Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the Word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. -James 1:22-25 (NIV)
Do you have areas in your life where you feel stuck?
Maybe even feelings of frustration and defeat, wondering why God hasn’t shown up to help you?
Jesus paved the way for us to live an empowered life in the Spirit and we are going to look at how we can be the ones blocking ourselves from our personal growth, spiritual maturity, and from that continual forward motion of life in the Spirit.
God wants us to experience freedom from patterns and behaviors in our lives and while we do experience miracles and supernatural abilities through Him, sometimes there are areas that He’s waiting for us to face and take responsibility for so that we can invite His power into that place of struggle and move forward without repeating those negative cycles.
Oftentimes we miss the value in evaluation by completely ignoring some underlying issues in our hearts or minds that are blocking us from personal growth and spiritual maturity.
There is a difference between getting stuck in the past because we are fixating on it versus reflecting and evaluating the life patterns that lead us to cycles that are not what God wants for us.
Jesus paid for our victory and freedom, but we also need to take a proactive role in our personal lives.
I’ve applied the method of taking to time to self-reflect and discover what thought patterns were keeping me locked into a cycle of weight gain and really bad eating habits years prior. To get a breakthrough in that area, I had to identify why I was turning to the overindulgences of food.
I had already tried to put new eating habits in place over and over, but I couldn’t get a breakthrough in that area until I faced some things inside of me that were driving me back to unhealthy patterns of living.
I learned food was my go-to for comfort rather than God. I had to be honest with myself and realize that food was an idol. An idol is anything we put in place of God.
Also, my lack of exercise, while I could come up with every excuse in the book that would appear legit, the underlying truth that I had to face was that I was lazy and didn’t want to. I needed to grow in character and the ability to persevere.
How’s that for gettin’ real?!
Underneath all of that, I had layers of self-hatred inside of me. The truth is, how can I take care of myself the right way if I genuinely don’t like me?
I had to be willing to become brutally honest with myself before the Lord, learn how to call myself out, and then invite Him in those places to do a powerful work inside of me.
I eventually got an incredible breakthrough in this area, and it’s been well over twenty years since exercise and healthier eating habits have been a part of my daily routine.
Even if I don’t feel like it.
My feelings no longer decide what’s best for me. My body is a temple of the living God and I believe it’s His desire for me to take good care of what He’s entrusted to me.
Too many excuses, wrong thought patterns, and feelings are costing us our blessings and breakthroughs in life and God doesn’t want us bound in any area!
He wants more for us!
How can we get learn, grow, and get breakthroughs if we don’t take the time to look back and recognize some of the cycles that we find ourselves in? If we don’t begin to take personal responsibility for where we end up in life, we stay stuck.
Skipping this vital step will keep us bound to cycles and patterns that block our forward motion and also limit God from moving powerfully in our lives.
Because we’re not taking the time to yield to Him.
We have to look at what our thought life is saying, what we are feeling, and why we make the make decisions we are making, and then bring it to the Lord for His help.
We don’t need to be ashamed of these hard and honest evaluations of ourselves either. Remember, there is no fear in love, and His forgiveness, mercy, and grace are right there to meet us, and empower us!
What I’ve learned over the last 2 decades of my life has positioned me to get continual breakthroughs in every area that The Holy Spirit highlights to me, from procrastination, organization, creating healthier living habits, as well as making faith-filled, confident decisions.
Fear, insecurity, false comfort, and idols are no longer in between me and Jesus, nor are they woven into my decisions. I can hear the full lead of the Holy Spirit in each area of my life as I yield to His lead in all situations, and then with full obedience and confidence, I walk forward regardless of what someone else may think or say.
This has been a huge benefit in my life from business decisions, parenting decisions, how I manage my home, my marriage, and course changes I’ve had to make that seem crazy to onlookers… especially as I lead in ministry.
Think about it. If I hadn’t dealt with my fears and insecurities, they would cloud my ability to lead the ministry God has called me to. I would possibly shy back in certain ways, withhold certain messages that God lays on my heart in fear of how people would respond…even make decisions out of a need in me for approval rather than living confidently in what God is saying.
I’ve honestly watched, witnessed, and even had honest conversations with many ministry leaders who have not dealt with their fears and insecurities. Fear of “what will people think or do” with underlying insecurities and then responding out of pride to protect their fragile ego is driving their decisions, not the Holy Spirit.
Seriously… we gotta face, own, and deal with our stuff!
Taking the time to look intently into the mirror of my mind and heart, taking an honest look at my thought patterns and behaviors, and then inviting the Holy Spirit to reveal what needs to go so I could line myself up with God’s perfect will has been the major factor in becoming a healthy, healed, and spiritually strong woman of God. I’ve learned how to lean into the Holy Spirit for wisdom and then walk confidently in what He’s saying.
PERIOD!
This is God’s desire for all of us.
There are so many different underlying motives that are interfering with our ability to make solid, Spirit-led decisions, and we need to become aware of them…
-Selfishness
-Greed
-Fear
-Worry
-Insecurity
-Control
-Pride
-Jealousy
Name the sources of your why.
Those are the weeds that need to be uprooted in your life that are choking out your spiritual growth and personal breakthrough.
I’ve had to visit all of these thought patterns myself. I actually still do. I’m
constantly checking my motives to make sure I’m coming from a pure, God-honoring heart.
This is how we take a proactive role in our lives with a willingness to take an honest evaluation of what’s truly driving our decisions.
We have a huge part to play in our spiritual maturity and growth.
Too many are passively hoping that God will show up and then discouraged when they remain unchanged, or their situations turn out bad.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says: Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.
We have to check in and make sure we are not depending on our own understanding and seeking God for wisdom in everything.
Not some things.
In all our ways and then He will show us which path to take in all situations at all times. Then we have to be the ones to actively choose to walk that path out!
God doesn’t just magically do it all for us.
He’s waiting for us to give everything to Him, trust Him and He will help us.
Commit everything you do to the LORD. Trust Him, and He will help you. —Psalms 37:5
Those wrong thought patterns that are the driving forces behind our decisions should have no place in our lives as followers of Jesus and children of God.
We need to become aware of what junk is coming into the mix, clouding our focus, take some personal responsibility, and clear the way so we can hear God’s lead in our lives.
It’s time to take an honest look in the mirror and evaluate all underlying motives that are the driving force behind our decisions, and not walk away from that mirror forgetting what we look like.
I’m challenging you today to do this in each area the Holy Spirit highlights to you.
Ask for God’s wisdom to help you see what’s behind the decisions that are keeping you from living that empowered life in the Spirit. He doesn’t expect you to do this on your own. Jesus paid for direct access to our Heavenly Father and His Spirit within you is your Helper.
The Holy Spirit is faithful to guide and correct as you learn to yield to Him in every area of your life until you are experiencing all of God’s blessings and breakthroughs!
