AWAKEN AND STIR UP HIS PRESENCE
Always turn on the tap. His presence is there because He is Omnipotent, Omnipresent. But you have a duty to stir up “the river of waters” around you to the level of operative activity. The pool at Bethesda had to be troubled by an angel before the healing properties were awakened to optimal level.
When the ignition key of a steam engine is turned, the fuel starts burning, and the wheels begin to roll. The water starts boiling and vaporizing because the source of power has been activated. You should, therefore, know when and how to turn the ignition key to the “on” position, for the purpose of awakening His presence inside you and around your neighbourhood. Do not be in a hurry to take the plunge if you have not stirred up His presence. It is far better to be sure that He is leading the way. If He is leading, then it is His Spirit that quickens you to the best action, and you can never make a mistake.
“Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God which is in thee by the putting on of my hands” (1 Tim. 1:6).
When you stir up His presence, the “lion” inside you is awakened, and you begin to do greater exploits effortlessly.
REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN THE LORD
One reason for which you should always rejoice and be glad is the complete work of salvation, which God executed through His dear Son, Jesus Christ. When you realize that you have a new status, and that you are a new creation no longer carrying the old propensities and properties, that you have a better life on earth plus an assurance of eternal life of bliss —
When you are completely aware that you are now born of the Spirit, that you are a royal priesthood and a peculiar person (1 Peter 2:9); when you have accepted that you are a partaker of His divine essence (2 Peter 1:4); when you are totally convinced that He that is in you is greater than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4), and that you can do all things through the new personality that has entered and now controls your life (Philippians 4:13) — there is no reason why you should not always rejoice and be glad in the Lord.
You should, from today, develop the habit of desiring a merry heart filled with peaceful thoughts. Joy and happiness flow to the heart which harbours the ingredients of peace, goodness, love, mercy, and forgiveness. These ingredients fertilize and prepare your heart to rejoice inwardly. And when there is inward rejoicing, there is also its physical manifestation around, and people can now tell that you are a child of God.
“Glory ye in His holy name; let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord” (Psalm 105:3). “Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee” (Psalm 70:4). Make a conscious effort by taking the necessary steps to align with those factors that can attract joy and happiness into your life. In other words, you should programme yourself to be happy and joyous always. Remember that “by their fruits ye shall know them.”
A joyous manifestation is the most important fruit for the identification of a child of God. It is your responsibility to remove those things that make you sad from your life.