And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
—Romans 12:2a (NKJV)
In the book, The Shack, by William Young, Mack stands on the end of a dock with Jesus and stares at the surface of the lake. Jesus asks Mack to take his hand and step off, but Mack can't let go of the safety of the dock.
“Why do I have so much fear in my life?” Mack asks Jesus.
Jesus' answer cuts to the core of Mack’s issue. “Because you don't believe. You don't know that I love you. The person who lives by his fear will not find freedom in my love.”
Many Christians live in fear and don’t experience freedom because they don’t understand the depth of God’s love for them. They live in bondage to guilt and shame from which Jesus freed them. Are you one of these? When you don't believe in the righteousness Jesus purchased for you, you struggle to pay for the guilt that is no longer yours. You live in defeat instead of knowing you are victorious. It is time to understand what the gift of grace has given you—a redeemed life in Jesus. Learn who you are in Him! Jesus has given you His righteousness. He sees you clean and without sin. It is time for your belief in your identity to be changed by the power of His Resurrection.
Only the Holy Spirit can renew you in the spirit of your mind. Only God’s Word can transform the way you think and the way you perceive. The new life Jesus gave you when you were saved becomes real in your mind when the Spirit changes your understanding. Your mind is where you believe by faith. You will live who you think you are. If you believe you are still living in debt because of sin, you will live without freedom and in bondage to your old life. You will strive and fail. You will burn out. But when God transforms your mind, you experience the new life you received at Calvary. There is peace only He gives. There is no guilt. You have nothing to prove. There is contentment because you believe who Jesus says you are. Jesus has given you a new commandment—to love as He has loved you. This commandment expresses the love of Jesus, which held nothing back. When His love transforms your mind, you perceive with the mind of Christ, and you believe all things are possible. You also hold nothing back.
Are you tired of the old treadmill of never feeling you will make it? You have already made it in Jesus. He gave you His life to secure it. Are you now ready to step off the dock with Jesus? He hasn’t given you a spirit of fear but of power, love, and a sound mind.
Let the Holy Spirit transform you into a new person by teaching you who you are and changing the way you think. Believe who you are in Christ. Claim His identity as your own. Let go of the fear. Let go of the shame. The Holy Spirit gives you the power to defeat the lies that have claimed your mind. Just quit fighting the battles that have already been won. Step off your dock. Find freedom in His love.
© 2022 Lynn Lacher
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