To be an overcoming Christian in these last days filled with desperate challenges, a Christian must pause in his thoughts and actions to give meditation to the following.
He must recognize that God is always calling us into a position of more responsibility and therefore more accountability for the stewardship of his gifts in our lives.
How do we stay accountable to God?
By reflecting on our daily life and ensuring that they conform with God’s purpose for our life. God knows everything, and even if we refuse to stay accountable to him, we cannot escape his all-knowing presence.
In Hebrews 4:13-16 we read about why we must bring all our walk into accountability before God, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before His eyes, and He is the one to whom we are accountable”.
Going further Romans 14:12 says– “Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God”.
We should be more sensitive to our spiritual diets. What we constantly feed our mind determines to a great extent our spiritual fitness. Just as quality food is necessary for our overall well-being,the same principle applies to one’s spiritual life.
A proper diet of spiritual food is needed so that we do not become weak and weary, but to continue to grow spiritually in their relationship with God especially in this present situation where everything seems to be at odds with our spiritual dimension to living.
Jesus was clear on this and demonstrated this truth when he was tempted by Satan saying “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). So the question is how much of the word of God do we consume and apply to our life situation?
We must recognize the need to walk away from the wilderness into the promised land, and also understand what it takes. Someone rightly noted that we can’t play old wilderness games in the land of freedom- Canaan. This is what spiritual responsibility and maturity entails.
Why did the Israelite fail to thrive in the promised land? Because like their fathers they did not take their walk with God seriously: Judges 2:10 reads: “After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel”.
To bear fruit for God we must learn how to fight for our divine allocations. God demands action along with our faith. He trains us in battles to ensure that we grow spiritually. Instructing the children of Israel God said: “ Look, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin to possess it, and engage him in battle”. (Deut.2:24).
We must recognize that God deals with us incrementally and if we refuse to graduate from a particular class of discipline we should not expect God to add more responsibility to us. What does God has to say on this principle? In Isaiah 28:10 we read as follows:
“For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more”.
What is a precept? It’s a general rule intended to regulate behaviour or thought.
So the question is this: have you mastered your current spiritual precepts given to you by God or are you busy asking God to increase your blessing? Instead of always longing for the next breakthrough we must master our present assignment and take charge.
As we ask God for something great, we must recognize that we are also asking him for a season of significant testing, which qualifies us for answers on the way. Someone says Canaan, a symbol of freedom as opposed to oppression, demands character built through time, tests, and discipline.
Finally we must learn to always give thanks. How do we do this? One way to express our gratitude to God is to always remember how far God has brought us and not how far we still have to go. Yes, we may not be where we want to be but neither are we where we used to be.
Reading
Revelation Chapter 2
