The question is not if the spirit of God is with you. The question is whether or not you are “in the spirit.” What does it mean to be “in the spirit?” To be “in the spirit” means that you have relinquished all attachment to the ill spirits within and around you. To be “in the spirit” means that your heart is untroubled, that is, undisturbed by the ignorant and arrogant misdeeds of mankind. 

When you are truly “in the spirit” in this sense, you begin to function as you were designed to function. Put simply, you become a competent agent for accurate expression of the powerful, purposeful, pragmatic, and pristine spirit of God into the world around you. Unmoved by (but still keenly aware of) the obstreperousness of most human beings, you take a firm step in the direction of understanding how to overcome the world. Moreover, in this state you know why, how, and when to issue the creative command: “Peace, be still.” When you are “in the spirit,” you become a peacemaker.

As you move along the Way, you realize:

1. You cannot demand of God. God’s renewing grace is never withheld, but it must received—through the heart—if it is to have meaning on earth as it does in heaven. This is one reason why an untroubled heart is key to changing your future in a meaningful and durable way.  
2. You are loved. The spirit of God can and will move upon the “face of the waters”—your waters (i.e., the face of your response)—as you forgive those who have trespassed against you. You are not forgotten, forsaken, or alone, but categorical forgiveness is a prerequisite to being “in the spirit.”

Human beings living under the influence of ill spirits desperately cling to the idea that one may only rest in peace in the afterlife. They have convinced themselves that the pain, sorrow, and suffering of this world are too great to overcome while living in the flesh and they tend to vilify (if not crucify!) anyone who dares to challenge this core belief. They declare in their words and their actions that life is nasty, brutish, and short, continuously reinforcing the notion that nothing is stronger than fickle and imperfect human nature.

Fortunately, the world has and can be overcome. In fact, this is the greater work to which each of us is called and for which each of is designed.

We are here to bring peace and understanding to a world fraught with conflict and mystery. We can follow the example set in this regard here and now. We needn’t wait to cast off our mortal coil to be in the spirit. The experience, as it was put so succinctly, is “at hand,” meaning, it is available in each and every moment to each one of us.

The loss experienced while remaining true to the truth may pinch at times, but the loss of one’s integrity is infinitely more painful. Waiting until the afterlife to “Rest In Peace” is too late. Watch what tends to “get your goat,” be they little things or large and commit to letting go of the right to react to them. Rather than reacting, ask yourself, “How can I most creatively handle this limitation as it is presently configured?” Give yourself the space necessary to act creatively and responsibly.

The projection of hope for living in the future is a poor substitute for living now. 

Live now.