Grace: One Step at a Time, Part 3
Our lives, even in the most mundane of events, will be revolutionized as we keep the nearness and love of God in the front of our minds. Pastor Chuck Smith reminds us of this truth in our series, Why Grace Changes Everything, based on his popular book of the same title. We are to deliberately make God our constant traveling companion as we move through the day.
Communing with God
A high priority on prayer is another essential for experiencing the joys of walking in the Spirit. As we thrill to the excitement of communing with God, we find ourselves being strengthened in spirit. We become more and more conscious of the presence of God in all that we do and in every circumstance we encounter.
Being aware of God's presence opens our understanding to a fuller and more developed worldview. I am convinced that one of our greatest needs is to become more and more aware of God's presence at all times. When Paul spoke to the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers in Athens as recounted in Acts 17, KJV, he declared, “In [God] we live, and move, and have our being” (verse 28).
Our lives can be remarkably transformed when we come to realize that God is with us continually. Losing sight of that fact can open the door to spiritual disaster. The farther God is removed from our consciousness, the more we are strongly drawn to the things that feed and please our fallen nature. When we stumble and fall, we may point to many external factors to explain our behavior, but the root of our problem is a failure to keep God's presence in mind. The instruction to walk in the Spirit simply means that we are to deliberately make God our constant traveling companion as we move through the day.
When we walk in the Spirit, living in constant awareness of the presence of God, we no longer need others to nag and preach at us about living up to Christian standards. Our lives will be revolutionized as we keep the nearness and love of God in the front of our minds.
Turning Irritation into Joy
The way we think about even the most mundane things changes radically when we allow the Holy Spirit to rule our lives. Our outward circumstances may remain the same, but our attitude undergoes such a total transformation that we find joy even in things that used to irritate us.
We all have things to do that we find detestable. We go through a classic approach-avoidance conflict, knowing that while we hate to do these things, failing to do them will only worsen our situation.
I despise taking out the trash. Yet I know that if I don't do it, there will soon be a foul odor stinking up the porch. Therefore, I bite the bullet and do the job. I would much rather be enjoying a bowl of chocolate-chip ice cream, but if I neglect my duty, soon the stench of decaying garbage will mix with the flavor of chocolate chips, and suddenly my desire for ice cream melts away.
Even in something as ordinary as this household chore, I have a choice. I can grumble about how much I hate hauling garbage, or I can seize the time it takes to do this job and commune with God. I can worship Him by whistling a tune of thanksgiving and love as I walk to the curb. As I draw near to God, I find myself thinking less about trash and more about His grace. I can sail through even the most distasteful task and not be perturbed by it if I set my mind on the things of the Spirit.
Consider waiting as another example. There are few things more aggravating than a red traffic light when you're in a hurry, knowing that you'll have to wait through a whole sequence of signals before you can get moving again.
But rather than getting tense, I have made it a practice to keep my Bible on the seat beside me. When I come to a red light and know I have some time, I'll start to read a portion of Scripture. The next thing I know the guy behind me is honking his horn. Time passes so quickly when I feed on the Word!
Walking in the Spirit becomes an exciting experience as we learn what it means to be in deep fellowship with God. We become more and more attuned to the things of God—from His presence within our hearts to the marvelous works of His creation.
In our next installment, Pastor Chuck discusses how the Holy Spirit, dwelling in our hearts, guides us.
Follow the series, “Grace: One Step at a Time” at Part 1, Part 2
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