Life Principle 1: Our intimacy with God—His highest priority for our lives—determines the impact of our lives.
One of our greatest needs is to know we are loved. Each of us has to feel certain, deep down, that someone loves us, cares for us, and has our best interest at heart. That is how God designed us. He wants us to know He loves us with a passionate intensity too deep for words.
God created human beings with fellowship in mind—first with Himself and then with others. But we cannot fully love one another until we have ourselves experienced the love of God. We experience His love when we willingly surrender to His call to be our Savior, Lord, and Friend.
When you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, He not only forgave you but also made you into a new creation. You were no longer standing at a distance from God but were then able to draw near to Him.
If you have drifted in your devotion to the Savior and feel as though you grow more distant each day in your relationship with Him, then pray that He will draw you near once more. He knows your weaknesses, and if you will tell Him you want Him to take control of your life, He will come to you in a mighty way and bring hope and light to your situation, no matter how dark and hopeless it may feel (Isa. 55:6-7).
2.💖 A Life of Obedience
Ex 19:5
Life Principle 2: Obey God and leave all the consequences to Him.
Obedience can be a challenge, especially when we feel tempted to believe that we stand to lose more through our obedience than we might gain. However, obeying God is essential to pleasing Him—not just in times of temptation, but at all times.
When God commands us to obey Him, He’s giving us a principle by which to live. He’s also setting a framework around our lives that forms a hedge of protection from evil.
Can you remember the last time you felt tempted to do the opposite of what you knew God desired for you to do? Most likely, a struggle erupted within your heart. The questions arose: Will obeying God cost me more than disobeying Him? Can I experience greater happiness by committing this sin than I would by obeying God?
When we choose to obey God, we take the way of wisdom. His promises of blessing for obedience far outweigh any possible consequences. He asks us to submit ourselves to Him and leave whatever happens to His loving care.
We must remember that God loves us and is committed to us. He commands our obedience, not because He is a strict taskmaster, but because He knows the 🔔devastating affect that 😟disobedience and sin will have on our lives.
Obedience🙏 may not be easy—you may receive criticism from others or face fierce 😠obstacles and opposition—but it will always put you in a favorable 😇position before God. He will take care of all that concerns you; therefore, stay on the path of obedience and leave the rest to Him.
3. Our Anchor in Times of Storm🔊
Life Principle 3: God's 🍞Word is an immovable anchor in times of storm.
Number 23: 19
Each of us can remember times when we wished we had a sure 😀word from God—something we could cling to when doubts 😟and fears arose. God knows when we need encouragement, 💕guidance, and hope. That’s why He provides specific promises in 🍔His Word so that we might understand 🌹His nature and trust Him. In emotionally devastating times, God’s promises are essential to our spiritual welfare.
His Word is therefore a 🍞compass, a guide, and an instruction 🌷book to life. Just as we use instruction manuals at work or in the kitchen, we’re to use ⚠God’s Word as our resource for 💕wisdom and truth. No one would think of baking a cake without a recipe, nor would a mechanic rebuild a car engine without a manual.
At times God brings a specific🔊 Scripture to mind that ministers His hope and reassurance 🌷to our hearts. At other times, He challenges us to pray 🙏and seek His wisdom on a certain issue. When we look to God in faith, He will lead 💒us according to His will. Of course, this may not happen overnight. Many times God wants us to meditate💖 on a certain Scripture over a period of time before He gives His guidance.
When King David sought God’s heart regarding his desire to build the temple, the Bible says: “Then David the king went in and sat🙏 before the Lord” (2 Sam. 7:18). David didn’t order his men to begin construction. He waited for 💡God’s leadership—and it was a good thing he did because the Lord wanted David’s son, Solomon, to do the job instead.
God honored David’s attitude, however, and gave him a wonderful promise: “Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever” (2 Sam. 7:16). The Lord always honors our desire to seek 👍His guidance and wisdom. If we will come to God ⛅expecting Him to answer, He will never disappoint us.
4🌹
Energized by His Presence
Life Principle 4: The awareness🙌 of God’s presence energizes us for our work.
If you're a Christian, Jesus Christ is the supervisor at your place of work—and He not only watches you from afar, He’s right 😊there with you. You and I need to give a full day’s labor, regardless of whether we think management is fair. Jesus is ultimately the One we 🌲serve, and He’s always on site. You and I should do our very best because the Holy Spirit is present, equipping⚠, and energizing us.
We make a terrible mistake by segmenting life. We may think that Monday through Friday we go to work, Saturday we play, and Sunday we worship. God has not designed life that way. If Jesus Christ is our Savior, we can’t exclude Him from any part of life. It isn’t right to teach a Sunday school class with everything we have, then meander into work the rest of the week—we must honor and glorify Him in everything😇 we do. It eliminates the temptation of doing our work merely to be seen by men when we commit ourselves wholeheartedly to Jesus (Matt. 6:24).
“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
Matthew 6:24 NKJV
Do I mean that your mundane job is also the 🍑Lord’s work? Yes! Ministry is not just what you do at church. You worship God every 🍓day of the week—on Sunday, you do so in church; on Monday through Friday, you show your devotion 💖to Him by doing a good ☕job at work. Your exalted status as a child of God dignifies your labor, and your office or place of employment should be 💡better off because you are there.
You serve the Lord Jesus Christ (Col. 3:24). Do you have a good😊 testimony in the marketplace for Him? Are you one of your company’s most faithful🌹 employees because you serve God? Does your attitude reflect the 😊joy you have in considering Him the real CEO? If so, then you are truly getting the most out of your work.
5. The Unreasonable Will of God
Life Principle 5: God does not require us to understand His will, just 🙏obey it, even if it seems unreasonable.
Do you often find yourself wondering why God 😟doesn’t answer your prayers or why, despite your best efforts, the circumstances of your life still don’t ⚠work out? The answer could lie in your level of 🙏obedience to God. Or waiting may be the result of God wanting you to be 🙏still, trust Him, and watch for His cue to move forward.
You shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, saying, ‘When you have come to the edge of the water of the Jordan, you shall stand in the Jordan.’ ”
Joshua 3:8 NKJV
When we choose the path of obedience, we must be prepared for any response we’ll undoubtedly receive (both positive or negative), knowing that God has an excellent reason for His command and will 👑help us in extraordinary ways. We must never focus on the things or the people who try to 💡distract us from doing God’s will. The Holy Spirit enables us to 🌹obey every one of God’s commandments and always directs🌲 us in the best way possible. Therefore, whatever He requires of us—whether it be painful or joyful, profitable or costly, reasonable or peculiar—our heavenly Father will give us the ability 🍔and strength to be faithful, regardless of what others think or how our circumstances appear.
Obedience⚠ must be a priority🌲 in every believer’s life. It’s the only way you will ever become the person God wants you to be and the only💒 way you will ever 🍔achieve the things in life He has so wonderfully prepared for you. It’s the Holy Spirit who🌲 enables you to walk 🙏obediently before the Lord in His strength and His power.
So choose to 💒obey Him, even if you don’t understand why He asks you to do something. Have faith that His instructions are for your good
Jer. 29:11.
That way, you can become the person He wants you to be, do the work🍓 He desires of you, bear the fruit 🍑He enables you to bear, and receive all the 🍞blessings He’s prepared for you.
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