Those of us who hunger and thirst for God want to experience more of Him through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We need to understand that Jesus is in charge of leading us into the closeness we desire with Heavenly Father. In John 14:6(NLT), he said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” The way that Jesus leads us into this closeness is through the person of the Holy Spirit. He’s the same Spirit that lived in Jesus when he walked the earth, and because of the relationship we have with Christ, we can invite the Holy Spirit to live inside of us. Holy Spirit helps us maintain and grow in our relationship with God. John 16:13 tells us that he, the Spirit, guides us into all truth. He only tells us what he hears from Jesus Christ. It is clear to see that one of the mistakes we can make is to think that we’re more capable of guiding ourselves than the person God has sent to direct us.
Many of us are trying to achieve goals in one or more areas of our existences. We have surmised that in order for us to have a more fulfilling and meaningful life, we need more than what is currently in our possessions. A person can call this what they like, but the truth is that our aspirations represent our intent to increase and expand. I believe this is right on track with Heavenly Father’s plan. He delights in our achievements. He never wants us to settle, and He roots for us to succeed. Whether it’s related to our careers, financial aspirations, marriage, physical wellness, and most importantly, spiritual growth, God encourages us to seek to go higher. This is a part of why Jesus Christ came to the earth. He tells us in John 10:10, that he came to make a more than abundant life available to us.
The thing of which you and I can never forget is that God values our spiritual growth higher than any other desire we may have. We learn from His Word that order is supreme with Him, and He never violates the order He’s set forth. Spiritual growth and maturity is top on the Father’s priority list for us; because spiritual growth is the well from which the manifestation of all our desires spring forth.
We also need to know that there is going to be opposition and resistance as we take a stand of faith. We have an enemy, the devil, and he doesn’t want us to be happy or to have success. One of the things that many of us do is underestimate the degree to which he will attempt to undermine our efforts; not only working through situations and circumstances, but people as well. This is an area where we are tremendously aided by the indwelling Holy Spirit.
There’s very little more frustrating than trying to get ahead in life, and feeling as though you can’t do it no matter how hard you try. Many single sisters are experiencing this in their quest to be married to a good man. They endeavor to advance themselves in this quest, and become very daring in the risks they take. Exhausting everything they can think of, they reach an impasse, and it’s a wall of disappointment. People experiencing health challenges sometimes face frustration when they’ve taken medication after medication, and nothing brings them to the level of ‘feel good’ they’d like to have. These are tough, but some of us are dealing with a lot tougher.
In Matthew 7:7 and Luke 11:9, Jesus Christ gave us a very pivotal piece of instruction. He said “Ask, and it will be given to you, seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.” You might be thinking that you’ve done this many times, and the wall didn’t budge. But at some point, we may need to consider what and how we ask, seek, and knock.
Before we can have faith, we must first have HOPE! It is a crucial ingredient of faith. The Apostle Paul’s prayer in Romans 15:13(NLT) tells us how to build our hope in confidence, so that we GROW in faith. He said, “I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” The problems and issues facing us today are perhaps more complex and challenging than any other time in our lives. A hope that stands by the sidelines is not enough. We need to be overflowing in confident hope, and the only way to do it is through the power of the Holy Spirit. Through the Lord Jesus Christ, surrender to the Spirit’s guidance.■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Preparing to Surrender” written by Reverend Fran Mack, edited by Kim Times for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2018. 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.