“I say then: Walk in the Spirit,
and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”—Galatians 5:16
The times that we feel deep
satisfaction and great joy are when we connect with our God-given purpose. It is important to understand that we cannot
achieve the Lord’s purposes on our own; it is only by His strength and
direction that we are able to succeed.
Jesus warned us in John 16:33 that
trouble is an integral part of life in this world. “These
things I have spoken to you that in Me you may have peace. In the world you
will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” As humans, we easily forget how weak we
are, and tend to take on the challenges of life in our own strength and
resourcefulness. Human nature wants to tackle
life by itself, and in its own power, and then take the credit. So when temptations, trials, criticism,
gossip, and persecution assail, many of us have the tendency to go into high
gear and try all the harder.
For a while, life may actually seem
good this way. But in the long run,
self-reliance creates a mess and is filled with pride. And it also interferes with the fulfillment
of God’s purposes.
The truth is, we sometimes experience
failure in life in order to realize our complete dependence upon God and to
break our pride, by showing us that we cannot life fully without following the
Spirit’s guidance.
Prayer—Father
I surrender my life anew to You today. I
ask You to forgive me for the times that I have pride-fully went my own way and
sought my solutions instead of Yours. Today I yield myself to the Holy Spirit’s
control in Jesus Name. Amen.
