You Are My Beloved

I sat on the couch, overwhelmed. If only the fluffy pillows could shield me from all the decisions I had to make: what to do with my major, how to make a living, who to marry (scratch that—who to even date), how to help my friends who were making wrong choices, etc.

Thankfully, as I’ve grown and matured, God has deepened my understanding of the good news of Jesus: I’m saved not only from the punishment my sin deserved but also from living in fear.

As children of God in Christ, we come from a place of secure identity. We no longer have to live from a place of striving, but a place of rest. Jesus did our work for us on the cross. All we have to do is live into the truth of the gospel. And fun fact: we don’t even have to do that on our own. We have God’s Spirit, who has empowered us.

The Holy Spirit provides joy even in the hard times (1 Thessalonians 1:6). He sees reality from the finish line. Even in the darkest times, when we rely on God’s Spirit rather than our own strength, there’s hope because He knows the ending.

It’s easy to look at life from the viewpoint of the struggle: we’ve been hurt, those we love are hurting—so what is God doing? When we remember Jesus is the Victor over sin and death and is returning to make all things new, we have hope (Revelation 21:1-5). Even when we’ve been hurt, we know the ending is victory and God is working for our good and His glory even through the worst of situations (Romans 8:28).

The gospel is powerful in the darkness because God embodies love. He is love. When we look at our circumstances through God’s Spirit instead of ours, we view them not from a place of dashed hope, but expectation. • Sarah Rexford

• The gospel changes how we see because it invites us to see things from God’s perspective, not our own. What circumstances do you need to fight to see from God’s perspective?

• The gospel renews our whole mindset. How does this affect the way you interact with your circumstances?

• Feelings of defeat don’t change the reality that we are victorious in Jesus. How does this free up your mindset to feast on truth rather than feed on lies?

Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6 (NIV)

Read Verses:

Psalm 139:13-14