Strong spirit

 

A strong spirit is the answer to most of our problems. 

It is definitely an answer to the problems caused by the frailties of our flesh. When our spirit is strong, the flesh is down, and under the control of the spirit. Or vice versa. 

But we know it is easier to be said than done. 

What to do if something has happened, and it has delivered us a blow. 

A young one, a toddler who learns to walk, simply rises and continues to walk. 

When we grow older, the fall is harder to take and we end up spending longer lying down. We may even need the hand of another who would help us rise, but eventually we know we have to rise. When something has happened to us in the natural which has made us end up out of shape, it is harder to get back in shape. Maybe it is an emotional thing. Or maybe it is harder at our age as our system and its functionality has changed. Our metabolism no longer works as fast. But the true underlying reason is that we tend to lose hope. We try, but we do not put in enough fight. And the negatives intimidate us. So we give in and give up and tend to think that maybe it goes away. But it doesn't. Hence we continue in denial. We adjust to our current circumstances. And that is fine too. Maybe not always, but adjustment is fine. We expand our mind and say that it's alright. And we carry on. 

The thing is that getting back into shape, whether mentally or physically, or spiritually - it takes an effort. 

God is gracious, and kind and understanding, true that. He helps us up. He ministers to us via His Holy Spirit, and via our fellow humans, both believers and unbelievers. He uses good and kind-hearted humans to help us up when we have stumbled and fallen flat. He can use supernatural measures and means, the ministering angels. He used them to help His son Jesus on earth. When his helpers dozed off God sent His angelic help, and got the job done. Jesus won the battle. It was a mental battle to begin with. Once the mental battle was won, the rest followed in its wake. 

Similar to the natural training when we have lost our natural shape, it takes spiritual training or discipline to get back into spiritual shape. 

It takes a strong spirit to be in charge of our circumstances. Our life is filled by circumstances and different situations which can shake and push and pull us in various directions. Our stability lies in God. But there is only this much what God can do for us. When it comes to living our life, we are supposed to do our part. God gives us grace. He grants us favour and opens us doors, but we are supposed to be the ones who go through the right doors. We can rely on supernatural aid when it comes to taking steps to get our good shape back. Sometimes He steps in and does it. Most of the times the responsibility is ours. We see what we eat. We decide to take steps. Or not. We move. Or not. We sit for extended hours, or alternate it with exercises by incorporating movement into our schedule. We go to work and do the work. We cannot expect God to go to our work place to do the work for us. It does not go this way. There is His part. And then there is ours. 

While He helps us up, and ministers to us when we are crushed and broken due to life's storms, we are not supposed to stay laying down. We are not supposed to stay crushed and broken for good, once it happens. We are called to be like a goose or a duck which shakes the drops of rain off its weathers, and goes on. It is natural that there are storms, and adverse circumstances. There is the enemy of our soul, the devil. He manipulates the situations and uses our fellow humans and even believers, and thoughts and inward emotional manipulation by whispering that everything is finished. 

But Jesus.....

When He said on the Cross that it was finished, He meant a very different thing. 

The negative, the death experience, the curse was finished. The life was yet to begin. 

It was a resurrection life, the restoration which did not mean just a restoration of the former glory, or the prior state of affairs. It ushered in a new and better thing. A new learning curve. A new victory at a new level. Like at school, we graduate one level by stepping into a new one. There are new challenges, but it is not a negative end. It is a graduation, completing the previous step. 

So, when we have hope, it keeps us going. And God is all about ministering hope. But we are the ones who decide whether to go or not, or where to go or not. He is all about giving us guidance and instruction and all about leading us, and our footsteps. Sometimes it is easier than we can think. We try to invest time and effort into seeking His face, and that is good. But sometimes we just find ourselves taking the right steps, and going to right places. And when there we discover that we have been walking with Him all along. When we are in Him (and we are in Jesus, once we have opened our heart to Him and invited Him into our life by saying 'Yes' to Him), and His Words are in us......we can ask whatever we want and it shall be done unto us. 

It comes down to His Words. 

And it is never just about the Word, but the Word, and the Spirit. 

Eventually it all boils down to us, to our spirit, and whether it is strong, and in control, or weak and under. 

He is ever present in us. He has promised never to leave or forsake us. 

Why does it sometimes seem as if it were different. 

Is it any different? Or does it only seem to be so. 

Even if the humans may not appreciate us or our input, or the sincerity of our heart and purity of mind and hands, even if there is opposition from the spiritual and natural sources, and even if it seems as if we have been forgotten and discarded, to the degree where our hopes have become buried, there is a seed, an incorruptible living seed found in us, which is resistent to adversity, and filled by resurrection life, ever ready to spring forth and bring along rivers in the midst of the wilderness. No matter how dark or hopeless the situation, He is faithful and true to all His promises. He has not forsaken or left us. Even if we leave, or distance ourselves from Him, He is still faithful. He has not lost His ability to draw us near. Yes, He has told us to draw near Him. But even if we are battle-weary, and something has managed to deliver us an incapacitating blow, there is a resurrection life inside us, springing forth from our spirit. 

Nebuchadnezzar went insane, and lived in the fields like a crazed animal. Yet, he wasn't far enough for God to discard him, or dismiss him. At the opportune time, He stepped in Sovereignly, and restored his condition. And the king ruled once again. His full mental capacity was restored. 

Samson might have lost his hair. He had a weak spot, and the enemy targetted it. He was vulnerable and it cut him down. Yet, also this was not the end of Samson. It was a painful path, and took time, but his hair grew back. There was a victory to be won, and he died winning it. 

Whatever it has been what has managed to pull us down, maybe an idol - and it does not have to be a carved natural image - as the opinions of our fellow humans can be a lot more effective weapon in the hands of the enemy. Our desire for inclusion and appreciation by our peers, and the lack of it can cause a negative effect, pushing and pulling us down to our knees. Even when we come to our breaking point, it is not the end. It might be the end of something, a life as we have known it per se - but truthfully, it is just a layer in our soul which has been peeled off. For God it is nothing insurmountable. In fact He says when the enemy whispers that all is over, that a broken and contrite heart is something valuable in His eyes. He does not despise it, quite the opposite. As He was broken, life flowed out. He holds the entire Universe together, with the celestial bodies and planets at their orbits. Our brokenness is not a challenge to Him. He can take the dry bones and make them live. 

But it helps us rise faster if we co-operate. Steps do not need to be megasized. They can be baby-steps. A step at a time is how the journey happens. We do not need to worry about the next step when walking along a path ahead of us. 

Yes, there are spiritual means which help us stay on track. We can pray in spirit, or in the tongues of the spirit. Kenneth E. Hagin taught that we can as if lay the invisible spiritual tracks ahead of us via such method of prayer. 

We are all in different places, and stages of our growth. We can be mature, and still not know many things. Hence God has set and sent ministry gifts to the church, to help edify the saints or the believers that they may be built strong. Some have been trained under the Hand of God one way, the others the other way. We are all slightly different, and when it comes to the ministry gifts, the ones of Ephesians 4:11, then there are apostles, and prophets, and pastors, and evangelists and teachers. And not all of us are called to be pastors, while we may be more than capable to set up the churches, and teach and train. We are all called to run our race, the race set ahead of us. And better for us to stay in our lane. Once when Kenneth E. Hagin found out about this, he stayed in his lane the best he could. Just because we can does not mean that we should. 

And hence it is good to find our place, with our company. Where we are not just tolerated, but embraced and maybe even appreciated. It is best for our mental health and spiritual growth. But when He calls us to make a ministry move, then there will be adversity. When we have grown to a point where He thinks we are ready for the mission He has for us, then there will be opposition. But there will be also joy and victories. Jesus went to the Cross with joy. Now we know that he did not feel exactly joyful in the Garden, especially when his disciples fell asleep, and he remained all alone, fighting for his soul. It was a daunting prospect. He got help, spiritual supernatural help. God sent His angels to help strengthen His son. It helped him rise, and go do what he had been called to do. 

Developing a strong spirit is our secret weapon against the ruses of the enemy. It helps us stay strong and determined to walk out our calling. It helps us stay standing, even if we may be bent in the storms, and shaking. It helps us rise and stick to what we know to be true. It helps us overcome the enemy with his lying thoughts which is the main weapon in his arsenal. It helps us stay unmoved by public human opinion and peer pressure. We do things for we do them for God. We are not moved by human ideas or the praise or the lack of it. We stay together, for our strong spirit acts like a glue, keeping everything together, helping us win the victories, one after another.