Life is a struggle…until we realize that we are
struggling for no reason. With Christ dwelling within us, the only struggle we
really have is to enter into His rest (Hebrews 4:11).
It is a struggle to enter His rest, because it is so
hard for human beings to lay down our goals, plans and dreams and to stop
relying on our human efforts and talents.
Our goal as authentic Believers is to totally
surrender to God in every area of life. Dwelling in Christ allows us to succeed
at living in serenity and fulfillment all of the time (John 17:23).
It is useless to dream of or to wish for a
problem-free life. In this world, we are guaranteed to have problems (John
16:33). However, they are not our problems to handle. They are God's problem.
Christ in us has all the wisdom and resources needed to meet our problems and to solve them. He turns them into adventures and opportunities
for us, and He works them out through us during each moment of our day.
We see life from a different perspective, through
God's eyes; and even our trials take on a new meaning. We learn patience
through the negative aspects of life as we also learn to praise God in them and
for them.
We make our requests known to Him with gratitude in
our heart for all He has already done for us. This builds our faith to know
that He has our future worked out for us as well.
Allowing the Holy Spirit of God to control our
spirit, body and soul – our mind, choices and emotions - gives us the privilege
to live an abundant life in Christ.
With His strength and peace, we can face any trial
with His praises on our lips and His joy in our hearts (Romans 8:6; Psalm
29:11). He provides all of our needs according to His glorious riches.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, all that You require from us is that we
obey Your Spirit's direction, and that we allow You to work in and through us.
You desire for us to take a step back and to view the issues of life through
Your eyes. We hide under the shelter of Your wings and live with joy in our
heart and a smile on our face, no matter how disturbing or challenging life
becomes.
The more we allow You to live through us, the
easier we walk in this realm of faith and Spirit. We center our mind and
emotions on You and we walk in complete peace (Isaiah 26:3-4; John 14:27). You
deal with the temporal aspects in our life, as we focus on the spiritual aspects
moment by moment throughout the day (Galatians 5:15-25; Isaiah 41:10-13;
Matthew 6:33).
Thought for the Day:
“The love of
Christ controls us.” - 2 Corinthians 5:14
