Finished Things Become Usable ThingsSample

Take a Breath

The old way leaves us longing, but God has introduced to us a better hope in which to trust him enough to come to him.

The new covenant was necessary precisely because the old one did not work. It could never make us right and never set us free. We were never designed to follow rules but rather to experience the fullness of His love and life as we live in a relationship with him, receiving his grace and trusting his love. Our obedience is not a way to earn God’s favor, but we offer our lives as an expression of it.

Our tendency to return to the old way of thinking is so instinctive and natural to us. The new way of life under the new covenant requires incredible attention and moment by moment dependence until we learn to receive His grace the same way we receive our breath.

Taking a breath is finding a moment. Instead of doing more or offering more to be seen as holy and pleasing, we stop, we breathe, and we trust that what Jesus has done is enough. It is finished.

The old has gone.

The new has come.

And here is where hope and fear all meet in a moment. This is why surrender isn’t just a promise. It is an end. We find the reality of freedom in a moment, where surrender is breath.

The promise of the New Covenant is that we will experience life with God. Forgiven and free and wholly dependent on Him. Surrender isn’t simply what we give up but what we make available. As you surrender in each moment, you are making yourself available to Him for His purposes.

———

Thank you for joining us on this reading plan!

This reading plan was based on To Be Concluded by Mike Ashcraft. To learn more about the book and order your copy, visit tobeconcluded.com.