God's Perfecting Work

The events publicized in the news get worse month-by-month, year in and year out. They strike fear in the soul of the faint-hearted, and energize the proactive to endeavor to revolutionize the status quo. However, there is so much in today's society that we cannot change. 

So many people have health issues rising from the toxic result of fear over current events (Luke 21:26). In our human strength, we make a valiant effort to control life, to manipulate circumstances, and to ignore issues that do not directly affect our life.

We push the niggling fear, which constantly taunts us, into our subconscious mind, not realizing that it secretly affects us daily. This negative emotion aggravates other negative emotions, which arise in our heart, until we explode like a volcano.

In an attempt to foster peace in our heart, we control our home, relationships, schedule, choice of vocation, material possessions, clothing, the impression we make on others, the level of intimacy we have with our family and friends and co-workers, and even the color of our hair and nails and teeth.

Yet, insecurity and anxiety still threaten to choke the life right out of us. Those who never experienced spiritual revival in Christ will quake in their shoes; however, God's perfect love expels all fear from our body, soul and spirit (1 John 4:18).

His opinion of us is the only one that really matters, and He knows the truth about the issues in our life. His Holy Spirit regenerates our spirit, sanctifies our soul, and at Christ's coming will glorify our body. We already enjoy the mind and divine nature of Christ (Galatians 2:20; 2 Peter 1:4; 1 Corinthians 2:16).

God's love for us gives us a new focus, regardless of our situation in life. We keep our mind centered on Him, walking in His Spirit and allowing Him to work in and through us. We have nothing to prove, not even to God. He loves us just the way we are.

Prayer:

Father God, You free us to love others as Christ loves His Church family. We do not live according to the expectations of our self or others, but we follow Your Spirit and walk in Your perfect plan for our life (Ephesians 2:20). Through Christ in us, we love others, even our enemies and those who unlovingly and spitefully use us (Matthew 5:44).

We have no need to adopt a religious façade that we show to the world, because You expect us to worship You in truth - hiding nothing from You, because You are already intimately acquainted with us and know us better than we can even know our self. Thank you for flooding our soul with Your peace that has nothing to do with earthly concerns.

Thought for the Day:
God's unfailing love frees us from the degradation of this world, and awards us with His Spiritual fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, meekness, self-control and faith; therefore, we come as we are - warts and all, brokenness and triumphs, human limitations and unresolved conflicts until He transforms us into a perfect child of God with all the fullness of Christ within us.

- Ephesians 1:23, 4:13; Colossians 1:28;