There is one astounding promise in those two verses that is
repeated twice by Paul. Do you see
it? If not, re-read the passage until it
jumps off the page and grabs you. If
you believe you have found that promise, say it to yourself, “God will
_____________________________________.”
If you need to, say it again and again until it begins to penetrate your
heart.
Here is the promise, the Lord Jesus Christ will sanctify you
(will grow you and mature you into His likeness). He will keep your entire self, body, spirit
and soul, blameless until his return. He
is faithful, He will surely do it.
Have you been wrestling with your sin? Have you been working hard to present
yourself blameless to God? Have you
wrestled with addictions for years on end and have never found true
freedom? Do you wonder why you can’t
seem to stop your mind from agonizing over anxious thoughts? Are you tired of being an angry person but
you don’t have the motivation and ability to kill that anger? May the God of peace sanctify you, may Jesus
keep you as blameless. He will surely do
it. Jesus has the power to set you free
from the struggles you are entangled in day after day. But you have to let go of yourself and give
it to Him. He wants to set you free, but
will not until you have given it all to him and until you recognize that He is
the only source of true freedom. I know
it’s tough to let go of control, especially in those areas of life that we feel
like are completely out of control. But
picture this, if somehow you found yourself in the pilot chair of a 747 that is
on a crash course to earth, and the pilot is looking at you saying, “Hey, just
let go of the wheel for a second and get out of the seat, and I will get in
that seat and take over and save you, but you have to trust me. If you don’t we will crash, because you don’t
know how to fly this plane.” Would you
let go and allow yourself and the plane to be without a driver for a brief
second? Would you entrust your life
into the hands of the pilot to be saved?
Of course you would! Jesus is
saying the same thing. He will surely
sanctify you. John 8:31-32 says, “If you hold to my teachings, you are really my disciples, then you will know the
truth and the truth will set you free.”
The truth of Jesus Christ is the only thing can set you free in this
world, and the truth is, He will set you free.
This promise breathes life into the Matthew 11:28 passage
that say, “Come to me all you are burdened and heavy laden and I will give you
rest.” There seems to be nothing more in
my life that wears me out than trying to stop sinning. What a relief to see that Jesus will fight my
battles for me if I allow Him, and that I will begin to find true freedom from
the snares of life.
