not by my own accord

I've been reading about being controlled by the Spirit, and all these things that go along with that (which is a lot). And it has been very applicable to the happenings in my life (as it should be). Of course I have all these ambitions about who I want to be and how I want to live, and yes, these desires are based on what I read in God's word, but will not be achievable by any means unless I am completely surrendered to the Spirit of the Lord. And instead of this thought being intimidating as it potentially could be, it is liberating, knowing that the perfect, omnipotent, omnipresent, holy, immutable, righteous Creator of the heavens and the earth has the desire to change me and direct my life provided that I simply surrender to His Spirit. I know this and I have known this for some time, and yet, I seem time and time again to fail; to take my life into my own hands and run rampant through this world doing as I please according to my own desires and intentions, all the while, God is patiently whispering, "be filled with My Spirit" (Eph. 5:18). I know that I can do nothing apart from Him, and so, time and time again I find myself repenting of my inability to follow this simple command and asking the Lord that He would do this work in me.

"For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh in death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. HOWEVER, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you." (Romans 8:5-11)

And so, because the Spirit of God is already in me, I can be led by the Spirit. I can seek to live my life for the glory of God, to submit to the Spirit, be changed for the better, and live with my eyes set on eternity.



This is a photo I took of my dad. He's had a pretty crazy past couple years, and the recent months haven't let up. He needs to know Jesus, so if you're reading this post, and you're someone who prays, could you pray for him?