In our world full of people who have no respect for
personal boundaries, we often live in a state of simmering panic. Sudden
changes and fluctuations in our financial, marital and employment status, and
in the conditions around us, compound our natural fears of the unknown.
Trepidation and insecurities plague us and we struggle to know when to submit
to these changes or when to assert effort to resist or to prevent them.
Living as
victims in life is self-defeating. When we succomb to hopelessness and anxiety,
this is a sign that we are not seeking our comfort from God. The
Serenity Prayer taught me to find God’s courage to face challenges; and then to
submit to or resist them, as He gives me the wisdom. I learned that the Lord actually achieves
every area of life concerning us (Psalm 138:8). We trust in God’s faithfulness and grow in faith with each
lesson we learn.
As we enter
God’s rest (Hebrews 10:4), we can live a life of hope and fulfillment regardless of what happens in
the natural world around us. We abandon human reasoning and rely totally on the
Spirit of God for our direction and encouragement. When we shed all desires
birthed by the finite, carnal nature, which is actually dead in Christ, we can
then pursue the realm of the infinate and eternal instead, and walk by the direction of
God’s Spirit.
As
Believers, we recognize that the uncertainties of life have no power over us at
all. We display the fruit of God’s Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), which is the divine nature
of Jesus expressed through our soul - our thoughts, choices and emotions, which
in turn influences the health of our body. Just like Jesus, we return love for hatred and
blessing for cursing (Luke 6:28). As we
realize that our old nature is dead in Christ (Colossians 3:3; Galatians
2:20), then
God’s Spirit can exhibit His nature through us all of the time.
Prayer:
Father God,
thank You for sheltering us under the shadow of Your wings as we traverse this
life, which often frightens us. Help us to realize that our carnal nature is
truly dead in Christ (Romans 8:2), and that Your Spirit in us will shine through us.
You protect us from any of life’s surprises, because You ordain them in our
life. Therefore, when we do experience some trial or tribulation, give us the
wisdom to know what to embrace and what to resist, as well as the courage to
experience anything You choose for our ultimate good.
Thought for the
Day:
If
we have the Holy Spirit in us through rebirth in Christ, we have all of God’s
fruit abiding in our nature all of the time.
