“Be transformed by the renewing of your minds…” (Romans 12:2)
The process of becoming uncluttered continues as we seek to grow more like Christ.
Have you ever stood on a mountaintop and recognized how far you’ve come? Why not try it right now. Just stop, imagine yourself on top of a mountain and look down at the ground you’ve already covered. Even though you may see other mountaintops, remember that you are looking from the top of one right now.
Being the New Man (see:http://laruspress.com/larusblog/blog-larus-walk/blog-wholeness-inner-healing/walking-in-the-new-man-permanently.html ) and becoming the New Man are both accurate descriptions of our journey with Jesus today. By grace we are saved by faith (Ephesians 2:8). The old is past, the new has come. And yet, we are working out our salvation and our sanctification; the process of becoming like Jesus is both instantaneous and gradual. Outside of God, can anything else be this paradoxical?
In our spirits, the job of becoming the New Man is finished through faith and the sacrifice of Jesus. Yet in our minds we are processing, receiving, discovering, and being transformed. What if it can be as simple for our minds as it is in the Spirit to become what we are meant to be in Christ? What if we can be transformed into the New Man in an instant?
We have prayed and have asked God for help. Perhaps you have asked, ‘What shall I do to bring You glory, Lord?’ Inevitably, we come to the end of ourselves and say, “I don’t know what to do!” The heart of the problem is that we are trying to do what cannot be done in our own strength.
Charles Swindoll, author and minister writes in, So you want to be like Christ?, “Our purpose, like that of Christ, is to serve others, not to cloister ourselves away in order to hoard up spiritual treasures for our own enrichment.” (W Publishing Group, A Division of Thomas Nelson Publishers, P/O Box 141000, Nashville Tennessee 37214 (c) 2005, p68)
And so, as we mature, we want to give, to enrich others’ lives as God has enriched ours. But is it in our own humanity that we are trying? Although it is very difficult for us to give up trying in our own strength, we must. When we strive, we make a little progress. Truthfully however, when we yield our efforts to God, then we finally are ready to serve Him.
How do we get to the place of yielding? We stop doing.
In Psalm 46:10 the word says, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Yet as Rev. Swindoll puts it, “Most of us find this command extremely difficult to obey. Any who have tried to do so quickly discover a perplexing truth: we can’t stop striving on our own.” (p 60)
It may seem ironic, but until we are able to STOP trying, we are unable to serve. It is when we spend time alone with God, just as Jesus did time and again, that the solitude fills our spiritual reservoir, and then we are ready to give out to others in God’s strength. We must allow ourselves to rest in Him as Jesus did, to unclutter our minds, and to cease our activity. Only then will we be ready to consider deeply God’s word, and to pray, to listen and to allow ourselves to be still. Only then can our minds really join in fellowship with God and operate in the service to His people that we long to do, and which our spirit already enjoys.
Ready: Be alone and be still
Set: Be still and listen
Go: Be still. Wait for God’s direction. His voice is often a still, small voice. Wait. Listen. Follow.
As Jesus did nothing other than what the Father told him to do, may we go and do likewise.
One sure-fire way to find clarity of mind is to rest in scripture and consider letting go of any insecurity you may carry.
Free to Be offers you just the structure and strategy to go through the letting go process:
see and buy US: http://laruspress.com/free-to-be-defeating-insecurity-transforming-relationships-building-character
