There is
only one way for our mind to control matter, and that is through satanic powers.
Most of us never try this; yet, every day we attempt to control our life by our
sheer will power (Matthew 6:27).
This
accomplishes nothing more than to increase our anxiety (Jeremiah 17:5). The
phrase that "God helps those who help themselves" is not in the
Bible.
The only profitable
result of us using our will power is that we eventually realize the futility of
it, and we come to the end of our self-effort.
We quit
trying to be good and to make things happen in our own timing and way; and
instead, we trust in God's will for our life (Isaiah 40:28-31). This allows us
to enter God's rest and for His Spirit to totally control our life (Hebrews
4:9-10).
God
teaches us to separate our soul from our spirit (Hebrews 4:12). We disregard
the thoughts from our mind, and listen to His leading in our Spirit.
Our human
thoughts are centered on earthly matters - what we will eat, where we will live
and how we will provide these items for our self.
The
emotions, which accompany these thoughts are equally as carnal (Matthew 6:31). If
we focus our heart on the temporal, we will work for and be controlled by the
momentary issues of this life.
If we set
our focus on things above, we have a spiritual context to our life, which lasts
throughout eternity (Colossians 3:2). This way too, God will lead us in the
center of His will.
In this
union life with God, we realize in our spirit, rather than our soul - our mind,
choices and emotions, what God's will is for every moment of our day (John
17:11, 20-23; 1 Corinthians 6:17).
We follow His
Spirit's direction, even when it is contrary to the thoughts and feelings in
our soul. As we recognize the union life provided for us by Christ's suffering,
we live for our Father every moment of our life (John 10:30, 5:19).
Prayer:
Father
God, remind us that our heart is fickle and despicably wicked, and that we do
not even know our own mind. Then, we will no longer allow our human heart and
mind to dictate our activities and thoughts throughout the day; but we will
focus on Christ and Your will for each moment (Psalm 57:7).
We will revere You and never be moved from following after You (Psalm
42:11; Ruth 1:16). You will cherish us in Your everlasting embrace, so that we
will not even fear bad news, because we totally trust in You (Psalm 112:1-8).
We know You provide a seed for a miracle in every trial.
Thought for the Day:
While we live on this earth, we have only partially tasted the goodness
of the word of God and His powers, which will manifest in the age to come. - 1
Peter 1:23; Hebrews 6:5
