We are not of this world. We
dwell with Christ in the Kingdom
of God
When we step out of the
realm of the flesh and enter into the eternal realm of the Spirit right here on
this earth, we finally find eternal rest for our soul and provision for our
every need through Jesus Christ our Lord (Psalm 116:7). As long as we dwell in the realm of the flesh, we
will continue to experience defeat at the hands of tribulation. However, we do
not belong in Satan’s grip. If we are living in Satan’s pit, it is because we
allow Satan's thoughts to infiltrate our thoughts. We give in to his defeatist
thinking and we buy into his lies, forsaking God’s truth in the process.
In the realm of the Spirit,
our body experiences negative circumstances, but they do not influence our
spirit or our soul – our mind, choices and emotions. We see God working all
things, even the negative things in our life, out for our good (Romans
8:28). Instead of looking at trials with
a carnal mind, we view them with the mind of Christ. God’s divinity within us
turns any trial into momentary and
light affliction (2 Corinthians 4:17).
We walk in His victory as we experience each new adventure that comes our way.
God uses trials to transform us out of the earthly sphere into His spiritual
Kingdom (2 Corinthians 5:17).
When we view trials as part
of God’s will for us, we find Him in the midst of them (Romans
12:2). Jesus asks us to separate our
self from the human realm of life, even while we still live in it (John
15:19). We physically live in the world,
but we do we belong to any part of it (John 17:14-15). We do this by realizing that our humanity is dead in
Christ, and we no longer live, but Christ lives in and through us (Galatians
2:20; Colossians 3:3). Jesus already
overcame any negative aspect we could ever experience in this life and He
dwells in us with all of the power of our triune God (John
16:33).
The more we look to the
future, the more we waste the present. Most people spend more time believing
that God is going to give them what they want and do not have, rather than in
focusing on His will for them moment by moment throughout the day. God does not
promise us tomorrow. Give God all of yourself in this moment. Do not hold
anything back or worry about the future. Do not waste time wanting what you do
not have. If God wants you to have it, He will give it to you. Jesus died for
us all, and rose again so that we will not live for our self, but for Him (John
3:16-18; 2 Corinthians 5:15).
Prayer:
Father
God, we do not have to spend one moment
longing for anything or anyone but You. We do not want to love this world nor the things,
which it offers us. If we really need
something in our life, which we do not have, You will give it to us. You will
move us to another state, or give us a different car or house, or provide us
with a spouse or a child, if it is Your will for us. You gave us the life we
have, just as it is right now. You want us to allow You to shine through us in
it, rather than for us to wait around for something we think we need. Help us
to learn to be content in Your provision for our life (Philippians
4:11). Remind us to focus on what is
eternal rather on that which is earthly, because reality is only found in You.
Thought for the Day:
When
you love the things of this world, you do not have the love of the Father in
you. - 1 John 2:15Thank you, www.rgbstock.com for the use of your photo.
stock.com
