Faith Reflections

31 Days toward Spiritual Maturity — Day 14

LEARNING FROM CHRIST – Directions for the Journey 

God can give us directions for our journey toward spiritual maturity.  There are five general ways that He does it.

Creation:  God reveals Himself through creation.  This is called general revelation because it’s not specific.  “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20)  We can learn some things about God and His ways from His creation, though this has its limits.

Circumstances:  God sometimes guides us by opening some doors of opportunity and closing others.  While he was on one of his missionary journeys, the apostle Paul had a change of plans forced on him by changing circumstances: “Because the Jews made a plot against him just as he was about to sail for Syria, he decided to go back through Macedonia.” (Acts 20:3b)  Sometimes when circumstances are beyond our control, God is using those circumstances to guide and control us.

People:  God can speak through the example or words of other people.  Sometimes He even speaks to us through their wrong actions or words!  The words of others that God uses can be encouraging, affirming, or wise counsel; other times they may be criticism that we’re supposed to hear.  The apostle Paul wrote about the time he was used by the Lord to speak such words to the apostle Peter: “When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong.” (Galatians 2:11)

The Holy Spirit:  The Lord also gives us input and guides us through the inner prompting of the Holy Spirit.  We may feel a tug pulling us a certain way or a sense of being checked that gives us pause about pursuing a certain course of action.  We may feel convinced or convicted by the Holy Spirit.  It was said of Jesus that He was “led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.” (Matthew 4:1)

The Bible:  The Bible contains many examples and stories of God’s working in this world, much teaching about how to live, and prayers that can be a guide to our own praying: “All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)  Of the five ways that God gives us input, the Bible is the most specific and detailed. On this journey toward spiritual maturity God provides us with needed direction.  We aren’t really in control of creation, circumstances, people, or the Holy Spirit, but we are in control of how much we open ourselves up to input from God’s Word through our reading and study of it.
Dave