I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
Galatians 2:20
How many of us are frustrated in trying to live a God-honoring and righteous life and yet find ourselves failing over and over again? What is the problem? According to the Bible, the problem is that we are relying on our natural power and abilities and we are not living by the power of God with Christ in us. Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 26:41 that their spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak. If we seek to do the things the Lord would have us to do but do not learn to tap into the power of the Holy Spirit in us, which is also called the Spirit of Christ, we will find failure to be the result. We may get results, but they will not be of the type that God intended. We have to remember that Christ saved us so we could serve Him and bless others. God is more interested in us being successful and faithful in living out our faith than we are. If there is a problem, it is because we are not surrendering to Him and His work in us as we should. In the natural physical world, our bodies must have energy and power generated within us to overcome all the elements of our environment that would kill us. If our body fails to produce this energy, we will die unless we get hooked up to a machine that will provide the power to keep us going. In a spiritual way, if we are without Christ in our life, we are dead in regard to our relationship with God as our sin cuts us off from the needed spiritual power He provides. When we call out to God from our heart and put our faith in Jesus for salvation, His Spirit then indwells us and gives us the power we need to live for Him which is what the above verse details. It is only by Jesus and His Spirit in us that we can do anything of real eternal value. To make this new life in us active in our personal life, we must follow what Jesus told His disciples in Luke 9:23 that if anyone desires to be His disciple, He must deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow Him. It is when we get our self-interest out of the way by denying ourself, then willingly embrace the task God leads us in, and then follow His leadership by the Word of God and the Spirit of God that we truly let Christ live in us. There is only one way, surrender to Christ for salvation and then for His empowerment each day! The blessed life comes when we not only acknowledge this, but live it. I hope you are experiencing this today, and if not, you begin to.
Love in Christ,
Pastor Gary Houdek