| Now that i’m back to blogging after many days of mourning and thanksgiving for the life of my spiritual mother, who’s changing her address from earth heaven, although she is gone but i know i’ll see her again. But nevertheless i’ll be talking about something that inspires me most.the title of blog is WALK IN THE SPIRIT |
| Our journey on earth is unmistakably difficult. We go through peaks and valleys, twists and turns, sometimes stumbling over roadblocks and occasionally slowed down by spiritual sickness. “…for we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7) is our walking stick as Christians. A believer should graduate from milk to the solid food of God’s Word in order to enjoy the Spirit-filled life that develops into a life of faith. It is a fully-surrendered life characterized by: 1. CONFIDENCE. Do you get dwarfed by your problems? Only if you measure them by human standards would you see them as insurmountable mountains. But, against our BIG God, they shrink into manageable molehills. Twelve men were asked to spy on Canaan, the land God promised to the Israelites. They discovered a land flowing with milk and honey, a walled city and giant inhabitants. A majority report cited a no-win situation, with recommendations not to attempt entry. Because they focused on their situation and their feebleness, they lost heart even before they could try, grumbling as they did. The minority report filed by Caleb, however, pushed for a move to claim and possess the land already promised, declaring by faith, “do not fear the people of the land, for they shall be our prey. Their protection has been removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them” (Numbers 14:1-9). A man of faith sees beyond the problem, knows that God is on top of the situation, and says “Go!” when everything else says “No way!” To walk by faith is to have confidence in God, trusting He can and will do exactly what He promised. In contrast, to walk by sight is to complain and question the character of God. The Bible says: “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). Confidence in God believes that He has our best interests at heart even when the odds seem to go against us. As Gary Thomas said: “Faith is not tested by how often God answers prayer with a yes but my willingness to continue serving and thanking Him even when I don’t have a clue as to what He is doing.” 2. OBEDIENCE. An understanding of God’s holiness, righteousness and justice should prompt us to obedience. Obedience is the gauge of a life lived by faith and is unarguably costly. The cost of disobedience, however, is far more expensive. Many of us struggle with obedience because we are afraid. We are afraid because we do not believe. We do not believe because we do not understand the heart of God. “I can’t do it” is actually “I won’t do it.” That’s oftentimes the reason why we fail to obey. Although there is forgiveness of sin, sin has its consequences and one of which is forfeiture of blessing. “Surely all the men who have seen My glory and My signs …yet have put Me to the test…and have not listened to My voice, shall by no means see the land which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who spurned Me see it. But My servant Caleb, because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land which he entered, and his descendants shall take possession of it” (Numbers 14:22-24). As a result of Caleb’s obedience, he and his descendants after him received their portion of God’s inheritance. Unfortunately, those who did not obey because they did not trust God missed the blessing. 3. PATIENCE. Faith is waiting with patience for the Lord to answer prayers in His way and in His time. However, faith is active obedience. While waiting, we must keep doing what He asks us to do. We must fight the deception of the mind that says, “I can’t” and instead cling to the truth: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Caleb’s faith gave him the patience to wait for his share of the inheritance. He did his part, though, by claiming the promised blessing till it finally became his (Joshua 14:10-14). We can choose to be grasshoppers allowing the giants to intimidate us. Or we can let our big God go alongside us in order to experience the fullness of life and the fullness of the Holy Spirit. A warning is sounded off in Hebrews 3: 18-19: “And to whom did He swear that they should not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? And so we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.” Are we walking by faith or by sight? |
