Hidden in Christ

In his letter to the Colossians, the apostle Paul writes “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.  For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” Col. 3:1 – 4

Often we hear that we are to nail ourselves to the cross that we have to surrender all to the Lord, that we have to let go and let God…yet we live in fear, with insecurity, with no sense of purpose and craving for the boldness and the victorious life we know we are called to.  We live weak, powerless lives, we do not see the glory and power of God manifest in, around and through us.
It seems like an impossible feat, so often I think we just give up.  We take up our burdens, carry them for a while but then, like I do often, you come to your senses, wondering what you are doing and you get back on the cross.  Up, down, up down, never really getting anywhere and never really walking in the full authority delegated to us by Christ Jesus.

Let’s go back to Calvary, where it all started.  Jesus was a man, like us, flesh and blood.  Jesus was filled with Holy Spirit, like we are.  Jesus hung on that cross voluntarily, as should we.  How did He do it?  Knowing what was about to happen to Him, how did He manage to stay the course?  I believe once we have an answer to this question, we would find it so much easier to nail ourselves to our own crosses.

Jesus knew Who His Father was.  He had not only an intimate knowledge of who God is, but He knew who He was.  Jesus had full confidence that His Father would do exactly what He said He would do.  He trusted that He would rise from the grave – He was going to because He knew His Father would never, ever fail Him because He is the Son of God.

My theory is that we have this incredible need to be in control of whatever is going on around us because in our hearts we do not have full confidence that our heavenly Father will come for us.  We do not really believe that He will not fail us.  This, for many of us comes from the voice of the enemy, reminding us of the times we prayed and “weren’t” heard.  We believe that in order for something to be true we have to be able to figure it out with our minds – a simple “no” from the Lord is not enough.  We insist on questioning, reasoning, nagging even and when the Lord stills says “No” without any further explanation, we just give up on Him and decide that He is not to be trusted.  We then devise theologies and reasoning to support our thinking and so we create these strongholds in our minds and we are set on course for living without the security that we should have (like Jesus had), simply because of our position as sons and daughters.  Once we accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, we are seated in heavenly places and all the resources of the Kingdom of God is at our disposal.  Yet we live like beggars, eating from rubbish bins.  We watch our children, we hoard our resources, we guard our homes, our spouses, our positions, in fact we spend all our energy preserving what we have, never going on to the attack often simply because we just do not have the energy.

When you really grasp Who your Father is, when you trust His Word, when you believe that He will do exactly as He says you can relax.  You are able to confront the enemy and say with full conviction “Leave me alone.  My Father says if you contend with me, you contend with Him, my Father says my children He will save (Is 49:25), you touch them, you touch Him.  You can boldly say to the spirit of infirmity – be gone with you, my Father says through Jesus’ death on the cross all my sickness is healed.  You can confidently lay your hands on the sick, command healing knowing that Abba is backing you up, Jesus said so.  Understand, dear friends, that when you roar at the enemy, even if it comes out as a squeak, Jesus roars loud and clear, when you need protection the Word says Abba tucks you under His wing, when you proclaim victory over any situation, the voice of God thunders in the heavenlies – ON YOUR BEHALF.  When you surrender your stuff, your job, your position, your ministry, your reputation, your hopes and dreams to the Lord and Satan comes to steal, kill and destroy, he does not take from you; he takes from Yahweh, Almighty God Himself!  Will he ever get away with it? Never!

So today I challenge you to give it up – all those things you hang on so tightly, even the hurt and disappointment of the past.  The dreams that never came to fulfillment, give it up.  Allow everything you have, everything you are and everything you hope to be, to belong to the Lord.  When you do, you will be able to say with full conviction, like David: I will extol the Lord at all times; His praise will always be on my lips. I will glory in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt His name together.  I sought the Lord, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.  Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; He saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lordencamps around those who fear him, and He delivers them. Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. Fear the Lord, you his holy people, for those who fear Him lack nothing. Psalm 34:1 – 9

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