Your choice - heir or orphan

Good people can endure storms through sheer willpower, and plenty of inspirational movies have been made about them. But living in the Spirit goes beyond just enduring. It’s using the authority Jesus gives to calm storms, and turn those storms into blessings. Not because we’re superheroes, but because His servants have been commissioned to change this world for His Kingdom. 

The “peace that passes understanding” from Philippians 4, is not a mystical feeling that envelopes us as if we’d been sprinkled with pixie dust. It’s a solid assurance of the power of God within us, and around us, because faith works. It’s as real as going to bed at night without a shadow of a doubt that in the morning you’ll be feeding your kids breakfast and driving them to school, because you know there’s food in the fridge, the car’s been paid for, and the gas tank is full. There’s nothing mystical about that assurance, because it’s based on facts. That’s the same sense of peace that comes from being born of God. There’s no arguing about the fact that we have authority over all forms of evil, because as His children, we’re also His heirs. It’s undeniable – even when our physical problems look threatening and immovable. Heirs of God have authority over evil, if they choose to use it. Period.

If you were offered the chance to have supernatural peace, the power to defeat demons and an intimate and joyful relationship with God – and on the other hand, had the chance to pretend you had all those things by masking your fears – who in their right mind would choose pretending over the real thing?  

But people do precisely that in churches and denominations all over the world. The choice is illogical, but it’s because so few are even aware that they have a choice. Most haven’t had practical teaching about the power and authority over evil that Jesus offers us – those of us who’ve been adopted by Him – and so they hold onto vestiges of their own power while trying to live like Christians. They can’t trust God enough to surrender their all to Him, and in the process, never allow themselves to be adopted by Him. It’s sad, lonely, exhausting… and totally unnecessary.  

Christians who cling to physical things in order to feel stable, are insecure and disconnected from God. Shopping sprees, hobbies, social gatherings, and even busy church activities become band-aides that dull their fears. And when problems challenge them to use the fruit of the Spirit, they fail, because deep inside, they really have no desire to love the unlovable, or fight evil with good, or turn the other cheek, or even persevere in faith. They want help, but have a hard time receiving kindness from others without analyzing and judging why that kindness is being offered. Their fears reveal that deep down inside, they don’t truly believe they’ve been lovingly welcomed into the family of God; they still consider themselves orphans and rejects. They may not consciously admit to these contradictions, and if their false Christian label is peeled back and their shame uncovered, they would probably take great offense.  

If you find yourself identifying with this description of a spiritual orphan, you can immediately change this. Open up to God right now, sacrifice the areas of your life where you’re still trying to maintain your own control, and learn to use God’s authority to fight and overcome evil. You don’t need to cling to control when you have His power within you. 

If you need practical guidance on how to make this a reality, feel free to contact me below, but don’t let another day go by without it. 

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. For you have not received the spirit of slavery again to fear. But you have received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirits that we are the children of God, and if children, then heirs: heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified with Him.  Romans 8:15-17, MEV