He Has Purchased My Soul

"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit" (Ro. 5:13). "for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Ro. 14:17). "And my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God" (1Cor. 2:4,5).

As sort of a spin off from yesterday's devotion, I wanted to share these verses with you concerning the power of the Holy Spirit and the peace He brings in your life. As you can see the underlined parts, I see a God of hope, I see joy and peace, I recognize the abounding in the power of the Holy Spirit. I see that the kingdom of God is righteousness and peace and joy within His Holy Spirit and I understand that it is not because of persuasive words of wisdom, but by the dynamic demonstration of the Holy Spirit as we walk through this life, that we do not rest because of what we consider the wisdom of men, but our rest is on nothing less than the power of God Himself.

As we allow the Holy Spirit to speak to our hearts and we live our lives based on the Spirit of truth He instills within us, we walk "blamelessly" and "upright" by His power. Can you confess that in your life today? What if the rug was pulled out from under you tomorrow morning? What if you wake up but your spouse doesn't? What if you received a letter this afternoon from the bank saying that they are repossessing your home or car or other item you depend on for everyday life? What if your job dried up tomorrow? Do you have the spiritual strength to stand up and say "you can destroy this body but He has already purchased my soul. You cannot do me any harm."

This very thing happened to me, and when I told the doctor that she was not in control of my life, but rather God made the final decisions, it eventually created a need to leave her service and look for another oncologist. But even that was God sent.

In Job 1:8 we hear God say to Satan "Have you considered my servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil."

I would be honored to wear Job's sandals.

Dave