Part 18 (1/2)
Most people live believing they cannot enjoy their lives as long as they have problems. This is wrong thinking and does not reflect the way G.o.d thinks. Don't waste your life and energy dwelling on the mistakes or regrets of your past. Continue thinking about the great new future you have through Jesus Christ, and all He already has available to you, an inheritance you are only beginning to understand. You can enjoy whatever you decide to enjoy. You can enjoy sitting in a traffic jam if you decide to. Remember, this is a new way of thinking and living that G.o.d has for you to practice.
I finally learned to enjoy where I am while I am on the way to where I am going and I strongly urge you to do the same. There is much for G.o.d to do in your life for your benefit and for the benefit of those you know and influence, and He does not want you to be miserable while He is doing it. Just as babies must grow into adults, Christians must also grow. It is a process that often takes longer than we desire, but there is no point in not enjoying the journey.
Continuing to remind yourself G.o.d does not expect you to be perfect today will help you avoid spending days under guilt and condemnation after you make a mistake. G.o.d already knows you will never be completely perfect as long as you live on the earth. He does expect each of us to keep pressing on by sincerely doing our best every day to serve Him. When we keep practicing the new behaviors of our new way of thinking and living, we will eventually replace our old behaviors with the new ones as our lifestyle. Admitting our failures, asking for forgiveness for our sins, and being willing to turn from them is a big part. If we will do this, G.o.d will do the rest. He will keep working with us through His Holy Spirit. He will teach us, change us, and use us.
When you step out into a new way of living, I believe you will never be sorry. Enjoy G.o.d, enjoy yourself, and enjoy the life Jesus died to give you!
SECTION III.
Your Body-Your Home, G.o.d's Home.
CHAPTER 74.
Your Body Affects Your Spiritual Life.
Receiving Jesus as your Savior or receiving a special touch from G.o.d may be a starting place, but then we need to grow in G.o.d. Spiritual growth is not always easy, but it is necessary. The Holy Spirit will guide us by helping us see the things that need to change in our lives. He will also help us by teaching us G.o.d's Word if we will be diligent to study it. A Christian absolutely must learn the Word of G.o.d if they are going to enjoy the new life G.o.d has provided in Christ.
The Bible says if we continue in G.o.d's Word we will be His disciples and we will know the truth and it will make us free (see John 8:3132 KJV). The word ”continue” is a key word in these verses. It is not what we do wrong once that messes up our lives and it is not what we do right once that fixes them. We must ”diligently” seek G.o.d and then He rewards us (see Hebrews 11:6). If we continue to study G.o.d's Word, we will be transformed into His image (see 2 Corinthians 3:18).
Growth is a process, not an event, and the sooner we realize that the more we can enjoy the journey. Unrealistic expectations are the root cause of much unhappiness. If we expect to receive Jesus as our Savior and have everything perfect right away, we are setting ourselves up for much disappointment. However, if we realize growth is a process and will take time, we are more likely to finish the journey.
As long as we are on earth we will always be changing and growing, and that is exciting to me. I am a goal-oriented person, meaning I always like to have something to look forward to. Spiritual growth can be exciting if we learn to look at it properly. When the Holy Spirit convicts you of some area in your life that needs to change, realize that is His way of showing His love for you. He wants us to improve and be the best we can be because He knows that every change we make to be more like Him will release new levels of joy into our lives.
As we study G.o.d's Word, our eyes are opened to see things previously hidden in our lives. Things that were there all along, but we were blind to them. G.o.d's Word is light, and we should never be afraid to live in the light.
When G.o.d shows us things that need to change in our lives, we should never feel condemned or ashamed. Remember that what you are seeing for the first time, G.o.d knew was there all along. G.o.d is not surprised by our faults, He knew all about them long before we did and He loves us unconditionally. We should be repentant, which means we are sorry for our sins and willing to turn away from them to a new way of living, but feeling guilty and condemned does no good at all. It actually presses us down and steals the energy we need to work with G.o.d for improvement.
When G.o.d brings something to light in your life that will need to be changed by His power, all He wants us to do is agree with Him and ask Him to change it. While G.o.d is changing us, His love remains the same. When our behavior improves, He does not love us any more than He ever did before.
It is difficult to be enthusiastic and pa.s.sionate about anything if we feel tired all the time.
One of the things G.o.d will ultimately deal with every person about is how they take care of their body, because the body has a profound effect on the spirit. We should do everything we can do to be as healthy as possible. It is difficult to be enthusiastic and pa.s.sionate about anything if we feel tired all the time.
It is a mistake to think G.o.d only deals with us about spiritual things. As I have said, we are a tri-part being-spirit, soul, and body-and all three are very important to G.o.d. He wants to work through our entire being. The apostle Paul prayed for the Ephesians that the Holy Spirit would fill their personalities (see Ephesians 3:16) and he also prayed that they would be bodies wholly filled with G.o.d Himself (see Ephesians 3:19). G.o.d is interested in our entire being, and we should be also.
There are many things that can contribute to poor health, but one of them is trying so hard to please people that we end up placing unreasonable stress on ourselves. We all have limits and that means we will have times when we need to say no. Anytime someone wants to hear yes and we tell them no, they probably won't like it, but we must follow G.o.d, not man. Trying to keep all the people happy all the time is just too hard. If that is our goal in life, we will certainly wear ourselves out.
We all need to live with margins. That means we should leave time in between commitments for prayer, Bible study, rest, relaxation, and fun. If we merely run from thing to thing with no margin between, we will have poor personal relations.h.i.+ps, poor health, and a poverty-stricken spiritual life.
I urge you to make a decision to live a balanced life and realize that every aspect of your being is vitally important. Take care of your spirit, mind, emotions, and body. It is not wrong to take care of yourself . . . it is G.o.d's will for your new life!
CHAPTER 75.
Taking Care of Your Body-Get Some Sleep!