The Exchanged Life: Not I, But Christ

You thought you had to climb to reach Him. But He already carried you to the top.

Scripture: Galatians 2:20

To live the Christian life is not to strive toward being like Jesus in our own effort. It is to recognize that the old self has already been crucified with Christ. The life we live now is not a self-improvement project. It is Christ living His life in and through us. Galatians 2:20 makes this clear: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me."

We don’t imitate Christ from a distance; we draw from His indwelling life. This exchanged life is not a poetic metaphor. It is a spiritual reality. As Romans 6:6 says, "our old self was crucified with Him", and as 2 Corinthians 5:17 reminds us, "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation."

We are not climbing a mountain of performance to get closer to God. He has already carried us to the summit. Now, we live from that place of union—not by improving the old, but by yielding to the new: Christ in us.

Journal Entry: In the Voice of the Holy Spirit

I placed you into Christ when you believed. Your old self—the one striving, fixing, and fearing—was crucified with Him. That person no longer defines you. I no longer relate to who you were in Adam, but to who you are now in Christ.

The life you now live isn’t meant to be managed—it’s meant to be yielded. I do not require your effort. I invite your surrender. Christ is not your assistant. He is your very life. I am not waiting for you to become like Him. I am expressing Him through you.

Walk with confidence in this truth: You are not trying to get better. You are already made new. You are not climbing your way to Me. You are seated with Me already. And everything you need for today is already yours in Christ.

Live from that place. Rest in that union. Let Me live through you.

Scriptures woven into this section: Galatians 2:20, Romans 6:6, Colossians 3:3, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 2:6, 2 Peter 1:3

Prayer: Father, Thank You for placing me in Christ and crucifying my old self with Him. I trust that I am no longer who I used to be. I rest in the truth that Christ lives in me now—and I am complete in Him.

Today, I yield. I trust You to live through me—not beside me. Not improving who I was, but replacing it with the life of Your Son.

Let me walk from that place of rest and confidence. Not I, but Christ.

Amen.

Credits:
This devotional reflection is based on Episode 2 of the Rooted in Christ YouTube series: The Exchanged Life: Not I, But Christ.
Photo credit: Unsplash.com