I would like to point out what Scripture teaches about the blessings available to each believer.  We were created by God with a specific purpose.  It makes no difference who our parents are or how dysfunctional our lives may have been.  God can change our lives so that we might become a new person with unique potential and abilities.  Yet, the devil will try to deceive and accuse us of not being worthy and we will never accomplish our God-given purpose.  It is so easy for some of us to never try to be what God wants us to be.

There are many different beliefs as to what our opportunities are.  I believe God created each of us with an equal opportunity to succeed.  I do not believe God meant for each of us to be guaranteed an equal outcome.  We all realize that some have a greater opportunity than others but that is due to one’s health and mental capacity.

A question that most ask is:  “What does God want me to be”?  The answer is not a specific thing or He would not have given us free moral agency, the ability to make choices.

From the moment we were born God had a plan for each one of us.  We can accept or reject!  We all know that our body’s carnal and self-centered nature will reject God and His plan at least for a time.  It is up to our soul and spirit if we want to accept God and what He has planned.  If we receive Christ as our Savior this requires a commitment and obedience to His will.  Once we believe, we must prepare for temptations and trials that will come.  Probably the stronger our will and the more self-control we have our testing will be greater.  We must know God’s general Will for those who have become Christians before we get to His plan.

I Thessalonians 5:16 – 19 – “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not put out the Spirit’s fire;”

These are important verses for people, especially if they find themselves in troubling times being tested and going through life’s trials.  We are to have an attitude of prayer at all times.  How else are we to develop a relationship with God?  As Evil tempts, the bad decisions we make or problems coming from others never come from God.  However, God allows what happens in our lives.  But no matter the circumstance we find ourselves in, as believers, the Holy Spirit is with us to encourage and guide us through it.  We are to give thanks that God’s Spirit is there with us.  His Spirit can give us peace and joy. And God’s Will can be fulfilled by each of us.  We must learn to trust God completely and in all things.  We must believe He is in charge of everything in our lives.

Each day we are told to “pray continually”.  That doesn’t mean on our knees throughout the day.  It requires an attitude of prayer as we go about living our lives.  We are to give thanks to God and live filled with “joy always”.  Throughout the day we must not ignore the Holy Spirit who is there to help us.

Are we enjoying life like Christ intended?  As Christians shouldn’t we be living an extra-ordinary life style?  God created an ugly old worm, called a caterpillar that crawls along the ground with all kinds of obstacles blocking its way.  After a time, this worm is instantaneously transformed into an insect called a butterfly, which is one of the most graceful and beautiful of all insects.  What kind of life are we living, like the caterpillar or the butterfly?  As a result of sin and our self-centered nature, we were born ‘caterpillar-like’.  But Christ came to offer us a ‘butterfly-like’ life.  If God can transform a caterpillar into a butterfly, can’t He transform a sinner into one of His children?  The Bible says God will bring our life into a new dimension.  (“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come!” II Corinthians 5:17).  As a caterpillar, I face death.  As a butterfly, the Spirit has set me free from the law of sin and death.  (Romans 8:2)

Christ’s principle on earth was “I can do nothing on my own. I judge as God tells me. Therefore, my judgment is just, because I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will” (John 5:30 nlt ). The Son did nothing on His own. That total denial of self is our ultimate goal in serving God. Everything Christ did laid the groundwork to fulfill His death on the cross and His resurrection. After He was resurrected, He told His disciples that they would receive “power from on high.” He was referring to the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. That power was the ability, talents, and confidence to live as Christ taught we should live, and in so doing we would walk in the Spirit. With this power, we can become obedient to God’s will and ways. Without the Holy Spirit, our flesh, or carnal nature, is in control and could not meet God’s requirements.

Too many people become Christians and mistakenly believe they do not have to study Scripture or pray, that they can live a godly life on their own. Sadly, they are just professing Christians without the power from God, struggling each day and wondering why living a Christian life is so difficult. They question where is the promised joy, peace, and love? They must come to the understanding that the Bible instructs us to surrender our old nature and let the new nature control, which God gives us when we receive the Holy Spirit. God will not force Himself on us. For the power to work, He must control but only with our permission. Are you ready to let Him have that control so you can walk in the Spirit?