Freedom From Striving

EPISODE EXPANSION

God is not a user, He’s a lover. But when we are only living to serve Him, we find it hard to enjoy Him. God has given us the greatest possible gift by giving us our freedom in Christ. He initiated our freedom, and a life of relational devotion is our continual response to that gift.

God is delighted to liberate you from old ways of thinking.

I love this question from God:  “Do you believe what I believe about you being in Christ now?”

That question is like being handed the key to a Narnian wardrobe and given an invitation to go and explore a new life where we believe what God believes about us, about our circumstances, and about our future.

A place where you understand — not just by mental knowledge, but by actual experience — that you have His undivided attention and affection. That you’re invited to share His absolute focus on developing your new life in Christ. To have an experience of Jesus that is so marvelous, you live in wonder and astonishment about today and feel hopeful about tomorrow, because you know that He’s already been to all your tomorrows. He knows your future and has gone before you. He has you covered for anything and everything that comes. He remains the God of Deuteronomy 31:8, “And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.”

God is focused on Christ in you.

God is singular in His focus. He can only believe in who He already sees you to be in Jesus. Nothing distracts Him from that. Not your current challenges or behavior. So what does God absolutely and totally believe about you?

He believes that you are His beloved, completely accepted by Him in Christ. That you are His friend, no longer merely a servant. That the Father loves you with every ounce of the same passion that He loves Jesus with. That you are the apple of His eye, His chosen one before time ever was. That you are His expert workmanship, His beautiful poem. That you are wonderfully made; a marvelous work in His eyes. That His plans for you are good, with a good future, full of hope, that has a good outcome.

The cross gave you (and God) the greatest gift.

The Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit believe that nothing on heaven or earth can separate you from His unchanging love for you. He believes that you are a new creation in Christ. Old things have passed away. New things have come. God believes absolutely and completely, that the fullness of Christ dwells in you and that He has given you all things that pertain to life and godliness.

God believes without question that He is able to finish the work He’s started in you: to make you in His image, so that “As He is, so are you, in this world.” And God absolutely and completely believes that on the cross, Jesus gave Him His greatest gift:  He gave Him you as part of the family He always dreamed of.

Want to learn more? Tune in to today’s podcast as we explore what the nature of freedom truly is.

As always, thanks for listening!

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