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How do we know if the Holy Spirit is working within us?

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23

Dear Child of God, why do you worry and fret over the days of your life?

Have you not seen the way He clothes the flowers in the field? The way He has chosen the colours of their petals, and crafted each one by hand. 

The weight and worries of the world can really burden our souls and steal our joy.

A burdened soul needs rest. It needs to go back to its Maker, sit for a little while, and allow Him to share the burden. Only then will the burdened soul be at peace.

Life isn’t going to be smooth sailing all the time. There will be days that will bring you down and leave your heart heavy. 

When life gives you lemons, when there seems to be no joy, surrender the lemons - the trials and suffering - to Jesus.

Many things on earth are temporary - even our lives on earth are temporary! There is very little that will stand the test of time. The only thing that can reliably persist to the end is the word of God.

“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.” Isaiah 40:8

“…Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭17‬:‭20‬

What are the mountains in your life that seem insurmountable? Circumstances or relationships that seem too difficult, too broken to make right?

Death, destruction and injustice surround us and bring us so much pain and heartache. We plead with God to save us from our painful circumstances, to bring healing to the broken world. 

While God is in our midst, working to restore and redeem all of Creation, the fact is that this world is not our home and is not where our stories end.  

Suffering may abound in this life, but we must remember, especially in the midst of our painful suffering, that there is much joy to come. 

Every new day brings with it new challenges. Life is full of trouble, as Jesus Himself has pointed out. But Jesus has also told us to take heart, and to not be afraid, for He has overcome the world.

When life starts to feel overwhelming, remember who you belong to. Remember that the Lord is sovereign - He watches over you and holds your life in His hands.

When life seems a little too difficult and it’s hard to carry on, remember who you belong to.

Our circumstances in life won’t always be good, but the Lord will always be our good Father, good shepherd and good friend. 

The Lord sustains us with a joy that only comes from being fully known and loved by Him. And that joy will fill us with the strength to get up in the morning and keep pressing on.

The Lord holds our lives tightly in His hands. He knows when we sit and when we rise - He knows every thought and every word. He is deeply involved in our lives and even in the mess of who we are, He loves us deeply.

It would do us well to remember that we are not our own - we did not form ourselves, we did not tell our cells to be assembled as they are, nor did we provide ourselves with the aptitude to do certain things. 

Life is always so unpredictable - it takes one phone call to completely upend your world. A sudden passing of a loved one, a devastating medical diagnosis, a horrible accident. In the face of such uncertainty, with very little control over our circumstances, who can we turn to? What can be our anchor?