The Desire to Receive Your Heavenly Reward of Eternal Life

The Desire to Receive Your Heavenly Reward of Eternal Life Devotional Reading July 3, 2023

“Not My will, but Thine be done.” —Luke 22:42

Every person who accepts Jesus as their personal Savior must travel the Chosen Path which requires the humility of daily surrender and obedience. Jesus surrendered His will to God, His Father to take the cup of suffering which led to a horrendous death on Calvary’s Cross, and we must surrender our will to Christ to receive our reward of eternal life.

For many, the gift of Jesus’ life for our salvation and redemption from sin has lost its significant meaning. Our earthly desires have overpowered the desire to surrender and walk with Jesus. Our prayers reflect a half-hearted commitment to Christ, we pray, “Lord, bless me with…” as opposed to praying “Lord, I surrender myself to You today.”

Reflection: Am I willing to surrender and travel the tough [but rewarding] path Christ has chosen for me?

“…And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” —Matthew 28:20

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” —John 14:1-3

The Condition: “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” —John 15:5

Jesus gave us these precious promises to keep our minds focused on Him. Our Loving Savior desires for us to know “Your earthly journey of following Me cannot be done without receiving My Strength and My Grace.” More than ever, we need spiritual strength, wisdom, and discernment from the Holy Spirit to recognize and fight off the daily and continuous attacks of spiritual warfare.

Reflection: How much time do I give to God in daily worship?

“But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” —Matthew 6:6

Prayer, Bible Study, and Meditation require intentional time with God. The busyness of life prevents us from separating ourselves and having meaningful worship with God.

The Dilemma: Our hearts are filled with earthly desires. And we are continuously overwhelmed by the daily schedules overflowing with distractions [which is Satan’s spiritual warfare]. Every day Satan makes personalized plans of temptation to keep us from having a heart-to-heart relationship with Christ. His overall agenda is for us to be lost because his destiny of destruction is certain.

Human Effort: With the concerted effort of praying and studying the Scriptures even the weakest Christian receives strength from the Holy Spirit to overcome temptation. If we do our part by remaining faithful and obedient, we have the promise of Divine Intervention to keep us on our Chosen Path.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” —James 1:5, NIV

Without godly wisdom, we cannot recognize the distractions that steal our time away from God. Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal every individual and personal habit that is preventing you from surrendering and obeying God. You will be surprised that your Chosen Path requires letting go of most of the people, places, and things that you enjoy. The spiritual reward of eternal life requires going deeper with Christ.

“I can do all things [which He has called me to do] through Him who strengthens and empowers me [to fulfill His purpose]…” Philippians 4:13, Amplified Bible

Distancing ourselves from the obstacles that prevent us from receiving daily spiritual growth and transformation is necessary to live righteously. Once the Holy Spirit has revealed the obstacles, we pray for the Divine strength, wisdom, and courage to take the earthly steps of surrender and obedience. Letting go is not an easy task. Add spiritual fasting to overcome the desire to keep anything that prevents receiving your crown from King Jesus.

Remember that our Chosen Path is decided by Christ who requires the same surrender and obedience that God required of Him in His earthly journey. Choose a time of seclusion and think deeply about your heavenly reward. Whom do you love more than Christ? What programs and online activities are you willing to give up?

The daily tests proving our commitment to Christ always require us to change our behaviors and lifestyles. We will be tempted to return to the former things that keep us from total surrender. The characteristics of Surrender and Obedience are not innate desires—pleasing our carnal desires is the battle within of good versus evil that we inherited and will face until the day of Jesus’ Second Coming. Yet, we can overcome with prayer, perseverance, and daily spiritual strength from the Holy Spirit.

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” —2 Timothy 1:7, NLT

Witnessing to others by gently telling them you have decided to spend more time with God may not be received well, but do it anyway. One of the characteristics of the Fruit of the Spirit is self-control. The human effort of telling ourselves no is possible because we were born with innate spiritual gifts from God.

“But without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” —Hebrews 11:6

God created us to worship Him in our earthly lives which prepares us to worship Him eternally in the New Heaven and New Earth. The sacrificial gift of Jesus was an expression of love that we will never fully understand until we are changed and made perfect when Jesus comes. Yet, we can gain deeper spiritual insight by staying in His presence. Seeing life through spiritual eyes reveals that immediate change is required to walk on the Narrow Path with Jesus.

By our willingness to surrender, obey, and diligently seek God through prayer and study of the Scriptures, we have the promises of God, the Father, Jesus, the Son, and the Holy Spirit’s Divine Intervention to keep us on our Chosen Path that leads to a glorious, eternal life in Heaven.

Through the sacrifice of Jesus’ life, we are the recipients of God’s Grace and Mercies. The Human Effort of Surrender and Obedience is always rewarded by God. We receive spiritual discernment to recognize and resist temptation. From our prayer for Divine Help, we are empowered by the Holy Spirit, along with our guardian angels, to fight the spiritual warfare that Satan masterminds to separate us from God.

Scripture Reading: “But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness…’ “…That is why, for the sake of Christ, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.…” —2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Prayer: Lord, we ask You to cleanse us from all unrighteousness and fill us with Your Holy Spirit. We commit to following You by dedicating ourselves to fully surrender and obey Your Will. Thank You for the gift of Salvation and Your grace and mercies. We ask for spiritual insight, strength, godly wisdom, and direction as we travel on the Narrow, Chosen Path of Righteousness. We ask this prayer in Your Worthy Name, Amen.