We continue in Chapter #3 of Grace in the Dark, opening the Scriptures to His truth about our righteousness in Him. Below is a story of a dear friend and her walk in the power of this truth…
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There comes a point in every Christian believer’s life where we must fully base our trust upon what God’s Word states as fact, irrespective of what we feel or what we have done. God is greater than our heart (our emotions) and knows all things – is what God’s Word tells us.[i]
Author and speaker Joyce Meyer writes;
How much time do you waste living under guilt and condemnation? Notice I said how much time do you waste, because that is exactly what all that kind of thinking is, a waste of time!
Don’t think about how terrible you were before you came to Christ. Instead think about how you have been made the righteousness of God in Him. Remember; thoughts turn into actions. If you ever want to behave any better, you have to change your thinking first. Keep thinking about how terrible you are, and you will only act worse. Every time a negative, condemning thought comes to your mind, remind yourself that God loves you, that you have been made the righteousness of God in Christ.[ii]
Jessie had blown it. Big time. Caught in the arms of a close friend’s husband, well, you can only imagine the fireworks, hurt, and pain. She hadn’t desired the attention, but sexual abuse in her childhood and a difficult marriage caused her to be both vulnerable to the friend’s attention and repel it at the same time. She feared she would not be believed if she shared with anyone about the man’s advances because she had not been believed in her youth when her stepfather had taken advantage of her.
This event took place in the church where Randy and I were pastors. Only a few months before this incident occurred, the large healthcare organization I worked for had moved my employment into the same building Jessie worked in. Because of my relocation, I had the opportunity to minister to Jessie through this difficult time in her life in which she had lost most of her close friends because of what had taken place in her tight-knit circle. Unfortunately, people within the church took sides and many of them did not land in Jessie’s camp. Nevertheless, I recognized that Jessie’s situation could have easily been my own story several years prior. I promised to walk her through her pain into greater freedom in Christ no matter how long it might take.
Guilt, shame, dread – these were Jessie’s new best friends. The weight of guilt she felt was almost too much to bear. She told me if she hadn’t had her three children to care for and her husband who was willing to work a little harder at their marriage, she would have ended her life. But Jesus. There is nothing any one of us can ever do to separate us from His love – His grace extends to our darkest hours.[iii]
Slowly Jessie began to open her life up to receive the long-needed healing from the sexual abuse and abandonment of her early childhood. One day, next to the copier in my office area, Jessie allowed the Lord Jesus to replace lies that she believed about herself from her youth. He delved specifically into the root of where these falsehoods had lodged in her soul. He spoke truth into her heart. He set her free from years of enemy bondage. As the Holy Spirit began to go deep into her brokenness, He brought healing balm to the wounded areas of her heart and mind. His Word bore the truth of the Father’s absolute forgiveness for her based upon the finished work of His Son.[iv]
Still, each morning, as Jessie rose from her bed, condemnation came calling. She counter-acted the guilt with each step to the coffeemaker by rehearsing the truth of God’s Word:
I am forgiven.
Jesus’ sacrifice was enough.
He is making me new.
He has made me clean.
Some days of truth-telling were better than others, but she persevered. Reaching into her closet each day to pick outfit for work, Jessie declared, “I am clothed in Jesus’ righteousness, I am forgiven, I have purpose, Jesus loves me.” For her, this was grace in the dark in action. Receiving what God said over what she felt and heard in her mind. And as always, grace wins. Truth triumphs over lies.
[i] 1 John 3:20
[ii] Joyce Meyer, Battlefield of the Mind (New York, NY: Faith Words, Hachette Book Group, 1995, 2016), 172.
[iii] Romans 8:35-39
[iv] John 19:30