Daily devotional · April 6
It Is Finished
“After this, knowing that everything had now been accomplished, and to fulfill the Scripture, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of sour wine was sitting there. So they soaked a sponge in the wine, put it on a stalk of hyssop, and lifted it to His mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished.” And bowing His head, He yielded up His spirit.”
From the cross Jesus spoke a word that in Greek is a single, powerful term: finished. It was not the cry of a defeated man but of someone who had completed the work he came to do. The debt language of that day used the same word for a paid-in-full bill. Whatever you believe about the details, the heart is plain: what Jesus did for us is complete, and we cannot add to it by working harder or subtract from it by failing again. That frees us to live from gratitude rather than fear. Today, notice where you have been trying to earn God's approval, through perfection, busyness or guilt. Say aloud, this is finished, and rest in that for a moment. Then do one ordinary task today as a thank-you rather than as a payment.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, Your work is complete. Free me from striving and fill me with thanks. Amen.