We learn the disciplines of the spirit through the circumstances of life. Every situation we encounter tells us something more about the Lord and ourselves. Our truth comes to us on the journey. Truth is a person (John 14: 6) who sets us free by indwelling (John 8: 32). As we walk with God, we have our own inbuilt stimulus package that empowers us to know a life of abundance.
We become people of the Spirit when we discover the nature of God in the situations we encounter. What if every circumstance was primarily about us discovering who God wanted to be for us?
There is discovery of God in every situation.
Firstly, God causes everything to work together for good to those who are intent on loving God in their situation-Romans 8: 28. That is, finding and resting in that relational place of worship and affection. Rejoicing is the response we use to express our appreciation and attachment to God’s nature. Joy is who God is; rejoicing is our response to who God is!
Secondly, for things to work together for good, we must have a sense of calling to the relational purpose of God within the situation we face. Everything God does is relational. It is vital that we are empowered to see the fullness of love which the father wants to commit into our lives.
We are called the children of God, and our destiny is to be made in his image, on earth as it is in heaven. He deals with us as with sons because his purpose is to bring many sons into glory. Every circumstance is about following the relational purpose of God so that situations do not get resolved without us being transformed into being Christ like.
There is a process that will totally engage us in a faith filled encounter with God that overcomes the enemy and brings us into a place of enlargement in this relational process, our inner man becomes aroused to the point where a new strength rises up within.
Unless we put the relational transformation before our desire for situational change, we will not develop our inner man beyond the simple yearnings of the soul. We are learning to be people after God’s own heart. It is therefore only what we know by experience of the nature of God that can sustain us in this life.
We must see who God is for us. We must have an understanding of the particular aspect of God’s nature that he purposes for us to discover. Relational purpose empowers us to be still in our present difficulty. It is his will that we become like him in the situation that we are presently encountering. It is possible to go through some circumstance, achieve a reasonable outcome, but not discover the nature of God or to be changed in him. Thus, we guarantee that we must undergo the same relational training at a later date. We must not squander these important circumstances.
What is it that God wants to be for us now that he could not be at any other time? The will of God is always relational. When we miss the main purpose, we must repeat the training period. Every situation provides us with an opportunity to discover God in a new and deeper way.
If the Lord wants to kill off our capacity to worry and be anxious, in favor of us learning rest and peace, then he will come to us relationally as the prince of peace. He will want to take our current experience to a deeper level of intention in favor. We have encountered an opportunity for God to come into our life in a way that he has been planning to do for some time.
When we renew our mind, it is to bring it into alignment with his heart. If we are hurt people, our mind must come under the weight of God’s love in his heart for us. If our mind fails this most basic of tests, then we are downgraded in our thinking to a place of reasonable, rational and sensible thinking as our first response to the majesty of God.
A rational mind always settles for less. Doubt is too often easily accessible from a place of reason. Wisdom, trust and faith are intuitive. They come to us from the place of perception where the eyes of our heart have been enlightened. We can only practice our heart relationship when we give ourselves to praise, rejoicing, thanksgiving, and worship. Rational people often do not allow themselves to become abandoned in intimacy.
We can squander our circumstances.
In the will of God, he seeks people to worship him. Such people enjoy faith, abound in trust, and know how to punish doubt. Worship stimulates our inner man and refreshes our thinking. Our mindset will take us down unless our inner man has been refreshed. The first barrier to overcome is always within us. I love thinking, reasoning and comprehension, but not at the expense of faith which comes in the presence of God. The sound mind is one that is lined up behind our heart experience.
When we do not allow this simple discipline to upgrade our mindset in line with the Spirit, then we lay ourselves open to disillusionment and despair. Psalm 42: 5-why are you in depression oh my soul? Why have you become troubled within me? Hope in God! For I shall again praise him for the help of his presence.
Despair can be a usual experience of the soul, but not the inner man of the spirit.
The mind set on the flesh (natural world) is death; it leaves faith undeveloped and contributes to our lack of encounter and experience. The mind set on the Spirit is life and peace. It gives us purpose.
We can only replace a mindset with another mindset! A mindset that is hostile to God’s will and purpose is one that fails to apprehend faith and the promises of God. A hostile mind does not have to be antagonistic toward God, just unwelcoming. When our mindset is hostile, it often means we are held hostage in our own circumstances.
It is imperative that we fulfill the will of God in terms of how we perceive him so that we gladly submit to his ongoing purpose. All prophets are concerned with the issue of how to think with the mind of Christ. God is not asking us to kiss our brains goodbye. He is requesting that we elevate our thinking to the correct level. Our heart is the elevator that lifts us up into an experience of presence. When our thinking comes from a heart perception, we are opened up to see what God has prepared for those who love him.
Romans 4:17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. 18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations; according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. 19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb: 20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; 21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. 22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. 23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;
Abraham has a promise that he will become the father of many nations. Every promise is tested, so that our faith can increase! We have to consider everything with God, Abraham considered his body as good as dead. He knew that neither his nor Sarah’s physical ability to reproduce was the issue.
Promises are relational. They depend upon how we view the people making them. We do not look at the situation containing the problem. We look at the heart of the one who has spoken the promise. When everything goes black, the heart that made the promise is our only source of light.
All promises are relational.
Worship allows us to think through the implications of our circumstances without becoming weak in faith. Without that relational stimulus, our thinking may destroy our opportunity to discover the father. Abraham looked at his own body and sarah’s womb, and then he looked at the promise of God and the nature of the one who gave that promise, and he gave glory to God.
A mindset on the flesh would have brought in reason producing doubt that leads to unbelief. A mind set on the Spirit brings assurance and faith.
Never ask questions until your heart and mind are in a good place. Worship releases fresh perspective. When we encounter the nature of God, we can stand in his personality and have a better conversation.
What aspect of his nature are you learning? The will of God is that you become that! God loves to promise. It is the language of love. Rejoicing brings us to a place where revelation of God gives way to a revelation of his will for our situation. Pursuing God’s purpose in our situation is where we learn the business end of faith and walking with the father. We simply must get moving in faith. We have no idea how it’s going to turn out, and we are not called to speculate-only believe. The outcome is God’s part; The process is ours.
Simply follow the path. Continue worshiping and trusting. Go with God as he goes after your circumstances. Pursue what you know to be true of God. He goes before us and travels with us. We do not chase the outcome; we pursue the heart of God. He guarantees the outcome as we follow his goodness. It is always relational.