Within you is the battle of what the old you wants to still do, and what the new you in Christ is being prompted to do. The old you went there, did that, and wore this, and you simply never thought twice about it. Now, with the Spirit of God living within you, you see things differently, don’t you? That little voice within is changing you. You no longer want to do those things you used to do. You don’t want to dress like that, talk like that or act like that.
Recognize this growth you are experiencing! This is the holy work of a loving God within you. He didn’t hate you the way you were, but he sure loved you too much to see you sacrificing the fullness of everything he had for you. As you’re growing and changing, you are seeing a bigger and more beautiful life right in front of you and God says it’s yours for the taking!
Galatians 5: 16-17, “Let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.”
I still feel the pull of my old sinful nature sometimes. I bet you do too. We’ve been warned the battle continues.
While in Bali, my eyes were opened to how we dress. The Balinese women are stunning in their conservative clothing. Then there’s us … often showing cleavage and cheeks. I literally felt a call to being more conservative. A call to be less about the show on the outside and more about the love on the inside. Really, is it my body that makes me beautiful or the light in my eyes?
What makes you beautiful? Did God tell you that or has the enemy tricked you?
The enemy constantly schemes to trick God’s girls into selling out to the cravings of our sinful nature. We crave to be seen. We crave to fit in. We crave to be liked. We crave to be wanted. We crave to be special. We dismiss it as “normal” and “harmless” but it’s a slippery slope we play on when we cave to those cravings. Suddenly we’re finding our worth in things that can be taken, or our value in things that only the world offers. It’s all gotten twisted and we’re left seeking, chasing and craving.
Hear God now as he says, “My girl, come back to the beauty and simplicity of what I have for you. You don’t need all of this.”
James 4:8 says, “Come close to God and he will come close to you.” And here, in the sweet closeness with our Creator, our desires change.
Lord, change my desires to align with the eternal plans you have for me. Untwist all the enemy has twisted in me. Release me from the ties of this world. Forgive me for my sinful nature and heal me of my brokenness.
For the past few weeks, I’ve been studying Old Testament scripture, specifically in the book of 1 & 2 Samuel. There you find the life story of David. He began as the little shepherd boy who defeated a giant, and he grew up to be a mighty and powerful king. But with all that royal power as king, came the power to royally screw up. Have you ever noticed the more you have, the more you can really mess up.
King David had been wildly successful in every battle he faced. God had blessed him with continual victory, but then all that victory left David unchecked. 2 Samuel 11:1-5, “In the spring of the year, when kings normally go out to war, David sent Joab and the Israelite army to fight the Ammonites. They destroyed the Ammonite army and laid siege to the city of Rabbah. However, David stayed behind in Jerusalem. Late one afternoon, after his midday rest, David got out of bed and was walking on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city,