You know that God is in control over all things for He is Sovereign. In Micah 7:18-20 you read, “Where is there another like you, who pardons the guilt of the remnant, overlooking the sins of His special people? You will not stay angry with your people forever, because you delight in showing unfailing love. Once again you will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean! You will show us your faithfulness and unfailing love as you promised to our ancestors Abraham and Jacob long ago.”
Because you know that God does not change, see Hebrews 13:8, you can trust God to take care of you. While God is always with you, you realize that it is easy to forget this reality. Your human nature likes to do its own thing, and you go about your day doing what you want to do or what you have to do; thus God sits on the back burner. Your thankful He is there while you live how you think He wants you to live rather than letting Him lead you.
God wants you to awaken from this kind of sleepy faith. He wants you to “climb up to your watchtower and stand at your guard post waiting to see what the Lord says and how He will answer you,” see Habakkuk 2:1. He wants you to fight for your faith! He needs you to keep the posture of peace at all times. You need to remain alert to God’s Presence 24/7.
God wants to teach you that His Presence makes all the difference in your life.
God is calling me to a deeper level with Him in this very thing. I tend to forget God. I know He is with me, but my flesh tends to go about life like I am running the show. I wake up in the morning with my to do list and expectations and go about my day without considering what God wants me to do. I don’t put Him first.
I don’t know about you, but when I live in this sleepy state of faith, my spirit becomes lethargic, sluggish, indifferent. I become apathetic towards the things of God. The very words of God in the Bible become just words. They don’t change me or challenge me. My mind becomes busy with wandering thoughts that just swirl around with no meaning. I do what is expected of me by the world’s standards, rather than live out what God is asking of me.
God is taking me deeper for I have asked Him to. I asked God to connect the dichotomy that is in my heart. While I believe God and His Word, I often respond to life like I don’t believe. I let my flesh respond instead of allowing Jesus to respond in me first, thus, I spin out of control in my mind with expectations, selfish wants, and anxiousness.
God calls this dichotomy the battle of the flesh. Every one of us battles every day living out our faith. Galatians 5:16-18 talks about this battle. “Let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just opposite of what the Spirit wants, and the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.”
What happens to you when you take your eyes off of Christ? How do you become apathetic towards God, indifferent towards His Word, sluggish in walking by faith perhaps? Is it harder to hear God’s voice when you are talking with Him, or are you even talking at all? Has disappointments caused callouses to form in your heart? Has God answered your prayers in ways that you weren’t expecting or that you are not liking?
I can say yes to all of these. So, what keeps me from throwing in the towel and quitting on Christ? The past 42 years of seeking God is why. He has never failed me, left me, nor stopped loving me. When I have sought God in the good times, bad times, and uncertain times, He led me to where I knew I was hearing from Him. He made Himself real to me. How can I turn my back on God, the One who loves me more than I love myself? I simply can’t.
So, while I may be in a preparation time, as God calls it, which is lasting way longer than I imagined. It has been over five years and it is continuing, God has placed me in a dark time with only a small light to follow. The light is His Presence. I am finding that He truly is all I need. He goes before me to make my path smooth; see Isaiah 45:2, Deuteronomy 31:8, and Exodus 13:21.
If you have been a believer for quite some time, don’t forego this next part. Seasoned Christians, especially, need to be reminded to not get lazy in their relationship with their Lord and Savior. We never stop moving forward in our faith. We never stop going deeper with God. We do not stop until we are standing in His presence one day.
To hear His voice and see Him clearly, you must humble yourself by addressing your sinful nature. Confession opens the door to intimacy with Christ. The battle of your flesh is fierce and you must come clean before God. Once you have been honest with God, ask Him to fill you with the Holy Spirit. He will gladly honor your request. Read God’s Word. Don’t stop until your soul has been awakened to His presence. Ask God to give you a thirst for Him and His truth, then keep your heart open to His leading. Ask God to help you with being obedient to whatever He asks of you. Ask God for acceptance with His will.
God has placed each of us in such a time as this for His glory. There is no other reason for living than that. Fight for your faith and begin living for Him, and only Him. Be encouraged with these words from Never Forgotten Always Loved, by Dayspring, October 19, “What a blessing it is to live with eternity’s values in view. To have your eye set on the goal, to have your heart fixed on the calling, to have your will set on the prize. To know that the best is yet to be. To plan with purpose…to walk in hope…to live with meaning. The Father’s voice keeps you moving…the coming of His Kingdom keeps you marching…the glory of His presence keeps you longing for home.”
Carol J German 