Mar 14, 20204 min read

Spring Starts From Within

This upcoming Sunday is a National Day of Prayer in the United States. We are petitioning the Lord for world-wide protection and healing regarding viruses and illnesses of any kind. We are praying for those affected to recover. We are praying for our leaders, healthcare workers, schools, communities and the economy. We pray for spiritual and physical rejuvenation for all of God's created. We can pray original prayers from the heart; unite with our families, loved ones and churches for collective prayer; and pray the Scriptures to the Lord (Psalm 91; healing), all while being mindful to turn from sin and embrace His holy will in every area of our lives. While we observe this National Day of Prayer together, please take this opportunity to evaluate your personal prayer habits. Do you pray daily, or pray all through the day without ceasing? Do you spend time routinely leading your family or friends in prayer? Are you taking a conscious stand against fear, anxiety and worry, trusting the Lord always and relying on Scripture to be absolutely true?

No matter how you observe the National Day of Prayer, Jesus has given us a calm and sound mind regardless of circumstance. Paul encourages Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:6-8a (NASB):

I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord...

This passage reveals that the antidote for exterior fear is to reactivate the gift of God within you. Paul prays that the Lord would grant Timothy grace, mercy and peace (vs. 2). He also testifies that God, through the Holy Spirit who lives in us, actively guards the treasure (divine appointment; purpose) that He has entrusted to us, and He is faithful to repeatedly refresh us (vs. 9-18)! The indwelling Holy Spirit (breath) of God is life energy (energeo). This energy is God's will. This is what is guarded on the inside of born-again, Spirit-filled Christians--God's life. God's divine energy has His will and purpose woven into it, intricately designed from before your birth to produce the Lord specific fruit. When we understand the metaphor of Jesus being the true Vine, we realize a supernatural element of safety and protection as we turn toward God's will, faithful and willing to perform it. God keeps us, and we keep His intents and purposes foremost in our hearts and minds. This aids us in realizing full rest, trust and reliance on God to protect, maintain and nurture us. This wisdom regarding divine life-connection compels us to witness God's love to others, telling them there is a better way to live. Rather than falling victim to negativity and insecurity, we can thrive as we experience God's love and absolute assurance, which causes us to act according to God's ultimate, good plan for our lives.

Energeo is a continual spring of life,

a fountain of God's blessings that flows from within.

2 Samuel 23:3-5 (NASB) records the last words of King David:

“The God of Israel said,

The Rock of Israel spoke to me,

‘He who rules over men righteously,

Who rules in the fear of God,

Is as the light of the morning when the sun rises,

A morning without clouds,

When the tender grass springs out of the earth,

Through sunshine after rain.’

“Truly is not my house so with God?

For He has made an everlasting covenant with me,

Ordered in all things, and secured;

For all my salvation and all my desire,

Will He not indeed make it grow?

New life always rises up in the Lord, because He is Life. Hope and rejuvenation spring forth through sunshine, after the rain. God is a Master Gardener Who oversees the temporal and eternal life of every soul. Just like fruit trees blossom in the spring and ultimately produce what they were created and ordained by God to produce, a healthy, productive human life is the result of God's active Presence within.

The fruit of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).

These traits describe true life.

They are enjoyable gifts from God Who is faithful to plant them like a seed inside of your innermost being and personality, causing them to grow and mature throughout your lifetime. Life is a precious gift from God. Your times are in His hands. He knows your number of days. He is your Creator, your Maker, and your Husband, faithful to tend you and care for everything that concerns you.

Cast...the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully (1 Pet 5:7, AMPC).

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jer 29:11, NIV).

2 Timothy 1:7 in the Amplified Classic says:

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.

You can put down every trace of fear and accept God's perfect love for your life. You can simply rest, and watch God's garden grow--within and around you!

God bless you!

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Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB),

1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

Used by permission. www.Lockman.org

Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMPC),