We learn and grow in the hard times

But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. ~Colossians 3:8-10 (NIV) 

The plan that God has for us eventually changes us into His image. We are destined to be molded into His image. That may sound like an amazing life journey, but in all reality, it can sometimes be quite painful.  Conforming to the image of Christ means you have to get rid of some negative emotions and the bad habits of expressing those emotions.  It means you have to tell yourself you are not allowed to have fits of anger anymore. You have to tell yourself there is no room for gossip or slander in your life.  You have to make your mind, your will and your emotions learn to obey the Spirit of God living on the inside of you.  You have to be quiet long enough to hear God’s Spirit talking to you and then you have to do what He says.  That alone can be a difficult battle.  Notice that God says, “rid yourselves of all such things.”  That is pretty clear direction on how this is all going to happen.  We are going to have to step in to some self-discipline.  It means that you waiting on God to step in and keep you from getting angry or talking bad about people is a waste of time. He says that is your responsibility.  But we can be sure that He will always be there to help, when we make doing it His way the desire of your heart, just like He did for Jesus!

When the Lord talks about conforming to His image in scripture, He uses the analogy of clay being pressed and molded.  Being changed into an entirely different shape could prove to cause some soreness.  If we take a lump of clay and press it into a mold, there is always too much clay to fit, and some pieces have to go. By the time we come to Jesus there is always more of us than would fit into the mold of His image, so of course many of our thoughts, words, and actions must be discarded.  We all say we want to be more like Jesus, but are we willing to commit to the sacrifice and discipline it takes to become more like Him?  If so, we must be ready to live that love life and resist the carnal desires that we have to get into strife and discord starting with controlling our thought life.  We play a very large part in our transformation by learning to be obedient to the Holy Spirit as He instructs us in replacing our will with the Lords.  We must go through things that are difficult and learn how to respond to them the way Jesus would.  We cannot give way to the fearful thoughts and feelings that attack us and we must learn to remain steadfast, knowing that no matter how things appear now, God will work them out for our good—and in the process, He will use them to make us stronger, better people that reflect His goodness and glory in this world.  God’s purpose in everything that happens is to make us more like Jesus Christ.  Jesus was the totally obedient one.  Be obedient to God today and don't be afraid if it hurts to do the right thing.  Just like Jesus did, we learn and grow in the hard times. 

Although He was a Son, He learned obedience through what He suffered. ~Hebrews 5:8 (ESV)

In what areas do you need to be more disciplined to follow the Holy Spirit’s lead?

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