God Within! Peace and Strength Not My Own

I believe Jesus cares so much for us to try to protect us and guide us even when we don’t realize He is doing this!  I have seen this happen with people whom God is calling before those people have actually even made a decision to believe and trust in Him. It has happened to me!

Here’s what one of my favorite Bible characters, Paul, says about this subject in Ephesians 3: 14-20, “My response (Paul’s response to trouble or trials) is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you (he was talking about the Ephesians here) by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you’ll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God. God can do anything; you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.”

AND, Romans 5:1-5 has some great things to say. (This was also written by Paul but this time to the Roman people) “By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us—set us right with him, make us fit for him—we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. And that’s not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God’s grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise. There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!” (this is both The Message and NIV combined)

I love these verses (I love most of the book of Romans even though it takes me a long time to comprehend everything in it! It’s chock full!) because they remind me that God is present within me. He has given me an unexplainable peace, a strength that is not by my efforts, gentle encouragement, perseverance, character, and hope.  Because of that, I trust Him. I see how He has prepared me to be in this situation through several experiences leading up to my diagnosis. I’m thankful He went before me, that His spirit dwells within me now, and that He has already gone before me doing far more than I can even imagine.