A gardener will take a young vine and cut the trunk off at
ground level. Then, he will graft a new branch into the trunk, just where it
rises from the earth. The sap from the trunk flows into the new branch until
the old sap from the branch is embedded completely as one with the trunk.
Similarly, God cut Jesus down to His roots on Calvary’s cross to give us new
life. He grafts us into the vine of Christ (John 15:1-17). God’s
Spirit totally renews us until we are completely consecrated and surrendered to
Christ with wholehearted faith and devotion (2 Kings 10:3).
If we forget that we are in Christ and that He is in us (1 John
2:28; Colossians 1:27), life can get absolutely unbearable. When we live
according to our will or try to do anything in our own strength, we will
eventually self-destruct. It is only as we allow the life of Christ to fill us
that we are able to succeed in life. God’s wisdom and power come spontaneously
as our life is rooted and grounded in Christ (Ephesians 3:17). We only
find true contentment as we consistently dwell in Christ with unbroken
fellowship (1 John 1:6).
We recognize Christ as our life (Colossians
3:4), and without Him we have no life at all. Life is not a mystery for us
to decipher. The Holy Spirit guides us throughout the day with His spiritual
insight: a deep abiding understanding of what God wants to do through us. We
trust His faithfulness, wait for His guidance and glorify Him in everything we
think, say and do. We live in Him and He lives in, through and instead of us as
we submit to the Holy Spirit’s leading throughout the day.
As God reveals His faithfulness to us, we acquire
confidence that He will continue to supply all of our needs according to His
heavenly riches (Philippians 4:19). As we surrender our humanity
and abide in Christ, our thoughts are clear, our passions tempered, our
judgment wise and our body strengthened. Our former roots are cut off from
earthly temptations and worldly distractions. As we wait in our dependence on
our union with Christ, He inspires us, leads us and works through and instead
of us.
We dwell in the inner recesses of our spirit, united with Christ, safe and blessed regardless of the circumstances that plague our life. This keeps us from reacting in the flesh and allows us to act from the spirit instead. We cling to Him, unshaken by the storms of life, in harmony with the Spirit of God within us. His work of righteousness in our soul brings us rest, tranquility and reassurance forever (Isaiah 32: 1,17). Abiding in Christ, we stand complete and accepted in God’s beloved family (Colossians 2:10; Ephesians 1:6).
Prayer:
Father God, we are delighted that You are in us, that You
quiet us with Your love and that You save us mightily; however, we are
especially blessed that You take great delight in us and that You rejoice over
us with singing (Zephaniah 3:17; Isaiah 62:5). We abide in Your rest
because You keep us in Your perfect peace, as we trust You and keep our focus
on You (Isaiah 26:3).
Thought for the Day:
God unites us with Christ to make us right with Him: pure,
holy and free from sin. – 1 Corinthians 1:30