This past Friday I was overwhelmed with doubt and fear, it seems I have these triggers and they send me into a tail spin of fear. I set in my chair and thought to myself, you know you have authority over these feelings in Jesus, stand up and take authority!! But I didn’t, I tried but I just sit there in myself pity now feeling guilty and ashamed and I remembered something a friend said during last week’s bible study.
“Sometimes our flesh likes the way sin feels”
It’s like I wanted to sit there in my sin feeling pitiful about my situation rather than stand in the authority given me by Christ. Today I opened my eyes and I laid there in my bed and I whispered in my heart, I have authority over my feelings, and sin, and I will not be held in shackles any longer.
Today in Church we read in Zechariah 3:
Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments. And the angel said to those who were standing before him, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” And to him he said, “Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments. – Zechariah 3:3-4
In Hebrew that word filthy relates to excrement; vomit. He was quite literally covered in everything we consider repulsive. Which is exactly what we look like on our very best day in the presences of a Holy God?
Without Christ we are clothed in our own sin, that sin that feels so good to our flesh. The accuser stands in wait to pull us down in guilt and shame, but we don’t have to be shackled by his lies anymore. WE have a SAVIOR and He has met every condition on our behalf. He has taken our filthy clothes off of us and clothed us in His righteousness!!! we do not stand condemned, we stand cleansed.
Later that day as I prepped for the week, the accuser whispered“isn’t this suppose to be a day of rest” but before the guilt could creep in the Lord whispered right back “I am your Sabbath, you rest in me.” In Him I rest; from every effort to achieve righteousness on my own. I rest from being “good enough” & “Obedient enough” because it isn’t at all about how good I can be, but rather how perfect HE IS! It’s about being clothed in His righteousness.
HE is Our Sabbath!
Building strong marriages together,
Ashley Ladd
