Human pride demands that we maintain our individuality and
look out for our self first. We depend upon self-effort to make a place for us
in society. We often trust our bank balance, our talents and our job security
rather than God. When we misplace our faith in earthly, temporary aspects
instead of in Jehovah Jireh, our Provider, God has to design trials to teach us
the truth about their unreliability. When we totally trust in the Lord for all
of our needs, we have our faith in the right place. If we keep an eternal
perspective, rather than to allow the cares of this world to burden us, we
allow the Holy Spirit and the divinity of Christ to fill us through all of our
being with all of His fullness (Ephesians 3:16-19, Amplified).
Even after coming to Christ, we often attempt to please Him
through our human effort and accomplishments (Galatians 3:1-3). The idea
of surrendering our life to an unseen force is terrifying and unnerving. However, once we repent of our sins, the
next step is total surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ over our life. As
His Spirit leads us, we realize that our humanity is dead and we are now hidden
with Christ in God’s divine nature (Colossians 3:3; 2 Peter 1:4). We learn
to keep in step with His Spirit as we live by the Spirit each moment of the day
(Galatians
5:25). We obey God one moment at a time and walk by faith, not by sight (2
Corinthians 5:7). Even if God calls us to a secular job, He does so because
He has a Kingdom purpose for us in it.
We run into conflict when our humanity resists the Spirit (Galatians
5:17). Negative emotions signal an area that remains an idol in our life.
The flesh cannot control the flesh (Romans 8:4, 12-13; Galatians
5:19-21). Our best recourse then is to call on the divinity of
Christ in us to show us His truth about the situation (Matthew
16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23). Jesus is the way, truth and life; and His law of
the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus sets us free from the law of sin and death (Romans
8:1-2; John 8:28,32; John 14:6). Once we submit to God, He reveals to us the areas
of our life that remain as idols. Once we repent, we resist the devil and he
has to flee from us (James 4:7). The divine nature of the triune
God in us conforms our carnal character into the mind of Christ (2
Corinthians 3:18; Romans 8:29).
We often get the cart before the horse. We go about life
the hard way! We try to perfect our self, rather than realizing that God has
His perfect timing for everything. For instance, if we clothe our self with the
Lord Jesus Christ and walk in the Spirit, we will easily crucify the deeds of
our flesh (Romans 13:14; Galatians 5:16,22). If we
humble our self, He will exalt us (James 4:10; 1 Peter 5:6). If we
take the last place, God will place us first (Matthew 20:16). If we
are filled with the Spirit, we will have no desire to fulfill the lusts of the
flesh (Ephesians 5:18). We must first walk in the Spirit before we can
resist the flesh and the devil (Galatians 5:16-17). Since the Holy Spirit
dwells in us, we may now walk in the Spirit moment by moment throughout the
day.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, You sanctified us through your death (1
Corinthians 1:30). You restore our soul and manifest Yourself through Your
life in us (Psalm 23:3). Our behavior reflects Your
character. God conforms us into Your image (Romans 8:29; Colossians 1:15; 2
Corinthians 3:18, 4:4). We accomplish God’s will for our life because You
live in, through and instead of us. Help us to quit striving in the flesh to
live a holy life by taking up Your cross and allowing You to crucify our idols
until we have Your mind in us (Philippians 2:5).
Thought for the Day:
Christ’s love and life
within us conquers our sin, dispels our fears, surmounts our self-centeredness
and overcomes our flesh, because Christ in us is greater than the god of this
world. – 1 John 4:4