Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.
—Psalm 139:23-24 (NLT)
Do you realize God sees your heart through the gift of His Son's life—that He already knows you intimately and any anxious thoughts you have? Jesus has brought you peace with God, and you have no reason to fear anything. Because Jesus has given you free access to His Father, fear melts in God's presence. Jesus has defeated all of fear's power to determine your thought life. Anything that has controlled you in the past now has no power in Jesus to control you. Not fear. Not a sin. When the Holy Spirit points out something in your life that is not right, it is not to condemn you but to inspire you to turn away from it before it hurts your relationship with God.
Is there anything that blocks your closeness with God? You can pray all you want, but if you have something in your life that hurts His heart, your ability to hear Him will weaken. When a sin hinders the righteousness in your life that Jesus has given you, the Holy Spirit convicts you with His righteousness. You are unable to draw close to Him, and you don’t feel His pleasure. The Holy Spirit reveals what is wrong, and to feel intimacy with Him again, you turn away from whatever it is and let it go. I’m so thankful that the Holy Spirit convicts with righteousness instead of condemning us. There is no condemnation in Jesus. He didn’t come into the world to condemn but to save.
“I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you,” Jesus told His disciples in the upper room right before Gethsemane. “He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you” (John 14:16-17, NLT). The disciples knew the Holy Spirit because He had been with them. Jesus tells them that the Holy Spirit would one day live within them. The Spirit within their lives would guide them into all truth.
“When the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit,” Jesus said, “he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you. I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid” (John 4:26-27, NLT).
The Holy Spirit guides you into all truth. He convicts you with His righteousness and leads you through this life right into everlasting life. The Holy Spirit continually teaches you and then reminds you of everything He has shown you. Jesus left you with a gift when He died for you—His peace in your mind and heart. And His peace is a gift that the world cannot give.
Allow God to freely search your heart and mind to reveal what you need in your life to keep intimacy in your relationship with Him. Let go of what you don’t need—not only in what you do but also in how you think. Accept what He guides you to do and how to think. Christ will guard you in His perfect peace when your mind remains on Him. Instead of fear over circumstances, your life with resonate with the gift of His peace.
©2020 Lynn Lacher
www.lynnlacher.com/2020/07/the-gift-of-his-peace.html
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