I am sure many out there are hurting and feeling wounded, angry, even sad. I know I have had my days.
Well today I was driving down the road and began meditating on a scripture, I’m sure it will cause you to think. I hope it stirs you up to meditate on God a little more, drawing you closer to Him, helping you to give up some of the things that weigh you down.

1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. (Colossians 3)

The first question we have to ask our self is, do I (as a dead man) have a right to be:

• angry
• hurt
• sad
• wounded
• offended
• (fill in your emotion here)

You may ask, what do you mean, I’m dead?

“For you died…”
Well in verse 3, it says “For you died…” so you are dead if you accepted Jesus as your lord and savior. Now you are not still dead, but you are alive in Him. See in verse 1 it says “If then you were raised with Christ…” this referring to an event that already took place, and pointing out that those who have accepted Jesus have been “raised with Christ”.
So again we must ask: What right do I have as a dead man to feel… anything?
Does a dead man feel alive, fat, angry, pride, sadness, to name a few?

If we are raised with Christ, then we are no longer alive to the flesh, but alive in the spirit of Christ, which is the Holy Spirit, and we are subject to him and his feelings.
As it says in vs. 4 “…who is our life…” so He, Jesus, is our life, our breath, and our everything. He took all that was bad in us, and it died with Him; then it was buried with Him in the grave. He then left it there, not picking it back up when He rose again. So If He is our life, and we live, breath, and move in him; then why do we keep picking up the things that hold us back? What right do we have to fall into these strong holds anymore?

When we allow ourselves to fester an emotion that consumes us, we open ourselves to a stronghold.
Yes that is right, when we allow ourselves to fester an emotion that consumes us, we open ourselves to a stronghold that the enemy can use to distract us from the place we are going. This can be in the work place, a call to ministry, even raising our children as we should. See in all things He desires for us to live in peace and to have soundness of mind. Not giving into the pressures of the world, nor allowing the desires of the flesh or influences around us to take control. This is why grace is so much more than forgiveness.

Let’s look again at Col. 3:3

3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (Col. 3:3)

Now it says you died, the word died is the word dead in the King James and is the word apothnesko, it means to die off, be dead, death, die, lie a-dying, be slain.
The word life here is the word zoe which means life, or lifetime.
The word hidden in the King James is hid, it is from the word krupto which means to conceal, hide, hide ones self, keep secret, or secretly.
So with the definitions in place we can read it this way:

3For you died (were slain), and your life (and lifetime) is hidden (concealed and kept secret) with Christ in God.
So we no longer are alive to sin but the nature of Christ is in us, as we are alive and hidden in Him.

Romans 7:6 New King James Version (NKJV)
6 But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.
English Standard Version (ESV)
6 But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:2)
When we died with Christ, we were set free form the law of sin and death, having no rights as a dead man. For a dead man cannot do anything on his own.
When we are alive, we are set free from the things of the flesh, as the Spirit of God draws us near to Himself. Causing our minds to be renewed and transformed, this not allowing our thoughts and feelings to be the dominant factor, but giving us the freedom of choice to choose life through the death we died through Christ.

We are then hidden and concealed in Christ.
This giving us the freedom to live breathe and move through Him. Hidden from the things of the flesh, and temptations of the world. This is how we, in the face of danger, death, and hell on earth can still live a life full of joy and love toward one another, even loving our enemies.
For Christ is our life.
Has this helped you in anyway? If so let me know, I would love to hear from you!