“But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” Romans 8:9-11
I’ll be driving about 50 miles today to get to court. My vehicle sits in my garage with a full tank of gas. I parked it there last night. It has four good tires, the oil has been changed, and it’s never once failed to get me where I need to go in all the 238,000 miles I’ve driven. By every indication—it is highly dependable. But, if I don’t believe in it enough to get in and start the engine—well, it’s going to be a very long walk! In fact, I’ll be late for court, because to be on time I would have needed to start walking yesterday morning. And when I got there, I’d be exhausted and not much good to my client. It wouldn’t surprise me if people questioned my sanity for not using my vehicle instead of needlessly wasting so much time and energy walking when I could have driven.
But, this is very much how many of us tend to live our Christian life.
When we are born again, according to Romans 8:9, we hold the greatest power on earth within us—“the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead.” Are you firing up that power today? Do you want to? How many Christians do you know who seem to approach each day with the burden and fatigue of having to slog life out as if they’re walking 50 miles to work?
God has given us a powerful ride!
When we are born again, we have the power of HIS Spirit within us. My friend, don’t leave this ride in the garage!!! The more God teaches me about how to engage His Spirit in every aspect of my life, the more opportunities I have to fulfill my divine purpose and bring glory to Him. ANYONE who has been born again has this remarkable opportunity! God has a perfect plan for you.
For many, many years of my Christian life, I didn’t understand how to get this powerful rig out of the garage and put it to use. I was deceived by the enemies, especially my flesh and my addiction to the selfish ways of the world. Sometimes I still am when I start to do my day without the powerful gift of God’s Spirit, and I’m out there underperforming again.
Wow—that’s even more insane than walking 50 miles to court!
God deserves our greatest faith. We often place disproportionately more faith in such lesser things. I just flipped a switch to make a delicious cup of dark roast coffee. I did NOT have to—get dressed, go outside, gather wood, start a fire, get water from the creek, manually grind coffee beans, and boil coffee in a percolator over an open fire—to make a cup of joe. Why would I do all that work when it’s so much easier to engage technology at my fingertips? And—do I believe MORE in my coffee pot than I BELIEVE in the power of the Holy Spirit? When I engage God’s power in all I do, HE empowers ME to do HIS work. It is ineffective and inefficient to believe only in myself.
God has a much more powerful plan for us than we can imagine!
God has many exciting opportunities and blessings planned for us today; but we need to exercise more faith in Him than we do in inanimate objects. We need to place HIM in control! When we do…we ride on the wings of supernatural faith and abound in hope, joy and peace! Paul prayed:
“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13
My friend, as we gain more and more of God’s perspective, His attitudes, and His mind—we LIVE in the reality that God has given us the same power that raised Jesus from the dead! The Holy Spirit is a powerful ride. He moves mountains in ways our frail mind NEVER predicts. Don’t keep God’s powerful ride in your garage of unbelief. God has a plan for you today that will blow your mind!
4 Responses
I definitely feel that my engine has stalled out. I never doubt my faith or the loving existence of our Lord and Savior. I just don’t seem to be contributing to his kingdom very enthusiastically. My engine needs a tuneup! Thank you for this wonderful devotional. God bless you, sweet friend
We all do, E! So glad God is patient with me! You should consider joining our focus group for the Basic Bible Truths for Life Class. It just started and you can do it by zoom if you like. Shoot me an email if you are interested! I’m stoked about this workbook!
thanks that was very encouraging and appreciated
Praise God! He is so faithful!