Thoughts and emotions are fickle and lead many of us on a wild dance. When we are happy, we live a productive life; but the moment we meet a crisis or feel discouraged, we lose all hope. Some react to stress or depression by sleeping all the time, or our soul may invent psychosomatic illnesses or we turn to addictions.
This behavior causes us to receive even more
criticism and rejection, and this denunciation increases our feelings of separation
from the people we love. Trusting in Christ may not change our circumstances,
but it certainly alters the way we view life. We belong to the eternal family
of God (Ephesians
2:19). In Christ, we can accomplish anything, which
He leads us to do (Philippians
4:13).
The more often we focus on the goodness and
greatness of God, the more His praise rests on the tip of our tongue. The least
little blessing that comes our way is reason to erupt into high praises to our
Lord and King (Luke
1:46-47; Psalm 149:6). In addition to this, we get excited
about His spiritual blessings, as well as His mercy and grace in our life (Ephesians 1:3).
Even our failings are not failures, because
there is forgiveness with our God (Psalm 130:4). We will not
lose the war for our soul, simply because we lost a battle. Christ in us
already obtained for us our eternal security in Him (John 5:24).
Our soul – our mind, emotions and will – magnifies the Lord and our spirit
rejoices in God our Savior (Luke 1:39-56).
Prayer:
Father God, thank You for transforming the
personality of our soul into the mind of Christ, Your divine nature and the
fruit of Your Spirit (1
Corinthians 2:16; Galatians 5:22-23; 2 Peter 1:4; 2 Corinthians 5:17).
Remind us that You inhabit our praises (Psalm 22:3). With high
praises to You in our mouth, and the two-edged sword of Your Word in our hand,
we can vanquish any negative emotion and overcome any enemy of our soul (Psalm 149:6).
Help us not to allow our flesh, which is dominated by our physical senses and
emotions, to dictate our behavior; but help us to allow our faith in You, as
well as our praises to You, to change our feelings (Deuteronomy 30:19).
We choose to walk in Your joy, precious Lord.
Thought for the Day:
Our success in life pivots entirely on our
obedience to Christ and following the leading of His Holy Spirit.
