For this Reason- An ongoing relationship
As humans when we ask each other questions, we want information. But when God asks us a question, he already knows the answer. He is trying to tell us something, and if we can recognize this we can gain wisdom and truth.
Isaiah 43: 18-19 says:
“Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland.
These verses remind us that it’s his wisdom we need. If we are in tune with God, we can gain insight and understanding. God has understanding, wisdom, and revelation and we have access to Him. God wants to show us something more about Himself, it’s our job to listen and accept that wisdom.
Colossians 1:9b is our primary text for today.
“We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives.”
Ongoing Conversation
The main point we are going to take away from God’s word is a revelation. We want to discover him, to seek and know his will for our lives. The best way we can start to accomplish this is to approach God with an ongoing conversation. He invites us to be in a continuous relationship with him. Continually, means that we never stop. It’s not a morning or night, Sunday only, or when things are going wrong. It’s a constant recognition of our dependence on him, and through this humble submission we allow ourselves to seek him through praying constantly.
The problems that we need God for are continuous, and therefore we need a continuous relationship with God. As we continue through an ongoing relationship with him, we realize that it’s not our problems that God is after…it’s our heart.
I grew up in church, I was there 7 days a week and quiet literally was in the building when the doors were unlocked. Growing up this way had lots of blessings, but one of the cons was that I grew to understand (wrongly so) that God was a building. He was a concrete space or place and it took spiritually maturity and a lot of work on God’s part to re-teach me that he is so much bigger than that. He doesn’t simply exist in one place or with one person, he transcends time and space and therefore I can have continuous communication with him no matter what I’m going through, where I am, or what is happening.
A two-way conversation
I have also learned that when I turn my prayers from telling God what I need, to asking him what I need there is so much more revealed of himself. My prayer is now, “what do you need me to know about you?”, and then I allow God the space and time to reveal what he sees fit. The first part is easier, the second part requires self control and patience. It’s easier and faster for me to tell God what I need, but there’s no relationship in that. Revelation happens when we converse with God, which means we have to allow him time to speak. We have to surrender control, and realize that we cannot rely on our own understanding. This submission is the key.
Filled with the Holy Spirit
The Greek word for “fill” in the new testament is a future tense word. The concept of being filled is the continual idea of being charged by God, in the same way we would charge our phone. You can’t charge a phone unless it’s plugged into the charger, and if it’s plugged in it a continual charging process.
Surrender Control
Total, complete, and absolute surrender to the Holy Spirit in our lives is what we need. If the Holy Spirit isn’t in control that means one of three things is happening: we are in control, culture is in control, or the Devil is. These are not good options because they lack complete knowledge, goodness, and our best interest. Therefore, we must surrender and allow ourselves to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
This sounds simple, but it is far from easy. It’s a daily commitment to allow ourselves to be lead when our nature is to be in control. When we can find growth in this, the blessings of breakthrough can be more than we could ask or imagine.
By the Spirt and for the Spirit
When we allow the Spirit to lead us, we are allowing healing to occur in our lives. You are central to His plan, you are not random. You are His creation, he loves you and is inviting you into an ongoing relationship with him. He chooses you, and he wants nothing more than for you to accept that desire for a relationship with you. For some of us, this is hard to fully understand. Maybe we’ve been hurt or rejected by people, and the world has told us that we are not chosen. I am here to tell you that God chooses you, he wants you more than anything else. Maybe that’s where you need to start, to speak this over yourself until you believe it. No matter where you find yourself today, this simple truth of being led by the spirit for the spirit has a next step and something for you because each of us is wanted by God.