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Romans 7:25 “Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.”

Think

All week, Paul has walked us through the trenches of spiritual struggle. Not as a teacher detached from the pain, but as a fellow struggler—raw, honest, and real. He’s confessed his failure, owned his frustration, and asked the question that hangs heavy over every human soul: “Who will rescue me?”

And now, with one sentence, he shifts the tone completely. “Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” It’s not a self-help plan. It’s not a resolution to try harder. It’s a declaration of rescue. A burst of gratitude. A shout of hope. Paul doesn’t find relief in himself. He finds it in Jesus.

It’s important to notice the timing here. Paul doesn’t wait until chapter 8 to say thank you. He doesn’t wait until the war is over or the tension is gone. He worships in the middle of the mess. He sees the victory even while the battle is still being fought.

That’s something we need to learn. Because too often, we wait to worship until we feel like winners. We wait to give thanks until we feel like we’ve conquered the sin. But Paul shows us that gratitude isn’t the result of perfection. It’s the result of grace.

Jesus doesn’t wait until you’re cleaned up to deliver you. He meets you in the struggle. And that changes everything. It doesn’t mean the conflict disappears overnight. Paul is still painfully aware of the divided nature within him. “In my mind, I’m a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature, a slave to the law of sin.” He’s still torn. Still wrestling. Still feeling the tension.

But now he sees something deeper. He sees a Deliverer. Someone strong enough to step into the fight and carry him through it. Not a distant God who critiques from the sidelines, but a Savior who puts on flesh and enters the battlefield with him.

“Thanks be to God.” That’s not just the conclusion of a chapter. It’s the anthem of the gospel. It’s the moment when you realize that your sin may still fight for your attention, but it no longer gets the final word. Jesus does.

And that word is “delivered.” Not “improved,” not “managed,” not “almost there.” Delivered. Rescued. Freed from the penalty of sin and empowered, through the Spirit, to walk in a new way of life.

Some days that deliverance feels immediate. Other days it feels like a process. And often, it’s both. God rescues us fully in Christ, but he also keeps rescuing us daily from habits, lies, and wounds that run deep. Sanctification takes time. But the outcome is certain, because the Deliverer is faithful.

This should shift how we see our struggles. If we believe that Jesus only saves us from the guilt of sin, we’ll keep trying to fight sin’s power on our own. But if we believe that Jesus is also delivering us in real time—through his presence, his Word, his Spirit—then even our worst days become places of grace.

Think of it like a soldier being carried off the battlefield. He may still be bleeding. He may still feel the pain. But the rescue is already underway. His survival no longer depends on his strength, but on the one who is carrying him. That is what Paul is celebrating. Not that he’s figured it all out, but that Jesus has taken hold of him.

This kind of gratitude isn’t cheap. It’s not a nice phrase tacked on at the end of a hard passage. It’s a deep, soul-level exhale. The kind of thanks that only comes when you’ve felt your own brokenness and then been met by a Savior who didn’t flinch. Jesus saw every part of Paul—the strong and the weak, the faithful and the failing—and said, “Mine.”

He says the same about you.

Your rescue is not theoretical. It’s personal. Jesus didn’t come to give you a few tools to clean up your life. He came to rescue you from death and walk you into freedom. Right in the middle of your divided mind and your sinful nature, he shows up. Right when you feel torn and tired, he delivers.

So today, before you fix anything, before you conquer the habit, before you feel different, say thank you. Not because the fight is over, but because the outcome is already secure. God has delivered you through Jesus Christ your Lord. And he is not done.

Apply

Take ten minutes today to worship. Not with a to-do list. Not with an apology. Just with thanks. Say it out loud: “Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ my Lord.” Write that verse down somewhere you’ll see it often. Let it be your anchor in the tension and your anthem in the struggle.

Pray

Jesus, thank you for rescuing me. Thank you that even when I feel divided, your grace holds me together. Thank you that I don’t have to be strong to be safe in you. Teach me to live with confidence, not in my ability, but in your faithfulness. Help me walk through the tension with a thankful heart, knowing that you have already won. In Jesus’ name. Amen.