Is God Just My Spotter?

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am I living in Christ, christain walk, encouragement, getting stronger, how to live in Christ, how to live in God's strength, living in christs strength, spotters, truly living in Christ's strength, weightlifting or surrender

If you’ve been around me at all, you probably know I’ve been reading a lot of Andrew Murray’s books. The one I’m currently studying is called Absolute Surrender and I highly recommend it.

As I was reading along a few months ago, Mr. Murray took us to Galatians 3:1-3. It says, “You foolish Galatians! Who has hypnotized you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was vividly portrayed as crucified? I only want to learn this from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now going to be made complete by the flesh?”

Part of verse three says, “…after beginning with the Spirit, are you now going to be made complete (KJV says “perfect”) by the flesh?”

That really hit me.

Did I receive Christ by the Spirit? Yes.

Am I receiving and acting on that power today? That’s where things get iffy.

Am I depending on Christ’s Spirit in me, or am I depending on my own self will and determination to live the Christian life?

Am I white knuckling the Word, or resting in the completion that Christ has gifted in me?

Again… all of those questions are answered “yes”, or “no” depending on the day.

His Spirit is in us for a purpose and yet I find myself thinking I have to figure out how to get all these “good works” accomplished that He has called me to fulfill. Christ is in me to achieve all He has called me to do, not so He can simply whisper where I’m supposed to go and leave me to it, but also to empower me every step of the way.

I Thessalonians 5:24 says, “He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.”

This verse reminds us that not only does God call us to good works, He is the One who accomplishes it in us.

I just found this verse in Proverbs10:22, and I got so excited. Listen to what it says: “The LORD’s blessing enriches, and struggle adds nothing to it.”

I’ve deceived myself into believing that I’m supposed to work out my completion in Christ. I’m supposed to struggle. Each day, I’ve taken Jesus by the hand and powered on in my own ability. Sometimes dragging Him along instead of submitting to His lead.

I’m discovering though that I will never be able to grow in Christ. Only His Spirit can accomplish that in me. My flesh, my will, my determination is not what makes me a mature Christian. Only my absolute dependence on Christ makes me complete.

Look at all the times we have failed Christ when our intentions were good. Look at all the times we made new commitments, renewed vows, or even woke up thinking “Today, I am going to do this, or not do that,  like yesterday”, but lunchtime arrives, and we look at the day and wonder, “What happened? I was so determined to make it work this time.”

I’ll tell you what happened. We tried to do it in our own strength. Philippians 4:13 says, “I am able to do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” We forget this verse is describing Christ’s strength in us.

It’s not describing walking along the path of our Christian life in our own strength and when we need help, Christ giving us a boost. Philippians 4:13 is reminding us that in order to do anything, it’s about Christ’s strength, not just using Him as our spotter.

Are you familiar with who a spotter is? This isn’t something that’s usually in my scope of everyday life, but my oldest is into weightlifting, so I’m learning.

Wikipedia describes the action of spotting in this way, “Spotting in weight or resistance training, is the act of supporting another person during a particular exercise, with an emphasis on allowing the participant to lift or push more than they could normally do safely.”

How often have we treated the Holy Spirit as a spotter when He simply wants us to be the weights in His arms. Picture that…we are the weights, not the weightlifter. That’s a huge difference.

It’s His job to lift us to heights we never realized were possible.

It’s by His strength we are able to join with others in tasks we never imagined.

It’s by His power we can do all things because as a weight in His hand, we are relying on His force, His strength, not ours.

That’s when verses like Psalm 112:7 are possible. It says, “He will not fear bad news; his heart is confident, trusting in the LORD.”

I’ve actually memorized this verse and tried to will myself into the completion of it in my life. In the past, I start to imagine a bad scenario that may, or may not happen soon. I remember this verse and will myself not to fear. That works for a while, but what I’m finding is that I need to go a step further.

When I’m simply a weight in the arms of God, I rest in His strength. I tell Him I can’t accomplish this verse without His muscle, and He lifts me by His strength into the empowerment of this verse.

Then, I really and truly do not fear bad news because I’m living in His strength. He will pack me where I need to go. He will lift me to where I need to be and because I am in absolute surrender to a faithful, trustworthy God, His strength becomes my reality.

“O, foolish Galatians…”

“O, foolish Christians…”

“O, foolish Melissa…”

Our Lord never intended for us to complete our lives on this earth in the power of the flesh. Our God has given us everything we need to live our Christian faith and it’s not by willpower, it’s by His strength alone. Simply and totally Him.

Isaiah 40:28-31 says, “Do you not know? Have you not heard? Yahweh is the everlasting God, the Creator of the whole earth. He never grows faint or weary; there is no limit to His understanding. He gives strength to the weary and strengthens the powerless.
Youths may faint and grow weary, and young men stumble and fall, but those who trust in the LORD will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint.”

That’s His desire for you. Rest in His arms today and let Him lift you higher than you ever thought possible.

*image by fitness19.com

Seeking Hearts Ministries

Fruit in the Lowlands

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bearing fruit, being in the valley, Christian growth, christian journey, christian walk, encouragement, encouraging word, encouraging words to get you going, fruit, growth, mountain versus valley, quick encouragment

The other day my husband and I were discussing the Biblical account of Zacchaeus. You remember, he’s the “wee, little man” who climbed up in the sycamore tree to see Jesus in Luke 19.

As we were talking, he told me about a discovery that he had made recently. He said the name “sycamore” actually meant “rebirth”. So, when Zacchaeus chose to climb that sycamore tree, he was choosing to be in a place where rebirth could occur.

In those first steps to find Jesus, he was trying to draw nigh to God. We know from James 4:8 that when we draw nigh to God, He will draw nigh to us. He just can’t help Himself. It’s who He is.

This discussion led me to look up every time the word sycamore was used in the Bible.

Take a guess. How many times do you think sycamore occurs in the Bible?

There are eight occurrences in the Bible regarding sycamore trees. Almost every single occurence refers to where they were grown. They were grown in the land of Judah in a place called Shephelah. It just so happens that Shephelah is in the lowlands. It’s actually the term used for the whole region of the lowlands.

Take a minute to read First Kings 10:27. It says, “The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar as abundant as sycamore in the Judean foothills.”

Other references in First Chronicles 27:28, Second Chronicles 1:15, and Second Chronicles 9:27 also talk about where sycamores grew.

The fact that sycamores are grown in the lowlands reminded me that rebirth can only happen when we humble ourselves, when we are willing to seek God’s face in meekness and when we are willing be in the lowlands.

I think Christians and non-Christians alike don’t enjoy being in the lowlands of life. We all enjoy riding high on life. The lowlands? No, thank you. We are fine on the mountain. When we do have a lowland experience, we want to run through it quickly, but we want to meander as slowly as possible when we’re on the mountain. At least, that’s how I am.

In studying the geography of the lowlands, I found this: “the Shephelah was a zone of low, rolling foothills separating the high, rugged hill country of Judah from the flat, open coastal plain. The heavy runoff from the western slopes of the hill country flows into a series of six broad, shallow valleys furrowed into the soft limestone of the Shephelah, each of which is a focal point of rich, agricultural life. Historically, the Shephelah as a whole, and its six valleys in particular, has been a buffer zone between the hill country and the coast…” The Rose Then and Now Bible Map goes on to say that people in the Shephelah were more rural and conservative than on either side, but “the Shephelah, a true land between was desired by both.”

Even though the Shephelah was in the lowlands, it was desired because of the agriculture, because of the fruit it was capable of bearing. I pray that is how we begin to look at our lowlands, as places of rich fruit.

The mountains are beautiful yes, but its climate is not conducive to growing much of anything. Have you ever seen huge fields of wheat, or a massive grove of fruit trees growing on the side of a mountain? Not usually. But, in the lowlands of the Shephelah there is rich agriculture. Everyone wanted the Shephelah region due to the yield that it could produce.

We should desire our lowlands as well knowing that in those places God can till and tend and grow fruit that we never dreamed possible.

John 15:8 says, “My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be My disciples.”

Since fruit is in the lowlands, that’s where we want to be, isn’t it?

When we understand the ministry of the lowlands, we find that they are places of replenishment, of rekindling and a place to develop a deeper level of trust in the Lord. The lowlands can be tough, but they are places of rebirth where everything has the possibility of change. The lowlands provide a feeding of our soul that otherwise would be missed if we were only on the mountains. Refinement requires being at peace in the lowlands.

An amazing example of fruit in the lowlands are the early Christians in the book of Acts. The book of Acts doesn’t have to say the word fruit for it to be obvious that a massive harvest was being produced. The Christians in the book of Acts were definitely in the lowlands physically speaking. They were being ridiculed, thrown in jail, beaten, and even killed for the cause of Christ, but the fruit they bore was remarkable. In fact, their lowland experience is still bearing fruit today. They took advantage of their time in the lowlands. They trusted God for the fruit.

Psalm 25:10 says, “All the paths of the LORD are lovingkindness and truth to those who keep His covenant and His testimonies.”

Let’s be thankful for every path that He leads us to. Let’s not run through our lowlands as quickly as possible, but absorb every moment, every lesson, and every opportunity to bear fruit. Before you know it, we will be headed to the mountain once again with a bag full of fruit, shallowness of soul gone forever and a richer trust in the Lord than we ever thought possible.

Ask yourself, “Am I in a lowland experience right now?”

If you are, are you thankful?

Why, or why not?

What changes can I make to bear more fruit in my lowland experiences?

Refinement requires being thankful for all the lessons God has for us, even if it means we are in the lowlands.

** Image by ExploreTraveler