The
intimidating aspect of moving deeper into the Water of Life is that buoyancy
takes over and we often lose our footing. The water is murky in places and
visually obscures the solid ground from our sight.
Tired
of the spiritual battles, we may experience discouragement; our friends and
family may discourage us, and we may discourage others from entering any deeper
into the River of Life.
Satan
will also discourage us and sidetrack us with the world and our flesh. Apathy
is his greatest tool for rendering us ineffectual for helping the Kingdom of
God to grow in the earth (Ephesians 6:10-18).
Thankfully,
God's Spirit coaxes us to let go of our negative emotions and secret sins, and
eventually we have no more desire to allow Satan to sidetrack us with his
destructive behavior.
A
temptation at this stage in our development is to grow obese from over-feeding
on constant Bible studies and not using this spiritual food to energize our
service in God's Kingdom.
We
may also fall into spiritual pride because of our wealth of knowledge of God's
Word. We may look down on others, and even criticize our church family and its
leadership.
As
we continue deeper into the water, surrendering our will to the will of God
gets easier with time. We increase in His peace rather than experiencing the
stress of today's hectic and grueling schedule.
Our
self-worth and true identity come from Christ in us rather than from our own
talents or lack of giftedness. We pray and learn to discern God's voice.
We
come to understand that prayer is the greatest ministry anyone can serve in,
because God trusts us with His attention and concerns.
Praise
and worship become daily habits, no longer reserved for Sundays alone, because
we cherish our deepening relationship with the Trinity.
Prayer:
Father
God, You have a plan for each life and we can seek You and walk in it
(Ephesians 2:10). As we continue into the deeper waters, You walk with us and
in us. You teach us to pray without ceasing and to communicate to others what
You teach us on a daily basis (Hebrews 5:12-14).
Remind
us that to share our testimony of Your love, peace and provision for our life
is just as important as having the ability to write or to teach Your Word (John
14:27). You call us to daily take up our cross and to walk in tune with Your
Spirit's direction for each moment of our day (Luke 9:23; Galatians 5:15-25).
Thought
for the Day:
As
we increase our spiritual disciplines, and trust God with our walk in His
Spirit, we attend more than one church service a week, read our Bible every
day, serve in a ministry in our local church, reach out to help the needy in
our community, and pray and trust God to direct our steps.
-
Psalm 37:23; Proverbs 3:5-6
