Receive the Gift
Peace begins when you stop trying to earn what God offers as a gift. Trust His promise, receive His forgiveness, and walk as someone accepted.
"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."
Romans 8:1You can stand in front of a chair and believe, with total sincerity, that it will hold you. You can admire how it's built and recommend it to your friends. But you don't actually rest until you sit down and put your whole weight on it.
Everyone believes in the chair in theory. Faith is the moment your feet leave the floor.
That's the move chapter 6 is asking for: transferring your full weight onto Christ's promise. Deciding to sit. Before you feel a single thing.
Peace is a gift you receive, not a prize you win
What your heart is actually after is peace, "Heaven's forgiveness and peace and love in the soul." And here's the catch that's really good news: "Money cannot buy it, intellect cannot procure it, wisdom cannot attain to it." You can't earn it. "But God offers it to you as a gift... It is yours if you will but reach out your hand and grasp it."
Faith is an action, not a feeling
The book tells the story of a man paralyzed for thirty-eight years. Jesus says, "Rise, take up thy bed, and walk." He could have said, "Lord, heal me first and then I'll try." Instead "he believed... and he made the effort at once; he willed to walk, and he did walk." Faith moved before the feeling arrived. So with you: "Do not wait to feel that you are made whole, but say, 'I believe it; it is so, not because I feel it, but because God has promised.'"
Jesus loves to have us come to Him just as we are, sinful, helpless, dependent.
Steps to Christ, chapter 6
He forgives you, personally
"Here is where thousands fail; they do not believe that Jesus pardons them personally, individually." It's easy to believe God forgives, in general, other people, somewhere out there. The step of faith is believing it lands on you. "Put away the suspicion that God's promises are not meant for you. They are for every repentant transgressor."
As you draw near to Him with confession and repentance, He will draw near to you with mercy and forgiveness.
Steps to Christ, chapter 6
The Father runs
Remember the son who wrecked everything and slunk home rehearsing his apology? "When he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him." God is not standing at the door with His arms crossed, waiting to be convinced. "He hates sin, but He loves the sinner." He's already running toward you.
Notice the chair does the holding, not your confidence. A nervous person and a relaxed person who both actually sit down are held up exactly the same, the chair never checks your emotional state first. You're not saved by how strongly you feel, but by the strength of what you're resting on.
Tapping "confirm" on an order. The instant you tap it, the package is already on its way, the shipment doesn't wait for you to feel a warm glow of certainty first. Faith takes God at His word the same way: decide, and the delivery is set in motion.
The feelings trap
A lot of sincere people get stuck waiting to "feel forgiven" or "feel saved," and when the warm feeling doesn't come, they assume it didn't work. But feelings are weather. They change with sleep, hormones, group chats, and the time of day. If your standing with God depended on your mood, you'd be in and out a dozen times before lunch.
Faith rests on something steadier than your feelings: God's promise. An anchor doesn't hold because the sea is calm; it holds because it's gripping solid ground underneath the waves. You choose to believe what God said, "you are forgiven and cleansed", and then, often later, the feelings follow. Decide first. Let the emotions catch up.
Three questions
- Have you been waiting to feel forgiven before you'll believe you are?
- Do you believe God forgives people in general but struggle to believe it applies to you? Why?
- What promise of God could you choose to stand on today, even before your feelings agree?
Jesus, I've been waiting to feel it. Today I choose to take You at Your word instead: I believe You forgive me. Personally, completely, not because I feel it, but because You promised. Thank You for running toward me. Let my feelings catch up to the truth.
Next: The Evidence of a Changed Life
Keep moving through the journey in order. Step 7 builds on what you have just read.
Continue to Step 7