Why is this effort so necessary? Well, there are many reasons, but the one that the Holy Spirit points us to in this passage is this: we all share in the same Holy Spirit, who is spiritual DNA that connects us together. The Holy Spirit is at work to create the unity and harmony necessary to help us function together as the bodily presence of Jesus in our world. For that to happen, there needs to be a unity that includes peace. A body can’t function when it attacks itself or won’t communicate between its different parts. So we must all, individually and collectively, “make every effort” to preserve what the Holy Spirit has built and is working to hold together. To do less is to rebel against the work of God!
He reached down from heaven and rescued me; he drew me out of deep waters. (Psalm 18:16)
No matter what’s going on in your life, no matter how somebody is treating you, God has a plan to free you from everything that would try to hold you back. He wants to rescue you and show you His mighty hand of favor and blessing. One translation says “with special and vigorous action.” What does that mean? That means, if you will stay in faith even in the difficult times, God is going to show up with explosive blessings. He is going to bring supernatural turnaround, supernatural breakthroughs, supernatural promotion, and supernatural deliverance.
God is saying, “I’m going to free you from the bondage of poverty and lack. I’m going to free you from the burden of depression and discouragement. I’m going to free you from every addiction, every bad habit.”
You don’t have to live in bondage to anything any longer! God’s arm of deliverance is outstretched toward you. He is setting you free from every bondage so that you can live the life of victory He has in store for you!
When life seems uncertain, when things seem unstable, remember God is your Rock and Refuge! You can find safety and security in the name of the Lord. The scripture tells us that the name of the Lord is a strong tower. When you are in a strong tower, you are safe from the storms of life. You are protected and hidden from your enemies. When your relationships seem uncertain, God is your tower of certainty. When the economy seems unpredictable, God is your Rock that never changes. When your job or home situation seems unstable, God is your stability.
When you rely on Him, you can stand on solid ground. You can have confidence and peace because He is well able to take care of anything that concerns you. As you declare God’s truth over your life, it will strengthen and empower you. His truth will be established in your heart, and you will stand strong in the victory He has prepared for you!
“The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace and remain at rest” (Exodus 14:14, AMP)
In life, we’re always going to have critics. We’ll always have difficult people who try to upset us and steal our peace and joy. But, you don’t have to respond to every critic. You can decide to take the high road and let God fight your battles for you.
Sometimes, no matter what you say or do, there are people who aren’t going to accept you. They just don’t want to be at peace with you. In fact, when Jesus sent out His disciples to certain homes, He told them to always speak peace over those homes. And then He said in effect, “If they don’t receive the peace that you’re offering, then it will come back to you.” That tells me that if you will do your best to be at peace with people, even if they won’t take your peace, the good news is that peace will just come back to you. You’ll not only get your peace, but you’ll get their share as well! That’s double for your trouble! When you do the right thing no matter what is happening, God sees it and rewards it. Today, stay in peace, cease from strife, and take the high road. Sow good seeds into others and watch the harvest of blessing come to your own life in return.
The Bible tells us that faith without works is dead. If we don’t put our faith into action, it’s not really faith; it’s just nice ideas. You see, when God truly does a work in our lives, it affects everything about us. It affects our words, our thoughts and our actions. How do you know someone is generous? By their generous actions. How do you know someone is kind? By their kind actions. How do you know someone is gentle? By their gentle actions. How do you know someone is a follower of Christ? By their Christ-like actions.
Can people tell by your actions that you belong to God? We all have areas where we can come up higher, but as believers in Jesus, we can be confident that God is at work in us. He is faithful and will complete what He started. As we invite Him to search our hearts and minds, as we surrender every area of our heart to Him and put our faith into action, He will finish His perfect work in us!
