Surrendering to God's Will

We can develop habits over time to create more joy in our life and to eliminate depression and melancholy. However, it takes a change of focus and total submission to God's Holy Spirit.

Many people live in the realm of "what ifs" and/or wanting what they do not have. They think that happiness will finally arrive when they accomplish their bucket list.

We allow circumstances to color our thoughts and feelings, which may diminish our joy. We wait for God to answer our prayers rather than to enjoy the life, which He already provided for us.

His peace and joy are available for us each moment of the day and do not depend on circumstances. It is possible to live in an economically depressed area with impoverished circumstances and still have total peace and joy.

There is no guarantee that we will live to see the next moment in time; so focusing on having possessions or certain people in our life will reduce our peace and joy.

Without surrendering our will to God's will each moment of the day, we hinder our effectiveness both in life and in our spiritual growth and ministry.

Once we repent of our sins and recognize Jesus as our only Savior and King, the very life of Christ saturates our entire body, soul and spirit. As His Spirit sanctifies us, we see more spiritual fruit and less of a draw from our flesh, Satan and the world.

The most critical exercise we can do as a baby Christian is to surrender our will to God's will. Even as older Christians, if we never surrendered, it is time to do so now.

When we totally surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ over our life, we feel less and less tension and stress, and more and more of His rest, peace and joy.

Prayer:

Father God, we tend to regret the past and fear the future. We spend so much time focusing in these two directions that we waste the current moment. This moment in time is all that You guarantee us.

You forgave our past, and it is over and forgiven. We just have to remember to forgive our self too. Remind us that once we do surrender to You, Your Spirit begins replacing our negative personality traits with His spiritual fruit and You flood our spirit and soul with Your love.

Thought for the Day:

Our future is in God's capable hands; therefore, trusting God in the moment provides us with a stress-free life.

A Fulfilled Life

As humans, we are so engrossed in our soul that we fail to realize that our spirit is dead within us (Ephesians 2:1). We instinctively know there is a missing ingredient within, but we ignore this fact much of our life.

This causes us to delve deeper into the realm of the soul - the thoughts of our mind, our fleshly choices and the tyrant of our emotions. We seek satisfaction in any way, time and place we can find it.

We refuse to believe anything, which does not make sense to our human understanding. We even perverted the Serenity Prayer to relate to the "god of our understanding."

As fallen humanity, we are so blinded by our pride and rebellion to the Truth of God's Word that we miss out on the blessings, which God wants to provide for each and every one of us right here and now, as well as in the future.

The power of God for salvation is freely given to everyone who chooses to believe, without regard to color, age, race, financial status and ethnic background (Romans 1:16).

Our righteous God reveals a fulfilled life in His love to those who choose to reject the counsel of our pride and rebellion; and instead, to have faith in His faithfulness (Romans 1:16-17).

Prayer:

Father God, You freely give all things to those who put their trust in You. You infuse us with Your joy, which is our strength to live a fulfilled life in this sin-cursed world. Even creation cries out for the revelation of Your sons, so that You will restore the former glory of Paradise to the earth.

Thank You for moving by Your Spirit in my life and giving me the faith of Your Son, Jesus Christ, to believe in You (Galatians 2:20). Thank You for showering me with Your love every moment of my day and teaching me to follow the direction of Your Spirit through each one of them. Dwelling in the center of Your will is the happiest place on earth.

Thought for the Day:

We can conqueror every negative aspect in this life, just because of God's love for us. - Romans 8:37-39

Our Awesome God

Our awesome God formed the earth with the power of His Words (Genesis 1). He holds the seas in the hollow of His hand, and He measures the sky with the width of His hand. He knows the number of the grains of sand on the seashore as well as the dust of the earth. He even calculated the weight of the mountains and hills (Isaiah 40:12-18; Isaiah 46:5).

No one can compare to our awesome God. All of the nations of the earth added together are a mere drop of water in the ocean, and they always do His bidding. He reduces rulers and cares nothing about the decisions made by judges. No one directs God, because He is in control. We are like insects compared to Him.

His throne is above the circle of the earth, the ozone layer that protect us (Isaiah 40:22-23). No one compares to the Lord or is His equal. He stands above the crowd. He brings out the stars by number and calls each one by name (Isaiah 48:13); and not one of them is missing.

God never grows sleepy or exhausted, and His wisdom is deeper than any human philosopher will ever figure out (Isaiah 40: 25-28). When God acts, no one can reverse it (Isaiah 42:13). All of God's judgments will be proven holy and righteous, once we understand all things (Isaiah 5:16, 8:13).

God preserves our life as we devote it to Him. He is our God and we trust Him as we serve Him each day (Psalm 86:2). God knows the end from the beginning, because He does not dwell in time. His purposes will stand, and we serve at His pleasure (Isaiah 46:10). There is nothing that our God cannot do.

Prayer:

Father God, You are the first and the last. You are the only true and living God. You created everything and everyone in the universe. You even formed us in our mother's womb according to Your perfect plan for our life (Ephesians 2:10). You know the number of hairs on our head (Isaiah 44:24; Isaiah 48:12). When we call on You, You respond to us and demonstrate Your vast and almighty deeds on our behalf (Jeremiah 33:3). Apart from You there is no other God. You are the Lord and there is no other (Isaiah 45:5-6).

Thought for the Day:

God already decided what would happen on the earth from creation to eternity. - Isaiah 45:21-22