Romans 8:5-6

I often wonder about Psalm 37:4, which says if I delight myself in God, he will give me the desires of my heart. Well, I delight in God, I sit in his presence and bask in his glow with delight. Yet my desires seem to sit idle, waiting. I came upon this verse a few weeks ago, and things kind of clicked into place.

Romans 8:5-6 ~ "Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace ... "

Sin is a tricky thing. I have my heart surrendered to Christ, but there's this sinful nature that I cannot seem to shake. I wish I could say once I gave myself to Jesus, I was able to live in constant obedience to him and to the Spirit. Sadly, I still obey my sinful nature more than I want to admit.

If I am not in complete surrender to the Spirit, then my desires will not line up with what the Spirit desires. My mind will be focused on what my flesh desires. I still allow my sinful nature to control my thoughts, my mind, despite the fact that I am no longer a slave to it. In those moments, I realize how desperately I want my mind controlled by the Spirit. I want to live in constant accordance with the Spirit.

Maybe God does not give me all the desires of my heart because I am not living as one whose mind is controlled by the Spirit. I do not have this peace of desires met because I am still holding back from relinquishing complete control.

But I will loosen my grip. I will let go of this control and give it to the Spirit. May we all live in accordance with the Spirit, having a mind filled with life and peace.

Never enough time

There's never enough time. Never enough time to perfectly complete all the work that is required of you. Never enough time to enjoy a night out with friends without thinking of what awaits you on your desk the next morning. Never enough time to relax with a cup of coffee and a good book, because there is always that nagging thought of, "Shouldn't I be doing something productive right now?"

On the spiritual side of things, the hands of time never seem to work slowly enough to allow for a morning with just you and Jesus. There's just too much to do, and a few verses or chapters along with a quick prayer is about all you can handle these days.

Our culture is extremely fast-paced, planting the notion in our mind that a moment's peace is hard to come by. If we ever are blessed with the chance to take a break, society tells us to make that break about us. Watch a movie. Stalk people on Facebook. Peruse Pinterest for a new recipe. Just let your brain go numb in order to relax. 

I have often felt the pressure of not having enough time. I fill my schedule to the point where I barely have time to breathe, because I have given in to our culture's fast-paced way of life. And despite the fact that I have done this to myself, I worry that I will not accomplish everything and have time for myself.

But when I do have those quiet moments, those times where I can take a breath, how am I spending it? I have begun to realize that with every worry of not having enough time or every moment that I take for myself, I am eating away at my time with God, the one who created time.

How am I filling my thoughts, my quiet moments? How often do my fingers move the cursor to open Facebook? How many times do I slip that DVD into the player and let my brain turn off for a while? 

It is when I dwell on these questions that I come to the realization that I have completely ignored moments God has created for me to spend with him. I have filled times of peace with all things that will bring me anything but peace. 

It is time for a change. Time to begin filling these moments with him who created these pockets of freedom from my hectic life. He gave me these moments to recharge, and I absolutely cannot recharge by disconnecting from reality through TV or by staring at the reality of others through Facebook. 

When I fill these treasured times with thanksgiving and with conversations with my Savior, it is then that I will feel the peace and rest from the busyness. I need to stop stressing about the stress in my life whenever I have a moment to breathe. 

There will always be 24 hours in a day. There is always enough time. It's just about deciding what to do with the time that you have. 

2 Corinthians 3:17-18

With a crazy and hectic schedule, it is easy to forget the freedom we have in Christ. It is easy to get caught up in the day-to-day activities that, without our realizing it, can enslave us.

2 Corinthians 3:17-18 ~ "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."

There are two things that stand out from these verses. The first being that we, as Christians, have the Spirit of the Lord dwelling in our souls. Because of this, we have freedom. Just think about that word. Freedom. How often do we let the things of this world control our thoughts, our feelings, our actions? But with Christ, we have freedom. Earthly stresses and anxieties have no place in our lives when we focus on the freedom we have in the Lord.

The second thing that stands out with these verses is how Paul tells us we reflect the Lord's glory and are being transformed into his image. This is something that is easily forgotten as we go through each day. We reflect Christ. He wants to transform us into his own image. How often do we push away from this? Do our actions reflect him? Are we truly allowing him to transform us? We should not be satisfied with who we are until we truly let go and understand that our life is about reflecting our Creator.