© 07 Colin Melbourne
Part 1 of 3
It’s precious to be in a trial, to be under pressure from all sides, and see no way out. Are you so crushed by circumstances that your situation seems hopeless, and utterly helpless?
Now that is a divine place to be! It is where you will learn a treasured lesson. You will experience the Hand of the Potter forming the clay, and arise more like the LORD Jesus Christ.
This is what we crave; we become less, and He becomes greater, in us. Our desires are His, His power is ours, His will is done on Earth, as it is in Heaven.
That’s God’s plan for your life. He will not be satisfied until He has Christ perfectly manifested in your flesh.
Resistance is futile
Make excuses, dodge the trial, take your own way out, compromise your conscience, and you will fail the test, and have to repeat it.
Don’t resist God, submit to Him, and let Him make you more like His only begotten Son. He’s wiser than you, stronger than you, and knows what is best for you.
You’re not on holiday, you’ve been bought with a price. Your time is to be spent walking with God, glorifying Him, proclaiming His message, and bringing lost sheep into the fold.
Everything else will be burned up, a total waste. Invest your life in God’s kingdom.
Count it all joy
You will think it strange.
“Why is this happening to me?”
“What have I done wrong?”
“Where did I miss God?”
Perhaps you have strayed from the narrow path, in which case, simply hop back on it, repent and obey Him. You will know in your heart, just be honest with yourself. There’s no need to beg and bawl in prayer to discover if this is the case, just listen to your heart, and you will know.
That is the easy situation, but here we are considering those times when you have not missed God, you are not in sin, you were sailing along in wonderful fellowship, and then BAM, you find yourself squashed between a rock and a hard place. Just like that.
Hasn’t happened yet? It will.
Don’t know what I’m describing?
Praise God for His Grace young Christian, and make a note of what you read here, you’ll need it in future.
You will learn to thank God for such times as this. When you thought you’d lost it, and God had deserted you, will come the revelation that He hadn’t moved, but was trying to move you.
Farmers call it weaning
Beef farmers train a gentle Friesian-Angus suckler cow and put four new born calves on her. Once accepted as her own, they grow in leaps and bounds on the fat-rich milk, they shine with health. When they are not busy suckling down milk by the gallon, they skip, play, and sleep contentedly for long periods.
That’s you when you were first saved, growing rapidly with a craving for pure spiritual milk. 1 Pe. 2:2-3 KJV;
As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
Mature Christians, like babes in Christ, are exhorted to continue this craving, but they’re also expected to eat solid food. Heb. 5:12-14 KJV;
For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
It is only solid food (strong meat) that leads to maturity in Christ. A pure milk diet makes fat, lazy, immature Christians, unable to embrace all God’s Promises.
You can see that is a bad thing, and why Father wants you to grow.
The farmer decides the calves are old enough for a diet of grass, and abruptly takes them from the cow.
They wake up one morning and she’s gone, haltered in the cowshed. They bawl for hours calling for Mummy’s milk, but the farmer’s wife tells them to be quiet and eat the grass.
“Get used to it, it’s all you are getting from now on, and it’s good for you!”
Their bellies become empty, hunger pains increase, they bleat for their Mummy, and finally decide to sample the lush grass around their knees.
It’s not as rich as the milk, but it has its own sweetness, and fills the stomach. Soon, the stomach changes form to digest grass efficiently, and they put on muscle rather than fat.
How does this apply to young Christians?
Find out in Part two…. Feelings are a fickle mistress
© 07 Colin Melbourne
Spirit-filled Teaching bookshop