When He received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, He bowed his head and gave up His Spirit. John 19:30
These are the final three words that Jesus spoke before He gave up
His spirit on the Cross. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the single
most important event of the Christian faith. It is a historical fact—one
with profound implications for your life and mine. Because Jesus rose
from the dead, we can find healing from our past, experience power in
our daily lives, and rejoice in the promise of heaven.
The moment we receive Christ, we step into a lifetime journey – a
journey where we are continually challenged by the things of the world.
Wounds that may have pierced your heart when you were young may still
plague you. Guilt or shame from a situation that you were involved in
may still cause you to feel inadequate in current relationships or
situations. It may cause you to revel in your past and struggle with
making good decisions now.
Satan tries to use our wounds to accuse us and make us feel as if we
are unlovable. No one will ever love you. You aren’t worthy of being
loved. You will never measure up. You are not good enough. These are all
lies and attacks on the mind that he will try to get you believe. Some
will go right along with the things he is saying and fall to even deeper
depths of depression, pain or isolation. When we come into agreement
with the enemy, we give him power over our lives and negate the Word of
God. One significant area where the enemy does this is in your mind.
Satan is a deceiver and his target is your mind. His weapon of
choice? Lies, lies and more lies. His purpose is to make you ignorant
of God’s will. If the enemy can be successful in distracting you from
God’s Word, he can distract you from being able to discern what God’s
will is for your life. Your defense is the inspired Word of God. Romans
12:2 reminds us to not conform to this world, but for our minds to be
transformed. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will
is–his good, pleasing and perfect will. It is imperative that when in
the midst of a struggle that you go to God, just as you are and confess
any sin and area of struggle and ask Him to help you. This is good news
for all of us!
You reflect the glory of God. He loves you so much that He took
everything that could possibly come against you to the Cross that day
thousands of years ago. And because of His love for you, He rose from
the grave – defeating death. Resurrection power is never more evident
than when Christ frees us from bondage to sin and destructive habits.
Whenever we, as believers, fall for Satan’s lies and yield to his
temptations, our only avenue to freedom is through the crucified life—as
we take up our crosses and deny ourselves (Matthew 16:24.) It is
crucial to realize that you walk around with Almighty God inside you.
There is nothing Satan can throw at you that Jesus cannot defeat. By
choosing to let Him handle the temptation, you’ll experience His
victory.
So the next time you find yourself battling the enemy, speak the Word
of God and remind Him of the words that Jesus said, “It is FINISHED.”
