The Courage to Look, the Compassion to Accept, and the Confidence to Move On!
Through this earth experience, God is teaching us to master faith. We are learning how to endure the tribulations of life, all while keeping our eyes on the prize. The prize of course is a closer relationship with God through Jesus Christ. This closer walk with God brings with it everything that you and I could possibly desire in life. We want the best for ourselves, and none of us want to live in pain; neither did God intend that we should remain in a painful state. Isaiah 40:31(KJV) contains the grand finale that Heavenly Father has in mind for our tribulations. It says, “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” This is beyond fantastic! Many of us are enduring seasons of tribulations like no other, and we may feel like the sun is not going to shine tomorrow, but I assure you in Christ that it is. And not only that, we’re going to receive a promotion that will exceed our greatest expectations. To make sure we don’t get weary and faint, that we mount up and soar like eagles, I’d like to encourage you to remember the three ‘Cs’ of spiritual promotion, so that your strength is renewed as you wait on the Lord in faith.
When it comes to soaring like eagles, the wings of prayer are essential. As we mature in the Word, we should learn to pray in a way that gets the attention of heaven. Our prayers should command supernatural and natural resources to come together and work in our favor. God has given us this ability and authority through Christ. We can speak it forth, and call those things which are not as though they were. You can speak to a thing, and it will be changed simply because you commanded it so. We can’t command these kinds of results if we’re walking around with our eyes half shut. Anyone who knows me can attest that one of my constant prayers is “Lord, help me to see what I need to see, hear what I need to hear, and to be who You have called me to be.” It is a necessary prayer for many of us, because sometimes we miss the things that God is revealing to us.
All of us should want to pray powerfully, and to do so we must have the courage to look at things that we sometimes would rather not see. The life of a Christian calls for this kind of transparency before God; repentance calls for this kind of transparency as well. Some of us will allow our best years to pass us by before we arrive at the conclusion that God has not withheld the blessing that we have so earnestly desired. We simply could not get out of our own way to see it. I might also add that it isn’t enough to see it, but we must have the spiritual strength to reach out and grab it as well.
In Isaiah 45:3 (NIV), God said, “I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.” Whether they are hidden in dark and secret places or in full view, God knows where our blessings and treasures are. He will guide us to them, but we have
to remove the blinders from our eyes and unclog our ears, so that our inner being is fully attentive to the impetus of the Holy Spirit. It takes a boat load of three ingredients to do this, and these are courage, compassion, and confidence. They are the three ‘Cs’ of spiritual promotion, and they are also awesomely important to our continued spiritual growth.
COURAGE
Ephesians 3:20 (KJV)
20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
Courage is the mental and spiritual strength that is derived from “the power that worketh in us.” It is our faith to venture into the unknown; to persevere and to withstand some level of pain with full assurance of victory. As we face one tribulation after the next, an assurance of victory is absolutely crucial. Another piece of resoundingly clear information is that we can’t handle tribulation by ourselves; we just can’t. All of us make mistake after mistake in life, and then we come to God with our pitiful selves like it’s a surprise to Him. God knows our propensity to mess up. No need for us to pretend that we got it going on when it so abundantly clear that we can’t cut it without Jesus. We just need him so much, and this is why he gave us the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
You and I don’t have spiritual strength, the spirit does; and he works on the inside of us as we move according to his impetus. Everything we need to live the abundant life that Christ made available is obtained by walking in the spirit. No, our power does not lie within our mentality or physicality, no matter how exceptional they may be. Our power comes from God. He is our source of strength. With the collaborative efforts of our physical and mental prowess, our indwelling spirit will bring us to a place that exceeds our greatest expectation; this is why it is so important to align our thoughts and confessions with the mind of Christ, because this is how we partner with the spirit.
Just in case you might have forgotten, walking in the spirit will require us to surrender the stuff that is weighing us down. Whether it’s man problems, money problems, work problems, or family problems, we’ve got to unload the burdens, we also have to acknowledge that we’ve got some issues that could stand some work as well. This takes real courage on our part. The fact that we’re boggled down speaks to the degree to which we’ve held on to some not so pleasant baggage. God doesn’t want us to condemn ourselves. He wants us to have the courage to look at ourselves honestly, and then take the leap of faith to let go and let God.
COMPASSION
When we let go, and let God, He’s not going to leave us in a condition that allows us to go on being comfortable with business as usual. I think we tell ourselves this, but releasing stuff is some uncomfortable business. For many of us blame, and not compassion, is the game we chose to play. We blame ourselves, God, or someone else for our conditions, but truly compassion is the order of the day. We have an enemy, the devil, and he will not leave us alone. Even if we don’t want to fight, he does. God told us to be ready for battle. In Ephesians 6:11, Heavenly Father has commanded that we put on all the armor that He has provided so that we can stand against the strategies of the devil.
This verse makes it crystal clear; Christians fight by standing on the Word of God. After being tempted in the wilderness, Jesus Christ responded to all of satan’s temptations with “it is written…” He could do this because God’s Word is true. God’s Word is the authority and the enemy recognizes this. Do not allow him to have further foot-hole in your life by blaming your condition on anyone. Let a spirit of compassion overtake you and realize that you are not suffering alone. Even the person that wounded us only did so because he or she is suffering. And many others are enduring tremendous difficulty in life. God will help them to turn things around, just as He will help you.
If mustering courage is the goal, compassion is the prize. It is a notch on our spiritual belt, and it allows God greater room to move in our circumstances. So to bring about a shift in our conditions, it is crucial that we open our hearts to the spirit of compassion.
CONFIDENCE
The last important ‘C’ is the confidence to move on. 1Corinthians 15:57(NKJV) tells us, “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” We have victory over sin and death through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I dare say that those two, sin and death, are the worse things in all of eternity, and God has declared us the winner in every round. This is the major reason that you and I can have confidence in spiritual warfare, because the battle is already won; we simply have to stand on the integrity of God’s Word. We fight by standing strong—this is how we demonstrate confidence.
Yes, moving on can be difficult, because spiritual promotion demands that we take off some less useful things so that we can put on some new, more useful things. This means some relationships will fall by the wayside. Some addictions and obsessions will fall by the wayside; and some of the indulges we enjoy may have to fall to the wayside too. We will have to sacrifice some things, and this is part of our journey forward and upward, but we must take heart and have confidence. We must trust God and have confidence that the spiritual growth we obtain through our tribulations and surrender will yield far greater blessings than those we’ve had in the past.
The courage to look within and the compassion to accept and address what we find will create a momentum towards spiritual promotion. Both are essential to our confidence to move on and have the kind of life God intends for every believer. And make no mistake about it; we’ll not make any significant strides until we learn these lessons well. When we do we’ll know it. The love of God will penetrate those areas within that were previously designated as “DO NOT OPEN”. Then, without any effort at all, our hearts will invite the extraordinary to come on in and make itself right at home!■
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
“The Three “Cs” of Spiritual Promotion, The Courage to Look, the Compassion to Accept, and the Confidence to Move On!” written by Reverend Fran Mack, edited by Kim Times, for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2016. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.