Being Biblically Spiritual
  Being Biblically Spiritual is a collection of short teachings that focus on the practical application of some of the spiritual truths found within the scriptures of the Bible. In no way should this be considered an exhaustive list, nor should it be considered the only way to spiritually apply these biblical truths. We hope that you find simple spiritual keys that will encourage and inspire your Christian faith and daily spiritual walk with God.

Introduction

A desire to understand the path that God has prepared for us in life is perhaps one of the most common statements that I hear from those who are earnestly seeking God's will in their lives.
It would seem that even in the 21st Century church, still some of the most popular Christian conferences are those where the attendees have a chance of receiving a prophetic word.

Many attendees go to these conferences in the hope they will receive a personal word from God, that they hope will illuminate their future path and reveal God's will for their lives.

Having taken part in a number of these conferences during my days in ministry I fully understand this desire, however, if we spend more time running from conference to conference than we do in personal prayer before God I begin to wonder if we are living in fear, rather than walking by faith.

These actions seem to be saying:
" If only we knew the things that lay ahead of us, then at least we could plan and prepare for them as best we can! " or "If God knows what is ahead in my life, then why doesn't He just tell me!"

The question that I try to ask myself in situations I'm not sure of is "Am I looking at this from God's perspective or man's?" Because after walking with God for many years I have learned that it's always easier to do things His way from the start, rather than trying it my way first, failing, and having to start over.

However, I believe it's important to understand the answer to these questions, so that we may continue to grow confidently in God and be sure that we are building on the rock of God's Word rather than on the sand of our feelings or opinions.

So let's take a look and see what the Bible teaches on the subject of finding God's path through trust!

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 
In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

"Trust in the Lord"

One of the greatest lessons we need to learn in our walk with God is how to trust Him. As we will see in this scripture from the Book of Proverbs, developing the ability to trust God opens up wonderful blessings and security to the believer.

To trust in the Lord means to 'rely on and 'depend upon' Him. Another meaning of the biblical word trust is to 'lean on' to something. We are called to lean onto God, to rely upon and depend upon His ability in life, rather than our own. It's amazing how freeing this is, especially for those who worry and carry the weight of the world upon their shoulders.

The question that each of us has to resolve in our hearts is " Are we willing to let go of the habit of relying upon ourselves and to step out in faith and trust our future into God's hands?"

Jesus Christ lay down His own perfect life for the sins of the world so that we would never be in doubt as to whether He is worthy of our trust and devotion! 

"We learn to trust God's heart by interacting with Him and experiencing His character in personal ways." 

*To assist us in learning how to transition from trusting in ourselves and beginning to trust daily in God I have applied a commonly used Object Lesson to our situation.

Trust Fall Object Lesson

Many of us may have either seen or perhaps even taken part in a team-building lesson called 'the trust fall'.

In this lesson one person is required to close their eyes and slowly fall backward, trusting that the person behind them will catch them. This simple object lesson helps the development of a deeper assurance of trust between those involved.

Although we can't physically fall back into the arms of God and entrust our lives and our cares to His safekeeping, we can do the same thing in our spiritual imagination.

God wants us to see ourselves resting safely in His loving arms each day, casting all our cares upon Him because He cares for us! As we imagine ourselves falling confidently into His care daily, we are enabled to experience the spiritual release from our burdens that trusting in God brings. 

*In my experience we may need to do this numerous times until we begin to experience a spiritual sense of breakthrough and then regularly if we are to continue trusting in God and not fall back into trusting ourselves.

"Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God."

"With all your heart"

Developing a sensitivity to what is going on in our own hearts is vital if we are to be able to trust in God fully. Trusting God 50% of the time and doubting His love and care for us the other 50% will not work effectively. Trusting God with all your heart means trusting and believing in Him 100%.

We must look soberly at God's promises and His character that has been revealed over 1,000's years and decide whether or not we are willing to yield our lives fully to His will and purpose for us. 

To accomplish this effectively we must relinquish the control we have over our own lives and place the steering wheel fully into God's hands.

The Process of Releasing Control

I realize that for many of us this may be a scary thing to do, as most of us live our whole lives ensuring that we maintain a high degree of control over our own choices and the direction we take in life. Some of us may have experienced things in life that make it very difficult to trust others, and for them, it may take a little longer for the process to become effective, but if you continue steadfastly you also will enjoy the blessing of having God guiding your direction in life. When we are yielded to God's will and direction in life we have the greatest opportunity to enjoy a life full of meaning and success.

"When your will is God's will, you will have your will." 

Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:2-3)

Developing a child-like faith is crucial if we are to fully enjoy the experience of God's kingdom. Salvation does not only mean having our sins forgiven and going to heaven but also involves developing a wonderful and trusting personal relationship with our Heavenly Father! 

The process of becoming childlike begins automatically when we are born again of God's Spirit by receiving Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour. However, we need to continue to yield our life daily into our Heavenly Father's hands.

This process involves a daily walk of trusting God, and continually growing closer to Him by allowing Him more and more access into our hearts and life.

"Lean not on your own understanding"

In this world, we only have our knowledge, understanding, and experiences to depend upon, but when we come to Christ we no longer need to do that. We now have access to the wisdom of God, His knowledge, and understanding of what is best for our lives. We can now begin to lean on and depend upon His choices for us, rather than continuing to try to figure it all out ourselves. This takes a huge load off our shoulders and we can truly begin to enjoy our new life in the care of our Heavenly Father.

We don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, but God does! We don't know who we should trust in life, but God does. We don't know whether we should live in this city or go to another, but God does! As we learn to lean on God's understanding rather than our own we can step into His supernatural guidance and provision for our lives.

Sometimes God might simply give us an impression to call someone or go visit them, it may just seem initially like our own idea even, but as we pray about it more we continue to feel an urge to get in contact with them. Then often when you follow your spiritual instincts you will find them desperately praying for someone to help them through a situation they are facing. 

It might not make any sense to you to visit them, we may not have any understanding of our own why we should contact them, but because we are trusting in the leading of the Holy Spirit the spiritual urge is coming from God's knowledge and not our understanding.

“Trusting God does not mean believing He will do what you want, but rather believing He will do everything He knows is good.”

"In all your ways acknowledge Him"

I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly (John 10:10b)

We acknowledge God in our life by giving Him the place of honor He deserves! In every area that we acknowledge His Lordship, we give Him the ultimate control and the final decision. Then He begins to redirect us into ways that will truly bring us His blessing and eternal joy.

God doesn't merely want us to make Him Lord of our religious ways, but He is concerned about and wants to bless us with His fullness in every area and way of life!

There is no area of life that God cannot improve in our human experience, but He waits for us to ask Him for His help. God never forces Himself upon anyone, He doesn't force people to receive His salvation or go to heaven, He offers it freely but then waits patiently for us to accept it.

We need to ask Him to be Lord of our relationships, Lord of our family, Lord of our finances, Lord of our lifestyle, Lord of our actions, Lord of our speech, Lord of our thoughts, Lord of our past and our future..... By asking Him to be Lord of all these areas we are acknowledging Him and giving Him the honor He deserves!

In every area that we have yielded to God's Lordship, we have entered into His promises of guidance and blessing as long as we continue in obedience to His revealed will. It has been my experience that God's blessing may cease when I cease obeying His will in any area.

"And He shall direct your paths"

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning (James 1:17)

When we give God first place in our hearts through trusting fully in His goodness and mercy, when we accept that God's wisdom and knowledge are far above our ability to understand, when we give Him the place of honor He deserves by making Him Lord in every area of our life, then God provides what He has supernaturally determined to be the best pathway we could ever follow by His will and purpose for our lives!

God's choices are always best for us in the long run because only He knows the end from the beginning and He maps out a pathway that leads us to become fruitful in our service to His kingdom here on earth and promises us the joys of eternal life!

God Bless