“Can two walk together unless they are agreed?” Amos 3:3
The will of God is a state of mind. Whoa now! Don’t click that mouse! Before you decide I’m peddling existential claptrap, just read on a little.
Change. That’s the topic. Any personnel specialist or manager or supervisor will tell you that people don’t like change. As Christians, we understand that it’s our flesh, our carnal nature, that hates change.
But discipleship is all about change, but not God changing. He is the LORD; He changes not. No, we are the ones who change…into His image from glory to glory. And that change always begins with changing our minds. Remember? At some point in your life you changed your mind about the gospel, and you committed your life to Christ. Thus began the pattern of change.
Sometimes, though, something bad happens to us along the way. We get rigid. Stiff. (Dare I say, stiff-necked?) We see things we shouldn’t see. We see people playing the fool with scraps of revelation that are misapplied. Like Job, we see sudden – or slow – calamity strike our lives while we believe that we’ve been blameless. Like Job, we justify ourselves. We grow practical, pragmatic, carnal. We build walls of defense. Walls of ideas. Walls of doctrine. We build walls on our experiences rather than on the Word. We build enclosures so tight that we’d have to step outside to change our minds. And we get scared.
We stop living in Romans 12:2. The metamorphosis stops. We’re no longer changing by changing our minds. We think like the world. We stop seeking to understand because, after all, God moves in mysterious ways. Who can understand God? Never mind that the Bible says God will do nothing without showing His prophets. Never mind that we have the mind of Christ.
So, what’s my state of mind? When was the last time I changed my mind about something because of what the Word says about it? When was the last time that equated to a change in my lifestyle?
The beginning of a new year is a good time for self-assessment. It’s a good time to reflect. Have I been offended? Have I turned aside because of fear? Have I disagreed with God on a matter?
Bless the Lord for His enduring faithful love for His children! We are, at times, carnal. We are, at times, weak. We are even sometimes like stubborn mules before a new gate. He is patient. He is kind. He is gentle. And because He loves us so, we want to please Him.
Let’s make a New Year’s resolution to yield to the gentle nudging of the Holy Spirit. Let’s agree to agree with the Word of God. Individually and corporately. And in doing so, let’s make 2002 a year of going from promise to possession! God bless you!