In preparation for Lent, I have been rediscovering the blood of Jesus and its power in my daily life. Here is a short list.
The blood is precious: “For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom He paid was not mere gold or silver. He paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God” (I Peter 1:18,19, The Living Bible).
The blood of Jesus forgives: “You have come to Jesus, the One who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which graciously forgives instead of crying out for vengeance as the blood of Abel did” (Hebrews 12:24, New Living Translation).
The blood protects from sin, death, and judgment: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus, our Lord” (Romans 6:23, New International Version). “And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, He will certainly save us from God’s condemnation” (Romans 5:9, NLT).
I have witnessed firsthand the power of Jesus’ blood to protect. Some years ago, while traveling with a group of ladies to a conference in Wisconsin, we pled for the blood to cover us with protection. Early in the trip, we pulled into the left turn lane to stop at a red light. In rapid succession, two things happened: the car behind us bumped into us, giving us quite a lurch forward, but no damage to the car or any of us; and seconds later, an eighteen-wheeler came screaming along in the through lane, blowing through the red light. We praised Father for protecting us and went on our way.
That evening at the conference’s opening meeting, one of the pastors shared that as they were praying for this event, the Lord showed them that they were to earnestly pray for a group of ladies traveling to the conference because they were going to be in an accident and some would die. Only then did I realize the full extent of what had happened in the unseen realm around us that morning.
The blood of Jesus is so foundational, so crucial to God’s plan that in Revelation 13:8, John says that Jesus is “the Lamb who was slaughtered before the world was made” (NLT). And I Peter 1:20a says, “God chose Him as your ransom long before the world began” (NLT).
“The power of the blood grants us authority to confront the darkness and overthrow the works of hell, because the blood authorizes our extending its legal claim to expel evil” (Jack Hayford, Penetrating the Darkness, pg. 89, emphasis mine). When we “plead the blood,” we acknowledge that we have no power over sin and evil. Instead, we are laying hold of and applying what Jesus has done through His death on the cross and the life in His blood. Through the covering of Jesus’ blood over us, we have His power to stand against and defeat evil! We are His agents on earth until He returns, charged with penetrating the darkness of this world and setting captives free, and Jesus’ blood is the weapon we use.
Jack Hayford says, “…there is no circumstance in your life for which the blood is not the key to the releasing power, the protecting power, the overcoming power against darkness trying to hold you” (Hayford, pg. 97). By pleading for the blood of Jesus to cover us, we are releasing a spiritual dynamic into our situation by which heaven’s forces work to protect and release from darkness’ grip.
PRAYER: Father, thank You for the precious blood of Jesus and its many benefits in my life. Show me how to use the power of this gift to be an overcomer and someone who sets others free from the darkness of evil in this world.
~ Cathy Schrock, writer and visual artist
