Living in Praise

Did you ever notice that Paul was the eternal optimist? The man worked hard, almost died several times, was stoned, shipwrecked and in the sea a day and night, constantly in danger, sleepless, hungry and thirsty, and exposed to both hot and cold elements (2 Corinthians 11:22-28).

Yet, he told us to rejoice always; to pray without ceasing; not to quench the Spirit; and to give thanks in everything: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you (1 Thessalonians 5:16-19).

Does this mean to give thanks, because everything that happens to us is God's will for us; or that giving thanks is God's will for us? Either way, it is worth paying attention to this verse.

If giving thanks is God's will, then when we praise the Lord, we are in God's will; and when we do not praise the Lord, we are out of God's will for us.

If Paul is saying that we should give thanks in good times and in adversity, because all of these circumstances are the will God for us, then when we do not praise Him, we are missing out on part of the miracle, which God has for us through this trial.

Recently, our air-conditioning was out for two days during the hottest November on record in southwest Florida. I was dripping sweat, irritable and claustrophobic - because the heat imprisoned me and I could not escape it.

This caused me to remember my childhood and first pregnancy; when we had no air-conditioning at all, because of our lack of income. My mom used a wet wash cloth on her neck, so I did too. It helped this time too.

As I prayed during this inconvenience, God brought Paul's exhortation to my mind. I realized that I was not to grumble or to allow my flesh to get the better of me; and I was to walk in the Spirit and praise God, even in the suffocating heat.

Easier said than done; but I have been learning to live through my spirit and not my flesh and this was just another opportunity to practice. I truly was thankful that the circumstances were not even more dreadful.

Prayer:

Father God, I really wanted Your permission during this trial to be grouchy and to feel sorry for myself. I wanted to complain and gain sympathy from family and friends. However, I knew this would only make others miserable too, and I would not grow in my spirit with negative behavior or remain in Your will without praising.

I know that You were building character in me and preparing me for future events in my life; therefore, I chose to change my focus and to praise You with each drop of perspiration. I was even able to thank You that it cools down in southwest Florida on November evenings, and that I still had electricity and could run the fans. Thank You for living through this trial with me.

Thought for the Day:

Regardless of the circumstances, we learn to do all things without grumbling and complaining (Philippians 2:12-16), and to walk in the Spirit each moment of the day (Galatians 5:15-25).

Many thanks to Matt Milligan for the use of his photo.

Yielding to God's Spirit

As human beings, we are programmed to preserve our life. It is a foreign concept to allow any harm to come to our body or soul - our mind, will and emotions. We fight to the death to preserve our autonomy and the control over our own life. 

We spend our lifetime combating people and forces, which attempt to harm us in any way. Dying daily is not something we readily embrace (Matthew 16:24; 1 Corinthians 15:31).

However, once we yield to the power of the God's Spirit within us, we do not struggle with the world, the flesh or the devil. We realize that God is going to protect us and care for us through any issue in life. 

God may lead us into a catastrophe, such as Paul’s shipwreck, or into temptation like Jesus in the wilderness, or into torment like Paul in prison. Yet, we can rejoice in our tribulation, because His Spirit is leading us (Romans 5:3, 8:14).

We humbly follow God's Spirit, even if we know persecution awaits us. We have the confidence that God always opens a way for us (Romans 8:28). 

Even through the raging rivers, which attempt to thwart our spiritual progress, we eventually cross on dry ground (Nahum 1:3; Isaiah 43:6). Jesus puts all of His enemies under our feet, including Satan and His minions (Romans 16:20; 1 Corinthians 15:25).

We no longer fear Satan or march to the beat of his drum, because we are free indeed (John 8:36). We view our afflictions as new adventures in growing in Christ. Jesus did nothing on this earth without following our Father's direction. 

We are also children of God and co-heirs with Christ of the Kingdom of God (1 John 3:2; Romans 8:17). We only succeed in this life as we truly follow His example, and live and move and have our being in Him (Acts 17:28).

Prayer:

Father God, we have a problem with loving our flesh more than we love You (Ephesians 5:29). Teach us to nourish and cherish our relationship with You more than we cater to our own desires. 

Remind us of Your faithfulness and allow us walk in Your ways regardless of the trials or the temptations, which we face in our life. Help us to yield these issues to You, our Savior and our King, who lives within us with all power and might.

Thought for the Day:

We triumph over Satan and our flesh by the blood of the Lamb and our evidence that Christ reigns in us, because we do not love this life, even when faced with death. - Revelation 12:11

Jars of Clay

God created us as fragile, clay jars to contain the greatest treasure this world has ever known. We have the light of Christ shining in our hearts, and His power is constantly available to us in every situation (2 Corinthians 4:7). Jesus’ sacrifice on Calvary’s cross cleansed us, consecrated us and set us apart to God (1 John 1:7; Hebrews 10:10-12).

Jesus chose us to be a royal, holy people who exclusively belong to God’s family (1 Peter 2:9). He bought us with the price of His life, so that we would glorify God in our thoughts, words and deeds (1 Corinthians 6:20). God’s Holy Spirit exchanges, in our soul, the fleshly carnality of our old nature for the holiness and spirituality of God’s Son (Galatians 5:16; Romans 8:13).

Christ manifests His life in and through us. The individual members of Christ’s Body die with Him, are set free from the powers of this world and are raised to walk in new life in Him (Colossians 2:12,20). When we realize our human powerlessness, dependence and worthlessness apart from Him, we enter into a place of His spiritual power and authority, and our identity is centered in Jesus (Luke 10:19).

We faithfully walk before Him in humility and total reliance on Him for every need in our life (Genesis 17:1). People see Christ in us and realize that we are set apart for Him. An example of this phenomenon is Joseph in Potiphar’s and Pharoah’s service, as well as his time in prison. They recognized the power of God in Joseph, and respected him and elevated him in power and authority.

Joseph accepted God’s plan in spite of his brothers’ duplicity and abandonment, as well as false accusations against his character. He knew that God would work out everything, even prison, for his good. Joseph gives us an example of someone entirely sold out to God. God will bless our life as He did Joseph’s, if we will put our complete faith in His faithfulness.

Prayer:

Father God, You are more to us than a help in times of trouble, the pardon for our sins and our fire insurance policy against hell. You are also our King. We do not live according to our plans and purpose and ask You to bless us. We live in constant, total surrender to Your plans for our life, and we reap the blessings of a child of the King. Thank You for sending Jesus to redeem us and to reconcile us to Yourself. Remind us to live each moment of our life in Your service and not in selfish ambition and self-serving goals.

Thought for the Day:

As we obey God fully and keep His commandments, we are His treasured possession from among all the people in the whole world. - Exodus 19:5

True Rest

Our human will drives us to stay in control of our life and to live it as we choose, rather than in submission to any created or divine being. We feel the need to manage our life and the life of all of those who have influence over our existence in any way. We do not want anyone, who could possibly disturb the orderly peace we create in our sphere of reality, to have the control. If anyone tries to disrupt our peace, we reject or fight them with every ounce of effort we can muster.

However, true rest comes from submitting to God’s will for our life. In reality, we could never attain the amount of peace through our own vigilance over the order of our life. Our true victory is in responding in kindness to those who attempt to abuse us and to rely heavily on the hand of God to use every trial for His glory. When the situation is impossible to bear, we do not have to remain in an unsafe or unsavory situation, and we can remove our self to an alternate space to await God’s will in the situation.

There is absolutely never any reason to divorce our self from any person or situation; but if possible, we simply reposition our self in order to have some space and protection from the situation. We wait on God to move in the circumstance and to work it all out for our benefit (Romans 8:28). He often takes His time in these issues, giving the other party plenty of time to repent and come to their senses. He will influence their decisions, but He will never force His will on them.

Regardless of their choices, God will always protect His Saints, even to the point of death. Even those Believers, imprisoned for their faith and unable to escape, find that He sustains them from the inside out. He gives them His supernatural comfort and joy, which surpasses all of our horrifying circumstances they are forced to experience (Philippians 4:6-8). They live in victory and in praise for the honor and glory of our Savior’s name: Jesus.

Prayer:

Father God, we start dying to self by denying our flesh in simple areas, such as that second piece of cake; then we soon develop less of a desire for carnal appetites and more of a desire to live in submission to Your will. We start this walk of total dependence on You by developing quiet times in our daily schedule in order to sit in Your presence. Even in Your silence, we can still pray as You bring people to our mind. Ultimately, we spend our time in praise for who You are and all that You do for us. We reap intimacy with You and have fewer areas in our life, on which the devil can feed.

Thought for the Day:

We live in quietness and confidence, which is our strength; and we dwell in peace and safety forever. – Isaiah 30:15, 32:17-18