From death to life
The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you. Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father. For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. Romans 8:11-16
When you are going through difficult circumstances, several things are running through your mind. Thoughts like, “Why am I going through this problem?” “What good can come out of this experience?” or “Why is God taking too long to remove this trial in my life?” These questions could be coming from a heart of unbelief and if not addressed immediately could lead to complaining and resentment. From the text, the apostle Paul is reminding believers to not let the old sinful nature continue to dictate how one should live the Christian life (v. 13). Instead submit to the Holy Spirit and let Him lead so you will no longer be overcome with fears and doubts. We have to let the power of the Holy Spirit put to death the desires of the old sinful life. This can only happen when we wholeheartedly surrender to His working in our lives. If we will be halfhearted about this matter, we will find it difficult to overcome our unbelief. When we came to know Christ as our Lord and Savior, we placed our complete trust that what He did on the cross and the blood He shed were enough to provide us the perfect righteousness that blots out our sins. If we have trusted Him in this way, it should not be a problem to continue to live in faith. Once we grow in faith to God, we can face the circumstances we are dealing with for we know that they are part of our life experiences to strengthen our dependence on Him. Pray earnestly and meditate on His word so you would be able to overcome your unbelief. Let your circumstances draw you more closely to God and trust that He is the sovereign One who is in control. “For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18).
Blessings,
Noel De Guzman
www.my-wbc.com
