Melissa was speaking to a group of Women last weekend and she came home with a degree of excitement about something God had revealed to her as she was speaking. Although it may sound strange, there are incredible moments when we are speaking where God can actually speak a point of truth from our mouths that impacts our hearts in the exact moment that we say them.
Melissa was sharing on the concept of finding Joy in your suffering. As she was speaking she was compelled to share this; “A gauge of spiritual maturity and growth isn’t that we don’t struggle or have hard times, but how long it takes us to turn to God and surrender them to Him.” In that moment, her own heart understood and the faces in the room suddenly looked like a light had been turned on.
We teach all of the time that a gauge of relational maturity is found in how long it takes to resolve conflict, not that conflict doesn’t happen, but this point that God brought to her in the exact moment that she said it out loud brings an incredible added awareness to our understanding of both suffering AND spiritual growth and maturity.
When the Holy Spirit intervenes in tangible ways like that, it reminds us of what really matters and who is really working and speaking. (Luke 12:12)
Looking back on your life and relationship with Jesus, how have things shifted for you when it comes to your understanding of God’s provision and the peace He provides? And bigger than understanding, how has your practice of turning to God and trusting Him in the blind spots and painful moments improved and gotten more intentional.
I can look back on our married life and honestly say that even in the last 5 years the amount of time we spend yelling and crying “why” to God has drastically decreased. Yes, some circumstances require a daily act of submission and can be long and drawn out but even in those times (for us our still born daughter, job confusion, death of people close to us, chronic pain etc… are some examples of things we have seen and might apply) my prayer for you is that you find it just a little easier ever day to bring those daily tears and hurts to God and that the “Peace that passes understanding” (Phil. 4:7) could be yours in ways you can barely describe.
1 Pt. 5:10
10 In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.
Click here for a few more thoughts on Public Speaking and Reliance on the Holy Spirit http://wp.me/p2cwKS-cR