God’s Word is absolute! It’s the final authority. In the scriptures, He means what He says, says what He means, and everything that He says goes. God never deviates from His Word. The psalmist said in Psalm 138:2(NKJV), “I will worship toward Your holy temple, and praise Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth; for You have magnified Your word above all Your name.” The reality that our Heavenly Father sets His Word above His name demonstrates for us the infallible nature of His Holy Word, and His unwavering allegiance to it. Forever etched in the chronicles of human existence, it also sets the allegiance and commitment that each of us must have towards God’s Word as well. His Word is life to us! It is the life of God expressed in His very own Words. It is the power of His truth that is released to us as we listen and trust what He speaks.
In Isaiah 55:11(NLT), God said, “It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.” This is our eternal confidence, because God’s Word cannot fail. He is the One that sends it out, and it is always and forever fruitful and productive towards the purpose for which He sends it. God’s Word prospers, and when we obey it—take it in, digest it to the point that it becomes alive in us, we can’t help but to prosper too.
John 1:14(NKJV) declares, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” Jesus Christ came to the earth on a mission to fulfill the Will of God. He is everything that God created human beings to be, and he fulfilled the Will of God perfectly, without ever sinning. He is the Word come to life! When we accept him as our Lord and Savior, we become alive to God and begin to live—reside—abide in Christ. The Apostle Paul put it this way in Galatians 2:20(NLT), “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
When we become born again through the salvation that the Lord Jesus Christ made available to us, we are no longer who we used to be. Paul said, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” We are given new life through Jesus Christ! 2Corinthians 5:17(NLT) says, “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” Our struggle is often one of bringing our minds and hearts on board with our new spiritual reality in Christ. We want to hold on to the things of our past, and because of this, many of us are having a challenging time with living in the newness of what Christ has brought to us.
Genesis 2:1-3(NLT) says, “1 So the creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them was completed. 2 On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. 3 And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation.” Since the moment God declared that His work of creation was finished, He has not had to do a takeback, backtrack, or do-over. We have not needed a new sun, moon or stars. He has not had to replenish the earth with soil and water but created its eco-system to be sustainable and function beautifully. When He said His work was finished, it was finished!
In like manner, when our old lives were crucified with Christ, they died. They are dead and gone—finished, over, and done with for good. We cannot get them back, nor should we ever want to. But the reality is that some of us are behaving as if we want to revive old dead things. There are individuals, relationships, habits, and situations that we should have disconnected from a long time ago, but we have latched onto these and have refused to release them. These things have nothing to do with who we are today in Christ, so we must surrender them and break the negative cycle they perpetuate through our faith in the Lord Jesus.
Romans 8:28 (NLT) says, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” This verse conveys the power and love of God. He knows what is best for our lives, and our trust in Him should motivate us to rid ourselves of toxic relationships, habits, and situations that were a part of our pasts. Our faith must be in God’s power and in the newness that Christ brings, because the past is finished business. We can’t carry its dead weight, and we must recognize that everyone and everything can’t travel where God is taking us. Faith in Him demands that we believe and trust in His healing and deliverance. We must have faith that He is behind the scenes always working things out for our good. When this is where our faith is, we won’t continually try to pick up broken pieces that have fallen to the ground.
We can’t put the broken pieces of our past back together again. It’s useless to try to force square pegs into round holes. It will not work, and if we try to force a fit, we will be woefully dissatisfied with the outcome. We must settle our mind on the truth that we don’t get to tell God when something is finished. He tells us. Our old life is gone, and we need to study His Word and pray often for the wisdom and courage to close the door to anything that doesn’t bring us closer to Him. God is a God of order. It’s our responsibility to get in line with His plan for our lives. He alone controls the timing of every detail, and when we’ve met His requirements, we will open the door to the blessings of all that our newness in Christ will yield. Then, greater spiritual growth and maturity will be our continual prize, and we will testify with power and authority that our Heavenly Father causes all things to work together for our good!■
Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
“When God Says It’s Finished, It Is Finished!”, written for Springfield Fellowship © 2024. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.