard truth simple. The old self, the flesh, is not rehabilitated. It was dealt with at the cross. We are not called to make Adam behave. We are called to reckon ourselves alive to God in Christ Jesus and to present ourselves to Him. That reckoning is not a mind trick. It is a response to what God has already done, uniting us to Jesus in His death and His resurrection.
Stanford also names the painful classroom where many of us have studied. Failure. Humiliation. The slow discovery that we cannot manage the Christian life from the resources of self. Yet that very realization becomes the doorway to rest, because it drives us to trust the Lord within. In Jesus, our inability is no longer the last word. His presence is.
This is not a private, solitary project. God has placed us in a people, the body of Christ, and all of this grace is shared life in Him. We walk it out together, learning to say in ordinary moments, I am not the source, Jesus is, and He lives in me. That is where the chaos of striving gives way to the peace of abiding.
Journal Entry - Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
I am the One who joined you to Jesus. I placed you into His death, and I raised you with Him to newness of life. The old tyrant’s claim was broken at the cross. You are not debtors to the flesh. You belong to Me.
I dwell in you, and where My Spirit is, there is liberty. I work in you to will and to do what delights the Father. Offer yourself to Me, not as a worker straining to earn favor, but as a beloved child who lives from union with Jesus. Count yourself alive to God in Him. Present your members to Me as instruments of righteousness. I supply what I command.
When condemnation whispers, I silence it in My Son. There is now no condemnation for you who are in Christ Jesus. The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free. I renew your mind. I strengthen your heart with grace. I lead you to set your mind on the things above where your life is hidden with Christ in God.
You are a new creation. I have given you a new heart and My Spirit within. I cause you to walk in My ways, not by the energy of self, but by My indwelling life. Root yourself in Jesus. Draw from His fullness. As you abide, I bear fruit that remains. This is My work in you, faithful and sure.
Real-Life Analogy
Think of a fogged windshield on a cool morning. You can rub the glass with your sleeve, you can wipe harder and faster, but the smears only spread. Then you press the defogger button. Warm, invisible air goes to work from within, and the haze clears until the road ahead is crisp. The clarity did not come from frantic wiping. It came from turning on the source that was already built in.
In the same way, when irritation starts to rise during a difficult conversation, instead of pushing yourself to be patient by sheer resolve, turn to the Lord who lives in you. You might quietly say, Lord, I rely on You to express Your patience and clarity through me in this moment. Then respond simply and honestly, trusting the Holy Spirit to supply tone, timing, and words. The point is not managing a checklist. It is yielding to the indwelling Jesus who is present to act.
Prayer of Confidence
Father, thank You that in Jesus I have been united to Your life. Thank You that my old account in Adam was closed at the cross, and that I now stand alive to You in Your Son. Thank You that Your Spirit dwells in me, renewing my mind, directing my steps, and bearing fruit that I could never manufacture. I rest in Your complete provision, and I gladly present myself to You today, confident that You work in me to will and to do what pleases You. In the name of Jesus my Lord, amen.
Scripture References for the Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture Section
Romans 7:24-25, Romans 6:4, Romans 6:6, Romans 6:11-14, Romans 8:1-4, Romans 8:9-11, Galatians 2:20, Galatians 5:24-25, Galatians 3:2-3, John 15:1-5, John 15:9-11, Colossians 2:6-7, Colossians 3:1-4, Colossians 3:9-10, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Ezekiel 36:26-27, Philippians 2:12-13, Ephesians 1:3, Ephesians 2:4-10, Hebrews 13:20-21, 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, Titus 3:4-7, 1 Corinthians 1:30, 2 Peter 1:3-4, John 6:35, John 7:38-39, Matthew 11:28-30, James 1:18