I am hidden with Christ in God
“I was frustrated and angry with myself that I couldn’t do better at living the Christian life.”
I’ve heard these words many times over the past 15 years. To be honest, they perfectly summarized my struggles as a teen and young adult. I lived in a nasty cycle of feeling like I couldn’t live up to God’s expectations, attempting to escape those feelings through the short-term pleasure of sin, and then experiencing an even greater feeling of failure.
While I knew God “loved” me, I figured He couldn’t stand to be around me because I was such a mess.
As you can see from the diagram above, my sinful actions compounded my guilt and shame which only multiplied my negative feelings and made me more prone to temptation. I felt defeated and trapped.
All the while, I cried out to God for help. I wanted him to do something… anything that would help me break free of the cycle. What I did not know is that he had already done everything necessary for me to live a godly life through faith in Jesus Christ (see 2 Peter 1:3-11).
Through the truths and resources of Freedom in Christ, I learned that my ways of thinking and behaving had become a stronghold.
What is a stronghold? A stronghold is a mental habit or thought pattern reinforced by behavior. Essentially, it is a habit we've learned to run in times of stress, trial, or attack. At first, they appear to work. But these fleshly strongholds cannot provide everything they promise. In fact, they betray us in the end (see James 1:13-15).
The Lord desires to be the One to whom we run. Psalm 91:2 says, “I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
But how do we transition from a nasty cycle of sin and shame to trusting the Lord as our fortress?
We begin by receiving what Christ has accomplished for our salvation, then take our thoughts captive (2 Corinthians 10:3-5) and choose not to gratify the flesh (Romans 13:14).
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you...” (Colossians 3:1-5a, NIV & NLT)
We start by aligning our thinking with the truth of what God says has been accomplished by Christ. To be hidden in Christ means to be securely concealed or covered. It can even mean to be secretly kept. We are safe in Christ because of what Jesus accomplished, not because of how well we behave from day to day. Our guilt and shame have been covered by Christ, so we don't need to shy away from God’s presence.
At the same time, we do everything necessary to stop any patterns of sinful behavior in our lives because “wickedness will not release those who practice it.” (Ecclesiastes 8:8d, NIV) In the Colossians passage, we are told to deaden, or kill, the sinful pull of our flesh. We can do this through healthy accountability, spiritual disciplines and practical tools enabled by the Holy Spirit, and daily choosing to believe the truth of God’s word. These all combine to turn the cycle around.
When we recognize that we are already hidden in Christ, He becomes our fortress or place of safety instead of the illegitimate, sinful strongholds developed earlier in life. Then, we trust that he is truly our only safe place, our fortress in times of trouble.
Dear Saints, do not allow the stress and uncertainty of these days to reinforce a sin cycle. It is only in Christ that we are truly kept safe. What can you commit to the Lord today? Your thoughts? A particular action? How you fight temptation? At every point along the way, remind yourself of who you are in Christ—all because of His work on your behalf.
If you or someone you love is stuck in a nasty cycle of sin, remember: “What is impossible with man is possible with God” (Luke 18:27).
May the Holy Spirit lead you as you pursue freedom!