Author: Sis Mhay

Scripture: “Get up, cry out in the night, even as the night begins. Pour out your heart like water in prayer to the Lord.” Lamentations 2:19 (NCV)

In the very first chapter of Job, everything in his life fell apart. His response? “Job stood up, tore his robe in grief, and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground and worshiped” (Job 1:20 GW).

Notice that Job openly expressed his pain to God. When you experience pain, do you tell God exactly how you feel? It should be the first thing you do.

This may surprise you, but God can handle your anger and frustration. He can handle your emotions. Why? Because he gave them to you. You were made in his image, and he is an emotional God.

When your 2-year-old has a temper tantrum and pulls on your legs, you can handle that. In the same way, God is bigger than your emotions, and it’s okay to tell him exactly how you feel.

When you pray for a promotion but don’t get it, when a loved one walks out of your life, or when you get the dreaded call saying, “It’s cancer,” you can tell God how you feel. You can say, “I’m mad. I’m upset. I’m frustrated.” God can handle your complaints, questions, fear, and grief. God’s love for you is bigger than all your emotions.

God wants us to have an honest, gut-level conversation with him! He would rather you wrestle with him in anger than walk away in detached apathy.

When tragedy strikes, you don’t have to grin and bear it. Instead, go to your heavenly Father with your pain. “Get up, cry out in the night, even as the night begins. Pour out your heart like water in prayer to the Lord” (Lamentations 2:19 NCV).

There is a habit in human behaviour to look at things that are either known to be harmful or can be if abused and see them as nothing. If you look at all the habits people have, many of them are harmful and we know this but when it comes to saying no, we reason in ourselves that the danger is not for us but others. We downplay the consequences, believing that it won’t happen to us. As we live like this, we bring on ourselves all kinds of troubles that may have powerful impact on how we live the rest of our lives. Consider for a moment, how simple actions often lead to great harm yet before we do the action, we are OK with it.  Once done we can undo what we did but must choose to live with it. In Christian life, God has called us to live differently from the world. This means we think differently and act differently because we are no longer led by our natural desires that say it is “OK”. Instead we are led by God, who knows what is best. This is the way God wants it but many Christians for love of the world fail to surrender all to God and thus take sin and the death it brings lightly. Many enjoy toying with sin. This has powerful consequences.

For the wages of sin is death,

but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Rom. 6:23

In our spiritual life, it is easy to have this same mentality and bring on ourselves more serious harm than in the physical. The bible tells us that what we see here in the natural is short live or temporary but what is in the spiritual is eternal (2 Cor. 4:18). The consequences for ignoring God’s word is that sin becomes something we get used to, instead of something we are overcoming. We tend to follow the world’s standard instead of honoring God by being faithful to His standard. We downplay or water down the sin so that we can enjoy them just like the rest of the world. Deciding that a sin is not that bad, does not change the way God sees it and, in the end, He is the one who judges and he does so by His standard not ours. So, it may be little white lies, looking at things that are sexy, vulgar, violent and thinking it is OK, cheating in small ways, speaking words we shouldn’t, it is all still sin. Sin brings death (James 1:15).

But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear. Isa. 59:2

The reason God is so intense about our sin is that it kills us spiritually, physically and mentally. Sin makes us impure and corrupts us spiritually. Think about lying and how it stains our reputation, causes a person to lie not once but multiple times. A person loses sight as to what is true and what is false. God knows all this and out of love calls us to walk in truth with love (Eph. 4:14-15). Why? So that we can live without being hurt by the harm brought on to us by sinning. When we sin, we die spiritually because we are separated from God who is the source of all life. Most of the population in the world is dead as described in Eph. 2, but Christians have been given a new life, as long as we walk with God. We can choose to sin but the harm it brings will still apply to us and it will separate us from His presence.

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
Jeremiah 17:7-8

Who are the blessed? There are people who regard the blessed lot as lucky persons because they get what they want without having to work for it and they live a comfortable and easy life. In perspective, as long as we have this breath of life, our life will be filled with ups and downs, joy and sorrow, good and bad things. Besides, we either have our dream fulfilled or face disappointment.

So, what does it mean if as a result of our belief in God we are blessed? For those who put their trust in God, they are blessed because they know for certain that God is in control and everything that happens is not without God’s consent and whatever the outcome, is for the benefit of those who trust Him wholeheartedly.

When we are in a difficult situation, blessing comes in the form of strength and wisdom from God; when we are going through a dry patch in life or are facing heat because of growing crisis, knowing God is with us is a blessing. As we draw on living water in God, the deeper our root is, the more refreshed we shall be. Moreover, for those who put their trust in God, they will be blessed with a fruitful life.

May the word of God encourage us to develop our spiritual life so that our relationship with God will be strengthened, and we shall have no fear when facing scorching heat or drought. With God as our focus, we shall be fruitful and through us, His name will be glorified.

Scriptures: Philippians 3:12-14

“Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own…..Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Paul offered encouragement and food for thought by writing letters. He spoke out of his own experience and readily accepted that he was not perfect. In perspective, for those who intend to make progress in life, knowing that they still need to improve themselves is what drives them forward.

For one who thinks that he is already good at what he is doing and is perfect, it is unlikely that he will make much effort to develop himself further. As for one who thinks that life is a challenge and there is still a lot for him to learn, he will not be complacent but to try to improve himself. A case in point, there are people who never stop breaking their own record simply because they realize there is room for them to improve further.

However, there will be instances that no matter how hard we have tried, the result might not be what we have expected. Paul advised us not to ponder what was behind and not to dwell with what’s in the past. He emphasized to forget the past and to start again. People learn from mistakes to become perfect; they are prepared to improve themselves whenever there is a chance for them to do so.

Paul also advised us to concentrate on setting new targets even though we have failed many times. Each failure is the stepping stone toward a successful venture. Every successful man will share the same experience that success does not come easy but is through steadfastness and perseverance after many failed attempts.

Do not therefore stop thinking about improving oneself because what lies ahead is greater than what is in the past. Paul was able to do it because it was God who gave him strength. So today, even though we are not yet perfect but let’s be resolute to perfect ourselves. Not by our own might and strength but with the God by our side, we shall achieve all things.

God wants every believer to live according to His seed which is put in him when he is born again. A believer who lives according to this seed does not sin because the nature of this seed is righteous. The apostle John wrote, “Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and him cannot sin, because he has been born of God.” (1 John 3:9)

The normal life of a believer is the righteous life. He does not sin because God’s seed remains in him. However, the experience of a believer shows that he still sins. Why? God’s seed resides deeply in him. To always live according to this seed he must constantly abide in Christ. He must be conscious of Christ’s presence in his life all the time, seeing Him and knowing Him. The apostle John wrote, “Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.” (1 John 3:6)

A believer must learn to abide in Christ so that he can always live according to God’s seed in Him. What does abiding in Christ mean? The Lord Jesus said, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.” (John 15:4) The picture of abiding in Christ is a branch abiding in the vine. To bear fruit a branch must stay connected to the vine. Likewise, to live a righteous life a believer must stay connected to Christ.

When someone believes in Christ, he is in Him. As long as he continues to believe in Christ, he stays connected to Him. So, to abide in Christ a believer does not need to do anything, except keep on believing. The apostle John wrote, “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.” (1 John 5:13)

The problem with many believers is not they do not believe, but they do not continue to believe. They believe for a while, but in time of temptation they fall away (Luk 8:13). As long as they believe, they will live according to God’s seed in them. They will live a righteous live. But, the moment they do not believe, they will immediately fall into sin.

What makes a believer do not believe anymore? His own understanding. When a believer leans on his own understanding, he will fall into unbelief, then into sin. Adam and Eve fell into sin, not because they had an evil heart, but because they used their own understanding to reason about God’s commandment. In his great wisdom King Solomon wrote, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.” (Prv 3:5)

When a believer trusts or believes in Christ with all his heart, he will abide in Christ, but when he leans on his own understanding he will not abide in Christ. So, the key to abide in Christ is not to think with the mind, but to trust with the heart. Drawing away his attention from his mind and putting his trust in Christ alone with all his heart will make a believer live a righteous life.

A simple but very effective way to draw away the attention from the mind is to ignore the thoughts in it. Instead the attention should be placed in the heart where Christ is. When the attention is focused more on the heart than on the mind, the presence of Christ within will be felt more than the thoughts in the mind, which is the sign of abiding in Christ.

Many believers think that living a righteous life is all God wants from them. However, God wants every believer to live a holy life. What is the difference between a righteous life and a holy life? Being righteous is being obedient to God’s commandment whereas being holy is being set apart for God’s plan and purpose.

The difference between living a righteous life and living a holy life is like the difference between living as a law-abiding citizen and living as a soldier. A law-abiding citizen is a person who lives for himself, but does not break the law of his country. A soldier is a person who does not live for himself, but for his country. He is more than just a law abiding citizen because he serves his country. A believer can still live for himself in the kingdom of God and be righteous, but only a believer who lives for God and serves His kingdom purpose is holy.

The difference between living a righteous life and living a holy life is like the difference between living as a law-abiding citizen and living as a soldier. A law-abiding citizen is a person who lives for himself, but does not break the law of his country. A soldier is a person who does not live for himself, but for his country. He is more than just a law abiding citizen because he serves his country. A believer can still live for himself in the kingdom of God and be righteous, but only a believer who lives for God and serves His kingdom purpose is holy.

The story of a rich young ruler who came to Jesus is a perfect illustration of someone who lives a righteous life, but is not willing to live a holy life. From his youth he had already kept God’s commandments, but when Jesus told him to sell all that he had and follow him, he was not willing. The young man said to Him (Jesus), “All these things (God’s commandments) I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. (Mat 19:20-22)

The apostle Paul wrote, “I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.” (Rom 6:19) Righteousness is actually the foundation of holiness. A believer who does not live in righteousness will not be able to live in holiness. Nevertheless, the life of a believer should not stop in righteousness, but from righteousness he should progress into the life of holiness.

The life of the Lord Jesus is the perfect example of the life of righteousness progressing into the life of holiness. In the first thirty years of His life, the Lord Jesus always lived to fulfill all righteousness, that is, to keep all God’s commandments. When He was twelve years old, He was subject to His parents (Luk 2:51). When He was thirty years old, He was subject to John the Baptist to be baptized by him (Mat 3:15). In the last three and a half years of His life, the Lord Jesus always lived a holy life, fulfilling God’s plan and purpose. He said, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.” (John 4:34)

The Lord Jesus entered the life of holiness from the life of righteousness after He was baptized with water and the Holy Spirit. The apostle John wrote, “When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.” (Mat 3:16) Water baptism and Holy Spirit baptism is necessary for a believer to enter the life of holiness. Water baptism is the burial of the world and the things of the world whereas Holy Spirit baptism is the enduement of power from heaven.

A believer who has been baptized with water and the Holy Spirit baptism should live a holy life. He should not live for this world nor for the things of this world because the world is dead to him and he to the world. Instead, he should live for God and for His kingdom purpose because he is alive to God and the heavenly things. Nevertheless, why do many believers who have received both water baptism and Holy Spirit baptism still live for this world and the things of this world? Because there was no consecration in their hearts when they received water baptism and Holy Spirit baptism. Their water baptism is just ceremonial and their Holy Spirit baptism is just about receiving the ability to speak in tongues.

A believer who has been baptized with water and the Holy Spirit baptism should live a holy life. He should not live for this world nor for the things of this world because the world is dead to him and he to the world. Instead, he should live for God and for His kingdom purpose because he is alive to God and the heavenly things. Nevertheless, why do many believers who have received both water baptism and Holy Spirit baptism still live for this world and the things of this world? Because there was no consecration in their hearts when they received water baptism and Holy Spirit baptism. Their water baptism is just ceremonial and their Holy Spirit baptism is just about receiving the ability to speak in tongues.

To live a holy life a believer must always be full of the Holy Spirit. To be full of the Holy Spirit he must be empty of himself and the things of this world. To be empty, he must constantly surrender everything to God, including himself. He must be completely consecrated to God. In the words of the Lord Jesus, he must always deny himself and take up his cross daily.

To live a righteous life a believer must die to sin. However, to live a holy life a believer must not only die to sin, but to self as well. He must not only die to sinful things of this world, but also to the natural things of this world. For example, it is possible for a believer to live a righteous life and be rich in this world at the same time, but it is impossible for a believer to live a holy life and become rich in this world at the same time. The story of the rich young ruler who came to Jesus illustrates it (Mat 19:16-22).

The apostle Paul wrote, “Do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit.” (Eph 5:18) A believer must always be filled with the Holy Spirit so that he can live a holy life. The Holy Spirit that he receives will enable him to die to himself daily (1 Cor 15:31). The more he dies to himself, the more Christ lives in him and through him (Gal 2:20). He will not live for himself any longer, but for God and His purpose. His life will become holy.

The apostle Paul wrote, “Do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit.” (Eph 5:18) A believer must always be filled with the Holy Spirit so that he can live a holy life. The Holy Spirit that he receives will enable him to die to himself daily (1 Cor 15:31). The more he dies to himself, the more Christ lives in him and through him (Gal 2:20). He will not live for himself any longer, but for God and His purpose. His life will become holy.

When a believer enters the life of holiness he will begin to be led by the Holy Spirit. What does it mean to be led by the Holy Spirit? It means God Himself who works in him both to will and to do according to His good pleasure (Phi 2:13). He does not have to seek God’s will all the time before he makes a decision because often God’s will has become his will. He does not have to think about how to do a certain thing all the time before he does it because often God’s ability has become his ability.

An unbeliever is someone who does not live according to the will of God. He lives according to his own will. A believer who lives a righteous life is someone who always choose the will of God over his own will. A believer who lives a holy life is someone who has surrendered his own will to God to the extent that he almost does not have any will of his own anymore. The will of God has become his will.

An unbeliever is someone who does not live according to the will of God. He lives according to his own will. A believer who lives a righteous life is someone who always choose the will of God over his own will. A believer who lives a holy life is someone who has surrendered his own will to God to the extent that he almost does not have any will of his own anymore. The will of God has become his will.

An unbeliever is someone who does not have God’s ability in him. So, he must rely on his own ability to do anything. A believer has God’s ability in him. So, he can live by this divine ability. A believer who lives a righteous life often needs to pray first before does something so that he will not rely on his own ability, but God’s ability. A believer who lives a holy life does not always need to do that because God’s ability has become his ability. He can just do anything and God’s ability will work in him.

1. The creation:

God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them to be fruitful and multiply, to fill the earth and subdue it, and to have dominion over all of creation (Gen 1:27-28).

2. The Fall:

Man sinned against God and sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men and all creation (Rom 5:12). Man lost his dominion over the earth and all of creation to the devil.

3. The Promise:

God made a promise of this to Abraham that his blessing might come upon all men. To Abraham and his Seed, who is Christ, were the promises made. The promise is the Holy Spirit that will restore man to his original position of dominion. (Gal 4:14,16)

4. The Law:

God gave the Law through Moses because of man’s transgressions, till the Seed, Christ, should come to whom the promise was made (Gal 4:19). The law was men’s tutor to bring them to Christ, that they might be justified by faith (Gal 4:24).

5. The Fulfillment:

When the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to redeem those who were under the law, that they might receive the adoption as sons (Gal 4:4-5).

Faith Confession:

 I have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, I am a son of God through faith in Christ. And because I am a son, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into my heart, crying out, “Abba, Father!” Therefore I am no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ (Gal 4:6-7). As an heir of God, I have received the promise of the Holy Spirit and I can reign in life through the Jesus Christ (Rom 5:17). All dominion in heaven and on earth has been given to me in Christ (Mat 28:18).

The parable of the sower is the parable that describes the word of God as the seed that is sown into the hearts of the people (Mark 4:3-8,14-20). There are four conditions of the heart, three of them are not good and one of them is good. The word of God only grows and bears fruit in the good ground. This parable seems to be essential for understanding all the other parables of the Lord Jesus about the kingdom of God. The Lord Jesus Himself said to His disciples, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?” (Mark 4:13)

There is a parable given by God that describes the Holy Spirit as the water which is poured into the lives of the people. This parable is similar to the parable of the sower.

Water is poured into four cups. There is cover on the first cup, so it cannot be filled at all. The cup remains empty. There is no cover on the second cup but it has some cracks. The cup is filled with water, but the water immediately leaks through the cracks and there is no more water in it. There is no cover on nor any crack in the third cup, but there is a sponge inside. The cup is filled with water until it is full. Nevertheless, little by little the water in the cup is absorbed by the sponge until there is no more water in it. The fourth cup is a good cup. It has no cover, no crack, and no sponge in it. The cup is filled with water until it is full. It remains full.

The Lord Jesus is the Baptizer with the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:11). He pours out the Holy Spirit from heaven into the lives of His people. These are the ones whose cups are covered.  When the Holy Spirit is poured out into their lives, they close their hearts. So, the Holy Spirit cannot enter and fill them. They remain empty. Why do they close their hearts? It is because they do not understand the Holy Spirit. Paul the apostle wrote, “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:14)

These are the ones whose cups have no cover but have cracks. When the Holy Spirit is poured into their lives, they open their hearts. Nevertheless, they still have unhealed wounds or hurts inside. The Holy Spirit enters and fills them but immediately goes out of them. In the end they do not have the Holy Spirit. Why are their wounds or hurts not healed when the Holy Spirit fills them? It is because they have allowed the wounds or hurts to be in their hearts for a long time and this condition gives place to the devil to enter and bind them. Paul the apostle wrote, “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.” (Ephesians 4:26-27) If we allow the sun to go down when we are angry, we give place to the devil. He will come into our lives and bind us with the spirit of anger.

These are the ones whose cups have no cover nor crack but have sponge in it. When the Holy Spirit is poured into their lives, they receive Him. They are filled with the Holy Spirit until they are full. Nevertheless, they allow the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, the desires for pleasures and for other things to enter their hearts, gradually absorbing the Holy Spirit in their lives until there is no more. John the apostle wrote, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” (1 John 2:15)

These are the ones whose cups are good; no cover, no crack and no sponge in it. When the Holy Spirit is poured into their lives, they readily receive Him until they are full with Him. Because their hearts are free from any wound or any hurt and are kept from the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, the desires for pleasure as well as for other things; the Holy Spirit is always full, even overflow, in their lives. They can say like King David in one of his Psalms, “My cup runs over.” (Psalms 23:5)    

The parable of the sower describes what happens to the word of God after it is sown into the hearts of the people. If the hearts of the people are not good, the word of God that has been sown will not bear fruit in their lives. The parable of water poured into the cups describes what happens to the Holy Spirit after He is poured into the lives of the people. If the hearts of the people are not good, the Holy Spirit that has been poured into their lives will not remain. To always be full and overflow with the Holy Spirit, the hearts of the people must be open, whole and undivided.

When we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are born again. The Holy Spirit comes into our lives and regenerates our spirit. We become children of God. The Holy Spirit abides in us and helps our spirit grow inside us. The work of the Holy Spirit with our spirit in us is deep and supernatural. It is not intelligible to our mind because our mind has been so affected by sin, the flesh and the world. If we want to understand the work of the Holy Spirit inside us, we must renew our mind.

Our mind is part of our soul which is the meeting point of the physical realm and the spiritual realm. Our mind can be influenced by the world outside through our body or by the Holy Spirit inside through our spirit. Our mind has been so influenced and conformed to the world outside that it does not understand and even reject the work of the Holy Spirit inside. If we don’t do something about this, the Holy Spirit will not be able to transform our lives because He and our spirit will be confined inside.

The transformation of our lives is only possible when we renew our mind according to the mind of God. The Holy Spirit reveals the mind of God to our mind from our spirit supernaturally, but because our mind is still being influenced by the world through our body, the complete renewal of our mind is impossible until we replace that influence with something which is in line with the Holy Spirit inside. That something is the Bible because the Bible is the only revelation of the mind of God available in the world.

“Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation;” (Isaiah 28:16)

Foundation is very important for a house. A house built on a strong foundation will withstand the storms, but a house built on a weak foundation will not withstand the storm. What is spiritual life? Spiritual life is building the house of God in our lives. To have the spiritual life that will withstand the storm of life, we must have a sure and strong foundation.

The basic components of a house structure are the foundation, the pillars and the roof. The foundation supports the pillars and the pillars support the roof. So, the foundation actually supports both the pillars and the roof. Therefore, the foundation of a house must be very strong. In building the house of God in our lives, the foundation is our spirit, the pillars are the elements of our soul (mind, emotion, will) and the roof is our body. So, our spirit actually supports both our soul and our body. Therefore, our spirit must be very strong

“If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3)

The strength of a house lies in its foundation because the foundation supports the whole structure of the house. So, if the foundation of a house is broken or destroyed, then there is nothing that will support the pillars nor the roof of the house. The whole house will fall very quickly when it is hit by a storm. Likewise, the strength of the house of God in our lives lies in our spirit because our spirit supports the whole structure of our being. So, if our spirit is broken, there is nothing that will support our soul nor our body. Our whole being as the house of God will fall very quickly when we are hit by the storm of life.

What can make our spirit be broken? King Solomon wrote,  “A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.” (Proverbs 15:13) When we are sorrowful in our heart, the sorrow that we feel can break our spirit. In our lives, we will experience sorrow from time to time and it will not break our spirit. However, if the sorrow that we feel in our heart is too long or too much, it will break our spirit. The apostle Paul wrote, “so that, on the contrary, you ought rather to forgive and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow.” (2 Corinthians 2:7)

King Solomon wrote, “A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones.” (Proverbs 17:22) When our spirit is broken because we have too much sorrow in our heart, then our bones will become dry. Bones provide support to the body and help form its shape, but dry bones are brittle. They are easily broken. When our bones are broken, they can no longer cannot support our body. Our body will be fragile and it will be difficult for us to make movement with our body.

When we have sorrow in our heart,  we must make sure that the sorrow does not swallow us or last too long so as to keep it from breaking our spirit. If we cannot get out of that sorrow immediately and we feel weak in our bones or body, then our spirit has been broken. In this case, we must come to God right away and continue in prayer until our spirit is restored and strengthened. The Lord Jesus experienced such a great sorrow in His soul in the garden of Getshemane on the night when He was going to be arrested. He said, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death.” (Matthew 26:38) His sorrow was so great that He felt it was going to break His spirit and kill Him. What did the Lord Jesus do? He prayed and prayed until His spirit was strengthened and He was not sorrowful anymore.

The Lord Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) A strong spirit is a restful spirit. When we have a restful spirit, it is like having a deep foundation for a house. A deep foundation will withstand the weight or the pressure that comes upon it. Likewise, a restful spirit will withstand the weight of the sorrow of the heart. It will give us comfort and help us contain the sorrow so that it will not swallow us.

The apostle Paul wrote, “and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7) Our soul is only strong when it is peaceful. Therefore, it is imperative that we have a restful spirit because only a restful spirit can bring peace to the soul. King Solomon wrote, “A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones.”  (Proverbs 17:22) Our body is only strong when it is full of energy. Therefore, it is imperative that we have a joyful spirit because only a joyful spirit can produce a lot of energy in the body.

Scripture : 2 Corinthians 5:7

“For we walk by faith, not by sight.”

What is the difference between walking by sight and walking by faith?   Walking by sight is walking according to what we see with our eyes. The way we make decision in our lives is based on the circumstances around us. Walking by faith is walking according to what we believe in our hearts. The way we make decision in our lives is based on the convictions inside us.

When we were still unbelievers we walked by sight. We made decision based on the circumstances around us. There was no other way. However, after we have become believers we have two choices, walking by sight or walking by faith. We can make decision based either on the circumstances around us or on the convictions inside us. Of course, God wants us to walk by faith, not by sight anymore.

When we are asked whether we walk by sight or walk by faith, most of us will immediately reply that we walk by faith? Nevertheless, our lives often show otherwise. We say that we walk by faith but our actions show that we still walk by sight. The apostle John gave an example that we often said that we loved our brother, but we did not give what our brother needed even though we had the resources to help him. He wrote, “But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.” (1 John 3:17-18)

Walking by faith is walking according to the convictions inside us. What is conviction? Conviction is a firmly held belief and it originates from the truth. When we believe in Jesus, we receive the Holy Spirit in our hearts. This Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of truth (John 14:16). He always bears witness of the truth that we should firmly believe and hold. The apostle John wrote, “It is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth.” (1 John 5:6)