►Click HERE to view today's "Word from the Word"
The Holy Spirit's work in your life isn't limited to the
moment you were saved. While your salvation was an incredible, mysterious, and
profound act of the Spirit, His work is designed to continue beyond that. The
Spirit's purpose is to lead you on a lifelong journey of transformation,
shaping you into the image of Jesus Christ through God's power.
After the Holy Spirit started this process, are you now
trying to achieve perfection through your own efforts? How could you be so
foolish? Paul reminds us that our faith journey, which began through the Holy
Spirit's supernatural work, cannot be completed by our own efforts. Instead, we
must rely on God's power at every step of our spiritual growth.
Paul speaks to the Galatian believers, who began their
Christian lives with the Holy Spirit's power but were now trying to achieve
spiritual maturity through their own efforts. In their cultural context, they
were influenced by Judaizers, who taught that adhering to Jewish Law was
necessary for salvation and sanctification. Paul corrects this by emphasizing
that both our salvation and sanctification are works of the Holy Spirit, not of
human efforts.
When we try to perfect ourselves, the inevitable results are
frustration, discouragement, burnout, a life of rules and legalism, comparing
ourselves with others, and missing out on God's best for our lives. Relying on
ourselves limits the incredible things God can do in our lives.
It's easy to start our walk with God relying on Him, but
then slowly drift to relying on our own abilities. This passage reminds us that
every step of our Christian life is a work of the Spirit – start to finish.
Take a look at your life for areas where you might be trying
to earn God's favor or grow spiritually through your own efforts. Don’t be
foolish. Self-perfection is impossible! Surrender those areas to the Holy
Spirit, inviting Him to work in and through you. Stop trying to do God’s work
with human strength. Enter into the peace of placing the burden for your
spiritual growth back where it belongs – on the Holy Spirit’s wonderful,
mysterious, ever-working power.
No comments:
Post a Comment