Isaiah 53:1<\/a>). Our spiritual strength begins to be drained when we stop lifting our eyes to Him. Our stamina is sapped, not so much through external troubles surrounding us but through problems in our thinking. We wrongfully think, \u201cI suppose I\u2019ve been stretching myself a little too much, standing too tall and trying to look like God instead of being an ordinary humble person.\u201d We have to realize that no effort can be too high.<\/p>\nFor example, you came to a crisis in your life, took a stand for God, and even had the witness of the Spirit as a confirmation that what you did was right. But now, maybe weeks or years have gone by, and you are slowly coming to the conclusion\u2014 \u201cWell, maybe what I did showed too much pride or was superficial. Was I taking a stand a bit too high for me?\u201d Your \u201crational\u201d friends come and say, \u201cDon\u2019t be silly. We knew when you first talked about this spiritual awakening that it was a passing impulse, that you couldn\u2019t hold up under the strain. And anyway, God doesn\u2019t expect you to endure.\u201d You respond by saying, \u201cWell, I suppose I was expecting too much.\u201d That sounds humble to say, but it means that your reliance on God is gone, and you are now relying on worldly opinion. The danger comes when, no longer relying on God, you neglect to focus your eyes on Him. Only when God brings you to a sudden stop will you realize that you have been the loser. Whenever there is a spiritual drain in your life, correct it immediately. Realize that something has been coming between you and God, and change or remove it at once.<\/p>\n
_______________________________________________________<\/p>\n
November 24, 2010<\/p>\n
Journal Entry for Today-JDV<\/p>\n
I do not know what occurs or how it takes place, but I have come to know through experience that it is impossible to remain down and discouraged when I begin to praise God. Not for just His blessings on me, but for simply being the God of the universe. I have experienced this transformation and have begun to understand that He can change me from the inside out as I worship and praise Him even as I face the most challenging of circumstances.<\/p>\n
And God says\u2026\u201dYou have been told to worry about nothing but pray about everything, and you shall experience peace that passes all understanding. Praying is simply staying in contact with me not requesting this or that or asking for this blessing or that rescue. Worshiping in Spirit and in truth brings your Spirit into harmony with the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit can then minister to you.<\/em><\/p>\nGalatians 5:22-26 (The Message)<\/p>\n
\u00a022-23But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard\u2014things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Direction of Focus November 24, 2010 \u00a0 Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters . . . , so our eyes look to the Lord our God . . . \u2014Psalm 123:2 \u00a0 This verse is a description of total reliance on God. Just as the eyes of a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3486"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3486"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3486\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3491,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3486\/revisions\/3491"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3486"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3486"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3486"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}