Many people rely on their heart to lead
them, but they can end up making foolish decisions that hurt them in the long
run (Proverbs 28:26). Too often our
soul causes us to fall into trouble. We give into all sorts of impurity, greed
and idolatry when our soul – our thoughts and feelings - guides us (Colossians 3:5-7). We may futilely plan our goals and
decisions from our heart, but the Lord ultimately determines our steps (Proverbs 16:9).
Only the counsel from the Lord through our
spirit will help us to prosper (Proverbs 19:21). As we commit our life to the Lord, He establishes our plans,
and they will succeed (Proverbs 16:3). We have a strong fortress within our spirit, when we trust
Christ with our life. We can take refuge within us through every trial and
temptation, because our Divine Comforter is there. We retreat there and find
continual peace and security (Psalm 91:1-2).
There is no need to cry out to God, to
long for Him, or to desire more of Him, because the complete triune God dwells
within us from the moment of our salvation. The problem is not that God is not
close to us, but that we have moved away from Him. Our body is the temple of
God; our spirit is the throne of God. We can continually rest in Him, if we
will relinquish control of our life to God and enter into His divine rest (1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Hebrews 4:10).
Our physical senses and human soul will
lead us astray. The spirit of God will we lead us in peace and certainty,
because the Lord fights our battles (2 Chronicles
20:15). We do not add the divine nature of God to
our human nature when we get saved (2 Peter 1:4). Christ in us is our new identity. God’s divine nature
replaces our human nature. God regenerates our spirit and we are Born Again. We
leave the kingdom of darkness and live life in the Kingdom of Light (Ephesians 5:7-14).
If we use our five senses to indulge in
the flesh, we will remain spiritual pigmies; but as we neglect sin and dwell in
the Spirit, we grow stronger in our spiritual life. We can still choose to walk
according to the flesh; but we are no longer in the flesh, but in the Spirit (Romans 8:9). As we walk in the Spirit, we no
longer want to fulfill the desires of our flesh (Galatians
5:16, 25). We hunger after righteousness and despise
the flesh (Romans 8:1-2).
Prayer:
Father God, You chose us in You before the
creation of the world, to live blameless and holy in Your sight. Through Your
foreknowledge, it pleased You to predestine us to be adopted as Your children
through Christ (Romans 8:29; Ephesians 1:4-5). We are Your workmanship, created in Christ to do good works,
which You prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians
2:10). We are now children of light. Sin and
darkness have no allure for us anymore (1 Thessalonians
5:5). Our citizenship is now in Heaven and we are heirs
with our Lord Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:20; Romans 8:17).
Thought for the Day:
As children of our
Abba Father, God gave us His Spirit to lead and protect us each moment of the
day. - Romans 8:14-15, Galatians 4:6-7
