Our heavenly Father really is the best parent in the world. He knows just how to teach us lessons we need to learn, and he does it in such a way that is unique to each one of us. His correction and discipline (not punishment I hasten to add) is perfectly tailored according to how he has made us. I used to fear the word discipline, associating it with punishment, or something frightening. I am now seeing his discipline as amazingly kind and personal to me.
It is humbling but lovely when He shows you how way off the mark your attitudes and beliefs are, and saves us from going too far down an unhelpful path. We have been going out ‘treasure hunting’ (Spirit led evangelism) for a few weeks, with amazing encounters each week. 2 weeks ago, I was keen to stress to our group that it is not the ‘result’ that is important, nor the amazing encounters, but simply the fact that we are out there being obedient that is important and pleasing to our Father.
Well, this week, inexplicably, I had no conversations and none of my ‘clues’ seemed to bear any fruit. As the evening wore on I got more and more frustrated, questioning myself, the team I had gone out with etc. The other team members had had conversations but not me.
When I got home I was in quite a non-plussed state, so I asked Father what had happened. I felt him say to me, with a knowing smile on His face “I just wanted to see if you really believed what you said last week!” Well, talk about ‘nailed!’ In an instant I realised how much hot air I had been waffling last week. I did believe what I said, but when the rubber hit the road and I did not have any so-called ‘results’, the reaction spoke a very different story.
He then reminded me very gently of the conversations that the others had, and again, I realised that my frustration was born out of complete selfishness. I was frustrated because I didn’t have conversations or clues working out – me, me, me. Ha!
I was also miffed because a new guy had joined us, and I wanted him to see how amazing it had been over the last few weeks. Father asked me the question – Who are you going out for? Is it really me? And that summed up and exposed the motive of my heart. I want to be like Jesus, to live like He did – that’s what taking his yoke on ourselves means. It doesn’t mean to do exactly all the things he did but rather to have the same lifestyle which leads to the deeds – and what sums up Jesus’ lifestyle? In a simple nutshell, he lived a life whose sole aim was to please His Father, through the power of the Holy Spirit. His motive was not to please himself, or please others but simply and utterly to do and say only what His Father wanted, because He loved Him.
This latest incident showed me I still have a mountain to climb when it comes to living like this, but I am so thankful that my heavenly Father loves me too much to leave me like this, but in the gentle, affirming way that He deals with me, he is patiently bringing me increasingly to those places where my motives match my often grandiose sounding words!
It is humbling but lovely when He shows you how way off the mark your attitudes and beliefs are, and saves us from going too far down an unhelpful path. We have been going out ‘treasure hunting’ (Spirit led evangelism) for a few weeks, with amazing encounters each week. 2 weeks ago, I was keen to stress to our group that it is not the ‘result’ that is important, nor the amazing encounters, but simply the fact that we are out there being obedient that is important and pleasing to our Father.
Well, this week, inexplicably, I had no conversations and none of my ‘clues’ seemed to bear any fruit. As the evening wore on I got more and more frustrated, questioning myself, the team I had gone out with etc. The other team members had had conversations but not me.
When I got home I was in quite a non-plussed state, so I asked Father what had happened. I felt him say to me, with a knowing smile on His face “I just wanted to see if you really believed what you said last week!” Well, talk about ‘nailed!’ In an instant I realised how much hot air I had been waffling last week. I did believe what I said, but when the rubber hit the road and I did not have any so-called ‘results’, the reaction spoke a very different story.
He then reminded me very gently of the conversations that the others had, and again, I realised that my frustration was born out of complete selfishness. I was frustrated because I didn’t have conversations or clues working out – me, me, me. Ha!
I was also miffed because a new guy had joined us, and I wanted him to see how amazing it had been over the last few weeks. Father asked me the question – Who are you going out for? Is it really me? And that summed up and exposed the motive of my heart. I want to be like Jesus, to live like He did – that’s what taking his yoke on ourselves means. It doesn’t mean to do exactly all the things he did but rather to have the same lifestyle which leads to the deeds – and what sums up Jesus’ lifestyle? In a simple nutshell, he lived a life whose sole aim was to please His Father, through the power of the Holy Spirit. His motive was not to please himself, or please others but simply and utterly to do and say only what His Father wanted, because He loved Him.
This latest incident showed me I still have a mountain to climb when it comes to living like this, but I am so thankful that my heavenly Father loves me too much to leave me like this, but in the gentle, affirming way that He deals with me, he is patiently bringing me increasingly to those places where my motives match my often grandiose sounding words!