Ramona’s innermost desire is to live life in the presence of our loving Lord Jesus, walking with Him every step of the way. The Christlike life she longs for is only possible by the able guidance and empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Ramona has tasted the joy of walking with the Lord and she cannot imagine turning away from Him.
Ramona’s life like many if ours, is busy. Each day she faces distractions, tests, trials and temptations. Jesus Christ Himself told us that the Spirit is willing to guide and help us, but we are weak and our fleshly desire can overtake us. None of us will attain perfection, yet we should not forget that we are called to aspire to a high standard growing closer day by day, step by step. Our initial commitment to walk with the Lord is not enough, we must continue to follow Christ in pursuit of and application of His Word.
Ramona often turns to reading and meditating on the Psalms, for they are filled with the heart cries of individuals whole heatedly pursuing the Lord. Psalm 1 tells us that the person who meditates on God’s word and takes delight in that teaching is blessed. Such a person is more concerned about their inner conduct than outward appearance.
Our inner conduct involves the way we control how we think, how we feel and make our choices regarding what is feel and think all the time.
Ramona knows she is responsible for the content of her thinking and her emotions, be it good, bad, or neutral. Indeed, all of us are responsible if we allow our thoughts to fall into sin (pride, anger, lust, fear, etc.), or whether we allow day-dreaming or pointless vanity to fill the vacuum in our heart. It is essential to recognise the lurking temptation drawing us to walk away from Christ and enjoy enjoy the fleeting pleasures of wayward life which end in pain and pain alone. Are we walking with Jesus on the way of abundant life?