I have been reading, as part of my devotions, a book that is part of the "Rekindling the Inner Fire" series by David Hazard. It's entitled, "You Set My Spirit Free." He has written a number of books in this series. They are arranged and paraphrased devotional readings based on the works of many early Christian writers. This book is based on the writings of St. John of the Cross.
In the chapter titled "Stillness," St. John of the Cross makes this observation:
"Our first joy, excitement, and love for God generally springs from our fleshly nature (our thoughts and emotions, italics mine). We may feel, with senses tingling, the lift and the wonder of His presence. Because these feelings are aroused in the presence of God we can mistake them as the quickening of the Spirit (the complete movement and work of the Spirit, italics mine). In fact, they are sensual and come from the lower nature (our thoughts and emotions, italics mine). What is born of this nature is doomed to die. Only what is born of the Spirit can lead us into greater growth in the nature of Christ..."
"This kind of growth comes only as we learn to...be still and walk free from all the fleshly feelings, perceptions, will, and our faulty ways of imagining what God is like. For we must silence the lowly human senses of the flesh that lead us to false conclusions about God, and keep us blind to His constant work and movement all around us."
As I have looked back on my walk in the Lord, I certainly find that what St. John of the Cross wrote is true. How often have I taken my "feelings" of God's presence as His complete work in my life. Then, a few months, weeks, or even days later I begin to wonder where God is in my life because the feelings aren't there like they were. It's not that I loose faith in God but my faith does become shaky, it grows weak, and I give in to my emotions and thoughts which are not pure and under God's control.
St. John of the Cross picks up on this. He writes:
"Unfortunately, there are many believers who never learn how to move beyond this state - it is a kind of 'spiritual lust,' because it enslaves them to the senses that demand to be gratified. When their sense of delight with spiritual things dries up, they are full of grumbling, discontent, and even bitterness toward God for 'abandoning' them."
How often do we struggle and even fail in our walk with Christ because we have based our faith and trust in Him on our emotions, our feelings, on the good things that come our way? Almost every time, when I look how I have taken one step forward and then gone two steps back, I can see how I have been living by the flesh and not in the Spirit.
"Stay alert, be in prayer, so you don't enter the danger zone without even knowing it. Don't be naive. Part of you is eager, ready for anything in God; but another part is as lazy as an old dog sleeping by the fire."
In the chapter titled "Stillness," St. John of the Cross makes this observation:
"Our first joy, excitement, and love for God generally springs from our fleshly nature (our thoughts and emotions, italics mine). We may feel, with senses tingling, the lift and the wonder of His presence. Because these feelings are aroused in the presence of God we can mistake them as the quickening of the Spirit (the complete movement and work of the Spirit, italics mine). In fact, they are sensual and come from the lower nature (our thoughts and emotions, italics mine). What is born of this nature is doomed to die. Only what is born of the Spirit can lead us into greater growth in the nature of Christ..."
"This kind of growth comes only as we learn to...be still and walk free from all the fleshly feelings, perceptions, will, and our faulty ways of imagining what God is like. For we must silence the lowly human senses of the flesh that lead us to false conclusions about God, and keep us blind to His constant work and movement all around us."
As I have looked back on my walk in the Lord, I certainly find that what St. John of the Cross wrote is true. How often have I taken my "feelings" of God's presence as His complete work in my life. Then, a few months, weeks, or even days later I begin to wonder where God is in my life because the feelings aren't there like they were. It's not that I loose faith in God but my faith does become shaky, it grows weak, and I give in to my emotions and thoughts which are not pure and under God's control.
St. John of the Cross picks up on this. He writes:
"Unfortunately, there are many believers who never learn how to move beyond this state - it is a kind of 'spiritual lust,' because it enslaves them to the senses that demand to be gratified. When their sense of delight with spiritual things dries up, they are full of grumbling, discontent, and even bitterness toward God for 'abandoning' them."
How often do we struggle and even fail in our walk with Christ because we have based our faith and trust in Him on our emotions, our feelings, on the good things that come our way? Almost every time, when I look how I have taken one step forward and then gone two steps back, I can see how I have been living by the flesh and not in the Spirit.
"Stay alert, be in prayer, so you don't enter the danger zone without even knowing it. Don't be naive. Part of you is eager, ready for anything in God; but another part is as lazy as an old dog sleeping by the fire."
Mark 14:38 (The Message)
The problem is, it's easier to live by the flesh, or at least, that is what we think. Our thinking goes something like this: it doesn't cost me deeply, I am trying to do "good things" that will please God, and, as long as I "believe," I'm saved, so at least I have this eternal security blanket; and, of course, there is God's grace, so I can always go back and ask forgiveness when things get too out of hand.
This thinking is what Dietrich Bonhoeffer referred to as "cheap grace" and I can't help but wonder how thin cheap grace really is, especially when it comes to our faith and God's ability to really work in our lives.
"Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives."
Romans 6:1-4 (New Living Translation)
The truth is, a faith under the work of the Holy Spirit costs us everything. It involves work and pain for us. And, to be honest, I don't like pain. But without pain, and work, and commitment, I remain weak and inconsistent. And, as powerful as God's grace is, I wonder just how much I limit God's ability to truly transform me into the person He has created me to be when I'm not totally committed to Him?
John of the Cross writes:
"At first...the flame of purging will feel painful to the soul. And your fleshly nature will wring and struggle and complain and demand that God 'prove' His presence with consoling sweetness. Would you forever give in to a child's whining and demands for sweet treats? Do not give in to your soul's demands of 'sweet blessings' from God either. For that will only make it weak and sick."
As we decide to walk under the influence and control of the Holy Spirit, and I admit that it is easier to say than to do because we can be rather stubborn in giving up our rights and control to anyone, including God, but when we do submit to Him, we will experience more of His presence and control in our lives, a freedom and peace, a quenching of our spiritual and emotional thirsts. Jesus said that he came to give us Life and Life more abundantly. The things that aid us in this experience and growth are prayer, Bible study, worship, participating in the receiving of the Lord's Supper, remembering our baptism, fellowship with other Christians, fasting - John Wesley referred to these as means or channels in which God's grace can work through - and there are others; these things help strengthen us, even in the midst of the bleak times, to stay focused on Christ and not ourselves.
"Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we'd better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!"
Hebrews 12:1-3 (The Message)
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