Obey the Lord

“God will not do through a miracle what He’s

already told me to do through obedience.”

I remember the day that I stopped praying for God to give me the power to do or stop doing certain things. Now I acknowledge that the power is always within me and I thank Him for it. Scripture teaches that when a person gives their heart to Jesus and yields to His Lordship that He gives them His Holy Spirit to guide and direct (John 14:26) them in their walk towards becoming like Christ. The Holy Spirit doesn’t come in portions. When we receive the Holy Spirit, upon salvation, we receive all of who He is: all of His power, all of His guidance, all of His protection and more. In other words we have all of the power already within us all of the time to flee any sin, accomplish any God given task and the ability to be all that He created us to be. The question is how much of us will He receive?

When we sin, we bypass God’s Spirit within us. If you are like me, there have been times when you’ve wanted the Spirit of God to actually physically come to me and give me victory. For example, if the struggle was over eating, I’d pray for Him to help me and I’d expect Him to take the 5th brownie out of my hand before it reached my mouth instead of realizing that as I submitted to Him and made a decision not to partake and walk in obedience that His Spirit’s power was there to help me overcome and give me victory. The Bible tells us in I Corinthians 10:13 that, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” I remember being in a New Jersey diner once and I was full, but diners have those huge desserts. This piece of apple pie was calling me. I know I shouldn’t have it, but I just couldn’t resist. After the waitress served it to me, it fell on the ground. That was my way of escape. I should have seen that and thanked God, but instead, I ordered another slice!

What miracle are you praying for today? Has God already given you the key to victory, yet you are waiting for Him to move your hand? It’s exciting, yet humbling to know that when we pray for victory that it’s already ours. Because the One who gives us this power is always with us and as we walk in obedience there is nothing that He calls us to that cannot be accomplished. So the next time you are faced with an obedience issue, just obey and you’ll see the Holy Spirit’s power released in your life. The miracle has already happened. Victory is yours and mine through obedience. Have a Jesus led week!

Pastor MJ