(Please, read “Flexing our Wings” from my previous post first.)
Union with Christ Series: “We are dead, and our life is hidden with Christ in God.” - Colossians 3:3
The emergence of the caterpillar from the chrysalis as a butterfly holds many correlations to our own emergence from carnality to spirituality. Since we are used to crawling around in the earthly realm of life through our own efforts, we hesitate to trust our self to God’s leading and guidance in this new spiritual kingdom. We are afraid to take flight and to rely on His Spirit. We struggle with the concept of letting go of the control over our life. We falter in our decision to totally trust our life to the mercies of God.
We continue to attempt to
maintain control over many areas of our existence, until the circumstances of
life come crashing down around us. In utter defeat, we let go and completely
surrender our will to the Spirit of God. As we see the light of God’s grace, we
feel drawn to respond to His invitation to finally die to our carnal self and
to experience a totally new life in Him (1 Peter 2:24; Galatians 5:16). We slowly recognize our self as a new creation (2
Corinthians 5:17). In our success as
surrendered Saints of God, we face the world from a new perspective.
We hear the testimony of
other people who took this leap of faith. They were blown by God’s Spirit into
the realm of the Heavenlies, which most people only glimpse from the earthly
realm. They tell us that the only way to fully live is to completely die to our
own desires, ambitions and goals, and to hide our life with Christ in God (Luke 9:23;
Colossians 3:3). When we follow their
lead, we suddenly feel the urge to spread our wings and to trust our self to
the winds of the Spirit. We look forward to total freedom in Christ. Soon we
flap our wings and take off into the unknown.
Prior to Salvation, we lived
as exemplary children of Satan. He used our body and soul to express his nature
and agenda in this world. Our spirit was dead in Adam’s sin (Ephesians
2:1). Now that we came to faith in
Christ, Jesus uses our body, soul and Born Again spirit to accomplish God’s
work in the earth. We drift on the currents of the Spirit and experience a
totally new relationship with our God and the world around us. We look down
into the realm of self-centered flesh, where we once squirmed like a worm, and
we are amazed at our former foolishness.
We stop resisting the
desires that God places in our heart, and we soar into spiritual heights that
we never imagined existed. We forsake our carnal striving to keep the Law,
which was once such a precious shelter for us. We commit to live a surrendered
life to the will of God. We count our self dead to sin, and alive to God in
Jesus Christ (Romans 6:11-12). We
leave the world of stress and struggle forever, because this world no longer
matters to us. We have an eternal perspective now that turns our former worries
and stress into petty concerns.
We can hold a funeral for
our flesh and celebrate our new life in Christ. Old Testament Joseph is a good
example to us. He was his father’s favorite son, only to be sold by his
brothers. He was used as a slave and worked his way up to a high position of
authority, only to be sent to prison because of a lie. He was given authority in
prison and interpreted dreams for his inmates, only to be forgotten when they
were released. Joseph had plenty of opportunities to learn contentment, as Paul
did, whether he was exalted or struck down (Philippians 4:11-13).
Joseph, Paul and a host of Saints
before us give us an example of how to die to the desires of our flesh and to
accept with joy the path God chooses for our life. They learned Godly
contentment (1 Timothy 6:6-8). God
flooded their life with His peace, which surpasses human understanding (Philippians 4:7). He
gives us joy in the face of debilitating circumstances. We still have times
that overwhelm our soul with mourning, even Jesus felt this way (Mark
14:34). However, we trust in God’s
faithfulness, knowing He will work everything out for our good (Romans
8:28).
Prayer:
Father God, as we rest in
our confidence in Your faithfulness, we enter into Your eternal rest (Hebrews
4:11). We cease from our striving in
this life. We rest in the assurance that You are changing us from glory to
glory. We trust You to faithfully fulfill the promises of Your Word. We
determine to live and move only under the direction of Your Spirit moment by
moment throughout the day.
Thought for the Day:
The
mystery of the gospel of grace is Christ living in us, reflecting the glory of
God in our lives and His joy in our hearts, regardless of our circumstances. - Colossians 1:27
Thank you, Mike, for the use of your lovely photo.
https://www.facebook.com/MegaPixelMike
