Hidden out of Sight

When we embark on our Christian quest, we learn to recognize Jesus in every aspect of our day - positive and negative. When something is hidden, it cannot be seen; it is invisible and under a cover. It is not readily accessible, except to the one who hid it.

We are hidden with Christ in God, but He knows exactly where we are. We are not alone, because we are filled with all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:16-19, Amplified Bible). We are in an intimate union with Jesus by His Spirit.

We live in the center of God's will, led by His Holy Spirit because Christ is our whole life (Ephesians 2:10; Colossians 3:3-4). Sin is not an option for us, when Christ is pre-eminent in our choices. We have no attraction to unrighteousness, and no desire to grieve God's Spirit within us (Ephesians 4:30).

God calls us to live in such a manner that when people look at us, they see Him rather than us. This occurs when we give God the credit and glory for the deeds He accomplishes in and through us. We run to Him, follow His path for us, and give Him all of the glory for what He accomplishes through our life.

The righteousness of Christ consumes us, fills us, and crowds out any ungodly desires or behavior. We are not separate from Christ. We are unified with Him as one being (Galatians 2:20). By following His peace within us, we recognize the will of God, for each moment of our life.

This peace rises above all physical, emotional, mental, natural, and human thoughts and reasons (Philippians 4:7-9). We do not trust our heart, because it is unreliable (Jeremiah 17:9-10). Instead, we discern God's will in our spirit, and this floods our soul with His peace.

Prayer:

Father God, You are our all in all - one God of all people, and Lord of all, as You work through all and abide in us all. We start this adventure by inviting You to dwell within our spirit (Ephesians 4:6). Then, before we do or say anything, we want to consult You rather than to depend on our own plans and viewpoint (Proverbs 3:5-8).

Thank You for directing our thoughts, words and actions every time that we consult You for Your will for each moment of our life. We trust You with our whole heart to provide for and to protect us in every issue of life. We promise to cease from consulting our human wisdom, and to rely on Your wisdom instead. We love You with every fiber of our being, and we are thankful for all of Your blessings on each moment of our day.

Thought for the Day:

When we trust in, rely on and obey God during each moment of our day, He keeps us on track for success, gives us the best of everything, and fills our resources with abundance for every good work that He calls us to allow Christ to preform through us.

- Proverbs 3:5-8; 2 Corinthians 9:8; Ephesians 2:10

The Problem with Problems

 

Many Christians are not happy. They are overloaded with their problems. They see no joy in life and they are overwhelmed with stress and trials. They rush off to work, rush through work and rush home after work, falling into an exhausted sleep each night, getting up way too early to care for the needs of their family and then starting the same behavior all over again. Like a hamster on a wheel, they frantically run; yet never get anywhere, accomplishing very little, and ending up in the hospital with physical and psychosomatic illnesses.

That is the problem with problems. They are inescapable. Our obsession with them keeps our eyes off Jesus. We often attempt to ignore our problems, denying their existence, minimizing their importance in our life or blaming them on everyone else. We falsely believe that if we had more money, a better mate or job, or fewer problems, then we would be happier. We try to get rid of them, but then new ones pop up! That is when we beg God to free us from them, or to solve them for us.

Jesus uses our trials to convert us into a new creation. His Spirit transforms us into His image day by day throughout our lifetime, using our trials and temptations to perfect us. He replaces our carnal nature with His  nature, which is the fruit of His Spirit. We receive eternal life from that first moment of Salvation; and we walk more fully in this eternal life as we come to know God, and Jesus Christ whom He sent (John 17:3). God’s Spirit within us enables us to experience pure joy in Jesus.

The Bible tells us that we can traverse trials of every kind with God’s joy. This is because when our faith is tested, we develop perseverance, which works maturity and perfection in us, so that we lack nothing (James 1:2-4). God uses these opportunities to fine-tune our faith and to draw us closer to His heart. He encourages us to enter into His rest and to depend on Him (Hebrews 4:10). He proves His love, power and authority to us by working out every negative circumstance for our good (Romans 8:28).

Prayer:

Father God, when You put us to the test, we fail unless we cling to Your hand and walk through them with our focus on Your face (Isaiah 26:3). Your power and authority over the prince of the power of the air delivers us from anything Satan uses to discourage us or bring us down. When we attempt to escape one problem, we usually end up in the midst of several more. Teach us to trust in You and to walk in Your Spirit every moment of the day.

Thought for the Day:

Facing our problems with prayer allows us to see God in the midst of them.