Walking with God
"Then I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who shall do according to what is in My heart and in My mind. I will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before My anointed forever." (1 Samuel 2:35)
Central to our walk with God is being faithful to Him. It is actually the core of what makes things work as we follow Him. As we continue our pursuit in living His best for our lives there is one thing that we can never do – quit. Maybe for many of us there hasn't been the wholesale "throwing in the towel," so to speak, when it comes to our relationship with the Lord. Still, there are areas in people's lives where they have given up. It's important to know that if God has truly called you to follow Him in a certain area there will always be resistance to that. With it, there will need to be a corresponding price to pay to see the fruit of that call. God is not looking for perfect, but faithful people.
What God Has Revealed
"In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls upon men, while slumbering on their beds, then He opens the ears of men, and seals their instruction." (Job 33:15-16)
God gives us dreams. At the onset of those dreams there is excitement, hope of possibility and a desire for the immediate manifestation of the promise that He gives. Then reality knocks at your door and you realize that there are many more pieces to this puzzle, the dream and the invitation – including your response with the attached price tag. The book of James tells us not to be surprised at the fiery trials that come our way, but to count it all joy. Did Jesus experience resistance? Did Jesus experience trials? Or was it all just a cake-walk? Obviously everything that Jesus encountered as God-in-the-flesh was to prepare Him for the ultimate sacrifice on the Cross.
The point of sharing this with you is to encourage you to pursue the God-given promise that He has given to you. In these dreams, you also have to realize that some are more subject to interpretation than others. We all "see in part" and we "prophesy in part." No one sees that entire picture. If that were the case we would be wearing God's shoes.
Pulling Us Into Dependency
"I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." (John 15:5) (Photo via Unsplash)
God does not allow us to see everything. If we did then we wouldn't need Him, wouldn't trust Him or lean into Him. God's goal in much of this is that we come to the realization that apart from Him we can do NOTHING. He gives us big dreams so that we will learn to trust in Him because it will be impossible to fulfill these promises apart from Him. We are given the promises that we might be partakers of His divine nature.
"...by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." (2 Peter 1:4)
What is the chasm between the promise and His divine nature being revealed in us? Obviously, in part, we are already partaking of this nature as we simply find our place in communion with God. The other deeper side is that our pursuit of His promises to be manifested in our lives comes as we are faithful to Him.
The Test You Don't See
"My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience." (James 1:2-3)
The difficulties, trials and resistance should cause us to press in even more. God will still be waiting for you. Moving forward you will always be gaining ground. Sometimes it may seem that you are taking just a few steps at a time and other times like you just took a few miles.
The key is to be thankful in every step as you move toward the goal that He has set before you. Never give up, never give in. Your reward is waiting for you. God has "suddenlies" in store for those who continue to be faithful and go after that which He has revealed.
Working Out Relationships
Take an example from our relationships. One of the root words for relationship is "relation," or relate. This is where we relate to people on different levels. We can relate to any person on some level because they are created in the image of God. As Believers in Christ, we can relate to anyone who believes that Jesus is the only way to God – the global Body of Christ. At another level, we relate even more to those who have encounters with God at the experiential level, similar to us. There is a greater unity and power at the level of agreement.
Finally, we have the place of overcomers. These are people who are in the hottest pursuit of God, pressing through difficulties, challenges and trials to the obtaining of promises. At this level it is even more meaningful to have people that go through this with you as you come out on the other end – even to experience the reward. Here you experience a richness and depth of relationship that cannot be obtained any other way. This is all to my point that you cannot quit and expect to experience this.
Many people bail out of relationships, covenants and commitments because they cannot handle the heat. By doing this, they forfeit the most genuine of treasures and the greatest reward that they can experience in relationships. It is just like when two people go rock climbing...they ascend the peak (a very difficult task I might add), and come out on the top that overlooks their grand view of accomplishment. It is an experience that they went through together to get to the top. It forms a bond in the relationship through the experience.
God wants us to have those kinds of relationships that can only be discovered in commitment. Again, you cannot quit midway to experience this. If one rock climber bails out after a few rocks up, then there is nothing accomplished. God wants us finishing races. We have the big race of our lives that is comprised of many smaller races, many smaller victories. (Photo via Unsplash)
Ordained for Victories
"For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith." (1 John 5:4)
There are many faces of victory. There are the private victories that you accomplish and then there are victories that you experience with others. God has called us to live a life of victory. But how has that been undercut by the lack of commitment, grit and covenant relationships? Again – don't quit. Your question may be, "Who do I commit to? Who do I walk with?" Those are legitimate questions that require an evaluation of who you are. Before you commit to others you need to discover who you are.
What are your core values? What is most important to you? Or better yet, what should be most important to you – biblically? What stage of life are you at? Asking these kinds of questions will help you determine which kinds of people you will be "on the same page" with. This is important.
Find the Agreement
"Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?" (Amos 3:3)
There is no such thing as the perfect relationship or perfect agreement. Finding people you agree with in your core values is so important; otherwise, you will not be able to walk with them. Also, I recommend you never go to a church to try to change it. The idea of committing to a church is that you are to support the culture as you understand it from the beginning, also realizing the leadership will not be conforming to you. Trying to change your leadership or church vision is an uphill battle you will not win, and you should never try. Either move on or realize your thinking may be wrong. Find agreement on the things that really matter and bring your best in support of the vision.
Embrace Commitment
"But 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 diligently seek Him." (Hebrews 11:6)
Look at your closest friends. Do they hold your core values in pursuit of God? Find those you can run with and develop strong relationships that you will treasure for years to come. It is worth the search. But when you find those relationships, be committed to them as you are to the Lord with a whole heart. One can put 1,000 to flight; two put 10,000 to flight as they are in agreement. Find those who will run with you as you run in His truth into the fullness of His promises for your life.
Allow His presence and truth to be the common ground that fosters unity in the Spirit. His Word is a lamp for your feet and a light to your path; keep moving forward and never give up. His reward is waiting for you!
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John and Brandi Belt
Belt Ministries
Email:Â hello@beltministries.com
Website:Â www.beltministries.com
John and Brandi Belt are the leaders of Belt Ministries. The heart of their message is that God's greatest desire is to indwell His people with His presence. They believe that man was created to be inhabited by God through His Spirit. With a sincere devotion to God through the Holy Spirit, people can live in a place of overflow in His presence. This overflow translates into touching the lives of others through living encounters with God. When John and Brandi minister, the intimate presence of God is manifest – being accompanied with demonstrations of God's power to heal, revive, and restore.
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Have you ever had an area in your life where God has given you promise and, for whatever reason, you dropped the ball with it or just let it go?
