Hi there!
So this is a very simple thing, that has helped me relate to God a lot. God does not create for us, circumstances that never change, nor does He force us to live under certain conditions but not others. Now, you might think "God has a path set for me, once He has told me to walk down it, that is all that matters" whatever our circumstances may be - this is the narrow way, right? It is the narrow way, but the truth behind the narrow way, is in part that you do not need to do it alone (the Devil would say do it alone, but that's not God!). So how do we do the narrow way better?
The way to do the narrow path better, is in fact to trust God more. Now you say "but I already trust God" and well that you do (to begin with), but a real relationship with God, is not a rote exercise in theological repetition ad nauseum (if you don't understand what that means, it is repeating things, but never changing them). God will actually relate to you differently, depending on what stage of the narrow path you are at. Can you really tell, how God is leading you, even when your feet are firmly planted on the Earth He created? This is the anti-christ's dilemma, really: can't I rule myself, in godly way, without forfeiting my sin. What I want to show you, is that there is a very simple rule of thumb, that can keep your mind on God, no matter where on Earth you are.
The rule of thumb (which is in the title of this thread) is this: When you are at peace, God teaches you about life; when you are at war, God teaches you about how to be resourceful. Now, you should see from this, that God is always ready to teach you - that's a good thing, that's something He does out of love - but you should also understand that having faith in the world He has created for you, God has a will for you that is higher than simply being "created". If you are at peace, the best thing God can do for you, is teach you how to make the most of it, how to really engage with what He has created (God wants to do this) and how to find Him on the way through all the things that are on the narrow path. The truth how ever is that we are not always at peace.
The rule of thumb says "if you are at war, God will teach you about how to be resourceful", if you had peace, but then your circumstances changed - maybe you doubted the narrow path or started to walk down the broad path - God does not say "well, come back to Me when you want to learn more about life". No, realistically, it is a fight to get back to the narrow path, to peace, God isn't going to just say "I'm not helping you, if for some reason you are not at peace, that's not my problem". What God does is really interesting: God teaches you about how to be resourceful. Now what does being resourceful mean? Sometimes it means fasting, or praying or going somewhere or speaking to someone. God might say, "are you sick, maybe stop eating this or start eating that? The point is, God knows you are in a situation where you want - in principle - to come back to a place where you are at peace and want to learn about life. Baptism is basically a picture of this relationship.
Baptism says "I used to go where I wished, but now if I put my trust in God, I can experience His resourcefulness underwater and come back to the surface with faith, that God will teach me about life, as much as there is opportunity" I know, I know, its also about surrendering to God and making a public statement that your trust is in Him; the point I am trying to make, is that God does not try to teach you about life, while you are suffocating under the water - maybe that's a silly comparison, but like most things of the faith, there are parallels if you look for them. The joy is, of course, when we are on a spiritual high with God and He starts teaching us things about the next life - that's teaching about life that you really ought to show an interest in.
I hope this has been of some encouragement.
God bless.
PS. If you are going to reply, I would really like comments about how we can get experience in identifying how God is relating to us (which in principle is the Holy Spirit's work, but I want to hear from you). Thanks.
So this is a very simple thing, that has helped me relate to God a lot. God does not create for us, circumstances that never change, nor does He force us to live under certain conditions but not others. Now, you might think "God has a path set for me, once He has told me to walk down it, that is all that matters" whatever our circumstances may be - this is the narrow way, right? It is the narrow way, but the truth behind the narrow way, is in part that you do not need to do it alone (the Devil would say do it alone, but that's not God!). So how do we do the narrow way better?
The way to do the narrow path better, is in fact to trust God more. Now you say "but I already trust God" and well that you do (to begin with), but a real relationship with God, is not a rote exercise in theological repetition ad nauseum (if you don't understand what that means, it is repeating things, but never changing them). God will actually relate to you differently, depending on what stage of the narrow path you are at. Can you really tell, how God is leading you, even when your feet are firmly planted on the Earth He created? This is the anti-christ's dilemma, really: can't I rule myself, in godly way, without forfeiting my sin. What I want to show you, is that there is a very simple rule of thumb, that can keep your mind on God, no matter where on Earth you are.
The rule of thumb (which is in the title of this thread) is this: When you are at peace, God teaches you about life; when you are at war, God teaches you about how to be resourceful. Now, you should see from this, that God is always ready to teach you - that's a good thing, that's something He does out of love - but you should also understand that having faith in the world He has created for you, God has a will for you that is higher than simply being "created". If you are at peace, the best thing God can do for you, is teach you how to make the most of it, how to really engage with what He has created (God wants to do this) and how to find Him on the way through all the things that are on the narrow path. The truth how ever is that we are not always at peace.
The rule of thumb says "if you are at war, God will teach you about how to be resourceful", if you had peace, but then your circumstances changed - maybe you doubted the narrow path or started to walk down the broad path - God does not say "well, come back to Me when you want to learn more about life". No, realistically, it is a fight to get back to the narrow path, to peace, God isn't going to just say "I'm not helping you, if for some reason you are not at peace, that's not my problem". What God does is really interesting: God teaches you about how to be resourceful. Now what does being resourceful mean? Sometimes it means fasting, or praying or going somewhere or speaking to someone. God might say, "are you sick, maybe stop eating this or start eating that? The point is, God knows you are in a situation where you want - in principle - to come back to a place where you are at peace and want to learn about life. Baptism is basically a picture of this relationship.
Baptism says "I used to go where I wished, but now if I put my trust in God, I can experience His resourcefulness underwater and come back to the surface with faith, that God will teach me about life, as much as there is opportunity" I know, I know, its also about surrendering to God and making a public statement that your trust is in Him; the point I am trying to make, is that God does not try to teach you about life, while you are suffocating under the water - maybe that's a silly comparison, but like most things of the faith, there are parallels if you look for them. The joy is, of course, when we are on a spiritual high with God and He starts teaching us things about the next life - that's teaching about life that you really ought to show an interest in.
I hope this has been of some encouragement.
God bless.
PS. If you are going to reply, I would really like comments about how we can get experience in identifying how God is relating to us (which in principle is the Holy Spirit's work, but I want to hear from you). Thanks.
