Facing the reality of who we are in our Lord Jesus Christ is very important in our spiritual life. We need to examine our hearts to see if we truly believe in the Lord Jesus Christ without pretending. The reason is that we do not want to deceive ourselves. God knows if we truly believe in Him or not. He knows our hearts, and He knows if we truly surrender our life to Him. We can hide our true feelings and belief from each other, but God knows who we really are. In the end, God is going to judge those who rejected Him from their heart. We have to search or examine our hearts and decide right now on who we want to follow. We cannot wait another day or procrastinate another week, month, or year because we will never know what will happen tomorrow. God wants us to believe and surrender our life to Him without any reservation. He wants us to choose to follow Him no matter how messed up we are.
Once we choose to follow and surrender our life to Him, He will then start a good work in us. Our faith in Him will produce good works in us, and His Word will slowly renew our minds. Our attitude will begin to change towards God and others. None of these will happen to us if we pretend to believe in Him and are unwilling to surrender our life to Him. Changes start happening with us the moment we believe in Him and surrender our life to Him. James 2:14 says, "What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has not have (good) works? Can this kind of faith save him?" If we want to know if we truly have faith in God, we need to see the evidence in how we live our lives. If I say, I have faith in God. Still, I have a filthy mouth, unforgiving, arrogant, committing ungodly behavior and attitude, no respect for God and others, and not trusting God. Then, I need to examine my faith in God if I truly believe in Him and surrender my life to Him.
Our good works do not save us, but our good works are the evidence of our genuine faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus says this in Matthew 7:19-20, "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them." The fruit represents the result of our faith in God. If we believe in God and live a godly life, then we belong to God, but if we say that we believe in God, but live an ungodly life, then we do not belong to God.
Ask yourself these questions: Do I genuinely believe in the Lord Jesus Christ? Am I willing to surrender my whole life to God and change me?
Write down all the worries that you are facing today and lift them up to God.
Prayer:
Father in Heaven, please examine my heart thoroughly and see if anything in my life is not completely surrendered to you. Please help me to let go of trying to control my life and surrender my life to you. Please help me not to pretend that I believe in you, but help me to truly believe in you and surrender everything. You know what is best for me. I tried to live my life according to what I wanted, but it only led to unsatisfied and emptiness. Please be my Lord and Savior. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.