Chapter 22: The Measure—How You Know You Are Abiding (2 of 2)

If the answer is yes—if you are noticing that God is more real, more present, more tangible in your life—then you are abiding. Not perfectly. But genuinely.

If the answer is no—if you are still very occupied with your own spiritual progress, still monitoring yourself, still wondering if you are getting it right—then you may need to ask yourself: am I really focusing on God, or am I focused on myself? Have I made my own spiritual journey the center, or have I made God the center?

The shift is simple but profound. Stop looking at yourself. Look at Him. Stop being aware of yourself. Become aware of Him. Stop monitoring your own growth. Become absorbed in His presence.

Coram Deo

This is what coram Deo means. Before the face of God. Every moment lived in the awareness that you are in His presence. Not performing for Him. Not monitoring yourself before Him. Just... awake to Him.

When you live coram Deo, you stop being self-conscious. You are not thinking about how you look or how you sound or whether you are getting it right. You are just present. Before God. In His presence.

And in that presence, everything changes. Not because you have achieved something. But because you are awake to Someone. Because His presence has become the reality you live in.

This is the measure: not am I noticing my own growth, but am I increasingly aware of God? Not am I monitoring my spiritual state, but am I lost in His presence? Not have I mastered the technique, but have I learned to abide in Him? The answer tells you everything you need to know.

Epilogue: The Procession

You have read this far. You understand the practice. You understand surrender. You understand what it means to yield to the ever-present Spirit. You understand the difference between the carnal appeal and God's will. You understand what abiding is.

You may have one last question. If I am yielding. If I am abiding. If I am practicing the surrender that connects me to God through the Spirit. What about the adversary? What about the enemy? Can he still bind me? Does he still have power?

The answer is no. And yes. Not because the answer is complicated, but because you need to understand what happened when Christ rose from the dead.

Paul writes about this moment. He describes what happened at the resurrection.

"Disarming the rulers and authorities, he has made a public disgrace of them, triumphing over them by the cross." — Colossians 2:15 (NET)

Picture a Roman triumph. The victorious general rides through the city at the head of his army. Behind him, in chains, are his defeated enemies. They are paraded through the streets. Everyone sees. Everyone knows. The victory is public. Undeniable. The enemies are disarmed. They have no weapons. They have no authority. They are captive.

This is what happened at the cross and resurrection. Christ triumphed. The powers and authorities—the spiritual forces arrayed against God, the adversary and his kingdom—were disarmed. They were made a public disgrace. They were stripped of their power.

The adversary is defeated. Not going to be defeated. Not waiting for final judgment to be defeated. Defeated. Now. Already. The victory is won.

But here is what is crucial: the adversary does not know he is defeated. Or rather, he knows it, but he does not accept it. He continues to operate as if he has power. He continues to appeal. He continues to tempt. He continues to try to bind you.

He is like a general whose army has been destroyed, whose weapons have been taken, who has been paraded in chains—but who still speaks as if he commands. He still threatens. He still appears dangerous. But his power is gone.

The carnal appeals still come. The temptations still arise. The adversary still tries to pull you toward self-protection, self-satisfaction, self-preservation. This does not change. He is still active. He is still aggressive.

But his binding power is broken. His authority over you is gone. He cannot make you do anything. He cannot force you to sin. He cannot force you away from God. He can only appeal. And you can only yield to him or refuse him.

This is where the practice becomes powerful. Every time you recognize a carnal appeal and yield to God's will instead. Every time you surrender to the Spirit rather than to the adversary's temptation. You are simply living out the reality that is already true: the adversary is defeated. His kingdom is disarmed. His authority is gone.

You are not fighting to achieve victory. You are living from a victory that is already won.

This changes everything. You are not afraid of the adversary. You do not fear his appeals or his temptations. Not because they are not real. But because they have no real power over you. They only have the power you give them. They only bind you if you choose to be bound.

The carnal appeal comes and you recognize it: this is the voice of the defeated enemy trying to act like he still has authority. And you refuse. You yield to God instead. You abide in the one who has already won.

And in that refusal, in that yield, you are participating in the procession. You are walking behind the victorious Christ. You are on the winning side. You are living from the reality of His triumph.

This is why the practice of surrender is not burden. It is not another thing you have to get right. It is freedom. It is the simple act of aligning yourself with what is already true. It is living in light of a victory already won.

The adversary can still speak. He can still appeal. He can still tempt. But he is in chains. His weapons are taken. His authority is stripped. He is a defeated enemy paraded in the procession of Christ's triumph.

And you—if you will abide, if you will yield, if you will surrender to the ever-present Spirit—you are walking in that procession. You are on the winning side. You are living from the reality of a victory that cannot be undone.

This is the message at the end: you do not have to be afraid. The enemy is defeated. His kingdom is disarmed. His authority is broken. Live from that reality. Abide in the one who has already won. Yield to the Spirit. Surrender your will to God's will. And know that in doing so, you are simply participating in a procession that has already begun. A victory that has already been won. A triumph that is already complete.

The procession moves forward. Christ leads. The Spirit indwells. The Father watches. And you—if you will abide—walk in the light of a victory already won. Not striving for it. Living from it. Not earning it. Enjoying it. Not afraid of the defeated enemy. Confident in the one who defeated him. This is the life you are invited into. This is the procession you are called to join.