From Duty to Glory: Living Romans 8

My heart is heavy—because it truly saddens me to see how many don’t realize they are living according to duty, bound up in a cycle of words and at war in their own minds. If I feel this way, how much more must the heart of God break for His children to receive what is already theirs?

Too many of us are still living in the flesh, tripped up by patterns of striving and self-preservation, caught in the exhausting loop of trying to be “enough.” We start in the Spirit—full of fire and truth—but then we drift. We fall back into rules and religious effort, trying to earn what was meant to be lived out in freedom.

And when we fall short, we push harder. We neglect our souls when we should rest. We chase comfort when we’re actually called to die to ourselves. We shrink back from sacrifice—sometimes even teaching our children to do the same—when Scripture clearly says that to be co-heirs with Christ, we must also share in His sufferings.

Romans 8:17–18

“We are co-heirs with Christ, sharing in His sufferings so that we may also share in His glory. I am convinced that any suffering we endure is less than nothing compared to the magnitude of glory that is about to be unveiled within us.”

But instead of pressing in, we often live like the Galatians:

“Oh foolish Galatians! Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?”

We groan inwardly. We feel defeated, discouraged, depressed—when we don’t have to. We focus more on our failures than on the delivering power of Jesus. And when we believe the lie that we’re not enough, we unknowingly agree with the accuser, not with the truth of God’s Word.

Is it any wonder we were made in His image—with the power to exalt Him or to resist Him? We elevate our thoughts, our fears, our logic above His truth. But we also have the power to lay them down.

To take our thoughts captive.

To surrender our pet arguments.

To sacrifice our well-defended habits and strategies—just like Abraham laid down Isaac.

Some things will be sanctified and resurrected. Others will die. But we will rise again—holy, radiant, and truly free—when we walk by the Spirit and not by the flesh.

It is time to put Romans 7 in the rearview mirror and let Romans 8 become our bread.

This is not a season for shrinking back. It is a season of unveiling. The world is crying out for peace and safety, yet still drowning in suffering. But we—children of God—have something the world longs for. And whether they realize it or not, they are waiting for us to rise.

Romans 8:19

“The entire universe is standing on tiptoe, yearning to see the unveiling of God’s glorious sons and daughters.”

There is something happening among us in this nation—a long-awaited and prayed-for awakening. The harvest is ripe. An underestimated generation is waking up. They are looking for what’s real. They’ve already tasted the hype, the showmanship, the performance. And they’re done with it.

What they want is authenticity.

The real Jesus.

And that’s us—you and me—walking in the Spirit, radiant with His glory, rooted in love, unmoved by fear.

Not perfect, but surrendered.

Not flashy, but faithful.

Not religious, but alive.

So let’s walk in the Spirit.

Let’s live as overcomers.

Let’s stop striving and start surrendering.

Let’s become the victorious bride He already sees us as.