Fully His

“…rescued by hands bleeding grace. Are we ready to see His face? On the great day.”
The Great Day, from The Story

As I entered this holiest of weeks, it was from a place of mental and physical exhaustion. The last few weeks have been over-scheduled, and I have been running on near empty trying to tackle the commitments and responsibilities competing for my time and attention. And truthfully, being pulled in so many directions has left me feeling more than a little defeated … as if I’m failing at almost everything.

My calendar is filled with some really great things, and while in some ways I’m noticing a lack of discernment when it comes to commitments, in other ways, there’s just not much I can realistically say “no” to in this season.

Under the weight of it all, even my times of rest seem rather ineffective.

I have a lengthy list of things to-do at all times, but don’t have the energy to address most of it, so I do the bare minimum of what’s required to get through the next day, and instead of acknowledging that something is better than nothing, I then continue to feel guilty for all of the things left undone … the areas where I’m failing.

The cycle is endless.

But the words from the song that struck me in such a fresh and powerful way on Sunday morning seem even more powerful now:

“No guilt in life, no fear in death, this is the power of Christ in me. From life’s first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny.”

No guilt in life.

THIS is the power of Christ in me.

Even if I have failed at much (and I have), the resulting pervasive feeling that I am a failure … it’s not of Him. It’s not living in the Spirit, walking by faith, or claiming the truth that I am His child.

“For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.”
Romans 8:6 (ESV)

So in this Holy Week, as I reflect on the cross, the suffering, the death, the burial, and the resurrection of my Lord and Savior, I will be imperfectly purposeful in remembering that He is my peace and my freedom.

“For the words of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
1 Corinthians 1:18 (ESV)

Freedom is mine not because of anything I’ve done, but because of Who He is and what He has done.

“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.”
Galatians 5:1 (ESV)

So I let go of the failure. Because I am free.

It doesn’t make my schedule instantly manageable, it doesn’t make a shift in priorities easy, and it doesn’t make my responsibilities disappear.

And because it doesn’t come easily or naturally, it’s a message of truth that I must preach to myself over and over again.

It’s the truth of the Gospel.

I am free from the guilt and free from the failure because this life is mine by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

I don’t have to prove my worth. I am simply free to stand in it.

Fully alive. Fully justified. Fully His.

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me.”
Galatians 2:20 (ESV)