God is Aways in Control

Although we feel like every trial is the end of our life, we can walk through each one of them with courage, because God’s future plan for us is just on the other side of this mountain. We need the experience of this current ordeal in order to face what lies ahead. Our faith in God’s faithfulness is strengthened by every negative aspect in our life, because He delivers us from them all (Psalm 34:19).

We enjoy our powerful hope because of God’s wisdom and goodness. Although we know that in this world we surely will experience tribulation, He goes through every one of them with us, and He already overcame every trial known to mankind (John 16:33; Hebrews 4:15). Each negative aspect we experience will turn out for our ultimate good and also conforms us into the likeness of Christ (Romans 8:28-29).

Our Father God is in complete control of our life. Nothing happens to us that is not already part of His plan for us. This is true, even when we reap the negative consequences of our foolish behavior, because He knew what we would do before we were even born (Ephesians 2:10). In fact, He loved us even while we were still sinners, although each sinful choice we made broke His heart (Romans 5:8).

God no longer sees our past sins, but the blood of Christ and His love, which covers a multitude of our sins (1 Peter 4:8). We no longer suffer condemnation for our sins, because we are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). As Believers, we are the Bride of Christ and we look forward to the marriage supper of the Lamb as His beloved spouse (Revelation 19:1-10).

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for using the negative aspects of life to strengthen us for future ordeals and to draw us closer to You. Remind us that You will never leaving us alone, because You live within us and accomplishing all things through us (Hebrews 13:5; Philippians 4:13). We rest in the fact that You are in complete control and nothing will occur in our life, which is not in Your perfect will for us. 

Thought for the Day:

We may foolishly make our own plans for our day, but God always directs our steps. – Proverbs 16:9

The Holy Spirit Within

God gives us His Spirit when we admit our sinful state and cry out to Him for forgiveness and salvation. God gives us pardon for our past sins and His guarantees for our future. This provides deep peace, which never fades as long as we keep our mind on Him (Isaiah 26:3). He wants complete control of every part of our life. We hold nothing back.

As we live in total surrender to His direction and guidance, He orchestrates our body, soul and spirit. In exchange, we live in the joy of the Lord, which defies human description (1 Peter 1:7-9). It is never ending joy, which resides deep within our spirit and influences our body and soul. This is the same joy, which God gave Jesus when he faced the cross of Calvary (Hebrews 12:1-3).

When God’s Spirit moves in, He brings holiness, contentment and triumph with Him, which transcends every circumstance we ever encounter in life (Romans 14:17). These are not fleeting emotions, nor do they depend on any aspect in our life. They are resident within us by God’s Spirit no matter how devastating our life becomes. The Holy Spirit is an ever-present help in times of trouble. 

Continually dwelling within us, God’s Spirit transforms our carnal nature with His fruit and Christ’s divine nature (2 Peter 1:4; Galatians 5: 22-23). He provides the unity and love we receive from our relationship with the Lord of glory (Isaiah 60:1). God is our provider, protector, sufficiency, inspiration, peace and joy. We place our secular life under God’s Spirit’s direction and He leads us to succeed in every area of life.

The Holy Spirit is also the sanctifier who rules in our spirit and soul and gives us grace and mercy in our time of need. His joy is our strength (Psalm 28:7) as we face trials and tribulation. Through His Spirit, Jesus cherishes us with all of the benevolence, patience and love that a bride groom has for His bride (2 Corinthians 11:2; Mark 2:19; Revelation 19:7; Ephesians 5:22-33).

Prayer:

Father God, as Your Spirit transforms us with the mind of Christ, we have a Christ-like attitude at home, work and play, which makes a positive difference in the world around us. Your Spirit forms Christ in us to the extent that we live, move and have our entire existence in Him (Acts 17:28). He conquers sin within us, and casts out any idol, which we still cling to, as long as we willingly surrender it to Him. Help us to give every negative experience to Your safe keeping and remind us to respond in Your Spirit to everyone who comes against us.

Thought for the Day:

We give Jesus our whole heart and He gives our life back to us with more fulfillment and peace of mind than anything we could ever imagine.