Ephesians 3:20(NLT)
“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.”
I’ve heard a number of young Christians say that it’s hard to live up to God’s standard. Spiritual maturity allows me to know that this is said because they haven’t learned to link actions with consequences, and they are still in a phase where youthful desires dominate their minds and hearts. Galatians 5:22-23(NLT) tells us, “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” The Spirit’s fruit are a rich harvest, and Galatians 5:23 tells us that there’s no law that can match or contradict them. This lets us know that there’s nothing hard or difficult about living in the Spirit, we just have to renew our minds and get out of the flesh.
Does the walk of a believer require dedication, discipline and a made-up mind? Sure it does, but anything worth having will require this level of commitment. Having a more than abundant life, filled with the blessings of God will require us to decrease in the flesh and increase in the Spirit. What does it mean to be in the flesh? Well, Adam and Eve started this ‘in the flesh’ living. It began when they were tempted by the devil to THINK that living outside of God’s Sovereignty and Will would give them more than Heavenly Father had already given them. This kind of thinking is doubt. It is wrong believing. But Adam and Eve moved it from a thought to an action, and when we act on wrong believing, it is sin. It is disobedience to the Will and Word of God. Because of Adam’s and Eve’s disobedience, sin began to do what sin does, which is to spread.
Sin came into Adam’s flesh, and because the man carries the reproductive seed, sin spread to everyone that was born after him. Romans 5:17(NLT) tells us, “For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.” God tells us that His wonderful grace and the gift of righteousness that He’s given us through Christ is the greatest of all, and everyone that chooses to receive it will triumph over sin, darkness, and destruction. We will triumph and live a victorious life because of what Christ has accomplished for us.
We must understand that sin is not a natural state, action, or choice. It is outside the boundaries of God’s plan for human beings. He wants us to live a blessed existence, packed with abundance and good things. Those who practice a lifestyle of sin have nothing in common with the Kingdom of God. Therefore, when we think and behave as Adam and Eve did when they disobeyed God, we must make a change. We must renew our minds to God’s Will and Plan. Then, we can be in alignment with what He wants us to do, think, say, be, believe and receive.
Many single believer’s struggle with drifting away from God because they perceive it as a challenge to live righteously while dating. They don’t believe that pleasing God yields huge rewards, but instead, they feel desperate for love from another human being. They are overwhelmed by these feelings of desperation because they haven’t pursued God through Jesus Christ. They allow their lusts to short-circuit the memory of who they were created to be, and they cast Godly principles and standards to the side. They haven’t changed their thoughts and feelings to line up with the truth of what God says in His Word. And because they haven’t, satan continues to whisper lies in their ears. This isn’t a workable strategy for life.
We serve such a loving Heavenly Father. He grants to us grace and mercy, and He forgives us for our ignorance and unwillingness to seek Him first in all that we do. But we must recognize that there is a hefty price for our refusal to seek God first. The responsibility to saturate our minds and hearts with the love of God is totally on us. Only we can make this choice. God’s Word will keep us on the straight and narrow path if we apply its principles and walk in faith. It teaches us that the path to righteousness is very narrow, but the path to ungodliness is broad and wide. It is upon us to not be ignorant and to sharpen ourselves in Godliness. We have an adversary that is aware of our status as Kingdom Kids, and he tries to thwart our efforts to be victorious, but we can and should stand strong on God’s Word and resist the devil on every hand.
Ephesians 3:20 tells us that God is able to accomplish infinitely more than we can ask or think, but we must allow His power to be at work. This means that we must seek to get all the knowledge and understanding of God’s Word that our minds can handle. When we do this, we will witness God as our Protector, Provider, and Refuge, and we will give more room for His power to be at work in our lives.♦
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“God Is Our Protector, Provider, and Refuge”, written by Kim Times, edited by Reverend Fran Mack, for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2021. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.