Tag: godnesia

I have a very simple life. I arrived at it through some intense prioritizing and the word “No.”

My hardest lesson was leaving holes in my routine so the Spirit could move about my day and direct my time. Jamming my day full of activities and work didn’t leave any flexibility or availability for the Spirit to act, prompt me into action or redirect my hours. Besides, it was easier to say “no” to the Spirit then rearrange my schedule.

Now I have been taught to give time to the Spirit so He can use it for God’s purpose. I have no idea what is actually getting accomplished when the Spirit places me in a situation. My job is to go; His job is to do. This work of the Spirit is what Jesus was explaining to Nicodemus, “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit” (John 3:8).

When we are “born of the Spirit,” we are letting Christ help Himself to His own Spirit in us; so He can accomplish His ongoing ministry in the world. God in Christ is going to burst into our day and direct us so He can achieve His divine purpose in another person. Saying “no” to the non-essentials of this world, is saying “yes” to the Spirit and the essentials of the heavenly kingdom.

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Today’s devotional is from Denise Larson Cooper’s book, “Ordinary Days With an Extraordinary Savior”

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My week has caught up with me and I am fatigued. My brain doesn’t want to continue thinking, my eyes are tired and my body would just like to rest.

Running out of steam is what it means to be human. Even Jesus, while in human form, felt the limits of fatigue. Here is the condescension of God. The infinite Son endured human limitations, while a man. Look at John 4:6, “Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well . . . ” (John 4:6). Jesus didn’t want to take another step. The demands on His time—the long hours, and the miles of walking—caught up with Him and He rested at the well.

Still when the Samaritan woman arrives, Jesus doesn’t ignore her. And she is so excited about meeting Him that she goes to tell the townspeople of Sychar, and they “made their way toward him” (John 4:30). Jesus, though bound by His human body, completed the hard work of prayer. He didn’t need to make the trip into Sychar: through His intercessory prayer the power of the Spirit was released in the town.

This is why He “had to go through Samaria” (John 4:4). His prayer life had produced a ripe field in the town and it was time to harvest. Prayer transcended His physical limitations and produced God’s divine purpose in Sychar. This was what He taught His disciples, “Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor” (John 4:38). Prayer unleashes the unlimited energy of God.

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Today’s devotional is from Denise Larson Cooper’s book, “Ordinary Days With an Extraordinary Savior”

Follow Denise on Facebook!
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