A Restless Spirit

I once listened to a sermon where the pastor explained that the Holy Spirit often creates restlessness inside of us to keep us from becoming complacent.

Lately, my spirit has been restless. I believe the Lord wants me to take the next step in my spiritual maturity. I believe He wants me to stop living in fear and walk uprightly with a fierce faith and an unshakeable trust in Him.

”so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,” Colossians 1:10

To prepare me for this, He has been challenging me to trust Him by placing me in situations where I’m powerless and I have to believe in His promises and count on His faithfulness.

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4

I wish I could say that I’ve been facing each of these challenges with an unwavering boldness and confidence in Him, but the truth is, I still experience fear, worry, and doubt. The difference is, those emotions are fleeting. I no longer allow those emotions to take root and suffocate my faith.

“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” Philippians 4:8

I’ve learned that those feelings of fear, of doubt and of worry are not from God. I have learned to combat those emotions by putting on the armor of God and by finding the truth in His word. In all situations, I have learned to seek Him first because He promises that if I do this, He will provide for me, protect me, direct me, love me and bless me. This is true for all of God’s children.

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33

With Love,

Stacey

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." Ephesians 6:10-18