Only Believe

My soul, wait only upon God and silently submit to Him; for my hope and expectation are from Him.
—Psalms 62:5 AMPC
 
Unlike the Hebrew word used for “wait” in other verses in the Bible, the Hebrew word for “wait” in this verse means “to be astonished and to stop.” 
 
How many of us are truly astonished by God? How many of us stop our anxious thoughts and wait only upon Him? How many submit to Him without trying to fix someone or something? This verse says that our hopes or expectations are from the Lord. When we place hope in ourselves instead of expectantly waiting upon Him, we rely on ourselves.
 
“He only is my Rock and my Salvation; He is my Defense and my Fortress, I shall not be moved” (Psalms 62:6, AMPC).
 
Victory comes when the Lord is our only rock and salvation. Jesus told Jairus only to believe when others rushed to quickly tell him of his daughter’s death (Mark 5:36). When we trust in what someone says or something other than what God reveals, we weaken our faith. 
 
We can trust the Lord without question. Do we stand strong in His truth and not allow ourselves to be moved? Do we believe what He says about our situation or health, no matter how we feel or what anyone—learned or unlearned—says?
 
Psalms 61:3 says, “For You have been a shelter and a refuge for me, a strong tower against the adversary” (NLJV).
 
We have a strong defensive position in Jesus. We must never be lured out of it. Never forget how the Lord has been your strength against the enemy. Don’t ever forget His promises. Don’t ever let His words depart from your heart. Guard them. His words are yours when you find them. They are healing to all your flesh (Proverbs 4:20-23).
 
“With God rests my salvation and my glory; He is my Rock of unyielding strength and impenetrable hardness, and my refuge is in God” (Psalms 62:7, AMPC).
 
Many people say nothing will lure them out of God’s defensive position, but when it comes down to it, few people practice it. Most people trust man’s words and wisdom as their defense instead of relying on the Lord. When we rest in God’s Truth instead of allowing anyone or anything to steal His Word out of our hearts, He is our rock of unyielding and impenetrable strength. Nothing can tear us out of His protection. We rest in His finished work that delivered us. He is our refuge, sanctuary, haven, anchor, shelter, and unending protection in this world where the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10).
 
The New Testament equivalent to Psalms 62:7 is 1 Peter 5:7. This verse speaks of casting all our care upon the Lord. When we truly rest in the Lord, we don’t worry. We allow Him to capture any fearful thought. Because we trust in Him, we keep our thoughts upon Him, and His perfect peace guards our minds (Isaiah 26:3). We can sleep at night without obsessing about our problems. We can sleep because we know we are safe in His victory (Psalm 4:8). 
 
Nothing has the power to stand against His Word. His Word is Truth for you. You only have to believe.
 
“The Lord, your God is He who fights for you, as He promised you” (Joshua 23:10, NKJV).
 
Just as promised, Jesus has fought for you and won. His victory is your victory. You can rest in His perfect work and life-giving power. 
 
When you rely on the wisdom of men and are told death and destruction should be what you expect, Jesus says, “Only believe.” Rely upon Him. Trust in Him. Put your faith only in Him. Allow nothing to lure you from His victory. Your faith in Him overcomes (I John 5:4).

A Thankful, Praising Heart

 

Three weeks ago, during Thanksgiving, we expressed gratitude for God’s blessings in our lives. As Christmas draws near, we express our gratitude for the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who came to forgive our sins and bestow upon us new life in Him. We should be thankful throughout the year. True gratitude emerges from a profound and enduring relationship with Jesus Christ, while unthankfulness paves the way for a life shrouded in darkness and devoid of purpose.

“For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened” (Romans 1:21).
 
When we don’t thank God, we don’t think sensibly. We uselessly let offense, resentment, bitterness, criticism, and complaining into our hearts and close the door to Jesus’ light and life. “For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there” (James 3:16). 
 
Are you thankful?  Do you acknowledge God as the source of your life? Do you recognize Him as your healer, provider, and Savior?  Do you thank Him for your home, clothing, food, and provisions? Perhaps you don’t believe you have enough, but until you are thankful for what you have, you will keep God’s grace from blessing you with more.  
 
“Let the peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the people praise You.
Then the earth shall yield her increase;
God, our own God, shall bless us” (Psalm 67:5-6).
 
God’s increase comes from praise. Praise isn’t just something you do but  is a powerful tool that can change your life from bitterness to abundance. Start praising the Lord and thanking Him. Don’t let anyone steal your capacity to praise Him. Continually find God’s goodness in the most minor details of life and thank Him. Praise Him for His promises, forgiveness, love, healing, and grace.  
 
“Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded” (James 4:8).
 
Don’t be double-minded, praising God one moment and complaining the next. Draw near to God, and purify your heart. The more you cleanse your heart of offense, bitterness, and complaining, the more quickly you can enter into the light of Jesus’ abundant life.
 
“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness” (Colossians 2:6).
 
Your faith is strengthened when your gratitude overflows. Faith is never complete until there is thanksgiving. When you receive what you pray for, what is your response? It’s some form of gratitude. It’s impossible to see the answer to your prayer without praise rising up in you. That’s because thanksgiving is a vital part of faith, and faith isn’t complete without it. You exercise your faith when you praise God for your promise before receiving it. As you thank the Lord in advance for your promise, your faith increases to greater heights. 
 
Praising the Lord for your blessings—those you have now and those to come—increases your faith and releases more of God’s blessings. When you acknowledge the Lord as your source, your faith is strengthened, and you keep praising Him. You are an open door to His light and life.
 
Don’t allow your heart to be darkened with pride and contention. Don’t take offense and let bitterness and unforgiveness rob you of the abundant life that is yours in Christ. Choose forgiveness. Choose humility. 

This Christmas and throughout the coming year, allow the peace and light of Christ to rule in your heart, and be thankful. Let His message dwell in you and transform your life. Continually praise Him with a grateful heart (Colossians 3:15-16).

A thankful, praising heart increases your faith and God’s blessings.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3).


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Your Father Is That Good

 

Our understanding of God’s goodness and what it means to have Christ in us will determine our lives. If either understanding is wrong, walking in faith will be impossible. And without faith, it is impossible to please Him (Hebrews 11:6). 
 
Faith is a sign we truly know God. The more we understand His goodness, the more we walk in faith. The more we know Him, the more we trust Him. We don’t have to work up faith when we trust Him. We know He is good. His love is the basis of our lives.
 
The faith you exercise and the purpose you pursue will never surpass your understanding of God’s love and His presence in your life. You will never know what is possible if God remains puzzling and beyond your understanding.
 
Your life is limited to your perception of God. You will pursue what you believe God wants for you. If you aren't certain He wants to heal, deliver, and bless your life, you won’t have faith to receive the good things He has for you. Many Christians struggle with receiving from Him because they aren’t sure He is that good. 

“He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things” (Romans 8:32)?

Anything we need in life is infinitely less than the need we have for the forgiveness of our sins. God accomplished this by sacrificing His own Son to pay for our debt. If God loved us enough to make such a great sacrifice, there should be no doubt that our loving Father is more than willing to meet all our other needs.

In Romans 8:32, the phrase “freely give” comes from the Greek word, “charizomai,” which Strong’s Concordance defines as “to grant as a favor, ie. gratuitously, in kindness, pardon or rescue.” “Gratuitously” means without good reason. There was no reason for God to love us so much as to pardon and deliver us, but He did. He “freely gives all things” by His grace—not because we have earned them but because He loves us that much. There is no greater love that can surpass Jesus dying for us.

Jesus asks us the same question He asked blind Bartimaeus: “What do you want me to do for you?” (Mark 10:51). Can you respond with certain assurance, knowing He is that good and He has chosen to live in you?
 
When your faith is alive, it expresses unquestioning confidence in Jesus, who loves you, died for you, and now lives in you. Faith will remain a hard struggle until you know God is for you (Romans 8:31).
 
“Do not fear, little flock,” Jesus said, “for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32).
 
Let the Holy Spirit persuade you that your Father is that good.
 

Knowing Jesus

For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day
—2 Timothy 1:12, NKJV
 
 
“I know whom I have believed,” Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 1:12. Believing and knowing are separate things. You can’t know Jesus without first having believed in Him. When you first believe in Jesus, the doctrine of the faith guides you. As you renew your mind with the Word, the new life you have received in Christ comes to life in you and tutors you. In 2 Timothy 1:12, Paul introduces the concept of knowing Him.
  
Knowing is a deeper level of understanding than just believing. You can believe something about someone, but your belief is only confirmed once you grow to know them. You can have a mental belief about God but very little spiritual knowledge of Him. To know Him, the revelation of His Word must renew your mind. Mental belief cannot give you spiritual fellowship with God. 
 
In 2 Timothy 1:12, Paul uses the phrase “am persuaded.” Paul writes of Abraham in Romans 4:20-21, “He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform” (KJV).
 
Being “fully persuaded” as Abraham was “fully persuaded” is the result of first “believing” God and then “knowing” Him.
 
We may be at different places in our walk with God, but we have the same desire to be “fully persuaded”—to be at a place of unwavering faith where circumstances in life don’t destroy us, and where the words we speak are full of His life. 
 
“And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, ‘I believed, and therefore I spoke,’ we also believe and therefore speak” (2 Corinthians 4:13).
 
Spiritual faith comes from believing in God, knowing Him, and being unequivocally convinced of His good purpose to save, heal, deliver, and bless us.
  
Knowing God’s true nature and heart of love for you is more than simply believing doctrinal truths. It is a life-changing relationship and unshakeable intimacy with your Father that gives you enduring faith like a “rock.”
 
“The rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock” (Matthew 7:25, NKJV).
 
Does your faith remain strong when the rains and wind come against you?  Have you grown from just believing in Him to knowing who you are in Him? Are you fully persuaded that He is able to deliver you and safely guard what you have committed to Him?
 
“For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39, NKJV).

Is the Word just a belief that guides your life, or are you persuaded to “know” Him? Is Jesus alive in you—in your mouth and in your heart (Romans 10:8)? Nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus when you “know”who you are in Him. 

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

 

Your Evidence Is Faith

How often do we doubt God’s willingness to meet our needs or provide us with the promises in His Word? Perhaps we don’t believe because we are fearful He will refuse. Fear limits our ability in believing Him. It limits His power working in our lives. 
 
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8).
 
In prayer, we can bring our deepest desires, hopes, and dreams before God, trusting that He will hear and answer us according to His will. Many people have prayed for things God’s Word has promised them, but they have never seen them come to pass. In an attempt to reconcile God’s promises with their experiences, many have said that God sometimes says no or that His promise doesn’t apply to them. But that’s not what Matthew 7:7-8 says. It states that everyone who asks receives. How can this be?

The answer lies in the fact that God is a Spirit (John 4:24), and He moves in the spiritual, or unseen realm. When He answers our prayers, the answers come in spiritual form. Whether or not they ever move from the spiritual realm into the physical realm depends not on God’s willingness to answer us but rather on whether or not we receive. 
 
The enemy will do everything He can to cause doubt, fear, and unbelief. He wants you to become complacent about your request and give up. He will lie and say God’s promises aren't true for you. He will play havoc with your emotions. But faith defeats fear. It defeats the enemy’s lies. Faith is the proof of spiritual things, not physical things. With faith, you have visible proof of unseen things (Hebrews 11:1). Faith doesn't make God move. It only appropriates what God has already provided by His grace. Often, you must forcefully come against the enemy and by faith take hold of the truths of God’s Kingdom (Matthew 11:12). 
 
“Do not fear, little flock,” Jesus said, “for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32). It’s God’s intention for you to receive the truths of His Kingdom. 

Jesus also said:  “And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive” (Matthew 21:22). This verse must be considered with the previous verse in chapter 12, which states that having faith without doubting is essential to receiving what you ask for in prayer. 

There are other things God also requires to answer our prayers. What we ask must be consistent with His will (James 4:2-3, 1 John 5:14-15), and we must forgive (Mark 11:25-26). God won’t answer any prayer that doesn't meet His requirements.
 
“Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them” (Mark 11:24).
 
Mark 11:24 reveals one of the main differences between a God-kind of faith and a human faith. A natural, human faith, which everyone has, believes only what it senses or feels. God’s kind of faith believes in things that aren’t seen (Romans 4:17, Hebrews 11:1). When Jesus spoke these words in Mark 11:24, He was making this God-kind of faith a prerequisite to receiving answers to prayer. You must believe that you receive your answer “when you pray,” not when you see what you prayed for. This verse indicates the thing you pray for “will” come to pass. Your answer could be in an instant or over a longer period of time; the word “will” can indicate a future time.

The Lord answers our prayers that meet His requirements: we ask His will, exercise faith without doubting, and not harbor unforgiveness in our hearts. When these are met, He moves to answer our prayers, but He moves in the spiritual realm. His work on our behalf isn’t always immediately evident to our physical senses. By faith, we must believe that He is answering our prayers before we see any physical evidence. Believing when we see an answer isn’t faith (2 Corinthians 5:7), but doubting. And doubt will keep us from receiving the things we have asked of the Lord (James 1:5-7). 

Faith is our evidence (Hebrews 11:1)—not what we see and sense. Faith is where we perceive with our spiritual man instead of with the flesh. Is our confidence in what is seen or is it in the Lord? 

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him (1 John 5:14-15).
 

The Gift Of A Personal God

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
—Isaiah 53:5-6

 
Christmas is a time of joyous celebration. But how often, when we celebrate Jesus’ birth, do we dwell on the reason He was born?  If we did, the gift of His life would transform and mold us. God became personal when Jesus came into the world. Our Creator became the created. He became human for us. Born as an innocent child, He had no sin. He came into the world to take our sins upon Himself so we might forever have a deep and abiding relationship with Him.
 
The gift of His life at Calvary offers us a personal God, but our “yes” to His grace at work within us gives us a deep personal relationship with Him. 
 
God placed upon Jesus Christ all of our sins, and Jesus took them to the cross for you and me. You can't get much more personal than that. He unconditionally surrendered himself. He gave His life so we might be forgiven, healed, and whole. We can't ignore such an offering of unconditional love. It calls for our response. We either accept God’s love or reject it. If we receive the love of Jesus and allow His grace to challenge and change us, we discover His love’s incredible depth, height, breadth, and length. If we reject Him, we refuse the greatest gift ever offered.
 
Do we allow Jesus just a little of ourselves and reserve our total surrender?  We want to approach Him. We want to come boldly before Him in our time of need, but we have things we don’t want to surrender. Perhaps we want to hold on to something we know is wrong. We must permanently lay down those things God knows will affect our relationship with Him. Sometimes, we hold on to a relationship, a gift, or a calling. God asks us to lay down the importance of these gifts to realize that only our relationship with Him matters. Whatever we have in our lives, He asks us to lay everything down for His sake—just as He laid everything down for ours. Our relationships, gifts, and callings are not ours. When we surrender our lives to Him, we are empowered by His work in us and not by pride.
 
Jesus was pierced and crushed for our sins. He took our punishment so we could have the peace of an open and beautiful relationship with our Father. We are healed in spirit, soul, and body. If we say “yes” to Jesus’ love and surrender all the bad and the good to Him, we discover this personal God who loves and heals us unconditionally, empowers us with His Spirit, and uses us for His purpose. We find a personal God beyond human imagination—one who reveals Himself to us. 
 
Are you lonely and afraid, hungering for God’s presence? Does dwelling on that sin or struggle bring deliverance? Does dwelling on your loss give you peace? What has your striving gotten you except anguish, stress, and more loss? Why are you afraid to surrender to the Lord who knows you thoroughly—who wants to restore and heal you? If you could give yourself peace, you would. But you can’t. Only Jesus gives you peace because He is the only One who brought peace. God knows you personally. He wants you to know Him deeply and personally. He wants you to know and experience the peace and joy of His abiding presence. 
 
God has placed your sins, sickness, and needs upon His Son, Jesus, who has provided complete restoration and healing for you. You have no debt in Jesus, my friend. Surrender. Open the gift of His life and discover who He declares you to be in His Word. Surrender, and receive His truth. Don’t leave His gift and all its blessings to be unopened. Open His unconditional love for you now. You have a personal God who wants you to know Him as He knows you. 
 
 

Choose God’s Way

What would your life now be like had you made different choices in the past? What if you had not gone to the store that day, answered that call, or reached out to that heartbroken person? Seemingly insignificant events can change the course of your life. 
 
Paul writes of one particular time when a choice saved his life.
 
“Now it happened, when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I was in a trance and saw Him saying to me, 'Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, for they will not receive your testimony concerning Me'” (Acts 22:17-18).
 
Paul could have chosen to be anywhere else that day, but he chose to go to the temple to pray. That choice allowed God to warn him to get out of Jerusalem. What if Paul had not chosen to pray that day? That choice may have altered Paul’s future forever.
 
Our lives are made up of choices. Every choice we make can alter the direction of our lives. Being led by the Holy Spirit means listening to the Spirit as we make choices. Being sensitive to the voice of God is the way to live a victorious life. Many of our struggles result from choosing to do our own thing and not allowing God to lead us.
 
Jonah is a prime example of not listening to God. When God commanded Jonah to go to the city of Nineveh and deliver a message of repentance, Jonah attempted to flee from God’s presence. He boarded a ship headed in the opposite direction, but God sent a great storm that threw Jonah into the sea. He was swallowed by a giant fish before eventually fulfilling God’s calling. Jonah could have avoided a lot of hardship by saying yes and allowing God to lead Him.
 
There was Abraham, the Father of our Faith, who heard God telling him to leave his country and family and travel to a new land that God would show him. Abraham demonstrated tremendous faith in God by obeying this command and leaving everything familiar and comfortable.
 
Isaiah wrote of the presence of the Holy Spirit coming to live one day within believers. He said prophetically of those who would believe in Christ: “Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it.’ Whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left” (Isaiah 30:21).
 
The Holy Spirit is always speaking to us, but we are the ones who most often aren’t listening. To live the victorious life God has for us, our spiritual ears need to be attuned to His voice, and we must allow Him to lead us. We can prove stubborn like Jonah or be obedient like Abraham. But we have something more than either one of these two. Like Paul, we have the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, attempting to guide us in God’s way.

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).
 
My choices shape my future. God has a future and a hope for me. Why wouldn’t I want His best for my life? Why would I want to go my own way and not hear the Holy Spirit guiding me, saying, “This is the way. Walk in it?”

God has chosen you, my friend in Christ.  Listen to the Holy Spirit, and choose His way.

Your True Worth Is In Christ

This world is performance-driven. The hunger for acceptance and recognition drives many people. They compete to get ahead and try to earn approval. The need to prove yourself stems from pride. God's Kingdom is the very opposite. 
 
“God opposes the proud,” James wrote, “but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).
 
God’s grace is unearned and not based on how well you perform. The least is the greatest in His Kingdom. You don’t have to prove yourself to win God’s love. He has always loved you and drawn you to Himself. You received His love and acceptance as your own the moment you believed by faith in Jesus Christ.
 
Do you believe living a holy life gives you a better standing with God? It doesn’t. You don't need to prove you’re holy. He accepts you based on Christ’s merit and not yours. Righteousness is a gift from Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21). You can earn nothing. The only sin that Jesus rebuked on earth was that of self-righteousness. He never rebuked sinners—only the Scribes and Pharisees. The problem wasn’t that they were doing bad things. They were doing good things but for the wrong reason. They were performance-driven and trusting in their own goodness.
 
Living a holy life is not the same as living a grace-filled life. Look at the Pharisees. You can live a holy life for the wrong reason—to be recognized by man and to try to prove to God that you are good. Holiness doesn’t provide grace. Only Jesus gives grace. It’s His goodness that proves you are good. You don’t do good things to win God’s approval. You do good things because you know Christ has made you holy.
 
No one is good. All of us have fallen short of the glory of God. We can’t expect God to answer our prayers based on our goodness and how well we have served Him. If we ask God for something because of what we have done, we ask Him to reward our religious performance. And that insults His grace. Doing things to earn God’s grace is self-promotion and trying to relate to God based on our own efforts rather than on Jesus’s sacrifice. If we do this, we operate in pride. And pride will never raise up anyone. 
 
“Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time” (1 Peter 5:6). The only way up in God’s kingdom is down. God exalts. We don’t.

“True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less. True humility is more like self-forgetfulness than false modesty,” C. S. Lewis wrote.
 
If there is a true humility, there is also a false humility. True humility isn't putting yourself down. True humility responds positively to the grace of Jesus. It “forgets self.” Recognizing God is above everything, true humility honors and exalts Him. 
 

Humbling yourself is not a one-time thing. You must deal with “self” for the rest of your life. Everything good you have in your life comes from God. If “self” is on your throne, your “goodness” is promoted, not His. And pride keeps you working to prove what only Jesus can.
 
God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble (1 Peter 5:5). Keep recognizing and exalting the Lord above everything else in your life. When you no longer need to seek recognition or promote yourself, you’ll realize God has already exalted you with the greatest gift of all. He has given you the life of His Son.
 
“A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps” (Proverbs 16:9).
 
When you truly experience God’s unconditional love and grace, it humbles your heart. You surrender to Him, not because it’s required but because you trust in His inherent goodness. Jesus has made you worthy of God’s love; you quit struggling to prove your worth. You know you are unable to direct your own life. You rest in His grace because you have nothing to prove. There is no acceptance or recognition you require to give your life meaning. You believe your true worth is found in Christ and that what He has for your life is better than anything you could ever imagine.

Who or What Empowers Your Life?

Life is always full of issues. The moment one problem comes, the next one quickly arrives. The moment one appears solved, it suddenly isn't. We all have rough days. Often, we think that our problems are unlike anyone else’s. We think if people only knew what we were going through, they would feel sorry for us. 

Let’s look at the Apostle Paul’s response to his rough days.
 
“We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body” (2 Corinthians 4:8-10).
 
Just what kind of rough days did Paul have?
 
“…in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness—besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches” (2 Corinthians 11:23-28).
 
Which one of us has ever endured this kind of suffering? Paul held the title for rough days. No matter the persecution against him, he didn’t need anyone to feel sorry for him. Paul’s concern wasn’t for himself. His concern was for all the churches the Holy Spirit had brought to life through his ministry. 
 
Paul never let his deep concern for the churches be more important than God, the Source of his life. Paul could say he wasn’t crushed, perplexed, or in despair because he was focused on God. He wasn’t focused on the persecution that came against him. His purpose and power came from His Father, and no problem could ever discourage or deter him. Paul knew His Father would never forsake him, but would supply all his needs.

When you focus on your problem, you may think God has forsaken you. Perhaps you don’t want to admit this to yourself, but when your problem has more power in your life than God, it’s a sign you believe God won’t help you. Until you believe in your heart that God loves you so much He will never forsake you, you’ll have a trust issue.
 
You will miss the Holy Spirit's attempt to lead you through a problem when you focus on it. Your problem isn’t the source of your life! God is your everlasting, unlimited, and never-forsaking Source! When you know that God is the Source of everything you need in this life, no matter what your circumstance, you “rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in everything” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). You don’t view problems as divine gifts. Instead, you focus on God’s gift to you—Jesus. You know He has overcome. So seek the Father, the true Source of your life! Never seek pity from others! They don’t need to see your problem. You need, and they need to see your God.  

“Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-2).
 
Do you wish your rough days to empower your life, or do you want Jesus to empower you? Jesus has sat down at His Father’s right hand because His work on your behalf is done. You run a race right now that Jesus has already finished. Run your race in the Spirit, and you won’t fulfill the flesh’s insatiable need for pity. Run your race in the Spirit, and you’ll persevere and endure. Run your race always looking unto Jesus, and you won’t be crushed, perplexed, or in despair! The life of Jesus will be manifested in you!
 

Be Ruled by the Holy Spirit

Life can be an ongoing load of stress, needs, worry, and negative feelings. Financial issues, health problems, and personal struggles can keep us from enjoying life. 
 
Anything that rules your life will have power, authority, and control over you. This is a powerful truth that needs to be understood and never forgotten. We live in a world ruled by our senses. What we see, hear, and feel continually demands time and consideration, and most people never escape the demands of their senses. 
 
"And the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful” (Mark 4:19).
 
As Jesus said in Mark 4:19, the world’s cares choke the Word in your life. They can keep the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control from coming to life in you.
 
“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace” (Romans 8:5-6).
 
Paul declares that a life ruled by its senses is “death.”  This means that a sense-ruled person will have no life, joy, or peace. To a person ruled by his senses, the abundant life that Jesus came to give them seems unattainable. They find God's promises hard to believe. His promises seem distant to a person controlled by his senses.
 
“But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14).
 
A natural man is a man driven by his senses. He may even be born again, but he remains bound by what he sees, hears, and feels. Spiritual things may seem foolish to such a person. He approaches prayer and faith from what he senses. He walks by sight.
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“But to be spiritually minded is life and peace” (Romans 8:6). The person ruled by the Spirit is not trapped by what he sees, hears, and feels. Spiritual truth overcomes what the senses and flesh tell him. He prays in faith and walks by faith.
 
We have the promise of life and peace. Living a victorious life in this sense-dominated world is absolutely possible.
 
“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God” (1 Corinthians 2:12). 
 
We have received the Holy Spirit, so we might know what has been freely given to us in Jesus. We must come to a place where we know the spiritual overcomes the natural—where we trust living by the Spirit, see spiritual things, speak spiritual truth, and walk by faith.
 
“If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25). We received the Holy Spirit when we were born-again, but walking in the Spirit is conditional on us. It depends on how we renew our minds and yield to the Holy Spirit instead of allowing our senses to rule us.
 
Your flesh will always lie. Don’t let your senses trap you. Don’t let your feelings rule your life. Choose to open your spiritual eyes and see beyond this sense-ruled natural world. Choose to speak words of life and faith. Choose to meditate on the promises and not the problems. 
 
Your senses don’t have to rule your life. You can be ruled by the Spirit instead of your senses. You can walk by faith in victory.