Finished

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. (Colossians 2:13-15 ESV). I usually have some project in a state of being finished. You know these projects. They’re the ones that you can almost see the end, but you haven’t quite gotten there yet. It’s usually something that you have enjoyed doing up to a point and then it gets a little more difficult or less exciting and you simply set it aside to finish it later. Life can be like that. We start a path along our journey and do well at first. Then as it becomes more difficult or tedious, we simply slow down our progress. Spiritually we need to remember that “finished" is the word used after a job is done. It is a word that says we don't need to work anymore, because it is done. "Finished" is also the word Jesus used from the cross. He said, "It is finished!" (cf. John 19:30). In other words, "It is accomplished!" The devil was soundly defeated at the cross of Calvary. Any confusion about that truth is devastating to our journey. Referring to His impending crucifixion, Jesus said, "The time for judging this world has come, when Satan, the ruler of this world, will be cast out." Through His death, Jesus destroyed the one who had the power of death, which is the devil. And when we put our faith in Jesus Christ, the stranglehold of Satan is broken. He cannot control us. We can rest in the finished work of Christ. This means that when we face spiritual battles, we are not fighting for victory; we are fighting from it. We don't fight to get victory. We fight because it has already been obtained. We don't need to pray, "Lord, give me victory." Rather, we should pray, "Lord, I have victory; show me the way to experience it." We can win in the spiritual battle. We can overcome the enemy. I am not saying we will win every skirmish and every conflict, but I am saying we will win the war. I am not saying we never will sin and never will stumble, because we will. We all will. But we can win the battle overall, because we stand in the righteousness of Christ. So, the next time you are tempted to stop your progress in this journey, remember where you are going. He has made us alive in Him and nothing can change that! You don’t need to finish it. That has already been done. You merely need to continue to work on the project. Keep building. It’s only a matter of time until you see the finished product!