God has done so much for us, and yet we rarely grasp the significance of it. We often don’t realise the full implications of what God did in Christ to liberate us from sin and empower us to live new lives. We have God’s Spirit within us. Our hearts have been renewed; we have the capacity to see things clearly and live new lives. But too often we remain dormant. We fail to look with the new sight we are given, and we fail to walk in the new freedom we now have. We can be like prisoners so accustomed to prison-life who, though exonerated, prefer to remain in the familiar ‘comfort’ of the prison. The doors are open, but we remain in our dark cells. The cry of Psalm 81 is a plea for God’s people to listen to his voice calling them to walk in the freedom they have been granted. Let’s not wallow in shame and failure. We have been forgiven and equipped to live victoriously. In Christ, and by his Spirit within us, we have the strength to rise and live an amazing new liberated life. But you will only feel this strength as you step up and out. Jesus says to us now what he said to the paralysed man: “Your sins are forgiven…Get up, take your mat and walk” (Mark 2). You are no longer paralysed, no longer incarcerated. Live out the new life you have been given. Walk with your new strength. Enjoy the new peace and favour you have with God. It’s all yours.
Celebrate what Christ did for you.
Read Psalm 81
