When you become a Christian, something truly amazing happens: God comes to live inside your heart. You become the home of God.
I’ll never forget when this became a revelation to me. I was standing in the bathroom, combing my hair, and I said, “God, I always feel like I’m reaching for You, and I just can’t quite get there.”
He spoke to my heart and said, “Joyce, you’re reaching out. You need to reach in.”
I loved God, but I had no idea He actually came to live in me so we could be in close fellowship and so anytime I needed help, He was right there—at home in my heart.
Many people believe Christianity is just about trying to be good. They live frustrated lives, trying to do everything right. But the truth is we can’t be good unless goodness Himself is living in us. Until God comes and transforms us on the inside, we can’t do anything good.
Colossians 1:27 says, “To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (NIV). This says it all! God is our hope for change so we can live a more glorious life.
That is why feeding your spirit is so important. The spiritual part of you is much more important than what you see. Yes, you have to take care of your body—it’s the temple of God, after all. But we spend too much time on the outer man and not enough time on the inner man.
God wants to become one with you. He wants to infiltrate every part of you—spirit, soul and body. Your spirit tells you all about God—that’s where you communicate with God and receive revelation from Him. And your body connects you to the world. But your soul connects you with yourself. It tells you all about you—what you want, what you think and what you feel.
God wants your soul—your mind, will and emotions—to become one with your spirit. That’s the goal. Then the two of them can work through your body, and then the world can see God through you. So let’s look at the three aspects of the soul and how God can come and be a bigger part of each one.
1) Our Will—“I Want.” Our will is probably the strongest part of us. Let’s face it, for many of us, it’s easy to be rebellious and stubborn. And often we think we’re a lot smarter than we really are.
God wants us to come to Him like a little child and trust. A mature Christian is able to not get their way and still be happy. We all want a lot of stuff, but thank God that we don’t always get it, because He knows much of it could actually harm us.
Are you able to let go of what you want? What happens when you don’t get your way? Ask God to help conform your will to His—for Him to inhabit your will more and more so that your desires become what He actually wants for you too.
2) Our Mind—“I Think.” Everyone wants to tell you what they think. In fact, today it seems there is an expert for everything. Many people set themselves up as experts just by calling themselves one—no proof required!
I always tell people education is a good thing and that we should learn all we can. But we better study and learn something worth learning. When it comes down to it, we can fill our minds with endless knowledge and still miss the most important part: God.
Some people learn so much that they don’t even believe in God anymore. And one thing’s for sure: You are not going to get rid of God and still have a good life. Get all the education you can get, but also seek after God and His wisdom.
Remember that God always knows better than we do what is right for us, so the best thing we can do is learn to think like Him and do what He would do.
3) Our Emotions—“I Feel.” I used to be mad all of the time. But I learned that you can be angry at somebody yet choose to forgive them and be kind. When I finally learned how to not live by my feelings, it brought real peace into my life. And this is the peace that God wants for you.
Our feelings can get us into trouble. We’re never going to get rid of them, but neither can we afford to live by them.
You don’t have to stay where you are. You can grow and change. You can have more peace, more joy, more victory and more power because God wants to bless you in every way.
How? Through Christ in you, your hope of glory.
Joyce Meyer is a New York Times best-selling author and founder of Joyce Meyer Ministries Inc. She has authored 100 books, including Battlefield of the Mind and God Is Not Mad at You. To read past columns in Charisma by Joyce, visit charismamag.com/meyer.
