I have a confession...
I’m insecure, I’m not sure of anything, I’m sometimes even embarrassed of how I think, how I feel, afraid that it might be wrong. Who am I to control the experiences that make me feel and think about life and God the way I do? I can't that's why I have to cling to Truth, cling to the promise that if He loves me then in Him I am beautiful. How I think, how I feel is beautiful, because it's unique. I can’t attain freedom from my mindsets by thinking I’m secure in all I know, just because I am in Him. Because the truth is I’m not sure of what I believe to be true (what am I really supposed to be doing with my life, what is God really speaking to me). But I am sure of this...Those who seek out Truth never stay the same, they are constantly changing. They are changing in the way they think, the way they act, the way they exist. By changing we learn to be free, we learn that one way of doing something isn’t necessarily the right way or only way, we learn that others might actually be right. By changing we recognize that others are beautiful and unique. To be constantly changing is to be in constant recognition of the beauty of His children, that others are more important than ourselves. To love God is to love others, but how will we love others if we don’t recognize them as being more important than ourselves. To recognize them as we ought to we must deny that we KNOW what truth is, instead cling to seeking it out.
This way we are constantly changing into the people God really wants us to become. Changing as we transform our thinking into the likeness of Christ. Jesus said that the Counselor will lead us into ALL truth. Are we allowing the Spirit of Truth to guide us, or are we simply thinking we know what is true and have peace about it just because we think it's right. Jesus said that many will be deceivers of themselves....how do we deceive ourselves? I believe it is by assuming we know truth instead of having allowed the Spirit to lead us to that truth. In Jeremiah God speaks to the people who allowed prophets not comissioned by Him to guide them, instead of allowing Him to lead them. He compares trusting others for guidance to Baal worship. That is because the people forget that He is the ONLY way of direction for their life. Im not saying people appointed by God can't help direct where God is leading us, but God specifically wants ALL TRUST to be put in Him. Over and over he talks about not sending the prophets that led his people astray. This shows us that it was too often that people took peoples opinions as truth instead of seeking it out on their own.
If God says my sheep hear my voice, then how come we are so quick to listen to others who say they hear his voice instead of trying to hear it for ourselves? I believe it is because it is much easier to listen to others and wait for the feeling of peace as a sense of confirmation. But what about getting that sense of peace because the persons opinion was what you wanted to hear? Then that would be a false sense of confirmation and not the Holy Spirit bearing witness. The Holy Spirit bears witness even if God is calling us to sacrifice something. The Holy Spirit bears witness in times of suffering and tribulation. The Holy Spirit is not a respecter of a persons will. He will allow things to bear witness to our spirit even if it was the last thing we would have ever thought of as being the direction for our lives. That is why we must rely soley on the word of God and what it says about Truth. For Jesus said that He leaves us a Counselor, the Spirit of Truth, and he “will teach you ALL things, and REMIND you of everything I have said to you.” “He will guide you into ALL truth.” “He will not speak of his own, he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.”
Has the Holy Spirit been reminding you of what Jesus spoke? Has he been reminding you about loving others, being a servant, walking in humility? Has he been giving you direction that might have cost a price, required the sacrifice of your own will? The life of Jesus and the life of His followers show one thing that is certain...that they lived by “Let your will be done.” Jesus calls each one of us to be a disciple. There is no such thing as a high calling on one persons life and not another’s. Everyone has a high calling...that high calling doesn't happen when you are recognized by this world as some famous evangelist, preacher, singer...etc. Stepping into our high calling means we have OBEYED the voice of God and have allowed His will to go forth in our lives, allowing Him to make of us what HE wants, not what we desire.
The lives of the disciples paint a perfect picture of what a high calling looks like. They were saved and commissioned by God, but they didn’t jump into full time ministry just because they had already been commissioned. Instead there were years of spiritual growth and instruction that followed. God tested their faithfulness and hearts by seeing how well they served. As they followed Jesus and served Him their testimonies of Him grew stronger. When the time came and they preached repentance and the words of Jesus, people were saved. Because of the faith the disciples had attained from their years of instruction, service, and even tribulation, their words were not only preached with power, but with conviction by the Holy Spirit. Their passion for God did not cause them to preach “ blessings if you believe in Jesus.” Instead they spoke of turning from evil and from sin and accepting TRUTH. Many believed when they spoke, but many did not accept the Truth and allow Him to transform them into carriers of the Truth. Have you allowed the Spirit of Truth to lead you to and remind you of who Jesus and the Father are? Or are you living a life built on what others told you?
(Jan 2009)
