I am righteous - devotional for women

Have you ever felt a need to prove your righteousness to people? Me too! Chasing worldly righteousness leads to painful arrogance. Also, I’ve learned from experience that those convinced against their will are of the same opinion still. Explore the “I am righteousness of God in Christ Jesus” Biblical affirmation, which is based on scriptures. Use the “I am righteous” devotional to accept Christ’s righteousness in you. I’ll share how O discovered this eternal truth.

I am Righteous  #52Devotionals Devotions for Women  by Anna Szabo

Earthly Righteousness Leads To Arrogance

I remember the day of March 7th, 2017. A breathtaking skyline view from a large, modern conference room of my divorce attorney’s office. Michel and are had just gotten married ten months prior to that but he said he wasn’t interested in me anymore and wanted to be an IronMan instead.

READ: IronMan vs Marriage

Michel’s attorney set a divorce mediation for us for that day and place. Our premarital counseling mentors, who issued us a certificate of marriage readiness a year ago, came to the divorce meditation to support me and pray for strength to endure all the humiliation and pain. 

READ: My Story of Narcissistic Abuse Relationship

I remember that everything felt so surreal. Just a few months prior to that day, Michel and I were getting ready for our wedding. 

Michel Szabo and Anna Szabo Wedding 5-14-2016 Verdi

And then… the IronMan. 

Instead of a honeymoon, Michel took me to a trimoon – a triathlon in Chattanooga, TN, the week after our wedding. Then, instead of spending weekends and evenings together as newlyweds, I was alone in the country house away from everything I knew while Michel was doing his IronMan training 60 hours a week. Fast-forward ten months, here we were… getting divorced. It was not my reality. It felt as if my life were just a drama I was watching on Netflix. Nothing like what could happen to me in my actual life, of course. It was impossible to comprehend…

Well…

It was my actual divorce mediation with my actual husband who begged me to marry him just a year ago. 

What Does Narcissistic Abuse Feel Like? Michel Szabo and Anna Szabo

That surreal, incomprehensible reality was my actual life. I was in pain. I was in disbelief. I was in shock. I felt confused and disoriented. I felt devastated and depressed. I felt extremely suicidal.

READ: How The Narcissist Makes You Feel

After three hours of painful back and forth, Michel was to pay me $5,000 for me to move out of our marital residence, which we remodeled just a year ago together. At that time, Michel stopped talking to me (again).

READ: Narcissistic Discard Cruelty and Silent Treatment

Living in the same house was torture for me. My husband chose a bicycle over our marriage. He declared that his dream was to be an IronMan and compete in Kona. He said he wasn’t interested in being married to me anymore. He was a seminary graduate who officiated weddings. Yes, Michel officiated weddings and even taught couples how to honor God with their marriage.

READ: How Satan Came at Me Looking Saint

What happened to me? I was irate. I was jealous of the bicycle who was now getting my husband all for itself. And I was acting self-righteously. As Michel approached me with the court-ordered check one evening in an empty hallway of our marital residence between our two bedrooms, asking me to sign here and there, I felt furious, angry, bitter, resentful, self-righteous… And all that resulted in my arrogant behavior. 

Earthly self-righteousness leads to arrogance. 

I believed that I was right and he was wrong. I felt that I was all good and he was all bad. Instead of behaviors of the Spirit, such as humbleness and kindness, I demonstrated behaviors of the Flesh, such as arrogance and hostility. I illustrated this in detail in the ITCEBO model, which you can download below.

ITCEBO model by Anna Szabo - How to think about thinking

I judged Michel for his actions and choices. And I wanted to be right. The person, whom such behavior hurt the most, was me.

You see, worldly righteousness is about separation: I’m right meaning you’re wrong, I’m good meaning you’re bad. God’s righteousness is not like that at all. God revealed Himself to me through my journey from arrogant and hostile self-righteousness to humble and peaceful Christ-righteousness.

As I moved out and moved on, God continued His works in my heart about the matter of righteousness. I’ve learned so much about myself and Christ in me as I embarked on this journey with God, who showed me who I am in His eyes and taught me how to see myself the way He sees me.

God’s Righteousness Leads To Humbleness

God’s righteousness is about kindness and humbleness. His righteousness is a gift we can receive through Christ. Accepting His righteousness and embracing it requires a mindset change through faith.

READ: What Is Faith?

The meaning of God’s righteousness is not only that I am justified in Christ and redeemed from sin but also that I must choose to die in the flesh and walk in the Spirit every moment of every day. I must be like Christ in my lifestyle. I must allow Jesus to live through me. I choose to do or not do so with my free will.

But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.

Romans 3:21

You see, just like I was betrayed by Michel, so was Jesus betrayed by his people. But Jesus paid for that unrighteousness with His blood and established righteousness that I don’t have to prove to anyone or pay for. By accepting Jesus as my lord and savior, I inherit His righteousness for eternity. Not through my own doing but by faith only. 

I Am Righteous Through Faith In Christ

Out of my gratitude for Christ’s amazing grace and my salvation, the desire of my heart is to abide in Christ. And abiding in Him means honoring His commands. What did Jesus command me to do? To love Michel, to be forgiving, humble, kind, to bear with one another, to be patient… Did I do it? I didn’t do it the evening when Michel brought me that court-ordered check. 

I was not accepting God’s righteousness in me through Christ. Instead, I tried to establish my own righteousness in the flesh. 

As God continued to work in my heart, I later learned my lesson about righteousness. I went through the most humbling experience of my life and finally discovered how to walk in God’s righteousness and abide in Christ. It leads to peace, not hostility. God’s righteousness is the opposite of self-righteousness. I’m continuing to learn about this topic every day. 

What does it mean to be righteous in Christ?


To be righteous in Christ means that you as a believer inherited Christ’s righteousness and God sees you as blameless, through the blood of Jesus. You accept this divine righteousness by faith.

What does it mean to be a righteous person?


To be a righteous person means to be sin-less, blame-less, fault-less, and perfect. No one can be like that, apart from Christ. No one can achieve perfect righteousness with their own deeds, only by faith in Jesus.

Who is a righteous person according to the Bible?


According to Romans 5:19, a believer in Christ is a righteous person, not by their own doing but by faith in Jesus who died on the cross for our sins to redeem us at the high price of His precious life.

How do you seek the righteousness of God?


You seek the righteousness of God by choosing to die in the flesh and walk in the Spirit. You do it by deploying your free will. When mistreated, you choose to forgive. When anything is owed to you, you choose to forget. When anxiety attacks you, you choose peace.

What is righteousness by faith?


Righteousness by faith is the righteousness of God given as a gift to believers who placed their faith in Jesus and whose sins are no more because of the redemption of sins through Christ.

I Am Righteousness of God In Christ Jesus

I always wondered: where does our desire to be above God come from? God said: do not judge, yet, I judge anyway as if I were above God. God declares me righteous in Christ, yet, I keep fighting to prove my own righteousness which results in arrogance. 

Why is that? 

For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

Romans 5:19

The one man, Adam, disobeyed God, and I was born from him a sinner. That’s why there’s always an internal fight between the Flesh and the Spirit! Also, through the one man, Jesus, I was set free and made righteous when I accepted Him into my heart and gave my life to Him. So, if I’m righteous already through my faith in Christ, all I need to do out of gratitude for my eternal righteousness is to give love, kindness, and patience. I’m finally getting it now: Jesus blessed me with His righteousness, I don’t need my own.

READ: Who Is Jesus?

I can see clearly how delighting in my own righteousness leads to separation and turmoil but delighting in the Lord and His inherited righteousness leads to peace, joy, and unity. 

I am righteousness of God through Christ.

That’s enough of righteousness for me.

I delight greatly in the Lord;

    my soul rejoices in my God.

For he has clothed me with garments of salvation

    and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness,

as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,

    and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

Isaiah 61:10

I’d like to share with you what I’ve learned on my journey of spiritual awakening and faith growth, which has been the biggest blessing of my walk with God for the last few years.

The lesson I learned empowers me today to forgive those who mistreat me and give them love, kindness, and encouragement in return. It is not in my own power but in Christ only that it’s even possible. 

The righteousness lesson is this: I am righteousness of God in Christ Jesus who died on the cross to redeem me from my past sins and from the future need to prove my own righteousness.

I accepted that I am righteous in Christ. 

There’s nothing to prove. I can have peace and joy.

What about you? Can you relate to my story? Are you accepting that you are righteous through your faith in Jesus? If so, memorize the Biblical affirmation below and remind yourself often: you are righteous. Have peace. Be kind. Experience joy.

Biblical Affirmation “I Am Righteous”

"I Am Righteous" #52Devotionals

Apart from the law,
The righteousness of God has been made known. 
The closer to Jesus I draw,
The more God's righteousness in me is ingrown.  

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Have you noticed how the closer you draw to Jesus, the easier it is to abide in Him and embrace His righteousness? Share with me in the comments below how your perception has been impacted by this devotional. I want to cheer you own. When you share your story, you attest to God’s glory.

If this devotional was helpful, download all #52Devotionals now in a form of an ebook. My Spirit-inspired ebook helps you understand who God says you are. Don’t be vulnerable to identity attacks from the mainstream media, relatives, coworkers, your boss, society, culture, and the voices in your head. Stand firm and know what God says about you!

Anna Szabo's 52 Devotionals ebook revealing 52 things God says about you

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