CAN WE REIGN IN LIFE?

 
Through His sacrifice, Jesus opened the way for us to have a blessed and victorious life. If we are redeemed from sin and reconciled to our heavenly Father, and we realize and understand what we have and who we are in Jesus Christ, we can reign in life. Those of us who have received Jesus as Lord and live to please God, have everything needed to enjoy life. (If you have not yet experienced being born-again and want to follow Jesus, you can find out more in the "Salvation" article).

• Romans 5:17 For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

 
When Adam ate of the forbidden fruit he died spiritually and all future mankind inherited his sinful, fallen nature. If death through sin, had such great power to rule over man, how much more true life which comes from God, “zóé,” may make us reign through Jesus Christ! But we cannot reign or rise above problems or circumstances, if we do not understand and receive all the grace that the Lord has for us and know that we are the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ.

• 2 Corinthians 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

 
Only through the Lord's grace, through His unmerited favor for us, can we be righteous. It is a divine righteousness that could only come from the Son of God, who was made sin for us, paying in full for mankind’s sin. Only after we truly understand that because of Jesus we are forgiven and have favor with God, can we fully obey the will of God. Whenever we submit to the Lord, we reign in life as we conquer sin and the many problems and issues we face daily. Our Lord wants us to enjoy His presence and continually communicate with Him, never doubt His love and know that He will always see us through.
 
We reign in life when we live led by the Holy Spirit, fulfilling God's plan for our lives. The more we live pleasing the Lord, the happier we are. When we ask for God's direction and do as the Holy Spirit leads us, we spare ourselves of the pain of bad decisions and sin. Our time is also used more efficiently, and we gather real treasure in heaven, which no one can steal from us.
 
God's sovereignty is often misunderstood. Many errantly say that everything that happens is God's will and He has a reason for all things and that we cannot expect anything good. While it is absolutely true that God is sovereign and there is no one and nothing above Him, He has given us free will and tells us through His Word that His permissive will can be changed through prayer. Would the Lord ask us to pray if He did not want to change situations for us? What good would prayer do if God overrules everything that happens in our lives? The truth is that if what we ask in prayer is according to His will, the Lord does it for us and changes bad situations into something good.
 
The Lord would not say that we can reign in life, if He did not want us to, and He did not equip us with the right weapons to fight against the enemy and all that is evil. To "reign in life" means "to exercise dominion, the highest influence over one's own life." The dedicated Christian is not driven by what happens to him, but through Jesus he has authority over the life he lives on earth. Let us not forget that we can only reign through Jesus, because of what we have in Him and through Him. When we allow the fruit of the Holy Spirit to manifest in our lives, through love, joy, peace, gentleness, kindness, longsuffering, self-discipline, we have authority and dominion over hatred, anxiety, fear, malice, impatience, lust, and all their bad effects.
 
As we seek "the kingdom of God and His righteousness more than anything else” (Matthew 6:33), the Lord will take care of all our needs. God is full of goodness, faithfulness and truth, and He fulfills what He promises us in His Word. We can be on top of our problems and not under them, when we know that the Lord knows what we are going through, and He has prepared what it takes for us to be victorious. We know all too well that we have never solved any problem by worrying and focusing on the bad that could’ve happened, and in so doing, we only made things worse. But whenever we choose to give the Lord our problems and worries, we can have the peace and assurance that He will solve them in whatever way is best. The real reign of Jesus in our hearts results in us truly reigning in life. As we fulfill God’s plan for our lives, we find the most blessed life and true success!
 
 
Carmen Pușcaș