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Giving thanks unto the Lord, who always leads us in triumphal procession, may we continue to study His word that focuses upon the hope that is in Him and promises His goodness, saying…but those who seek the Lord, lack no good thing. [Psalms 34:10] The Holy Spirit plays a pivotal role in it, through whom the love of God has been poured into your heart. [Romans 5:5] And your hope will never disappoint you, when it finds it’s source in God, and its foundation is His word. [Romans 15:4] And it is why an understanding of the scriptures, the truth of His written word is very important. And God Himself enables you, even though your present circumstance may speak to the contrary May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may abound in hope, by the power of the Spirit. [Romans 15:13] It is when you depend on your own strength that your hope can fluctuate according to your situation.
The divine perspective:
But it need not be so, when the divine perspective is yours, even as you know and realize the truth that your hope is based on Christ, and is empowered by the Spirit in you. And giving up, need never be an option, even if the circumstance you are currently facing seems to be draining you of all hope. And, it was not a rush of feeling, but a rush of reason that he experienced, is how a servant of God has described the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit in him.
Comprehension –> conviction–> courage:
For, hope comes through the scriptures. [Verse 4] And by enabling us to understand the scriptures, the Holy Spirit helps us to abound in hope, even in the midst of challenging circumstances. ‘It is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in my eyes, ‘would be your testimony of faith then. You will experience and know that you can say, ‘When I am weak, then I am strong’. You have been given the Spirit to know Him more and more. And the Spirit gives you the power to understand, and understanding is power. [Proverbs 8:14] Therefore, you can stand strong without giving up on your hope, but abounding in it, instead.
Understanding- to bring right response:
Also, the heart of any person is deceitful and desperately wicked. And therefore even in ministering to another, it is the Spirit’s power , and the grace of God, that gives you the understanding that enables you to bring about an understanding, that points to the need for a right response, in the heart of another person. The Lord, had the understanding to show the rich young man what his problem was, that – it was not about him having money, but about money having him. He went away disappointed, for He was unable to obey the Lord’s word to him. [Matthew 19:16-30] Partial obedience is not what the Lord requires of us, but to be able to say like the apostle Paul, It is no longer I, but Christ who lives in me’. It is the fullness of Christ, or Christian maturity that the Lord desires, and it can be accomplished in you, only in His strength.
Confronted, challenged, to be conformed:
Also, there could be some aspects in your life and mine, that need to be confronted. And it is an understanding in the Spirit’s power that reveals it, and also empowers you to respond rightly to it. And you will see that what you are led to give up, is nothing compared to what you would gain. The world wants a genie god, But Christianity is counter culture, and the thoughts of God, are higher. And the Holy Spirit empowers you with understanding to align your thoughts to His. It is a wrong understanding that makes a person think that God spoke to Abraham, only to ask him to give up something. A right understanding of the truth would be that, God asks you to give up something, only because He has something much much better for you. With Abraham it was the blessing of becoming the father of faith, the father of many nations.
Understanding of His love:
And, it is with a true understanding of His love , and the Spirit’s power, that giving up your thoughts and your self will becomes possible. He has demonstrated His love, by laying down His life for us, while you and I were yet sinners, promising something that is incomparably higher and better. But sin in you is the voice that says, ‘You do not need God; you are God’. It is the age old lie of the evil one, who promises you freedom, and you end up becoming his slave. And even to bring an understanding that leads to a right response, you need the Holy Spirit’s power to operate in you. It is what happened in the life of Zacchaeus. The Lord simply declared His desire to stay at his house. And the kindness of God led to an immediate repentance in him, to hear the Lord say that salvation had come to his house. [Luke 19:1-10] Therefore, in His love, may the Lord confront you this day, empowering you to change, to say, ‘Not my will and my way, but Your will and Your way’, in every aspect of your life.
Not my will, my way, but Thine:
Father, We thank Thee for Your Spirit’s power, that enables us to understand; for Thy grace, that enables us to overcome our reluctance to walk in obedience to Your voice, letting go of our own thoughts and ways, to take the high road, to do Your will, know You more and more, that we may abound in hope, in the power of Your love. In the Name of Christ Jesus Amen.
