THE SPIRIT OF LIFE

Last time, we were trying to make sense of the gap between the stark realities of our lives here and now, and God’s promise in His Word through the Apostle Paul that:

“If anyone is in Christ they are a new creation. Everything old has passed away, see everything has become new (2 Corinthians 5:17).”

And our conclusion was that all things are new not because the world around us changes; no, all things are new because we change. Or rather, because we are changed.

That’s right, my friend. God is in the business of renewing us from the inside out. Does He change our circumstances sometimes too? Yes, He does, sometimes. But often, He doesn’t. Often, He uses those tough circumstances to render that powerful change in us, to show us how to experience peace and joy even when what’s happening in our lives doesn’t fit with the world’s idea of what success should look like. 

As Paul wrote,

“Now if we are children then we are heirs, heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. If indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. I consider that our present sufferings aren’t worth comparing with the glory that’s going to be revealed in us (Romans 8:17–18).”

The new abundant, rich life that God promises is not an alternative to suffering. It happens right in the reality of suffering.

So don’t fall for this old trick of the devil! The moment we feel pain, we want to believe him when he whispers, “See, that new life was never for you!”

Instead, you can tell him that the glory that you’re going to share with Jesus, that glory happens through, because of, and on the other side of the suffering that we share with Jesus.

Suffering is a fact of life, it is! But I for one want the new life that Jesus died and rose again to give me, and I want it right here in my suffering, because that’s where it’s of greatest value.

My friend, I want to encourage you today to believe, to know, to live your life in the truth that you have a new life in Christ and that the sufferings that you may experience along the way simply don’t compare with the glory and the blessing of that new life. They just don’t.

LIFE APPLICATION QUESTIONS

• To what extent is your expectation of this new life that God will improve your circumstance, as opposed to changing you from the inside out?
• Read Romans 8:17–18 again for yourself. What is God saying to you about your struggle with your old self?
• How do you now reconcile the promise of a new life, with the realities of your struggles, in your actual experience?
• Pray that God will give you the wisdom and the strength to lay hold of His new life for you, your complete makeover in Christ, right in the middle of what you’re going through at this time.