Vital signs- Friday, October 16th, 2020

God offers us the kind of security that cannot be disrupted by any person or circumstance. We can be completely secure in Christ.

How do we know that? Peter tells us that Jesus suffered once and for all for sins—the righteous in place of the unrighteous, for the specific purpose of bringing us to God (1 Peter 3:18). His death in the flesh and His resurrection by the power of the Spirit resulted in our resurrection and life with Him. We have already seen the implications of this message: that we are wanted, valuable, chosen, adopted, redeemed, and significant. So it naturally follows that if we’re treasured this much by God and restored into a relationship with Him at so high a price, that He would not hold us loosely. In fact, Paul wrote that nothing can separate us from God (Romans 8:38-39).

What actually happens when we receive Christ is enough to undo all of our insecurities. Our understanding affects the way we think and feel; our thoughts and feelings prompt our actions; and our actions shape our lives. So, knowing the truth about our salvation—that it addresses the root of our fears and anxieties—has everything to do with how we experience God and live securely.

One of the fundamental lies that undermines our security is this: those who fail are unworthy of love and deserve to be punished. I believed that lie for a long time, and it drove me to try to earn love, prove myself, and perform perfectly. For others, this lie causes them to avoid failure by withdrawing and never putting themselves on the line. Neither response enables us to receive the love of God and live in the security He promises.

We are secure because we have been sealed by the Spirit: “In Him you also were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed” (Ephesians 1:13).