Can you look up now and fill your vision and heart with our precious Jesus at the cross, who is powerfully holding back, as it were, the wall of water of the Jordan that threatens to overwhelm you in your circumstances of fear and worry?
The arms of Christ Crucified are stretched out wide for you on the towering hill of Golgotha, as far as the east is from the west. Jesus remains still, steadfast, and strong in the middle of every overpowering situation that you are faced with, taking your burdens unto Himself.
The waters of your circumstances are held back in one immense heap by Jesus, and you are free to move forward in safety because of His death and resurrection. Jesus is forever implanted in your fearful dangers, eternally keeping your soul from harm’s way and secure in His presence.
Jesus walked alone and unprotected through the drowning waters and consuming fire of Calvary over 2000 years ago as the servant of all (Philippians 2:7), becoming “lower than the angels” (Hebrews 2:7). He emptied Himself of His life to reach out for you in love and fill you with the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:19). He was “handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God” (Romans 4:25). We are invited to repeatedly look and listen to the sights and sounds of Calvary, and in doing this, have our hearts settle back into Christ’s blood-bought haven of tranquillity and peace:
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.” Isaiah 43:2
The dimensions or severity of our struggles are no match for the depth, breadth, and width of God’s love and the incredible power of the gospel. When the finished work of Jesus is central in our thoughts each day, the lies that fear speaks about our circumstances, and our identity are countered and defeated by truth.
Fear makes us run and hide, overcome by despair. When we turn our eyes upon Jesus, faith rises as “Faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ” (Romans 10:17 NLT), and the power to overcome in Christ invades our souls. We ask the Holy Spirit to point us to the cross when we read God’s word and to absorb our mind and our heart in Him prayerfully, deliberately, and intentionally. As a consequence, we see and savor Christ, experiencing His unspeakable joy.
Discovering the gospel in all of the scriptures, and in cross-centered worship songs and sermons each day, causes our hearts to be “flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.” (Ephesians 1:18 NLT)
Question 1: God delivered the Israelites from the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites. God is delivering you from your enemies as well. Please write out the struggles of inner turmoil that you are currently facing, and how Jesus’ work at the cross is changing your view of these situations:
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Question 2: How could you nourish your heart more each day with the gospel?
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We are delivered from overwhelming fear as we focus on Christ and His cross.
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