God wants you to breathe, my friend. He wants your days to playout where His presence dictates your actions. You think and act according to the Holy Spirit leading you. Unfortunately, your wants and desires get in the way and it’s easy to push Jesus to the back burner as you fill up your days with important things (that you feel are important).
Watchman Nee says, “The longer we are Christians, the simpler our lives should become. Those whose lives grow more complicated are being side-tracked. The closer we come to God, the simpler our lives become.”
As you mature in abiding with Christ each day, He will show you what is truly important. At the time of your salvation, you handed your life over to Christ. Your days, now, are about Him, and He needs to work in you so you will become more like His Son.
The reward you receive when you allow Christ to become priority is refreshing, to say the least. You will be able to breathe each day even if your circumstances do not change. Your thinking takes on a hopeful attitude as you allow God to reprioritize your life. A crazy reality to living by faith is that God seems to increase your productivity without causing you to be stressed, exhausted, and unable to love those around you. You have more to give to others when you, yourself, are centered in Christ.
There is a battle zone that takes place though. When a believer lives in both worlds, the carnal world and the spiritual one. @all_mighty_jesus01 says, “If you think you can mix a worldly life with a Godly life, you are very deceived. You either have a worldly life or a Godly life. You can’t have both.” You were not made to reside in both worlds simultaneously. God did not send His Son to accomplish what He did so you can follow Him and love the world too. Jesus came because of the sins in this world, everyone needs saving. If you do not relinquish all sins (your desires and wants), on a daily basis, then you place yourself on a road full of tension and exhaustion. This road does not lead to heaven.
It is interesting to watch someone live in both worlds. They hangout with believers for awhile, hearing truth, but they can’t stay there. They get bored and they focus on worldly things like chores, sports, work, etc. They go to church on Sunday morning, and when they get in the car to go home, it’s time for lunch, football, or getting chores done before the work week starts. God gets relegated to the back seat.
May I encourage you to step into maturity where God will fill you with His life. Your heart becomes full and satisfied and you are able to breathe! He truly is refreshing. @Snf Seven says it perfectly, “A lot of Christians get stuck in the in-between. They say yes to Jesus, but then never grow past the ‘milk’ stage. Hebrews 5:12 says by now many should be teachers, yet they still need someone to teach them the basics. This is where confusion comes in. Are they really walking with Christ or just wearing the title? You can’t stay a ‘new believer’ forever. Salvation is the start, but discipleship is the journey.
“The danger of staying in the in-between is you become lukewarm. You have just enough Jesus to ease your conscience, but not enough to transform your life. We’re called to move from milk to meat, to grow up in Christ, to bear fruit that shows the world who we belong to. Don’t settle for the in-between. Step into maturity.” Read Hebrews 6:1-3.
Carol J German 