As the prophet Jeremiah stood amidst the smoldering ruins of his beloved city, he was overcome with grief and hopelessness. What made it even more painful is that he knew this devastation could have been avoided if the nation had only listened to God. But at his lowest point of despair, he remembered God’s faithfulness, and calling this to mind renewed his faltering hope. When your world seems to be crumbling around you, and you feel overwhelmed by the struggles and pain of life, shift your focus back to God’s goodness, trusting that He is ruling over it all and that your hope should rest in Him alone.
Holy Spirit: Controlled by the Holy Spirit
“be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18) is to be controlled by the Holy Spirit. This is a present continuous action and requires a believer to be (a) daily yielded to God, (b) daily in repentance with confession with godly sorrow, (c) daily allowing the word of God to richly indwell the inner man. Being controlled by the Holy Spirit empowers a believer (a) daily in spiritual battle (Spirit versus flesh) and, (b) daily in living out the person and character and conduct of Christ and in being obedient to the will of God.
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