We tend to make everything harder on ourselves. Have you ever wanted life to be simple. The Bible says that the Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. Romans 14:17. If you could package righteousness, peace and joy in a box and put it on the market what would be the market value? Jesus said, "The Kingdom of God is not about eating and drinking" Why would Jesus say that it isn't about eating and drinking? Why say that before telling us what the Kingdom is about? Jesus said that the Kingdom was not about eating and drinking because this is what most people spend most of their lives seeking after. In the morning we get out of bed, clock into work, work all day, come home exhausted...and most people on the planet do this so that they will have something to eat, a place to sleep a way to pay the bills. We can find ourselves living our lives just trying to survive.
Since the Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost, how do we obtain it? I see people struggling everyday to enter in. Sometimes it feels like no matter how hard you try the Kingdom eludes you. In desperation we often cry out, "Lord, where is the righteousness, peace and joy?" We read daily devotionals. We search the Scripture for some 'new word' or revelation that will 'fix' our problems. We call our friends and pour out our hearts looking for an answer. We search and search and search, but somehow righteousness, peace and joy are no where to be found.
If you struggle to find the presence of God, and the peace and joy of your salvation seems to have walked out on you today try not to make it too hard on yourself. There is only one thing that you need to remember. JESUS. Just push everything else out of your mind and your Spirit and lay down everything and cling to Jesus. You may think, "Oh, I can't let go of everything right now, there are too many important things and I got to see to this and that and take care of this in this other person.
If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. Mark 8:35
Don't hang on to those things that are driving your crazy! Just put your mind on Jesus and let it stay right there. It is that simple. Why are the simplest things sometimes the hardest things to do? When you feel your peace of mind leaving just remember that it is simple, think on Jesus. He is peace. When you feel your joy slipping away, just remember JESUS and your joy will come back to you. When you feel unworthy and righteousness seems so far away, just remember it is about what Jesus did, not about you. Just think about Jesus, and forget about yourself. It is just that easy.
Life is like a bar of soap, the harder you squeeze it, the more it slips out of your hands. Loosen up your grip today. You don't have to run your life and the lives of the people around you. No matter how big your responsibilities, God will direct your path if you will surrender it to him.
