Finding Total Recovery in the Words of Christ, "It is Finished!"
Igniting Purpose and Power, One Page at a Time
Patience tells us that tests are only temporary. Patience tells us that God is doing a good work in us, and He will complete it. Patience tells us not to judge our walk by one random stumble. Patience keeps us steady as we wait for the storm to pass.
It is patience that we lack when we throw up our hands and give up. It is patience that we lack when we question our progress.
Patience will get us to the finish line. Patience will help us be gentle with ourselves.
Previously, these difficult times had been dark and made us doubt our relationship with God. We were frustrated to find Him so distant when we needed Him the most.
However, when we begin to view these events as a process which increases our patience and equips us for the next level, we start to see their value. We no longer need to feel frustrated when God goes silent. A good teacher is always silent during a test.
Thanks to the book of James (and our brother by the same name who shared this passage with us), we are learning to identify our spiritually ‘blah’ times as simple tests. These tests are challenging and exhausting, but they mark the completion of one level which advances us to the next.
What is the Testing of Our Faith?
****This is a Test. This is Only a Test.****
The times when we feel spiritually depleted or disinterested are not red flags for us to fret over. They are simply tests. The 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.
We love the mountaintops and the flowery meadows, but we must face the fact that dry deserts and muddy bogs are also part of the expedition. We must make peace with both if we want to get where we are going.
When the roads are easy, we feel joy in looking back to see how far we’ve come. When the roads are difficult, we seem to take one step forward, two steps back. Sometimes we slip and fall. Sometimes we just stand still and shrug. Even when we do finally get on firm footing again and start to move forward, we scold ourselves for not being stronger, more resilient, or more determined.
We aren’t sure what to call these moments of uncertainty. The term ‘backsliding’ is way too harsh. The last thing we need is to feel more isolated and cut off from God than we already do.
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.
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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.
The power of God flows into each person like an electric current. For it to have an effect, there must be a conductor to draw it out. Our beliefs create the cord that connects us to the Source.
An electrical outlet by itself will not turn on a fan. The receptacle may hold the promise of power to run the fan, but if the cord is not plugged in, the current cannot flow.
Imagine the outlet as one of God’s promises found in scripture. The cord is our belief which connects us to the current. Sure, we can become shamelessly independent from time to time, using arrogance and aggression to empower ourselves, but in that frame of mind, we are turning the blades of the fan by spinning them with our fingers. It is neither efficient, nor productive.
Self-induced exhaustion is the result when we resist plugging in and letting the energy flow. We use our own manipulations and self-defense mechanisms, rather than just resting on the promises of a hopeful future because of God’s goodness.
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.
We don’t have all the answers, and that’s okay. In fact, sitting in the unknown is what keeps us intrigued and engaged. It places our curiosity on high alert and keeps us digging for more clues. We enjoy stumbling through the vast expanse of the unknown because that’s where we are introduced to an Intelligence that outpaces our own.
We pray for a fresh word and feel certain there is always one on its way. We make peace with our unanswered questions. We know they will serve as the driving force that keeps us captivated with the vast expanse of this great eternal mystery.
Finding Total Recovery in the Words of Christ, "It is Finished!" 