Are You “Puzzled” Spiritually?
Driving on my nearly five hour commute to work one week, the thought came about how often my spiritual walk felt like putting together a thousand piece puzzle. While there were feelings of great blessing in many areas spiritually, there were always areas where I never seemed to have it together and felt failure (the enemy condemning) because of it. God began giving me comparisons;
- None of the pieces seem to match at the start.
- When only a few pieces are in place it doesn’t look like much.
- There are many choices and decisions, but only one is correct for each place.
- Try, try, try again.
- Patience, persistence, and perseverance are required.
- It is much easier if you have help (and God is always ready to give it when we ask).
- The more of the final picture that you can see, the more blessed and satisfied you feel.
- It often gets easier as you near completion, since you have fewer choices when God is in control.
- How many get frustrated, quit, and throw it back before they are done.
- Realize that you are the puzzle. No matter what stage of completion you are at, you, the puzzle, are still no taller than the first piece. Be humble and give God the glory for what He has done in you.
- Never try to stand yourself up for man to see, this is pride, and, like trying to stand up a puzzle, your pieces will fall apart. Remain a humble work of God and let only Him look down on what you have become. Your reward in heaven will be great.
WORD “PUZZLE”
In the case of the below helps, God also formed the pieces of this puzzle first, and then put them together as He saw fit. After having written and posted on the web page a number of things God had given to write, and with several still in writing, God prompted them to be ordered, and to give some of the reasons for them; for instance, what they can show or teach you, and why they should be read in the prescribed order. There is no replacement for the Word of God; … faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17). The truths that God has shown with the following give the glue between scriptures to help build the child of God. If we will seek Him in the Spirit, they are help in putting the pieces of the puzzle together for us. We must follow and obey God and receive in His due order to be the man or woman of God.
The Sea Of Flesh should be your first reading, and should be re-read frequently to help remove sin and get closer to God. It will help you recognize where you are in your walk, seeing sin and iniquity for what they are. It will help you recognize your enemies, and that you cannot change your spiritual condition. It will help you recognize and receive that God is your sufficiency, and you cannot enter or remain in the spiritual walk he has for you without Him. It will also help you see the battle within, and start you on a path to having the mind of Christ. It is not necessarily written to take you to your destination, but to realize where you are, and your need to get out of your present condition. It is a road map of sorts; it is not the means or mode of transportation, but just points you in the right direction.
It also is an initial call to spiritual obedience; in the physical it is similar to the military, where men are taught to obey totally, trained and prepared to fight, and equipped for the task they are assigned. God wants to work this in us spiritually, but we are controlled by our complacency and our flesh. Make a decision to fully enter the spiritual walk and warfare.
How Big Is Your God should help you realize the omnipresence, omniscience, omnipotence, and love of Almighty God. Stop limiting God by the things you have been taught or believe, and gain a greater fear of Him. Understand that He, and His love and mercy, are infinite. Your wisdom and knowledge will be increased, and you will be better prepared for the trials you face. If we allow Almighty God to be our sufficiency, how can we fail?
Misplaced Grace, or Grace To is intended to help you realize that grace is not limited to salvation, but extends to all the gifts God has for you. Grace is available to give you an overcoming life as God enables and equips you to every purpose and calling He has for you, if you will accept it in obedience.
Disobedience is written to help you see and understand the consequences of your disobedience, and help you see how the enemy separates you from your spiritual walk. God wants you separated unto Him, and not touching the unclean thing.
Vile Affections, if you will receive it, will let you see that everything people believe, or try to get you to accept, is not truth. In this day of calling good evil, and calling evil good, we need to begin letting God order our lives, or we will fail. Jesus is the truth; let the Spirit be your guide, and come totally out of the sea of flesh.
Of The Earth, Earthy will help you see that after you have left the Sea of Flesh there are still changes necessary to find the walk God has for you. It will help you understand that, if you allow God to, He will exchange your iniquities for His blessings. It will help you on the path of righteousness, unto holiness, and then to remain on the path to perfection. Ultimately, it is a call to move out of the physical and into the spiritual.
The Fountain Of Two Calves encourages you to see your need to be set apart for God, and dependent on God to establish and prepare you. It gives a scriptural foundation for your necessary walk, and having the mind of Christ, and should give a greater understanding of the spiritual fountain of life. All our needs and sufficiency are met in Him.
But The High Places is intended to let you see where you are sidetracked in your walk. As Christians we can often follow a misguided spirituality, and do not see that we have missed God’s holy habitation. Did you ever wonder what “spiritual wickedness in high places” could be, as read in Ephesians 6:12? Or how there could be filthiness of spirit as noted in II Corinthians 7:1? Remove those things and find a closer walk with God.
The Anointing Calls You will help you recognize areas of your life where God is anointing you to His service, and will exhort you to open yourself in obedience to God, to fulfill His calling on your life. It is a call to action for God, rather than the complacency we often walk in.
Where Is The Lord God Of Elijah is also a call to action for God. While the prior word calls you to obedience that improves your walk, this is a call to take up the mantle God has for you, take His walk for you, and be a blessing and a glory to God.
Kingdom Living – Paul’s Example looks at the example of Paul and Silas in jail to see the possibilities that exist spiritually when the kingdom is not affected by the trials and physical circumstances of life. Let the King establish the kingdom in you, and the hindrances and persecution and pain you face will not move you.