Looking for GodSample

Living Between Two Kingdoms

Even with the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, we are not removed from worldly pressures and distractions. We live in a chaotic and distracting world where the wolves are fierce around us.

Simply by picking up our cell phones, we can have hours of distractions at our fingertips. We can enter into a world of games, news, streaming services, or the rabbit hole that is social media, and before we know it, the day is gone, and we have given little thought to the One who loves us more than we can imagine. And despite living in one of the wealthiest nations in the world with every pleasure literally within reach, depression and anxiety are on the rise. Suicides hit an all-time high in 2022 and are more common than at any time since the dawn of WWII.* Anxiety disorders affect 42.5 million adults in America, and 21 million live with depression.** Today, one out of eight people lives with a mental health condition. That’s nearly one billion people worldwide.***

Our culture rages at us through wolves on social media, the news, in the halls of education and in government, and even inside many of our churches, perverting who God says we are, twisting His Word, and drowning out His voice. As I mentioned earlier, if you feel deep inside of you that you are seeking something greater than the uproar of this world, it is because God has set eternity in your heart (Ecclesiastes 3:11). The Holy Spirit is nudging you to shut out the distractions and seek the God who loves you and created you. He gave His Son for you so you could live in eternity with Him. “This is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 NIV).

When we receive the invitation from the Spirit to put our foundation in Jesus, we make Him the focus of our lives and stop striving to be our own savior. When we no longer feel the need to fight for self-worth but rest in our identity in Him, we willingly obey what His Word says. Jesus said that those who obey, abide in, and keep His Word love Him and are truly His disciples (John 8:31; 14:15, 21, 23-24; 15:10-15; 1 John 3:24). Mary, the mother of Jesus, did not boast in or lift herself up to be equal with Jesus, but rather, she pointed to the Son. She said, “Do whatever he tells you” (John 2:5 NIV). Her words echo through the ages to us today. Jesus is the Word (John 1:1-5, 14). Do whatever the Word tells you.

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References

*Mike Stobbe, “US suicides hit an all-time high last year,” AP News, updated August 10, 2023. Accessed online.
**Lizzie Duszynski-Goodman, “Mental Health Statistics and Facts,” Forbes, February 21, 2024. Accessed online.
***Fred Schwaller, “Global mental health issues on the rise,” DW, October 10, 2022. Accessed online.