Christian Spiritual Growth

A Heart-to-Heart Conversation

Clarifying the Foundational Articles
Part 2 of 2

Part 1 of this heart-to-heart conversation addresses these topics:

• good and evil,
• abiding,
• choosing between good and Life,
• images, and
• the cross.

Part 2 continues below:

Yes, we "let Him in" through our obedience. So many people miss this crucial point and don't have victory even though they practice all the "spiritual disciplines" ritualistically and sincerely.

Acts 17:28 comes to mind: "For in him, we live, and move, and have our being." Perhaps you and I need to define what we mean by "direct." What you wrote here....

...to me is walking in the Spirit, not directing.

1. “God told me to…”

   Sometimes people will say, "I'm doing such-and-such because God told me to do it this way."

   In most cases, God doesn't tell us exactly what to do. For example, a contractor once said to me, “God told me to charge such-and-such dollars and so I won't work for any less." I heard one man say, “God told me to buy…” and then he named a very expensive item.

   When anyone puts the words,
   "God told me to..."
   into his statements,
   what he is really saying is,
   "Don't question me."

   The person who makes a decision about what rate to charge or what items to purchase is making a personal decision based on his freedom in Christ. God does not direct us specifically in these kinds of decisions, and telling others that He does closes the door to discussions that may foster growth.

2. “I’m waiting on God to answer me specifically.”

   On the other hand, many people want God to tell them exactly what to DO.

   People who become desperate for God to direct them specifically often become immobilized by fear. A person who is so fearful of making a wrong choice often makes no choice at all and sometimes begins to believe that God is playing some sort of mind game because He is not answering prayers specifically.

   A person who is not receiving a direct answer to prayer is free to walk in liberty and trust that her Lord will be there to provide as needed. He’s not waiting for people to make mistakes so He can slap them up one side and down another. No!

   Example

   For example, in 2006, I prayed about making a math curriculum choice for my six-year-old son whom some might label developmentally delayed. I didn’t hear directly from God about what choice to make, so I chose a math curriculum that worked well with my older dyslexic son; however, this curriculum was not a good fit for my six-year-old son.

   Did I not hear God correctly? Was I sinning because I chose a program that wasn’t in line with His direction? Of course not! God let me choose “on my own”—meaning even though I prayed, He gave me no specific direction. I made the “wrong” choice for my son; but through that choice I learned many things about him. So was it really a wrong choice? No! God was not waiting to slap my hand because of my choice. Instead, He taught me many important lessons as He let me walk in His liberty for this particular choice.

   As we abide in Christ,
   He gives us the liberty
   to choose!

   As I often tell my growing children, mistakes are not sin.

God already knows who you are, but He wants you to know who you are. What you do—how you choose—reflects who you are, which is one reason God allows you to choose: to reveal to yourself who you are.

He doesn’t need to direct people to become. Why? Because as we abide, His Life pours through us without effort on our parts. Think of how grapes are formed on the vine. They don't exert effort; they simply abide and become grapes.

Does an abiding person not have struggles? Absolutely not! But an abiding person’s struggles don’t devastate her life, nor do they rule her life.

Yes, we absolutely need His eternal perspective. I love that part of walking with the Lord. When I read with my children, for example, I especially love to receive God's eternal perspective.

God speaks to us, usually not audibly, in our everyday circumstances all the time—if only we are listening to Him rather than demanding from Him. We just need to obey and abide. Through His eternal perspective, He corrects and guides us. Praise Him for His gentle, quiet Spirit Who comes alongside us, cheering us on, just like we cheer on our children! Thank You, Lord!

• The Law highlights our sin, so we know who we are BEFORE Christ is Savior.

• The Law continues to highlight our sin so we know who we are BEFORE Christ is Lord.

• At the cross our sin is mortified, so we know who we are IN Christ.

• And after the cross, our sin no longer rules, so we can live in liberty WITH Christ.

We can have fellowship with the Lord through each of these general phases of our lives as we continue to take our focus off self and place it on Christ. He is the One who will transform us from the inside out.

The "good" of the Law is that it leads us to Christ Who fulfilled it Himself.

Generally speaking, I am not so concerned about where a person came from as I am where they are going. God is so much bigger than the circumstances that bind us. The Law is where we came from and points us to where we are going: to the abundant Life of Christ Himself. And that's my heart's desire: to see women grow into Christ their Head Who is Life and Life abundant.

The Law doesn't go away, just as our pasts don't go away; but when we are living—truly living—in the abundant life of Christ our Lord, the Law pales, just as our pasts will pale. We don't need to dwell in our pasts nor in the Law.

What a blessing! Thank You, Lord, for Your abundant Life that releases us to love—both to receive Your love and to minister it to others.

Dwell, abide, LIVE in that freedom, my dear sister!

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