When I manage to slow down from all that goes into spousing, parenting, householding, and blogging, I’d like to say that I’m a deep thinker. Most of the time the reality is that my thoughts resemble a skein of yarn that’s gotten a bit tangled. I’m really not complaining. All those thoughts – some easier to track out than others – give a little slack and I’m able to use the available length. As the skein becomes less and less tangled, there’s more and more understanding. At least, I’d like to think so.
I’ve had the same skein of yarn I’ve been sorting out – deepening my understanding on a topic that leaves many with questions, including myself – for the past year. It’s all about God being my provider, my protector, my all. It’s easy to say it, but how does that look when the pressure is on? There was a time that reading the Bible was a bore, so the relationship wasn’t very strong. For the past 5 years, though, He has made Himself known to me and continues to do so each time I open His Word.
He picks up the pieces from my hurts, He goes before me to provide victories – big and small, He opens doors for opportunities that will be a blessing to me, He’s always in pursuit of a more intimate relationship with me, and He’s constantly reaffirming His love… for me! Not to mention that He died on the cross to make a way for my eternal salvation (John 3:16), healing for my mortal body (Psalm 91, Romans 8:10-11, Proverbs 4:20-22, Psalm 103:3), and He restored the authority that was lost when Adam and Eve fell to temptation. I now have the authority and privilege to walk in all of the benefits of being a child of God in this life (Hebrews 7:23-28, Luke 10:19, Matthew 18:18-20, Mark 16:15-18). Those are all true and amazing, but they often get a bad reputation or severely diluted.
Now don’t misunderstand me. This world we live in is full of evil – have you seen the news lately? I don’t subscribe to the delusion that life is all sunshine and rainbows once I place my trust in God. I’m not a believer or follower of the name-it-claim-it nonsense. I do, however, believe that it is God’s will for His children to prosper (Psalm 35:27, Psalm 112, John 10:10). I trust that God’s Word is true from beginning to end. I trust that God keeps His promises. I trust that I am His child, a co-heir with Christ, and all of the blessings for God’s people are also mine because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. He willingly experienced torture beyond our comprehension, a death that was designed to extremely humiliate the condemned and experienced the spiritual separation from His Father. All so that I would not go without in eternity or in this life.
In my last post, Loved Like Eve, I mentioned how Adam saw Eve and chose to join her in her fallen mess. Jesus saw all who were to come – all in a fallen mess, too – and chose to go to the cross. He was perfect but chose to take our imperfections. He was completely God yet chose to leave the splendor and perfection of Heaven. He was bound by nothing yet chose to face the nuances like hunger and weariness that comes by being a man – and the cross was much more than a nuance. As I’ve been reading through some of the classic Sunday School lessons with Jesus’ life and sacrificial death in mind, this belief in God giving nothing but good to His children has been so thoroughly reinforced. Why do so many not take hold of what is clearly in scripture?
Sometimes we have a Sunday School version of God in our head, and the vast richness of His love for us gets a bit diluted, even clouded. We see God as the loving Creator on one page and then the great punisher on the next. We read about the bloodbath in Egypt when all the firstborns were killed (not just babies y’all – firstborn can mean adults, too). There’s even a passage in the Bible about the earth opening up and swallowing people whole (Numbers 26:8-10). We tend to have an impression of God that leans more towards angry, mean, hateful, unmerciful and without compassion. We read about God providing manna and then He ordered 3,000 people to be killed (Exodus 32:27-28). God just seems so unpredictable! Then we read about a very hippie-type Jesus who preaches about loving our enemies, letting them slap both cheeks and steal our coats, and appears to have a can’t-we-all-just-get-along type of vibe.
Is God two-faced? Three-faced (can’t forget the Holy Spirit)? So, we have a Father who is wrathful, a Son who is all about the love, and a Holy Spirit who plays the referee between the two? Unfortunately, this is how so many Christians view the Trinity. They believe that Jesus took our punishment for being sinful and made peace between us and God – but judgment day is coming, so we better watch our step. The power of the Holy Spirit is vastly misunderstood and seems a bit mysterious. There’s a whole other part about speaking in tongues that might have you booted out of church if you dare let any utterance pass your lips. Because it’s weird and so many misunderstand Him, we never operate in the power that’s within reach (Acts 1:8, Acts 2:1-4).
Jesus told His disciples that He and the Father were one – He only does the Father’s work (John 14:5-10). The way we’re to know this relationship is true is through the works – the miraculous healings, raising people from the dead, casting out demons, etc. – and we’re told that we’re going to do even greater things (John 14:11-14)! I struggle with the common cold and seasonal allergies, but I know that powerlessness is not what I’m supposed to be walking in. Jesus went to such great lengths to secure much more for us – in this life.
With so many people facing identity issues, many quite confused as to even knowing what gender they are, we really shouldn’t be surprised when we learn that it stems from not understanding who God is. In order to operate in the power of the Holy Spirit, we have to know our Father. Some believe that we’re saved by grace through faith (thanks be to Jesus), but that we need to strap the Ten Commandments around the necks of every soul, so we’ll know how to stay clear of God’s wrath (please, God, don’t smite me). And the power of the Holy Spirit – our Helper – is really only for mature Christians, not for the brand-new baby Christians… or any Christians who still mess up.
It doesn’t matter if you are a brand-new Christian or a seasoned believer, the power of the Holy Spirit is for all to utilize to bring glory to God. He doesn’t play favorites and say that one believer is better than another (Acts 10:34-36). It’s true that we all have different giftings, but God’s power best operates through those who are simply willing.
We, I’m talking about Christians here, are known by our actions. This encompasses the things we say and do as well as those that we don’t say or do. The world will know us by our fruit, not by mere words. If people around us don’t see the power of the Holy Spirit working through us, then what are they seeing that they might want? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control are spelled out as the fruit of a life lived walking in the power of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-26) We are to go the distance by giving to others and by being a true representation of who God really is. Who do you know Him to be? How are you representing Him?
This can come across as a heavy post, I know. But life walking with the Holy Spirit (not the Holy Spirit walking with you, did you notice that?) that life is not heavy. This world… this fallen world and all of its evil is heavy!
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 NIV
Who do you know God to be? It’s a vital question for all Christians to answer. We can often tell what the answer is based on the fruit that’s yielded. But I challenge you to take some time to really answer this question: Who do you know God to be? Is your answer based on your experiences or based on His Word? Can you reconcile the two? I warned you about the skein being a bit tangled. Last one…
Do we base our knowledge of God’s true identity on His Word or our own experiences?