Established.

"In righteousness you will be established: Tyranny will be far from you; you will have nothing to fear. Terror will be far removed; it will not come near you." Isaiah 54:14


Look at this promise. Isn't it awesome? Like, just looking at it straight up at face value, it's absolutely beautiful. Jesus promises that we will be established in righteousness, and that we will have nothing to fear. This, in and of itself, is a miracle of God. When you really consider who we are, and then this promise of righteousness, it's absolutely beautiful and scandalous. So...let's dig deeper. :)

I read this today and decided that I would look up the word established. According to dictionary.com, this is the definition:

Establish-verb- 
1.) to bring into being
2.) to settle, as in a position 
3.) to cause to be accepted
4.) to prove


Okay, one at a time here...firstly...
1.) To bring into being.
The word established...to bring into being. Being established in His righteousness. His very righteousness brought us into being. Here's the proof:


"When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ." Colossians 2:13

We were dead. Through His righteousness, He brought us into being. He made us alive! Crazy, right? It only gets better. Now on to number two...

2.) to settle, as in a position 
To be established in His righteousness is to be settled. When I saw the word settled, I decided I'd look it up too. I wrote down a few of the meanings in my journal. Here they are: to quiet or calm, to take up residence, to come to rest, to sink gradually. Because of His righteousness, He takes up residence in us. He calms and quiets us. He brings us rest. And you know, it may take time for it all to sink gradually in...but it will sink in. Because of what Jesus has done. Not only that, but because of the righteousness of Christ, we have a position at His table. We beggars have been invited to come to His banquet table and feast. All because of Him. And what He has done.

3.) to cause to be accepted
Because of the righteous blood of Jesus being shed on the cross, He has caused us to be ACCEPTED in the eyes of the Father! This blows my mind. Holy God, Creator God...He accepts us because of His Son, Jesus.

Last, but certainly not least (this one is my favorite...)

4.) to prove
Because of what Jesus has done, because He has provided righteousness....
Me and you....
WE HAVE NOTHING TO PROVE!
Absolutely nothing. You know why? Because Jesus has already proven everything there is to prove by His death on the cross and His resurrection.

What would happen if we lived like this was true? It is true. So, there is no like and was. The new question is:
What would happen if we live this? This Truth. Truth that is steadfast and solid. Never to be shaken. You and I are established in the righteousness of Jesus Christ (that is, if you have accepted Jesus to be your Lord and Savior). I propose that if we really believed this--everything would be different. We would learn to be totally satisfied in Him. Understanding that He is enough. More than enough. We would wait in hope for Him instead of trying to jump ahead of His plan. Everything would be different.

So stands the challenge. Will we live established in the righteousness of Christ Jesus?

Remember:
"God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." 2 Corinthians 5:21


Isn't He beautiful?