Yes, No, And MaybeEgzanp

Oh, I wish I was right beside you. Did you catch it? We are not condemned! We belong to Christ! We are free! Indulge me for a minute while I get a bit bossy. Please highlight and underline the phrase no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. Circle the words has freed. Now pause and read this out loud, telling Satan this: Satan, I belong to Christ. I will no longer live a life on condemnation. Today I am owning the truth of Philippians 3:12–13. You have to leave my mind, my presence, and my future. I am commanding you, with the life-giving power that God gave me, to flee and never return.

Shout hallelujah! This is a huge moment for you. Never forget you have the power of Christ in you and can send Satan packing. Beware though, because he is a relentless rascal. Even though you kick him to the curb, he will always attempt to return to the scene of the crime (that is, he will try to tempt you in your weakness). Keep in mind that he is not omniscient (all-knowing), but he does know our patterns and will return to the places where he’s had past successes. His game is condemnation. God’s way is conviction. Condemnation we turn away, because it is from Satan, whose purpose is to make us live in hopelessness. Conviction we welcome, because it is from the Spirit, whose purpose is to help us live in holiness. It’s imperative we understand the difference, so we can recognize the deceiver when he attempts to stop us again with obstacles of shame and accusing memories.

Condemnation

Looks down in remembering
Looks down in regret
Looks down in guilt
Looks down in despair
Looks forward with doubt

Conviction

Looks up and rejoices
Looks up with relief
Looks up in gratitude
Looks up with hope
Looks forward with optimism

Just like I forgave Griffin and forgot about the deception of the broken mask, God forgives and casts our sin away. In a song of praise, David wrote of God’s handling of our sin: “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us” (Ps. 103:12–13). God is omniscient, therefore it is impossible for Him to forget anything. But don’t be alarmed. The word removed tells us that God doesn’t hold our sin against us once we are forgiven. What a comforting thought! He is such a gracious and merciful God.

It’s okay to be honest—the struggle is real. Obedience isn’t always easy. However, we can be confident that even in our obedience-struggle, God is on our side. He is working in us, enabling us to desire and work out His good purpose (see Phil. 2:13).

This just blows my mind! Can you believe it? God works in us so that we desire to live according to His purpose. What an awesome God! He enables us to do that which He calls us to do, even when we struggle. As we study Paul’s life we will see that he struggled as well, but he never waned in his want to, he discovered his willpower was Christ living in Him, and he knew his worth was defined at Calvary, not by his past. Obedience aligns our heart with God’s and opens the door for Him to become our magnificent obsession.