“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” James 1:2-4
As it turns out, these times when we feel spiritually depleted or disinterested are not red flags for us to fret over. They are simply tests. These temporary times when we lack inspiration or get caught up in life’s drama have no bearing on our position in Christ or our commitment to His work.
We have come to understand that the testing of our faith can never happen during good times when inspiration flows freely, we are highly motivated, and praise songs play on a loop in our heads. Times of high spiritual energy and passion are thrilling, but they can’t do the work of generating patience. Only the testing of our faith can do that…
Waiting on God and being certain of His blessings is not pie-in-the-sky or wishful thinking. This faith choice is not presumptuous or improper. Blessings are the divine energy of God empowering us to succeed because we choose to believe in His goodness. He has equipped us with a divine destiny. He wants to see us succeed as much as we do.
And so, we wait for what God has promised, in the same way we might wait at a bus stop, in eager anticipation. We aren’t sitting at some random corner, hoping a bus might drive by. We are positioned at the right place at the right time, waiting for what we know is on its way. We aren’t waiting to see if a hopeful future will appear. We are waiting with confidence, certain of it.
Obviously, it would be silly to wait on a country road, expecting the city bus to magically appear. In the same way, we do not wait for God, based on our own whims and wishes. We examine His words when we are waiting for our miracles, just like we would examine a bus schedule to be sure of our direction.
We don’t hop on the bus headed east, when we are trying to go west. In the same manner, we don’t claim a scripture about healing when we are trying to find a job. Specific promises deliver specific results, so we search our Sacred Text to find the words we need…
We sometimes wonder, “If God’s word is true, why are there people living without hope? Why wouldn’t His promise apply to everyone across the board?”
The answer is deeply complex. The reason God’s promises are not fulfilled is because His words rely on someone laying claim to them. These fantastic promises of God are often hard to believe for ourselves. Sure, we believe God is good, but we also know that we aren’t. We believe He does great things for good people, but it seems a bit presumptuous to expect the same blessings as someone who was busy doing great things for God while we were selfishly making a mess of our lives. We know the Bible talks about penalties for bad behavior, so it seems that if we believe in the blessings, we must also fear the curses.
That may have been a valid statement before the cross. But we live under Grace, not Law. Jesus broke the power of the curse, so we can all live in the blessing if we choose to believe it. We need not fear the curse or the consequences of our own mistakes. Those issues have been resolved. We are in a continual state of cleansing, like standing beneath a waterfall. Even a sin committed one second ago, is already washed away in the living water. We live exclusively in the blessings and enjoy firm standing on the promises. Curses do not cling to us. Blessings chase us down…
Daniel 3:27: “When they came out, the fire had not harmed them. Their hair and clothes were not burned and they didn’t even smell like smoke.“
There are times when you are called upon to take a stand, just like the three Hebrew boys in the book of Daniel. You may be urged by the Spirit to go against the masses and follow your conscience, rather than the demands of a narcissistic bully.
As Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into the flames for following their divine direction, you too, will sometimes walk through fire as the result of your convictions.
In the same manner that Jesus appeared in the fiery furnace with those boys, He also appears to you when going through the fiery trials of your own faith.
Some will try to tell you what’s best, and condemn you for standing your ground. At times, you may be criticized for doing what you know is right, by those who are more comfortable taking the path of least resistance.
Lots of Hebrews bowed the knee to the golden statue because they were told to do so. Some of them were friends and family members of the three rebels who refused.
Those who bowed were not named. God did not reject them, or send fire from heaven to consume them. They simply bowed to the golden statue, and went on to live their lives of quiet desperation.
Those who bowed missed out on having a conversation with the Son of God in a fiery furnace. Those who bowed never had their names listed in Sacred Text. Those who bowed never became part of a story which would be told for thousands of years to come.
From this passage, you conclude there are two types of people: those who bow and those who stand.
Bowers are compliant. Standers are defiant. You have been called to be a stander.
Not everyone is called to be a rebel and a renegade. You are.
You go on high alert when you can right a wrong, stand up to a bully, or defend the defenseless.
You are a rebel at heart. You are wild and adventurous. You do not take the path of least resistance. You find that path boring and dull.
You are a trailblazer. You create paths which never existed and inspire others to follow your lead.
Long after you are gone from this planet, your imprint will remain on those trails. Your courage will call to future generations, inviting them to join the rebel cause and reject the status quo. The echo of your voice from a faraway dimension will call to those select few, willing to risk it all for a chance to come up higher.
1 Peter 3:22…”Now Christ has gone to heaven. He is seated in the place of honor next to God. All the angels and powers accept his authority.”
You are becoming more and more enlightened about who Jesus is, where He came from, and where He is now, preparing a place for you.
While it is true that your physical body is aging, your mind is being renewed every day. Each step of the way, the Holy Spirit is taking you to new heights of enlightenment.
Fueled by living water springing up from within you, your spirit rushes like a river, creating the power and energy needed to carry your physical form into each next heavenly assignment.
Partnered with the Spirit of God, supernatural energy is infusing you with a heavenly mindset. As you focus your attention on heavenly pursuits, you are simultaneously improving the natural world in which you reside.
In this way, you are living in two realms at once. You are a citizen of heaven, and an ambassador of Christ. Your heart is set on things above, and your days are filled with bringing heaven to earth.
Maintaining a heavenly focus creates melody in your mind and harmony in your heart. This music of heaven shifts your gaze away from your human struggles and toward the throne room of heaven.
Experiencing the power of Christ in this dual reality, His Kingdom is as real to you as the world in which you live.
1 John 3:21…”Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence.”
You lead a carefree life because you release your mistakes and weaknesses into the safe grace of God.
When regret or guilt trouble you, they immediately become the next topic of conversation with God. You talk with your Heavenly Father throughout the day about the issues which plague your thoughts. As you share your memories with God, you find a sense of release. Your thoughts are turned toward His forgiveness and mercy, rather than your own failures and remorse.
You receive clemency from Christ, which wipes the slate clean. You understand this is not a once-in-a-life-time free pass, but it is a gift of grace, providing you with a fresh start whenever you need one, throughout your entire life.
When you talk things out with God, regrets are resolved, and guilt is eliminated.
Knowing that Christ has liberated you from any past mistakes, you are overwhelmed with gratitude rather than guilt.
Ephesians 3:19..."Christ’s love is greater than any person can ever know. But I pray that you will be able to know that love. Then you can be filled with the fullness of God."
You know the love of Christ in ways that are difficult for some people to comprehend. Your trust in His love creates a bond of confidence between you and your Lord.
While you may have difficulty trusting other people, there is no doubt in your mind that God can be trusted to guide and protect you, no matter what.
You understand that pure love is not an emotion. It is a commitment. You see the way God’s love has supported you during some of the most difficult and wayward times of your life. You realize that this love is not fickle. He does not withdraw His love to manipulate or punish.
You enjoy living in the love of Christ and you seek to demonstrate that love to others.
This life of love is not an emotional roller-coaster of feelings, but rather, it is a higher level of stability.
The presence of Christ’s love in your life creates an atmosphere in which you are difficult to offend, easy to approach, and quick to forgive.
Malachi 3:16…Those who honored the Lord spoke with each other. The Lord listened and the names of those who honored and respected the Lord were written in a book.The Lord will remember them.
While you do not see yourself as the main character in the story of life, it excites you to know that God has entered your name into the book He is writing about those who honor him.
Knowing that God is taking the time to listen to your words, and record them in a book, along with your name, leaves you awestruck and a little self-conscious. However, it is not God’s intention to make you uncomfortable; but rather, it is His way of paying tribute to those who honor Him.
Your willingness to speak well of God and talk about His goodness softens the hearts of those who have misunderstood Him to be cold and uncaring. The positive impact of your speech will change the perceptions of those who have run from Him for far too long.
Not only will your name be written by angels in heaven’s book of remembrance, but your words will be recorded by humans in earthbound books, which will make an impact on future generations.
To remain in a position of power, we had to drop the resentments. While we sometimes felt as if our resentments were keeping us safe and preventing us from being hurt again, we eventually faced the fact that they were stealing our power and placing us in a perpetual state of victimhood. Resentment was the result of self-pity. If we carried our resentment, we were forced to experience the painful events over and over. But, on the other hand, we feared that if we released our resentments, it would give those offenders a free pass.
Neither position seemed to be working, so we searched for a new solution. We needed to release our resentments, but at the same time, we needed to know that justice had been served. We needed to know that those who had mistreated us didn’t get away with it. We wanted to settle the score, but we also wanted to exist in the higher spiritual plane, that Jesus referred to as the Kingdom of God. We knew that revenge-seeking would drag us down and pull us into chaos.
Sacred Text showed us the way. Since the same words appeared in both old and new testaments, we knew it was significant.
It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them. Deuteronomy 32:35
Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. Romans 12:17-19
Surprisingly, based on these passages, we learned that revenge was not necessarily a bad thing. It only became a bad thing when we humans took it into our own hands, rather than leaving it for God to manage.
To remain in a position of power, we had to drop the resentments. While we sometimes felt as if our resentments were keeping us safe and preventing us from being hurt again, we eventually faced the fact that they were stealing our power and placing us in a perpetual state of victimhood. Resentment was the result of self-pity. If we carried our resentment, we were forced to experience the painful events over and over. But, on the other hand, we feared that if we released our resentments, it would give those offenders a free pass.
Neither position seemed to be working, so we searched for a new solution. We needed to release our resentments, but at the same time, we needed to know that justice had been served. We needed to know that those who had mistreated us didn’t get away with it. We wanted to settle the score, but we also wanted to exist in the higher spiritual plane, that Jesus referred to as the Kingdom of God. We knew that revenge-seeking would drag us down and pull us into chaos.
Sacred Text showed us the way. Since the same words appeared in both old and new testaments, we knew it was significant.
It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them. Deuteronomy 32:35
Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. Romans 12:17-19
Surprisingly, based on these passages, we learned that revenge was not necessarily a bad thing. It only became a bad thing when we humans took it into our own hands, rather than leaving it for God to manage.
Finding Total Recovery in the Words of Christ, "It is Finished!" 