Hi there,
So this is a stretching exercise, for your mind. There is something in our lives, that we always "do". I tend to do things as a "rule" if I can; other people might try to "perfect" something or be "innocent" in a certain way or be "pure" more and more. All these things are good, until they rule us! Neither is it a good thing, if we try to stop doing it, for no other reason than we want to be better at everything. God wants us to be good at many things, but not everything - that is asking too much! Indeed if you can do something less, you will find that it makes way for other things.
So what is this thing that we do? It is a neurological habit, left over from our ancestors, who all had something they always did (Lord if it was in neglect, we forgive them, forgive us - in Your Name Amen). It just gets passed down from generation to generation, from Adam, to us. Adam sinned, and started doing something he always did, likewise Eve. Our Earthly parents, then, we attracted to doing things a certain way. The danger is that it comes to be a vice; we start to have no choice, but to keep doing this thing the same way. It's not meant to make you miserable, there is a way out.
The way out, is to stop for a moment, and work out "what exactly is it, that I have faith in, when I do this thing?" That may sound like a mouthful, but actually there is a simpler way to work it out: you just ask yourself "what would I not do in this way, if I was going to?" That should give you enough room to think about it. If you can identify that there is something that you could do less, you will start to perceive the limitations of always doing it, that way. This is where the Holy Spirit steps in, if you can master yourself enough to work out what your faith is, the Holy Spirit can then find you rest, in the way that you have come to learn what you have, but also for what you have. Remember that Jesus said "the Father prunes even that which has borne fruit, that it may develop more fruit" (from memory, the gospels).
In a way, then, it is like self-pruning yourself, just to make sure that what God is showing is really as good as it (the fruit) being from Him makes it. You can tell once you have begun to grow new fruit, that it was the right decision to make. It gives us power over growth pattern, but also brings us into a realer relationship with God, because ultimately we don't want to relate to Him, in the same way we always do. I am not saying we can necessarily "surprise" God, but that we can ask Him to allow us to be spontaneous, and in that sense, able to surprise Him, because He ceases to draw upon us from the dangers in this world and to appreciate the praise we have for Him. If God can give us room to surprise Him, we can surprise Him. This is what it is to grow in not only obedience but also diligence.
You may not like what you do often, or you might be slow to think that you do do anything often - the point we must learn here is that it is important to question. We will not reach Heaven, before we have come to understand ourselves in a greater degree, than when we started out. We must praise God for this - His Power is in it!
God bless.
So this is a stretching exercise, for your mind. There is something in our lives, that we always "do". I tend to do things as a "rule" if I can; other people might try to "perfect" something or be "innocent" in a certain way or be "pure" more and more. All these things are good, until they rule us! Neither is it a good thing, if we try to stop doing it, for no other reason than we want to be better at everything. God wants us to be good at many things, but not everything - that is asking too much! Indeed if you can do something less, you will find that it makes way for other things.
So what is this thing that we do? It is a neurological habit, left over from our ancestors, who all had something they always did (Lord if it was in neglect, we forgive them, forgive us - in Your Name Amen). It just gets passed down from generation to generation, from Adam, to us. Adam sinned, and started doing something he always did, likewise Eve. Our Earthly parents, then, we attracted to doing things a certain way. The danger is that it comes to be a vice; we start to have no choice, but to keep doing this thing the same way. It's not meant to make you miserable, there is a way out.
The way out, is to stop for a moment, and work out "what exactly is it, that I have faith in, when I do this thing?" That may sound like a mouthful, but actually there is a simpler way to work it out: you just ask yourself "what would I not do in this way, if I was going to?" That should give you enough room to think about it. If you can identify that there is something that you could do less, you will start to perceive the limitations of always doing it, that way. This is where the Holy Spirit steps in, if you can master yourself enough to work out what your faith is, the Holy Spirit can then find you rest, in the way that you have come to learn what you have, but also for what you have. Remember that Jesus said "the Father prunes even that which has borne fruit, that it may develop more fruit" (from memory, the gospels).
In a way, then, it is like self-pruning yourself, just to make sure that what God is showing is really as good as it (the fruit) being from Him makes it. You can tell once you have begun to grow new fruit, that it was the right decision to make. It gives us power over growth pattern, but also brings us into a realer relationship with God, because ultimately we don't want to relate to Him, in the same way we always do. I am not saying we can necessarily "surprise" God, but that we can ask Him to allow us to be spontaneous, and in that sense, able to surprise Him, because He ceases to draw upon us from the dangers in this world and to appreciate the praise we have for Him. If God can give us room to surprise Him, we can surprise Him. This is what it is to grow in not only obedience but also diligence.
You may not like what you do often, or you might be slow to think that you do do anything often - the point we must learn here is that it is important to question. We will not reach Heaven, before we have come to understand ourselves in a greater degree, than when we started out. We must praise God for this - His Power is in it!
God bless.
