As we focus on Christ as our life, all of our needs are
supplied in Him (Colossians 3:4; Philippians 4:19). He gives
us love and acceptance in His family (Romans 5:8, 8:17; 1 Peter 2:5;
Ephesians 1:6), security and protection under his wings (Psalm 91;
Hebrews 13:5) and His righteousness so that we are guiltless in His
sight (Colossians 1:22). Satan knows our weaknesses and preys upon them in
order to discourage us from serving our King (Ephesians 6:16). However,
we can face Satan’s temptations with victory, because he is simply attempting
to draw us away from holiness in Christ (Revelation 12:10).
As Born Again Believers, God gives us a unique identity as
a new creature in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). Our righteousness is based
on God’s existence rather than our self-efforts. We live in union with Christ,
not by our own merit, but according to His mercy (Titus 3:5-7). Jesus
liberates our spirit, soul and body (Galatians 5:1,13). He
provides us with meaningful service, which He prepared for us before the world
began (Ephesians 2:10; 4:12; Galatians 5:13). He adopts us into His
family and makes us courageous conquerors (Romans 8:17; Galatians 3:26;
Romans 8:37). He gives us the desire to live a holy life (2 Timothy
3:12).
Even when we face great upheaval and pressure in life, God
helps us to remain true to our convictions and to resolve to serve Him moment
by moment throughout the day. A lack of joy in our life may come from
unrealistic expectations, unconfessed sin, disobedience to God’s will, discord
with another person or focusing on the negative aspects of life. God desires
for us to serve Him with singleness of purpose, to bring Him honor and glory (Matthew
3:22,33) and to allow our light to shine so that people will see
Christ in us.
So often we take God for granted, not even noticing His
little love letters, which He sprinkles throughout our day. We spend more time
dictating our desires to Him than we do in praising Him for what He already
provided. We hand Him our to-do list each morning and expect it to be complete
by the end of the day. God supplies all of our needs out of His love for us,
not due to our worthiness. I hate to break the news to you, but God is not our
personal genie in a bottle! He is not our instant wish-granter, meal-ticket or
desire-implementer! He is Lord.
Thought for the Day:
God is the parent who provides our every need, even when it
is not what we really want, because He loves us and wants only what is best for
us.