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Devotional - Spiritual Health

Christine Platt - Tuesday 05 September 2017

Trust and obey, for there is no other way,
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

Who am I? I am a human being. I am made in the image of my creator, God.

I have been adopted into God’s family. I am his son and heir (true whether I am male or female) (Rom 8:14-17). I have been bought out of slavery. My debt was paid with the blood of my Lord, Saviour, and older brother Jesus Christ.

John H. Sammis got it right when he wrote the words of the famous hymn quoted above. We must trust and obey our Father if we hope to be happy in Jesus, if we want to enjoy spiritual health.

If I don’t trust God, I will worry. I will be tempted to do things my way because I don’t trust that God’s way will be best. I will be tempted to disobey. If I disobey my Father I can expect trouble, as can any disobedient child (Heb 12:1-12).

And what is God’s most important command to us? (Mth 22:34-40) “To love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.” If you love someone, you want to spend time with them. So make the time to worship God, read your Bible, think about what you have read, pray, sing spiritual songs, involve God in your decision making, and do things which will please him.

Children imitate their parents. Jesus could say to Philip that anyone who had seen him had seen his Father (Jn 14:1-14). We should want tp be like God and to have the same values, attitudes and behaviour. As we read the Bible we should see what God is like, what Jesus is like, and try to be the same (it is God’s plan for us Rom 8:29). It can help to develop spiritual friendships with people where you study the Bible together, talk about your life and walk with God, and pray for one another.

God loves his church (the people, not the buildings). It is important to meet with God’s people regularly as you all meet with God together. When you travel a lot it is important to have people you fellowship with when you are home as well as to have fellowship with people as you travel about (Heb 10:23-25). Remember that they are your brothers and sisters. God loves them and you should love them too! (1Jn2:8-12)

The second most important commandment is to love our neighbour as our self. The fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23) gives us a good idea about this: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Developing godly character is so important. None of us are perfect and it’s good to ask friends to pray with us as we try to develop these character traits and to love the people around us.

Ultimately I think spiritual health comes down to remembering who you are and who your Dad is. Then you need to trust him and obey him – it really is that simple.

Questions:
How would you describe your effort to trust and obey your heavenly Father?

Do you have Christian friends to study the Bible with, talk to, and pray with? Is this something you can improve?

What do you need to do? Write it down. Ask God for help. Tell a friend/family member and ask them to pray for you.

Spend some time with God.