A STRUGGLING CHRISTIAN IS A STAGNANT CHRISTIAN By Awotiku Akinlayo David
After the evening
service on Sunday, I entered the fellowship bus that will convey me to my
destination. We were much than what the bus was assigned to carry for the
convenience of the passengers so everyone had to bear the inconveniencies we
had caused ourselves as we overload the bus pending the time we’ll reach our
individual destinations. A guy was seriously complaining of his own
inconveniency, he was lamenting and was struggling just to get some more
convenience till he reached his destination but unfortunately for him, all his
best to adjust his sitting complicated the situation the more for him. It was terrible
for him to the extent that he concluded to alight from the bus at the next bus
stop though far from his own destination. We could sense and notice how bad the
situation was for him from the way he was groaned in anguish shouting and
lamenting.
As we were approaching
the next bus stop, someone raised a topic in the bus and we started different
discussions and laughed as we continue the gist. We forgot there was a guy who
was not convenient at all with his status in the bus, the guy also had stopped
complaining and partake in the discussion. As time goes on, he was diverted
from his inconveniences and the topic continued till he almost reached his
destination when the bus stopped to drop someone. So he quickly used the
opportunity to alight from the bus since his destination is close.
The discussions being interesting doesn’t stop
the fact that the guy was enduring some pains, but what motivated him was the
fact that the bus was moving and rapidly progressing forward. The moment the
bus stopped for a purpose, he gave up and dropped even though he was almost at
his specific destination. This passed a spiritual message to me by the Spirit
of God.
Many times we are faced with various difficult
challenges in our Christian race which seems impossible to overcome, we sit
down alone, struggling and battling with it, lamenting over it, thinking and
dwelling much on it which causes us to cry voraciously. It will be so
distressing that the next thing that comes to our mind is to give up the
Christian race. Instead of meditating on
the truth and reality of the word, we meditate on the lies, illusions and fake
things of the world. The anxiety of what the future may hold would jam
packed our heart. How you get into the situation, what kind of situation, we
even take the percentage of those who have had the same challenges and overcame
compared with those that never passed through such but yet preaches the topic
with a conviction as if they have passed through such before (When it is not football ball possession).
With troubled mind, we’ll start analyzing critically the kinds of problematic
situation, explaining to God how great and big the problem is as if God is not
aware of it or he can’t solve it.
And yet, your Christian life had unconsciously
remained on ‘Pause mood’ since the
time we have started meditating on irrelevant things. You keep struggling and
analyzing problems when your spiritual life and growth is stagnant and stunted.
And you think ‘after all, am not going
backward, it’s just that I’ve not been praying enough or studying and
meditating the word of God, and it’s because of this problem or that problem’.
There is a secret I want to tell you: Stagnancy
is also backwardness in Christiandom. As far as Christian race is concern, when
you stop moving, you are going backward indirectly even though it may not be
noticed physically. Have ye not heard that if you don’t move, you can be
removed? When you are struggling on physical difficulties, you are
stagnant. Get to work immediately.
Don’t just sit down to
analyze problems to God (like the football analysis programme on t.v). Focus on
building your spiritual life more, increase your knowledge of the truth of the
word of God. Let God help you in building and sustainability of your
spirit-man. Grow further and deeper in the mysteries of God. Forget the difficult
situations or challenges you are passing through. Don’t dwell or lament much of
them. Be consistent and active in dwelling more in His presence. Keep your
spirit-man’s held up high. Let him continue his growth. Don’t pause it please.
Don’t keep him stagnant. Don’t starve him of the necessary spiritual
nourishments he deserves every day.
When you are active
and proactive in the spirit, it makes you forget all the worries and troubles
of this world. An active spirit-man gives priority and strictness to forwardness,
forgets struggling with problems and shun everything that can cause stagnancy
to him. The functionality of our prayer life births efficacious decrement over
challenges.
Shift your focus from
struggling with that problem to God and more of him if you want to continue
this Christian race that is set before you. The moment you notice a deeper
realm of God, a forward moving and a rapid spiritual growth, it gives you
courage and encouragement to joyfully run this race, it will also give caution
and discipline to help you prepare well for the next exam in the school of the
spirit.
Devil’s aim for bringing and befalling us with
thick and tough difficulties is to distract us from focusing on the growth of
our spirit man in having deeper knowledge of God, the reality of a Christian
life and the authorities embedded in this life. He is aware that every persons
tend to shift focus from spiritual things when they are faced with tough
situations. Our focus on the challenges brings more complications to each problem.
Problems don’t get solved by analyzing
them, it gets solved by introducing the right person who knows everything about
the problem and committing it into His hand.
Finally brethren, when you stop struggling with
the solution of problems, they naturally get solved on their own unconscious to
us. If peradventure the problems or situation remains unsolved, let it be a
fuel to your spiritual car engine that kindles your prayer life to improve and
increase your relationship with God.
Let go of sadness, let
go of weakness, let go of weariness, let go of unnecessary thought, let go of
anxiety, let go of troubled mind and also let go of those things that can
easily beset you and causing distractions to our walk with God in this
Christian race.
Meanwhile let this mind be in you that God is
very much aware of what you are passing through, He never leaves nor forgets
you. He is able and faithful to keep you from falling, taking good care of you,
attending to your needs and solving your challenges. Tell everything to God
instead of grumbling about it. Confess all that the bible has said in line with
the situation, if you don’t say it, you
won’t see it, hence confess them with your own mouth and let God take
charge of the rest. He cares for us so much that He knows all our needs, He has
said we should cast all our cares and burdens upon Him and He will sustain us,
He will never suffer the righteous to be moved. The righteous that were
afflicted God will deliver them out of it all.
Don’t struggle with difficult challenges
because it brings stagnancy to your spiritual growth and make you weary of the
Christian race. Run this race with Joy and discipline, only those that endures
to the end, that endures hardships, pains, tribulations, persecutions and the
likes, the same shall be saved. Keep moving forward and helping yourself to
grow rapidly spiritually, it gives you joy and peace when faced with difficult
situations. It helps you to be updated that God is still on the throne and He
is your father likewise He is in charge of all things so you can never lack
neither can you be troubled, neither will you be fearful and anxious because
the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness therein.
Always remember that when you are struggling
with hardships, your spiritual life becomes stagnant.
Selah!
I love y’all
#ISTANDFORTHETRUTHOFTHEWORDOFGOD#
the lord bless you richly brother.
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