Most of us don’t like to be criticized.  When someone finds fault with us, it wounds our egos and makes us feel uncomfortable. A good, experienced critic can make havoc of a perfectly enjoyable day. We can get away from most critics. We can choose a new job, live somewhere else, or find new friends.

But there is another kind of criticism from which we cannot escape. It is the feeling deep within that there is something wrong with our spiritual lives. Sometimes we don’t know what is wrong, but we sense an inner feeling that tells us, “All is not right.”  Sometimes that inner feeling is nothing but the enemy attacking us. At other times, our uncomfortable feelings are a true warning that something is wrong.

The Holy Spirit is God’s minister to everyone who has accepted Jesus as Savior. The Spirit convicts us and gives us an urge to live different lives. If we ignore that God-given gift, we will continue to live with a heavy feeling that we are in some way separated from God.

The spirit within us, that was brought to life when we accepted Jesus as Savior, knows when we are following in the ungodly ways of this world. Our spirits long for fellowship with God, the Creator. That’s why a Christian feels happy and secure when they are living in communion with God.

If you haven’t tried it lately, try living a day in which you do everything possible, every minute, to have fellowship with God.  Whether you are working, driving, walking, sitting or whatever, concentrate on pleasing your heavenly Father. See what happens to your spirit!

If an entire day seems too long for such an exercise, consider how many days in your life you have given to honoring the desires of your flesh either in pleasure or worry, anxiety and fear. Since those activities never give peace and happiness, we should try the method that God’s Word directs in Philippians 4:4: Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say, Rejoice.

There are things that the human body needs in order to be healthy. It can be deprived of water for a brief time, but then it will demand water or quit functioning.  The new spirit that God places within us needs fellowship with God for it to be healthy and happy!

If we give the body contaminated water, the body will soon rebel. Give it enough bad water, and it will die. Give the spirit contaminated worldly trash and the spirit will soon be ill. Then we feel guilty, and sense that something is wrong. If we continue to poison the spirit it becomes increasingly weary.

Watch for the symptoms. Watch and learn how to have the inner peace that Jesus came to bring. Philippians 4:7 tells us: And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  (Reprint from November 1993)