The best version of yourself is when the Holy Spirit reigns in you. A life lived apart from God is a life lived well below the potential that you could reach. Jesus knew we couldn’t do it on our own, and that is why He sent the Holy Spirit to help us.
Don’t be the limit of you; let the Holy Spirit help you. Jesus promised, “Then I will ask the Father to send you the Holy Spirit who will help you and always be with you” (John 14:16 CEV).
The world will tell you to just try harder. The schemes of men will try to sell you everything by making you believe you will be something greater if you would only buy it. But the things of this world can never satisfy your eternal soul.
It is the devil that tells you to try harder. “For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13 NKJV).
The church will sign you up for a hundred programs and as many books as they can find to try to teach you how to be a better you. But by the power that flows from heaven, it is the Holy Spirit alone that can change you.
Man’s programs try to fix you from the outside going in; the Holy Spirit fixes you from the inside going out. “Let the Spirit change your way of thinking and make you into a new person. You were created to be like God, and so you must please him and be truly holy” (Ephesians 4:23-24 CEV).
The best version of yourself is a life surrendered to the Holy Spirit. You will either fail trying on your own or find victory once you surrender to God and let the Holy Spirit be the power inside you to help you become all that God has meant for you to be.
You will continue to fail until you surrender to the Holy Spirit so that He can be the victory in you. “I advise you to obey only the Holy Spirit’s instructions. He will tell you where to go and what to do, and then you won’t always be doing the wrong things your evil nature wants you to” (Galatians 5:16 TLB).
The world will lower the bar on what is the best version of yourself to try and make you feel better in your state of falling short of what God would have you be. Don’t compromise your eternal soul over to a world that is lost in darkness.
Lord, help me to lose my grip on the temporal that I might take hold of the eternal. “Set your mind and keep focused habitually on the things above [the heavenly things], not on things that are on the earth [which have only temporal value].” (Colossians 3:2 AMP).
The church will choose those messages that will bring people back and keep the tithes flowing. That is not how Jesus taught, for He spoke the truth even when it meant His followers would soon abandon Him.
The wisdom of men will tickle your ears, but the words of Christ will kick you in the stomach. “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables” (2 Timothy 4:3-4 NKJV).
The best version of yourself is not measured by what men define as successful. Rather, the best you is to be the man or woman living according to the plans God has for you. Don’t worry what people think of you, for they have no say in the eternal.
Don’t fear the rejection of men more than the rejection of God. “Now am I trying to win the favor of men, or of God? Do I seek to please men? If I were still seeking popularity with men, I should not be a bond servant of Christ (the Messiah)” (Galatians 1:10 AMPC).
The world will measure you by the external. The Lord will measure you by the internal. You may look like you have it all together, but unless you’re yielding to the Holy Spirit within you, it’s just a matter of time before everything falls apart.
In the world, the outcome matters more than the intentions. But with God, the intentions matter more than the outcome. “So don’t pronounce judgment prematurely, before the Lord comes; for he will bring to light what is now hidden in darkness; he will expose the motives of people’s hearts; and then each will receive from God whatever praise he deserves” (1 Corinthians 4:5 CJB).
The church will teach you all the things you should be doing in your life. But it takes the Holy Spirit to help you to actually do it. Until you let the Holy Spirit reign in you, then you will be unable to live as God would want.
It’s not a question of whether God would help you, but whether you will let Him. “For all who are allowing themselves to be led by the Spirit of God are sons of God” (Romans 8:14 AMP).
The best version of yourself is Christ in you. The Spirit of Christ and the Spirit of the Father are intertwined in the Holy Spirit that dwells within you. Stop squandering the power of God within you and simply yield that He would change you.
Christ in you is the best version of yourself. “Test yourselves and find out if you really are true to your faith. If you pass the test, you will discover that Christ is living in you. But if Christ isn’t living in you, you have failed” (2 Corinthians 13:5 CEV).
Don’t be discouraged with wherever you are but simply pray that the Lord will help you. There is nothing too hard for God, not even you. I know what God can do for you because I know what he did for me. Let Him do what you can never do on your own.
All your problems are smaller than God. “Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You” (Jeremiah 32:17).
Blessings to you always,
Paul Balius
Go deeper
If this spoke to you, there is more. Paul Balius has written a book called “The Promise of the Holy Spirit”. It goes deeper into all of this, for anyone who senses they were meant for something more.
Paul has written three books. See them all
From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “[a]Repent [change your inner self—your old way of thinking, regret past sins, live your life in a way that proves repentance; seek God’s purpose for your life], for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (John 4:17 AMP).
Footnote
a. Jesus’ public ministry began at this time and He was preaching the same message John the Baptist had proclaimed.
Excerpt:
It’s not a question of whether God would help you, but whether you will let Him. “For all who are allowing themselves to be led by the Spirit of God are sons of God” (Romans 8:14 AMP).
This word “repent” is such a beautiful message, as it is a message to help us and give us an eternal hope. As we are heading in the wrong direction, Jesus calls out to us, and tells us, turn around, come to Me, I will help you.
12 So then, my dear ones, just as you have always obeyed [my instructions with enthusiasm], not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation [that is, cultivate it, bring it to full effect, actively pursue spiritual maturity] with awe-inspired fear and trembling [using serious caution and critical self-evaluation to avoid anything that might offend God or discredit the name of Christ]. 13 For it is [not your strength, but it is] [c]God who is effectively at work in you, both to will and to work [that is, strengthening, energizing, and creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfill your purpose] for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:12-13 AMP).
Footnote
c. Philippians 2:13 God supports the believer, but it is the believer’s responsibility to do what he has been called by God to do.
I find it interesting that when I go the way the Lord would have me go, it may not be the easy path, but it is always the right path, and when I am on the path He has chosen for me, I have peace.