What You Must Do to Be Right With God
I've discovered that nothing in life is right — nothing feels right, nothing works right — until you know you are right with God. When you really know God loves you and accepts you, then you can overcome sin, the rejection and judgment of others and any other opposition that comes against you in this life. This is the inheritance God promises His children in His Word.
We see this truth in Isaiah 54:17, which says, "No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment you shall show to be in the wrong. This [peace, righteousness, security, triumph over opposition] is the heritage of the servants of the Lord [those in whom the ideal Servant of the Lord is reproduced]…" (AMPC).
Our inheritance in Christ is peace, righteousness, security and triumph over opposition. Another way to say it is we get everything Jesus worked and died for when He took the sins of the world upon Himself. And when we accept His sacrifice and believe God has forgiven our sins, we no longer have to bear the reproach — the shame, guilt and blame — for our sin.
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We can have a personal, intimate relationship with God, through our faith in Christ, and have real peace, security and confidence that we are right with Him. We can begin to see ourselves the way God sees us, and trust that He has given us everything we need to be who He has created us be.
Reproducing What's Downloaded in You
It's important to notice here that this inheritance is promised to "the servants of the Lord [those in whom the ideal Servant of the Lord is reproduced]." This means they are people who are committed to God and serious about having an ongoing relationship with Him.
While our salvation is a gift Jesus freely gives us, we do have to put effort into our walk with God, developing our faith in Him. That means we have to cooperate with the Holy Spirit as He works in us, so that everything God is — everything that was downloaded in our spirit when we accepted Christ — can be worked out through us and the world can see what He is really like.
First John 3:9 explains what it means to have "everything God is" downloaded in our spirit: "No one born (begotten) of God [deliberately, knowingly, and habitually] practices sin, for God's nature abides in him [His principle of life, the divine sperm, remains permanently within him]; and he cannot practice sinning because he is born (begotten) of God" (AMPC).
This scripture says the seed of Almighty God is planted in us through salvation. God's nature abides in us, and we cannot continue to practice sinning and be satisfied to stay the way we are. It's not saying that we will suddenly do everything right, but our attitudes and behavior will change little by little as we learn to hear God's voice through His Word and we are obedient to Him. Over time, as we persist in spending time with God in prayer and studying His Word, we will develop more of the character and qualities of Christ.
You've Got What It Takes
God would never expect us to become like Him if He didn't equip us with everything we need to do it. With the seed of everything God is planted in your spirit, you have everything you need to become what He has created you to be and do what He's created you to do.
As we water the seed with the Word of God, spending time with Jesus in prayer, all of the things He has invested in us through salvation grow and we eventually give birth to them — we see them produced in our thoughts, attitudes and behavior. Now, giving birth is not comfortable, and sometimes as we let God change us, we go through pain in the process. You may even have times when you feel that it's too hard and want to give up. But don't give up! Because once the "baby" is born, you'll know it was worth it.
I know what this is like. I was so messed up after going through years of abuse in my childhood. I was hard to get along with, angry most of the time, controlling and thought I couldn't be happy unless everything went the way I wanted it to. I can honestly say that I'm not remotely like the person I used to be today because of the amazing healing and restoration God has done in my life. It wasn't easy to get from there to where I am today — enjoying my life and having God's peace — but it was worth it!
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