Internal Calm

 

Once we go to the Cross of Christ and surrender our sin-filled life, the Spirit brings forth new life through His fruit and He starts to rid us of every obstacle that blocks His flow.

The more we allow sin to rule in our flesh, the more trials we endure. The quicker we relinquish our self-centeredness to God, the less tribulation we encounter.

Our attitude about life changes from earthly to spiritual. When God’s Spirit fills us, we cannot help praising Him. We even wake up with a song flowing through our mind.

Natural issues no longer bother us. We truthfully do not care where we live, what we eat or how many earthly possession we accumulate. In fact, we prefer the simplicity of life over the clutter of possessions and a stress-filled life.

We do not allow life to rob us of our peace, joy and contentment. Christ in us triumphs over sin in us. We are free from the power of sin, because we now live in our true identity in union with Christ (1 Corinthians 1:30).

Prior to salvation, our spirit is dead in sin (Ephesians 2:5). After Salvation, our humanity is dead to sin. We die with Christ through His death and we can no longer live in habitual sin (Romans 6:2, 6:5, 7:4; 2 Corinthians 5:14).

If we keep on living in sin, it is because Christ is not living within us (Romans 6:1-2). Although we are not yet perfect, we press on to attain this goal, because it is possible through Christ’s divinity within us (Philippians 3:12).

Prayer:

Father God, once we realize that we are dead to sin, then we enjoy a fresh new life. We identify with Jesus’ resurrection and walk in union with Him (Romans 6:4-5). In Him all of our needs are met according to Your glorious riches (Philippians 4:19). Your abundant and unconditional love flows over us like a waterfall and we are complete in Jesus (Colossians 2:10).

Thank You for giving life to our mortal bodies through Your Spirit who indwells us (Romans 8:11). Our physical body will tire from exertion, but we have Your supernatural energy in our body, soul and spirit because Christ lives His life in and through us. You give us Your peace so our hearts will not be afraid or anxious in times of trouble (John 14:27).

Thought for the Day:

Even when our soul is troubled, we find hope in God's faithfulness to us and to those in our world all around us. - Psalm 42:11

A Stress-Free Life

Prior to finding salvation through Jesus Christ we had little more than our own resources to rely on while facing the issues of life. We developed a routine of depending on our self, with a little help from our friends and family. Life was hard, and every little bump in the road threw us off course. We had to fight with all of our strength to regain our equilibrium. We stressed out under the strain and trials of daily living. Once we came to Christ, we carried these same habits and defense mechanisms into our new Christian walk.

We continue to overreact to life from our own energy and the reserve, which we built up within us. Living life through human achievement is deadly! Physical, mental, emotional and spiritual exhaustion and illness are all the result of us living life through our own efforts. We get weary when we overly schedule our time or when we take on too many projects that God does not lead us to perform. We often feel like we are separated from God and He cannot help us, because He is too far away up in Heaven.

Life is always hard as long we as depend upon our own inner strength to conquer its difficulties. We want to please God with our life; but when we feel like we are doing His will, we often fail. At some point, however, we start to realize that we are struggling for no reason. As long as we separate our life into two compartments: our humanity and His divinity within us, we are divided and weakened. Once we realize that our humanity is already dead, and our life is now hidden with Christ in God, then we start to live only through His divinity within us (Colossians 3:3). 

Life is no longer a challenge, because it is now an adventure! We are united with Christ in salvation and perfected in sanctification. We no longer need to react to life from our lack, because He faces life through us with all of the power of the triune God. We are not called by God to live life for Him, but to step aside and allow Him to live life in and through us. God did not give us a faint, fearful spirit, because His love, strength and self-discipline reside within us by His Spirit (2 Timothy 1:7). Recognize the moments of His joy in your day and focus on Him as His Spirit directs your steps.  

When we realize Christ dwells in us, and we dwell in Him, then we succeed at living in serenity and fulfillment all of the time (John 17:23). It is useless to dream of or to wish for a problem-free life. In this world, we are guaranteed to have problems (John 16:33). However, they are not our problems to handle. They are God's problem, and He has all the wisdom and resources needed to meet these opportunities through us during each moment of our day. Allow the Holy Spirit of God to control your spirit, body and soul – your mind, choices and emotions, and you will live in abundant life, strength and peace (Romans 8:6; Psalm 29:11).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, all that You require from us is that we obey Your Spirit's direction, and that we allow You to work in and through us. You desire for to take a step back and view the issues of life through Your eyes. We hide under the shelter of Your wings and live with joy in our heart and a smile on our face, no matter how disturbing or challenging life becomes. The more we allow You to live through us, the easier we walk in this realm of faith and Spirit. We center our mind and emotions on You and we walk in complete peace (Isaiah 26:3-4; John 14:27). You deal with the temporal aspects in our life, as we focus on the eternal aspects moment by moment throughout the day (Galatians 5:16,25; Isaiah 41:10-13).

Thought for the Day:
“The love of Christ controls us.” - 2 Corinthians 5:14