Day 25 - Live Like You Are Adopted

A Weightless Devotional

“For you did not receive the spirit of slavery leading again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, ‘Abba, Father.” —Romans 8:15

There are two spirits under which a believer can live: the spirit of slavery or the Spirit of adoption. The spirit of slavery is a fearful spirit where we are still controlled by something outside of ourselves and are always feeling the threat of punishment for our failure. It keeps us always on edge, always needing to perform, to be better, to do more, and to live life overwhelmed. It leaves us with the anxious feeling that things just aren’t right; That there is something else we need to do, or to be. It’s a spirit of slavery in its emotional experience of constant fear and anxiety, not to mention fatigue and persistent stress.

But God reminds us in Romans 8:15, that we did not receive a spirit of slavery to the law and the fear of punishment, like they lived with through the entire Old Testament, but a Spirit of adoption, making us His kids. As His children, we are no longer living with the shadow of impending punishment. No, we are given a Spirit of adoption which makes us fully acceptable as a child is acceptable to their Father, and gives us a freedom from fear that only comes through the grace of God, in the form of His Holy Spirit.

But, the difference between the Spirit of adoption and the spirit of slavery goes beyond eternal life and death: It’s also the difference between:

power and subjugation,
peace and anxiety,
contentment and regret.

The Spirit we are given is a Spirit of grace whereby we are no longer fearful of what the world fears, but instead we are confident in who we are as children of God. It is when we reject the gift of God’s grace, made possible by the death, burial, and resurrection of His Son, that we fall back again into the Spirit of slavery to fear. And while that is a sorry place to find yourself, it’s also a good place to recognize, so that you can become uncomfortable enough to move out.