The Bible is full of stories of people who had to
learn God’s ways through desperate trials and errors. I have never been a fan
of suffering, so I usually obtain a multitude of counsel, starting with the
Holy Spirit, before I do anything (Proverbs
15:22; John 14:24-26). We can also learn from the mistakes of
others. For some people, it takes God longer to break the habit of
self-reliance. For others, we quickly recognized the insufficiency of our own
efforts and chose to rely on God instead. We are nothing without God. We put on
the mind of Christ and follow His Spirit moment by moment throughout the day (Philippians 2:5).
Living in the fleshly, carnal way of life reaps
corruption (Galatians 6:8).
Living in the eternal, spiritual realm of life brings us a harvest of life and
peace (Romans 8:6). We follow the leading of
God’s Spirit through every issue we face during each day (Galatians 5:16,25). We do not internalize the negativity in
the world around us, or those discouraging words whispered in our ear by Satan
or planted in our mind by his emissaries. Instead, we think about whatever
is true, holy, wholesome, divine, commendable or admirable (Philippians 4:8). Refuse to allow anything else
to enter your thoughts or affect your attitude and mood.
Realize
that the corruption going on at work, at home, in the community and maybe even
in your church is from the pit of hell. Satan is inspiring the motives and
attitudes in the hearts of those to whom you are relating. Rise above the ooze
of profanity and degradation around you by keeping your mind on how good God is
and that He has a purpose for you in this situation. His reason for you may be
simply to earn a paycheck. It may be to live in such a way that the people
around you will see God’s light shining within you. It may be to comfort a
grieving workmate, family member or even a stranger with the love of God.
Obeying the Spirit is not always easy. We maintain
our faith in Him even if He requires us to persist, suffer, make a commitment
and give up what we hold dear in this life. He always pays us for each good
thing we do, and blesses our faithfulness (Luke
12:32; Malachi 3:10). God created us in His image as a vessel,
a branch, a slave, a light and the temple of the Holy Spirit. In Him we live,
function and have our existence (Acts 17:28).
Our purpose for living is to express God’s nature and character to the world
around us.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, prior to knowing You as our Savior, our
humanity held no good things. We were corrupt and evil and followed the leading
of our father the devil (John 8:44-45).
We thank and praise You with our whole hearts for giving Yourself as a ransom
for us on
Thought for the Day:
Jesus was tempted in all the ways that we are
without sin, and the fullness of His power to live righteously dwells within us.
– Colossians 1:28