We are in a war.
Not one that is being fought by guns and tanks, or bombs.
This war is being fought with ideas, images, mind-sets and outside influences.
This battle rages 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. The casualties are innumerable and growing ever larger.

It is the war between our flesh and our spirit…and the fruit we are producing in our lives causes us to see which side has the upper hand.

Have you noticed the darkness that is covering the earth?
The constant media barrage of death, disease, famine, war, technologies that make our lives more convenient but continue to separate us from one another,  are all so common place in our minds and experiences that we run the risk of becoming immune to the horror of them.  As we look at the world around us and the small piece of it that we call our own, it is easy to see why life is getting more difficult to manage.  Stress, one of the most widespread infirmities in recent history, is slowly destroying the fabric of peace in our civilization.

We seek answers to our questions, solutions to our problems and guidance for our futures.  As we search, who are we looking to for help?
Many of us are trying to fight the battle with our own strength.  It’s easy to lead ourselves into believing that we are seeking direction from God, but are, in reality, still struggling to gain control of our lives using our own methods, perceptions, experiences and understanding.

We must know that it is futile to trust our flesh (our thoughts, feelings, emotions and intellect) in assisting us in overcoming the dangers of the world’s way of doing things.  Our flesh always deceives us and causes us to seek out “all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16 NKJV).”  These things are not, as the scripture goes on to say, “of the Father but is of the world.”

Our need to control our lives is natural…but, it does not accomplish the perfect will God has for each of us.   The scripture refers to our living our lives based on our own way.  It says, in Proverbs 14: 12 (NKJV):

“There is a way that seems right to a man,
But its end is the way of death.”

We need something more than natural ability to procure our destiny.  We need the authority of the Spirit of the Living God to manifest our present life and our predestined future.  We need Him to execute His plan for us just as He intended…excellently, abundantly.  Our freedom in Him depends on our ability to let go of our own methods of action, our own power, strength or might.  His Word is very clear on this.

In Zechariah 4:6
New King James Version (NKJV) the Bible states:
“So he answered and said to me:
This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel:

‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’
Says the Lord of hosts.”

Any thing we need to happen in our lives, whatever it may be, cannot be completely obtained by our trying to get it in and of our own capacity.  There are things we can strive for and achieve through sheer will and determination, but those things are often temporary or limited at best.  Whatever we allow the Holy Spirit to maneuver in our circumstances and in our hearts is a permanent, enriching and satisfying experience.

Surrendering our need to control what happens in our lives and living with the understanding that our own senses and intellect are not a guaranteed source of success, empowers the Holy Spirit to operate on our behalf and get the result He desires.  And His desire for us is always better than any perceived desire we have for ourselves.

But know that succeeding in the things of our lives is “hit or miss” when we choose to do things our own way.  As the word says…not by any power of our own or by our limited human might can our lives and all that concerns us be made fruitful and satisfying, but by the Holy Spirit of God.  That is the key to true victory and freedom in the challenging world we live in today.

Our God is an Awesome God!

He is concerned with every single one of each of our needs.  He is sovereign and well able to accomplish any goal on our behalf.  Let Him do what you cannot do in every aspect of your life. Surrender your intellect, emotions, attitudes, perceptions and thoughts to the One who can make your life, your heart and your destiny better than anything you could imagine.  Then, Saints of the Most High,…

“Lift up your heads, O you gates!
And be lifted up, you everlasting doors!
And the King of glory shall come in.
 Who is this King of glory?
The Lord strong and mighty,
The Lord mighty in battle.”   –Psalm 24: 7-9 (NKJV)

Let God fight the battle for you as you attend to Him with your thanks, your praise, your obedience and your love.  And rejoice!…because through Him, we win!

Till next post…Blessings,

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