As children, we
had a natural affection for our parents; but as we age, we learn to withhold
love and to look out for our self, instead of for other people. We lose this
predilection to love sacrificially, as we experience disappointment,
difficulties and distress. Only God’s Spirit can restore our lost love, void of
our own agenda. His unconditional love draws us to live in the center of His
divine will and to unite with Him in the fullest expression of His character (Galatians 5:22-23).
We agree with
Jesus that our sustenance is found only in doing the will of God (John 4:34, 6:38). God does not eradicate our human will. He
brings our will into agreement with His, as He graces us with more and more of
His nature (2
Peter 1:4; 2 Corinthians 3:18). We
perfectly complement God’s love for humanity, because our affections are no
longer centered on our self, but on those He sends us to serve. We even grow to
love our enemies without any fear of them.As we abide in God’s purpose and will, His light replaces our darkness and His joy delivers us from the deepest sorrows in our soul. We are unified with His nature, directed by His Spirit and radiating His fruit (Galatians 5:22-23). We listen to God’s Spirit throughout our day and use His discernment in making every decision. Our purpose and actions are now motivated only by the will of God and the works, which He created for us to do before the earth began (John 2:17; Ephesians 2:10).
Faith in God’s faithfulness replaces negative emotions and human desires. Gratitude for His provision eliminates the need to petition Him for more. We live with a grateful heart, wanting nothing and requiring very little. Our grandest wish is not for material possessions, but for more of God to share with more people, who are held hostage in this lost and dying world. Our lost love is restored and focused on all of humanity with the sacrificial love of Christ.
Prayer:
Father God, You
desire for our will to submit to Yours, so that we die to our self, and You can
bear much fruit in and through our mortal spirit, soul and body (John 12:24). Therefore, we have no need to force our
behavior to line up with Your Word. We simply surrender to You and You perfect
us little by little through our union with Your Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:18;
Galatians 3:1-3). Help us never
to live from the place of our depraved human desires and will, but to live
instead for Your glory and honor in the center of Your will for our life (Romans 8:2).
Thought for the
Day: We are not united with God's will from a sense of obligation, but through love for Him and faith in Him.
