God created us for a divine purpose. In Genesis 1:28, we see God blessing human beings: “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground”. We see here that God created us to multiply and to govern the earth – a prosperous purpose. However, sin and disobedience take us away from that purpose.
We all want to have a successful life, and the key to success is Jesus Christ. In John 10:10, Jesus says: “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life”. The thief referred in this verse is the devil; he is the one who comes, bringing destruction, confusion and fear. However, Jesus came to bring us a rich and satisfying life. That is a successful life! So, when we accept Jesus in our hearts as our Lord and Savior, we take the first step in direction to the amazing purpose God created us for.
Jesus came to redeem us from the misery of sin. Without Christ, we, human beings, are totally lost, in the darkness, disconnected from God, our Creator. There was no possibility of us to reconnect to God by our own means. It is only by God’s grace through Jesus Christ. Ephesians 2:1-6 says: “Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil – the commander of the powers of the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus”. Let’s pay attention to this passage! We can only be connected to God through Christ. There is no other way!
We were created by God for His glory, to live under His inspiration. That is the purpose of our lives! However, disconnected from Him, we live out of this purpose. We become lost! As much as we try to do good works throughout our lives, as much as we try to help the poor and to be kind to others, without God, those things are nothing. Without God, you are not living the fullness of your life. If the purpose of our lives is to be connected to our Creator, living outside this connection brings frustration.
In John 3:3, Jesus said: “I tell you, unless you are born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God”. In John 3:5-7, Jesus proceeds: “I assure you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can produce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again’”. Through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, He redeemed us from the spiritual poverty men were living. He gave us a new possibility of life. A life without Christ means a life under the power of death and sin, but Jesus can set us free from this bondage.
Now, we can call God our Father! After accepting Jesus, we enter the family of Christ, as written in Romans 8:17: “Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ”. And by heir, it means an exceedingly abundant life! A life full of joy and peace and governed by the Holy Spirit. A life governed by the Holy Spirit is a life surrounded by Godly peace. Even in the midst of adversities, there is nothing lacking. The Bible says that God has plans of peace, hope and prosperity for all of us (Jeremiah 29:11); not only financial prosperity, but prosperity of all areas. All areas of our lives are complete with provision by God.
You may hear this and ask: “But is this kind of life possible? It seems so impossible to have a kind of life like this in the midst of so much difficulty we face day by day”. But I tell you that it is possible, because the Bible says that Jesus Christ already conquered this kind of life for us on the cross! This does not mean that, after accepting Jesus, everything magically changes and becomes a fairytale. However, when you accept Christ, you are born again and your spirit gets connected to the Holy Spirit. In fact, you receive the Holy Spirit to dwell inside of you! Jesus calls Him our advocate in John 14:16-17: “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you”. On verses 26-27 (of John 14), Jesus continues to talk about the Holy Spirit: “But the advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid”.
This word advocate refers to the Greek word parakletos. What does this mean? It means that the Holy Spirit is a helper, an assistant. He will lead you to a deeper knowledge of the gospel truth and give you divine strength to undergo trials and tribulations. Through His aid, we can receive peace, which is a state of tranquility – the assurance that we have nothing to fear because God is with us! And, if God is with us, nothing can be against us!
In order to have a successful life, we should learn to be guided by the Holy Spirit! Many Christians forget that they received the Holy Spirit when they accepted Christ. They try to find solutions through outside sources, instead of relying on the guidance of the Holy Spirit already inside of them. As I said, God has good plans for your life; those plans will be achieved through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. He was given to you, so that you could already have security, safety, prosperity and felicity.
As a Christian, you need to be aware that you are a spiritual being, living in a body and having a soul. You are not guided by your fleshly desires nor your emotions; you are guided by your spirit connected to the Spirit of God. If necessary, repeat more than once: “I am a spiritual being. I have a soul and I live in a body”. That way, you will become more aware of your spiritual nature. First, you are a spiritual being! Your soul and body are important, but you are not guided by feelings, physical senses, thoughts or natural circumstances. True guidance comes from God through your spirit!
You do not need to run to other people, supposedly with more spiritual revelation, to learn about the guidance God has for you or to learn about the future. The same Holy Spirit I received, you received when you were born again! All Christians receive the same Holy Spirit. We are all capable of receiving the same guidance! The Bible says that the human spirit is the lamp of the Lord, because, through our spirit connected to the Holy Spirit, His light, His guidance comes to our lives.
And how do we exercise this guidance from the Holy Spirit? By having fellowship with the Word of God! The Word states who God is and His desires for us. The more we meditate in His Word, the more sensitive and prepared we become to understand His will for our lives. Also, the Holy Spirit is alive in you. He has a voice! He speaks inside of you. The more you meditate in the Word, the more prepared you become to listen to this small voice inside of you.
Some people think they need to hear a very audible voice or something extraordinary, like visions, signs or dreams, to understand that God is speaking to them; however, when you have the Holy Spirit, you do not need an audible voice. The extraordinary is already inside of you! This calm and small voice is your conscience. Some people call this intuition; however, in us, Christians, this is the Spirit of God giving us His instructions. Sometimes, you will realize inside of you a motivation to do or not to do something. Sometimes, you will realize a motivation to go ahead; other times, you will realize a red light inside of you in relation to something.You do not need to be afraid of those commands! The more you meditate on the Word of God, the more sensitive you will become to notice them, because the Word of God “is a lamp to guide your feet and a light to your path”, as it is written in Psalms 119:105. You can trust the guidance of the Holy Spirit!