Let's make this practical:
Let’s say you have just managed to start another day at work. You are having a hard day and your computer inbox is getting longer, and your phone messages are piling up. Throwing up your hands, you turn off the noise of the email notifications. Everyday it seems you are always tired even though you slept for hours, and the emotional weight of more sadness in your heart is exhausting you. You barely keep going at work and surf the net for long periods, and make cups of coffees, struggling to lift yourself through the day.
But then in your lunchtime, you go to Isaiah chapter 53 and dwell at the foot of the cross for a time and see your suffering Savior, thinking about Jesus in these verses. You are reminded that Jesus died to remove your sin and give you His Holy Spirit to reside in you. You see all that He went through and all that He accomplished at the cross. You are reminded that He saved you, that He removed all your fear, that He gave you courage, that He rescued you from all your enemies, and even now is strengthening your weak hands and knees. You remember that Jesus emptied Himself completely on the cross in order to fill you in every way. Oh, the love that Jesus poured out on the cross for you is shocking: He put Himself in apparent defeat so that you would have victory, emptied Himself to fill you, and died so that you could live!
As you remember Jesus, you experience not emptiness and exhaustion, but rather you sense Jesus filling you with His Holy Spirit, His love, and His power! You are experiencing the truth that “greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
You remember that you have the power of the cross and the power of the Holy Spirit working in you. You are no longer weak. The Spirit of God leads you to think about the mountain of grace that He is supplying to you. God is now lifting your eyes to look at Jesus and your heart is opening to receive His grace. You start to put to death the self-gratification of grabbing tea breaks and surfing the net. You ask the Holy Spirit to show you which work task to start. The Spirit is actually leading you now and you are comforted by the love of Jesus!
Friend, does this good news cause you to rejoice in the Lord Jesus Christ? It should. Jesus purposefully had His hands nailed to a tree so that your weak hands might be made strong. With his knees, He pushed up on the cross so that He could catch His breath and cry out the words, “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing”, and “It is finished!” In pouring out all His own strength on the cross, He has made a way for your weak knees to be kept steady (Hebrews 11:32).
Question 3. Please think of a scenario like the above where in times past you would be weak and lacking in strength, and show how the cross and the Spirit of God would make you strong and mature.
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Jesus mends our broken hearts through the work He did on the cross for us and the work of His Holy Spirit in us. He is the Great Physician that comes to us in gentleness, healing our broken hearts carefully, with great skill and overflowing love. If we look at the cross we see that is exactly what Jesus did there, He removed our sin, made us right with God, and provided healing for our broken hearts.
Question 4. Please take a moment and share how Jesus is mending your heart through what He did for you on the cross and what He is doing in you by His Spirit:
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Tori writes, "He is making me feel more complete and strong, and teaching me to not be overwhelmed and rely on Him. He is changing my heart definitely, and reminding me that all my needs can be met in Him, not only to see it."
Harris writes, "The cross is a demonstration of His love to me. This is bringing rest in my soul. It makes me depend on His love and it is easier to trust Him and rely on Him."
Wendy writes, "When I am consistently asked to view Jesus and the Cross, my difficulties begin to shrink. I am learning to try to keep focused more on Him and all He had done for me, rather on present circumstances that tend to weigh me down and feel so sad. His Spirit is working on me to know and feel that joy that only comes in knowing Jesus!"
Jesus said, “He who the Son sets free is free indeed!” (John 8:31-36), as He knew He would go to the cross and set us free through His death and resurrection. See Jesus at the cross opening your prison door, taking you by the hand gently, and leading you out into freedom and glory (Romans 8:21).
Question 5. Can you see that “it is for freedom that Christ has set you free” (Galatians 5:1)? Meaning that His death and resurrection opened your prison doors, removed your sin and guilt, and set you free?
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Melissa shares, "YES! This is the biggest change. Every night, right before I get into bed, I've been looking up a passage on freedom and falling asleep praying about it. I finally am beginning to understand those verses. I am free because of Christ and His grace."
"As I was falling asleep, all these gospel verses I had memorized as a child come flooding in and I just praised Him as I was falling asleep. The free gift of God, no more condemnation. Come to Me all you who are weary. All of them had new meaning. I’m tearing up just thinking about it. I didn’t fall asleep till so late but was worth it. I feel joy coming back for moments here and there and I’m really grateful."
Tori writes, "Yes, and that when we look to everything he did we can say that we have someone who rescues us, and we are no longer slaves to sin because it is finished!"
Jessica writes, "Oh yes! He has brought me out of my darkness and into that peaceful lush meadow where I may be at peace, too. Thank you, Jesus!"
Pamela writes, "Yes but that freedom is not freedom to do what I please when I please or where I please. Maybe I have warped understanding of freedom..... So I just read through Galatians 4:28-6:1 in the NLT What stands out is that I am now free to live in and by the Spirit, rather than the lusts and desires of my flesh that lead to destruction. But also to beware of that default that reverts back to relying on the flesh and it’s outward appearance of obeying the law. For it isnt seeking to serve one another in love but is instead self serving. Jesus You have set me free from me. Thank you. With this new strength and insight of your Spirit I choose to go exercise this body that it might be strengthened for Your service."