Prior to finding salvation
through Jesus Christ we had little more than our own resources to rely on while
facing the issues of life. We developed a routine of depending on our self,
with a little help from our friends and family. Life was hard, and every little
bump in the road threw us off course. We had to fight with all of our strength
to regain our equilibrium. We stressed out under the strain and trials of daily
living. Once we came to Christ, we carried these same habits and defense
mechanisms into our new Christian walk.
We continue to overreact to
life from our own energy and the reserve, which we built up within us. Living
life through human achievement is deadly! Physical, mental, emotional and
spiritual exhaustion and illness are all the result of us living life through
our own efforts. We get weary when we overly schedule our time or when we take
on too many projects that God does not lead us to perform. We often feel like
we are separated from God and He cannot help us, because He is too far away up
in Heaven.
Life is always hard as long
we as depend upon our own inner strength to conquer its difficulties. We want
to please God with our life; but when we feel like we are doing His will, we
often fail. At some point, however, we start to realize that we are struggling
for no reason. As long as we separate our life into two compartments: our
humanity and His divinity within us, we are divided and weakened. Once we
realize that our humanity is already dead, and our life is now hidden with
Christ in God, then we start to live only through His divinity within us (Colossians
3:3).
Life is no longer a
challenge, because it is now an adventure! We are united with Christ in
salvation and perfected in sanctification. We no longer need to react to life
from our lack, because He faces life through us with all of the power of the
triune God. We are not called by God to live life for Him, but to step aside
and allow Him to live life in and through us. God did not give us a faint,
fearful spirit, because His love, strength and self-discipline reside within us
by His Spirit (2 Timothy 1:7). Recognize
the moments of His joy in your day and focus on Him as His Spirit directs your
steps.
When we realize Christ
dwells in us, and we dwell in Him, then we succeed at living in serenity and
fulfillment all of the time (John 17:23).
It is useless to dream of or to wish for a problem-free life. In this world, we
are guaranteed to have problems (John 16:33).
However, they are not our problems to handle. They are God's problem, and He
has all the wisdom and resources needed to meet these opportunities through us
during each moment of our day. Allow the Holy Spirit of God to control your
spirit, body and soul – your mind, choices and emotions, and you will live in
abundant life, strength and peace (Romans 8:6; Psalm 29:11).
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, all that You
require from us is that we obey Your Spirit's direction, and that we allow You
to work in and through us. You desire for to take a step back and view the
issues of life through Your eyes. We hide under the shelter of Your wings and
live with joy in our heart and a smile on our face, no matter how disturbing or
challenging life becomes. The more we allow You to live through us, the easier
we walk in this realm of faith and Spirit. We center our mind and emotions on
You and we walk in complete peace (Isaiah 26:3-4; John 14:27). You deal with the temporal aspects in our life, as we
focus on the eternal aspects moment by moment throughout the day (Galatians
5:16,25; Isaiah 41:10-13). Thought for the Day:
“The love of Christ controls us.” - 2 Corinthians 5:14
