Anytime I hear the word “striving”, my insides feel like the backwards scratch of a record. It’s jarring, leaves me feeling unsettled & I haven’t really been able to identify why until this morning.
Jesus sheds light on striving in John 3:6 when He tells Nicodemus that he must be born again. (Talk about striving, Nicodemus is a pharisaical leader who was all about striving towards perfection through rules 😬). When asked for clarity, Jesus declares that flesh gives birth to flesh & Spirit gives birth to spirit.
The word for flesh means of human origin or empowerment. It indicates an unchanged part of us that has not been transformed by God.
Initiative, diligence & perseverance might seem respectable on the surface but here’s the thing about unaided human effort:
Decisions & actions that originate from self or empowered by self will only last as long as our self-sourced resolve.
For years I struggled with perfectionism. I liked order (& still do!), but the perfect things I created were surface in nature & only lasted as long as I could sustain them (messy humans wouldn’t get in the way😳)
The work we do is only good & of eternal value when the will of God is the wind behind them & the glory of God is their end!
Jesus likens the Holy Spirit to wind. He’s invisible & beyond discovery, known only to us by His effects. The Hebrew counterpart for the word means the very breath of God!
If your life feels mundane, lacking purpose & passion, I ask you this:
When was the last time you invited the Holy Spirit to lead your spirit?
We cannot pull up the bootstraps to a life of purpose! It’s not possible! We MUST invite the Holy Spirit to lead our spirit, forcing our mind, will, emotions & body to follow!
When we let His power rule & reign, we’re transformed, success is reframed & a NEW nature bound by NEW principles with NEW aims arise!
Living a life of purpose, on purpose, with purpose cannot & will not come from striving. It’s only made possible by the power & reign of the Holy Spirit!
Holy Spirit, align our spirit with Yours so You may lead! Give us ears to hear your whispers so we may live a transformed life of God-sourced powerful purpose!
JUDGES 17:1-18:31
JOHN 3:1-21
PSALM 104:1-23
PROVERBS 14:20-21
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