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The Narrow Path
by Steve Countryman I hate it when I miss the obvious. My daily walk is one that I tend to over analyze. I know that I have a long way to go in my walk with Father God and most of the time it can seem overwhelming. But what I miss too often is the victory that the Holy Spirit has provided me. For He has brought me so very far from where I used to be. That is what I miss celebrating. I need to celebrate more often the fact that I am not the man I used to be! Thank you Lord! Yes, I have a very long way to go, BUT I must never forget that I have also come a long way from where I used to be. Hebrews 6:1-3 1 "Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, 2 instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And God permitting, we will do so." When I read this passage I get a glimpse of where my walk should be. It hits me like a ton of bricks. The distance of where I am currently and where I need to be is so far away that I can't seem to find any way to arrive where God expects all of His children to be. It is as if I were on a journey that I need to finish but the end is thousands of miles away. There is all sorts of terrain that lies ahead; mountains, canyons, rivers and streams. Along the way are all sorts of weather and conditions to deal with. Life storms of hail, deep snow, freezing isolation, desert wastelands with burning heat. And to get to the end of my journey I must travel this great distance on my hands and knees. That is what the journey looks like in the natural. The natural sees the impossible and says "Why bother, you can't make it". There is no way for me to travel that far on my hands and knees. No way that I could cover that great distance in several lifetimes if I could. That is when it hit me. That is the whole point! I can't do it alone. I can't get there from here without help. It is only with the help of the Holy Spirit that will "put me over" to my destination of reaching my goal. The help is found in time spent with the Holy Spirit, in prayer and in the Word. In my supernatural walk of faith in the natural can I achieve what the natural says is impossible by arriving at the possible through the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit. Only by the Holy Spirit can I reach God's destiny for my life. It is a narrow path that we Christians are to take. We are not to look back at our mistakes and failures but at the victory that He has given us. For we are not who we used to be and that is worth celebrating. The Holy Spirit is changing us from glory to glory. But when looking forward and seeing how far we must yet travel, we realize that we will only arrive with the help of the Holy Spirit. We can't travel it being afraid and in doubt. We can't travel it alone by our own effort. But if we are willing and obedient to surrender our lives to Jesus daily can we enjoy the abundant life that Jesus came to give us. We should be able to enjoy the journey that God has set before us not just survive it. In our walk of faith using our faith language in all opportunities will we be able to move beyond the elementary teachings allowing the Holy Spirit to take us "forward to maturity". Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |