For
a plant to flourish, it must be deeply rooted and grounded in good soil,
receive water when needed, and have fertilizer at the appropriate times. We too
draw our nourishment from Christ, as we sink our roots deeper in His precepts, and
receive our nourishment from His presence in our life.
Our
human abilities are rarely enough to perform the tasks, which God's Spirit
leads us to accomplish. That is why He gives us His grace that is sufficient
for us (2 Corinthians 12:9). Through the trials of life, we learn to have faith
in His faithfulness alone. We trust Him with our whole heart (Psalm 56:3-4).
During
a period of crisis, we tend to question God's intentions, motives and love for
us. Fear shackles our steps and threatens to overwhelm us. Yet, every situation
proves that surrendering to His will makes us victors over the oppression of
fear and worry. He gives us His power, love and a stable mind (2 Timothy 1:7).
We
receive Jesus as our Savior, live our life in Him, splay out our roots wider into
His soil of life, allow Him to strengthen our faith, and give Him an abundance
of praise and gratitude for who He is, what He has done for us, and what He
continues to do for us on a daily basis (Colossians 2:6-7).
This
occurs as we continually learn from His teachings, mirror His character to the
world around us, immerse our self in His Holy Word, accept the length and width
and breadth of His unconditional love for us, find comfort in His prophecies,
and believe in His promises (Ephesians 3:18-19).
Daily
Bible study, fellowshipping with other authentic Believers, praying without
ceasing as we go about the duties of our day, trusting in His goodness,
rejecting human wisdom, applying the truth of His Word in our life, etc. will
all help us to mature in our faith in Him (Proverbs 3:5-6).
We
learn to rely more on Godly wisdom than human logic (Matthew 14:28-29). We walk
to the edge of all of the light that we have, and then we take our first step
into the dark unknown, trusting that He will place our feet on solid ground (Hebrews
11:1).
Prayer:
Father
God, teach us that as the cry of our heart, the words of our mouth, the
behavior of our actions, the attitude of our demeanor, etc. mirror Christ in
us, we make an impact on the world around us, and we cause other people to
hunger and thirst after You as well. We want to live as an example of Your love
to our family and our community.
You
always give us wisdom in times of conflict, courage to weather every storm,
Your presence within us to endure every circumstance, and Your strength to make
it through every issue we will ever face in life. Your promises encourage us,
and infuse us with Your supernatural peace and joy. Our life is only complete
and fulfilled as we grow in our intimacy with You.
Thought
for the Day:
When
I awake each new morning, I only want Jesus; whether I am alone or in a crowd,
all I want is Jesus; whether I live or die, only Jesus can satisfy me; I want
nothing that this world has to offer, I just want a deeper intimacy with the
Trinity of God within me.
