God has an excellent plan for our lives, and the more we know about it, the more meaningful and fulfilling our lives will become. Heavenly Father doesn’t move us about like puppets, and He doesn’t cause the troubling situations and circumstances we sometimes encounter in life. But we should know that God will teach us very important spiritual lessons through everything we experience—the good times and the bad. He is grooming us to take hold of all that He has purposed us to do, and He is grooming us to take possession of all the blessings He has in store for us. He is aiding our progression toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, as it says in Philippians 3:14. We are not perfect, but day by day we are being perfected in Christ. We are being aligned with the person Heavenly Father has destined us to be. It is a process, and in order to keep pressing and growing, we must learn to walk in God’s power.
When you get right down to it, our purpose within God’s Will and Plan is the thing that holds our lives together. It is a very deep and ingrained treasure that God has placed at the very core of who we are. Most people never seek to know it, but for those of us who do, we must understand that there’s a cost. Luke 14:25-26(NLT) tells us, “A large crowd was following Jesus. He turned around and said to them, “If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple.” God has already told us in His Word that we must love Him with all that we are; mind, heart, soul, and strength. Jesus Christ is telling us in Luke 14:25-26 what this looks like.
God is not telling us to hate the people we love most, but He is making it clear that our relationship with Him through the Lord Jesus Christ must be center stage at all times. We must look at ourselves honestly and ask if we’re putting our relationship with others above our relationship with God. What are we giving place in our hearts? What’s first with us? Because when it comes to the Father, nothing can take precedent over our love for Him. 1Corinthians 4:20(NLT) tells us, “For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God's power.” Lip service will never cut it when it comes to walking in our destinies and capturing all that God has for us. Words mean nothing without action to back them up. If we’re going to show up in this partnership with God through the Lord Jesus Christ, everyday must be surrendered to Him. It’s “Father, what can I do today to please You?” It’s “Not my will but Your Will be done in my life.” It’s a commitment to live by His power and this means living HIS way.
Jesus Christ continues to tell us in Luke 14:27-28(NLT), “And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple. But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it?” Jesus Christ makes it very plain that there’s a choice to be made when it comes to being his disciples. Life on our own terms is no more when God is our focus. There are some things in our lives that will have to die, and we need to know this. We can’t be conformed to the world and conformed to Christ at the same time. There’s a cost to being on this journey, and it is very possible that some of the things in our lives that make us comfortable will need to be cut off. Through the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit that indwells us, God will help us as we surrender those things that hold us back.
Ephesians 3:20(NKJV) tells us, “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” Nothing compares to living the life you were always meant to live. It isn’t about riches. It’s not about clothes, being a sneaker-head, or driving a certain type of vehicle. All those things are rewards, but they aren’t the prize. The prize is walking in the power of God and seeing how this power is manifested in our lives daily. God is the One that placed our destinies within us. He knows the very reason we were created. We must be willing to lay down some of the things we’re doing and begin to pursue God’s agenda by praying and studying His Word more. His Will must be done on earth as it is in heaven, and we are the ones to achieve this as we allow the Lord Jesus Christ to teach us and learn to walk in God’s power. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
“Learning to Walk in God’s Power!” written for victoryinjesuschrist.life© 2019. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
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