What is normal for a Christian? Normal is running to Jesus and God the Father saying:
Lord, I need Your help and Your leadership: help me trust You; show me what to do. I fully surrender to You: send whatever You want to send; allow whatever You have to allow; ask of me whatever You desire; withhold me from and withhold from me all that is needed.
This is normal. You and I have been shown the Ruler of the Universe and we have been given grace to live for Him. Not to seek His leadership, not to live a surrendered life style is a very strange thing indeed.
Allowing love of self to rule over us, rather than love of Jesus is rebellion against the leadership of the Lord. The rule of self-love is selfish, self-centered and self-willed. There is no peace for self rule, only stress and strife. Such rebellion is common—so common that it seems normal, but it is not normal. It is truly bizarre!
The Holy Spirit in us every day yearns to help us surrender to the Lord and be led and guided by Him in all our ways so that we can live in that river of peace and empowerment that flows from His throne. The Spirit is grieved away from us when we reject God as our leader and choose to follow self and the desires of self-love. God still loves us, but He cannot bless with peace and joy (and other blessings) a life that rejects His leadership.
Here is a simple check list:
1) Jesus has commanded that you and I forgive everyone from the heart.
Have you done it?
2) Jesus has commanded that we cast all of our cares on Him and live under His easy yoke and light burden.
Are you doing it?
3) Jesus has told us that everything in our life is being made to work for our good—even the sins, pain, victimization and tragedies of life.
Do you believe Him and is your heart rejoicing?
Let’s take to Him our unforgiveness, stress, burdens and unbelief in His promises, then labor in prayer to surrender our life back into His Hands, so that by His grace and mercy we can receive the shift we need to enter His rest.
Stop making excuses for it. Call it what it is—rebellion against His leadership. Honesty works wonders. Confess it as sin, turn from it, receive the grace, push delete, and start running with Him, not from Him!
For more on how to cast every care on Him see “Praying Through to Peace” at our sister website, healingstreamsusa.org.
About the Author: Steve Evans
For over a decade Steve Evans and Healing Streams have been helping people recover inner peace and freedom. Through Forerunners4Him he has been showing how we can be saved for heaven and teaching the way to live a Spirit filled life on earth. Go now to receive a completely free primer, Getting to Heaven and/or an introduction to Living in the Spirit at forerunners4him.org. 
