In every season and circumstance, God is good. Every day he gives us the daily bread we need. I was reading Philippians 4:13 and encouraged in the full context of this writing from Paul. Paul shared how in every season -whether every need was met with abundance overflowing or even in seasons where there was hunger or lack or need- he could lean into God’s strength to overcome. He trusted God that He would daily be the strength he needed. He could be satisfied in every season and circumstance, because he found strength in Jesus. In Jesus, the abundant riches of glory were revealed. He could find strength locking gaze with Jesus’ fiery eyes. I find this encouraging to my heart; because no matter what I am facing in a season I can lean into the strength of Jesus. No amount of hardship, lack, or persecution is impossible to face when I am walking with Jesus. “I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For, I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength” Philippians 4:12-13. Another version reads, “…I have learned to be satisfied in any circumstance. I know what it means to lack, and I know what it means to experience overwhelming abundance. For I’m trained in the secret of overcoming all things, whether in fullness or in hunger. And I find that the strength of Christ’s explosive power infuses me to conquer every difficulty. I am convinced that my God will fully satisfy every need you have, for I have seen the abundant riches of glory revealed to me through Jesus Christ! And God our Father will receive all the glory and the honor throughout the eternity of eternities! Amen!” Philippians 4:11-13, 19-20 TPT.

This encourages me the most in my walk with Jesus that He promises whatever I am facing to walk with me and to help me to find my contentment, joy, and peace in Him. We live in a world where nothing is certain. I always can rejoice and be thankful in every circumstance. In a moment, we can go from having everything to having nothing. We can lose someone we love in a moment. In the same way, the reverse can happen we can go from a season of hardship into one of blessings. However, our happiness and stability cannot be based on material things, money or other people. Jesus is the only stable thing. He is an anchor in every storm; keeping us from drifting far away or being consumed by the storm. An anchor is needed on a boat not just in the storms; but in everyday life to keep the boat steady and in the place, it needs to be. We can come before God and talk to him about everything, letting him bring His peace into every situation like an anchor that keeps us from drifting away. “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise” Philippians 4:6-8 NLT.

“Don’t be pulled in different directions or worried about a thing. Be saturated in prayer throughout each day, offering your faith-filled requests before God with overflowing gratitude. Tell him every detail of your life, then God’s wonderful peace that transcends human understanding, will guard your heart and mind through Jesus Christ. Keep your thoughts continually fixed on all that is authentic and real, honorable and admirable, beautiful and respectful, pure and holy, merciful and kind. And fasten your thoughts on every glorious work of God, praising him always. Put into practice the example of all that you have heard from me or seen in my life and the God of peace will be with you in all things” Philippians 4:6-9 TPT.

When we fix our gaze on Jesus everything else changes. I have been meditating a lot on John 6 this past week. I would listen to the streetlight’s audio Bible version over and over again. I have been reading the passage every day thinking on what it means to feed on Jesus where he becomes everything. Also, I have also been meditating on seeing the glory of God in the midst of persecution and hardship. I have read this book called Glory Zone in the War Zone by Andrew White that talks about the presence of God and glory of God coming into intense situations and circumstances. This man served in a war-torn area of Iraq Baghdad as a Pastor and working in the medical field. I was seeing a theme of people who were sold out to Jesus loving not their own lives even unto death. They were completely dependent on Jesus to be their everything no matter what they faced. In this they would see angels in their worship meetings. Babies raised from the dead. They saw supernatural provision and many miraculous things. However, they also lost dear brothers and sisters who were persecuted and even some burned alive in cages even for their faith. They choose to surrender all to Jesus and saw His glory as they walked in faith. Yet many who saw his glory also walked through suffering; but they carried a joy. I think of Hebrews 11:32-40. There was glory and there was persecution. However, they were running their race with endurance looking solely at Jesus the author and finisher of their faith. We share in the cup of suffering with Jesus, and we also share in His glory. “The Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you…by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body…For as many are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs- heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. For I consider the sufferings of this present time not worthy to be compared to the glory that will be revealed in us.” (Romans 8:11-18).

No matter what we face we can be baptized with the fire of God and His Spirit to carry His glory as we fully give our lives over to Him. We realize everything else is temporal. We even learn he is the strength in our weaknesses. The Dunamis (explosive, miracle working power of God) comes into those situations, and he becomes our strength. Paul said, “I will celebrate me weaknesses, for when I’m weak I sense more deeply the mighty power of Christ living in me. So, I’m not defeated by my weaknesses but delighted! For when I feel my weakness and endure mistreatment- when I’m surrounded with troubles on every side and face persecution because of my love for Christ- I am made yet stronger. For my weakness becomes a portal to God’s power” (2 Corinthians 9-10 TPT).

As human beings we are so focused on the temporal. We revolve much of our lives chasing after things that eventually fade away. I remember reading in Matthew 6 where it says, “Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing?…So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear? These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs.” Life is more than these things. We can focus so much time and energy, worrying and having anxiety around material things. I sometimes get into this place; but I am learning a deeper level of trust with Jesus where I see His provision each day. I look to Him and trust He is my provider. Money can become an idol in your heart even if you are poor; because all of your thoughts, energy, and attention can go to that. I believe God is a good Father and wants us to be provided for. However, in seasons where there is lack, we are able to not be swayed with worry and anxiety; but fully trust Jesus to be all we need. He is an anchor to our soul. He is faithful to provide everything we need as we seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness this is a promise we can always stand on. No matter the circumstances we stand on the promises of God. However, in those seasons of stretching, I am learning that truly Jesus is all we need. The Holy Spirit leads and guides us as we faithfully stand on God’s promises until we see them come to pass.

I am fascinated by the things Jesus teaches that he is the bread of life and the living water. How all we need is in him. “But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval.” They replied, “We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?” Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.” Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But you haven’t believed in me even though you have seen me. However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them. For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day.” As it is written in the Scriptures, ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes has eternal life. Yes, I am the bread of life! Anyone who eats the bread from heaven, however, will never die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh.” So Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you. But anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise that person at the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. I live because of the living Father who sent me; in the same way, anyone who feeds on me will live because of me. I am the true bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will not die as your ancestors did (even though they ate the manna) but will live forever.”” John 6:27-29, 35-37, 40, 45, 47-48, 50-51, 53-58 NLT

Jesus said he was the bread of life that came out of heaven that anyone who eats this bread has eternal life and will never die. The people asked Jesus what they could do to preform God’s works. What was Jesus’ reply he said to believe on Him. One verse in particular says, “He who feeds on me will live because of me” (John 6:57).  Jesus goes on to say, “The words that I speak to you are Spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). Jesus was the word made flesh that dwelt among us. He was the living word. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…The word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten Father full of grace and truth” (John 1:1,14). Many of the things Jesus taught were spiritual truths. I believe the first step in unveiling the words of God and the deep mysteries is believing in Jesus, so we are born again by the Spirit.

In John 3 Nicodemus comes to Jesus and says we know are a teacher who comes from God. Jesus says to him, “‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ Nicodemus says to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?’” (John 3:3-4). He was thinking very logically about what Jesus has said. “Jesus answered, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but you cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone born of the Spirit” (John 3:5-8). Jesus goes on to say that all who believe in Him will have eternal life. Believing in Jesus is a rebirth by the Spirit. We become one Spirit with Him. “He who is joined to the Lord is one Spirit with Him” (1 Corinthians 6:17). We become one with him often compared to the way a bride and groom become one (Ephesians 5:31-32).

Jesus even prayed for everyone who would believe in Him, “that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they may also be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You have given Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one. I in them, and You in me; that they may be made perfect in one…” (John 17:21-23).  Jesus said He was one with the Father. He asked Phillip, “Do you believe that I am in the Father and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves. Most assuredly, I say to you he who believes in Me the works that I do he will do also; and greater works then these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in my name I will do, that the Father will be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it” (John 14:12-14). Jesus then goes on to talk about the Holy Spirit that when He goes away the Father will send His Spirit to dwell with us and be in us (John 14:17).  He goes on to share how in a little while the disciples will see him no more. However, “At that day you will know that I am in the Father, and you in Me, and I in you” (John 14:20). Jesus paints this beautiful picture of abiding in Him. Again, this picture of oneness with Him. “I am the vine, and you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned” (John 15:5-6). I think abiding in Jesus is more than just spending time with Him, it’s coming into this revelation of our oneness with Him that we are joined to Him in Spirit that we have the mind of Christ. We renew our minds to come into alignment with the identity of heaven on our lives.

God longs to reveal the deep things of God to us by His Spirit; but we have to realize who we are as sons and daughters of God. “He who is spiritual judges all things” (1 Corinthians 2:15).  We receive the Spirit of God and are joined in Spirit with Him. I am meditating on coming more into the reality of my oneness in Spirit with Jesus that transforms every area of my life. He is the living word; so, I also am the living word. I can open my mouth partnered with the Holy Spirit and release living words that reveal Jesus to the hearts of people. His word is alive and active! It’s a fiery sword coming out of our mouths!

I want to learn how to abide in this reality of oneness with Jesus that the very life and DNA of heaven flows through my body by the Spirit of the living God. Through believing in Jesus, I am completely reborn into a spiritual birth. People can look in my eyes and see the same fire that Jesus carries in His eyes. The call to abide in Him and in His love in John 15 I believe is an intimate one. It’s like the picture in Song of Solomon where the lover calls out to the beloved, Come away with me my love. Let’s be intertwined as one together. I think abiding and making Jesus the resting place of our lives, is an intimate picture of oneness as we bear fruit from being in the vine. We become intertwined as one. There is a song I love called Intertwined by Kendrian Dueck and Lauren Alexandira Dueck that says, “Intertwined I cannot separate/ Your love brought us together / Come what may, cannot  take away/ I’m woven in the Father/ I am Yours and I bear Your name/ It’s carved in me forever/ Even death cannot take away/ I’m hidden in the Father/ And all of me/ I wrap my heart in Yours/ All my life is Yours.” I am convinced we are called to a life of oneness in Jesus where our lives our hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 2:3).

Jesus is everything to me. I hate religion and the bondage it brings; but I love the freedom Jesus brought. The call to follow Him is one to give up everything and leave all behind. “If anyone wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross and follow me. If you try to hang onto your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake you will save it” Matthew 16:24-28. Jesus becomes our everything and our lives are reborn by the Spirit of God! Our whole lives transform when we give every area of our hearts to Him; but this is a lifelong journey of learning to surrender all and learning to walk from glory to glory and strength to strength. Revelation 12:11, “They have defeated him by the blood of the lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.” They loved not their lives even unto death. The call of coming to Jesus is a call to die. We die to our flesh and our reborn of the spirit. However, also all fear must be annihilated even the fear of death. His perfect love casts at all fear (1 John 4:18). “Those who give thanks that Jesus is the Son of God live in God, and God lives in them. We have come into an intimate experience with God’s love, and we trust in the love he has for us. God is love! Those who are living in love are living in God, and God lives through them. By living in God, love has been brought to its full expression in us” (1 John 4:15-17 TPT).

Every follower of Jesus suffered for the sake of the gospel and in our hearts, we have to decide to be all in. We need to choose to fully surrender every part of our lives to Jesus. One time I had this picture in worship of a heart in these hands being presented freely to me. I felt like in that moment Jesus challenged me that he had given his whole heart and life already freely to me. He was beckoning me to do the same. It is easy to sing Lord I give you, my heart. Lord, I give you, my soul. I live for you alone. However, actually inviting His searching gaze into every inch of our heart is a completely different thing. Giving your whole heart to someone is a vulnerable thing that requires trust and for you to know it is a safe place. Unfortunately, with human beings, no matter how amazing a person is heart break always is involved in some level in relationships. People we trust betray us and at times it feels like a stab to the heart, especially when the wound comes from someone you consider a dear friend. I remember David laments over this in the Psalms, “For it is not an enemy who reproaches me; Then I could bear it. Nor is it one who hates me that exalted myself against me; Then I could hide from him. But it was you, a man my equal, My companion and my acquaintance. We took sweet council together and walked to the house of God in the throng” (Psalm 55:12-14). Heartbreak is a thing; but what I have learned with Jesus is that he is always a safe space. I can bring every struggle to him, every burden, every pain, and ask him to shine his light into my heart. I love this prayer in Psalms 139, “God, I invite your searching gaze into my heart. Examine me through and through; find out everything that may be hidden within me. Put me to the test and sift through all my anxious cares. See if there is any path of pain I’m walking on, and lead me back to your glorious, everlasting way- the path that brings me back to you” (Psalms 139:23-24 TPT).

Life to Jesus is one of full surrender; but when we give all our life and all our heart to Him. He fills us to overflowing with His Spirit. He teaches us what it means to live of a place of oneness and abiding in Him. His Spirit teaches us everything we need to know; but the key is feeding on Him and keeping our gaze fixed on Him. Everything else will fade away, heaven and earth will fade away one day; but His words will last forever. We have this treasure in these earthen clay vessels to show forth His glory and to bring others into His marvelous light. His same light that shines forth in the darkness has shone forth into our hearts. He transforms us from glory to glory and strength to strength as we behold Him. “For it is God who commanded light to shine out of the darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus” (2 Corinthians 4:6). Jesus is our everything and He calls us to feed on Him. He is the bread of life. Jesus is the living water. In Him is all we need (John 6:33-35, John 4:31-34, John 4:10, 12-14, 26-29).  “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So, I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” Galatians 2:20. I believe feeding on Jesus is this call to join our lives fully to Him and to daily feed on Him. Daily to be in His living word and to talk with Him, to think with him, and be with him. I think to drink his blood and eat his flesh is a call to share in suffering with him and to come to a place where we decide to believe fully in what Jesus did to walk in the fullness of new life with Him.

““I speak to you living truth: Unite your heart to me and believe—and you will experience eternal life! I am the true Bread of Life. Your ancestors ate manna in the desert and died. But standing here before you is the true Bread that comes out of heaven, and when you eat this Bread, you will never die. I alone am this living Bread that has come to you from heaven. Eat this Bread and you will live forever. The living Bread, I give you is my body, which I will offer as a sacrifice so that all may live.” These words of Jesus sparked an angry outburst among the Jews. They protested, saying, “Does this man expect us to eat his body?” Jesus replied to them, “Listen to this eternal truth: Unless you eat the body of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have eternal life. Eternal life comes to the one who eats my body and drinks my blood, and I will raise him up in the last day. For my body is real food for your spirit and my blood is real drink. The one who eats my body and drinks my blood lives in me, and I live in him. The Father of life sent me, and he is my life. In the same way, the one who feeds upon me, I will become his life. I am not like the bread your ancestors ate and later died. I am the living Bread that comes from heaven. Eat this Bread and you will live forever!”” John 6:47-58 TPT

The bread of God is the One who came out of heaven to give his life to feed the world.” “Then please, sir, give us this bread every day,” they replied. Jesus said to them, “I am the Bread of Life. Come every day to me and you will never be hungry. Believe in me and you will never be thirsty” John 6:33-35 TPT.

Jesus is the bread of God he came and gave his whole life for us. We can believe in him, join our lives to Him, and we will never be the same.