In what areas of your life do you feel defeated and anxious? Is there anything that you can do to be freed from these condemning thoughts and feelings so that anxiety can be replaced with peace and joy?
Sometimes we feel so discouraged and defeated in our Christian lives. We all struggle with temptation and sin and then the guilt and shame that follow can cause us to cave and think defeated thoughts. Then our emotions can become our guide and we become distant, and condemnation finds root in our walk. When we try and pull ourselves out by trying to be worthy of God’s love, we become dependent on our own efforts to keep the law. It’s an exhausting cycle that causes depression and anxiety. The good news is that we don’t need to stay in this defeated mindset.
Romans 8:1-4 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
We have been set free from the law of sin and death through Christ Jesus. That means we are not condemned by our sin because of who we are in Christ. The law condemns, but Christ sets us free. That means that our emotions don’t need to rule our lives. We can be free when we trust Christ and experience the joy of repentance. When we live in harmony with the Holy Spirit through repentance and forgiveness, we are set free from the lies of condemnation.
Galatians 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
What is the Holy Spirit saying to you through these scriptures?
