Motivation Gets You Started, Discipline Brings You Forward II
Drawing from the previous article, every person is not birthed out of a vacuum but is purposefully brought into this world by divine providence to fulfill a divine purpose. When a person finds his purpose and motivation, a switch flips within his spirit connecting him with God’s infinite reservoir of blessings, power and wisdom. Without first desiring to know the Creator and to understand God’s purpose for him, his life becomes a relentless pursuit of earthly pleasures whose end is vanity and emptiness. As God has already blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, there is no necessity to work for the blessings per se as they have already been given. Instead, we should just focus on doing what is required of us; to be a blessing to the world. Hence, the focus should be on the discipline of loving God and doing His will and all that we need and desire shall be added to us (Matthew 6:33).
God knows our desires, and will fulfill them without our continual asking
When I was just a boy, I remember asking God for an opportunity to travel the world. When I turned 18, I felt God’s call in my life to become a pastor some day and I gave my life to Him. When the year came for me to quit my job and go to the bible school, my company made a decision to send me as an expatriate to the United States. This was part of a development program as I was a valued employee in my company. God told me that was in fact an answer to a prayer that I made years ago. I did travel the world with my wife and had the opportunity to work with different cultures. Although I did not remember the prayer, but God did.
God will keep His blessings flowing, when we keep doing His will
In my vocation as a pastor, I seek the anointing to perform miracles and heal the sick. I followed the teachings of well known evangelists and their paths towards the “anointing”. After several years, I finally decided that the gifts are not for me exacerbated by an incident that a 12 year old boy had then died in front of my eyes when I prayed for him. I was really convinced that being like Christ in His character would suffice as a pastor. I continued to serve the people faithfully as best as I could and did not seek the gifts. One fateful day, in the midst of my fasting, the power of the Spirit came tangibly all over me. At times it feels like fire, in other times, like cool running water and electric current. The gifts of healing and clairevoyant capabilities started to operate. I remember seeing the internals of a lady in India and describing the extent of the damage to her organs while praying for her in Singapore. People are getting healed when I pray from a distance and angels are sent when charged. I begin to realize that the blessings of power and authority were given although I stopped seeking them. God releases His blessings when I take my focus off the gifts and discipline my personal life to fulfill my calling.
For a very long time, I do not remember praying for anything other than for God to send more laborers into the harvest field. I keep God’s blessings flowing in my life and ministry by first exercising discipline over my personal life.
How do I exercise discipline over my Personal Life?
- The disciplines of the thought life
Let me hear Your lovingkindness in the morning; For I trust in You; Teach me the way in which I should walk; For to You I lift up my soul. Psalm 143:8
One important discipline is to keep our mindset transcendant; to forsake our earthly thinking patterns and adopt the heavenly mind of God. To fill our minds with His values system, His wisdom and power the first thing in the morning. To remove all mental hindrances to resonating with the higher thoughts of the Spirit.
Isaiah 55:9 say concerning the thoughts of God,
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:9
We exercise the discipline of the thought life in two stages:
- To acquire truths by meditating on God’s word. The truth installs the Spirit’s wisdom and values system into our mind equipping us to discern the will of God and not be deceived.
- To comprehend the Spirit’s thoughts and plans through empathizing and praying in the Spirit. Here, believers could will envisage the heavenly vision and work towards its fulfillment on earth.
The truth of the word becomes the prerequisite to understand the thoughts of the Spirit. Truths are basic building blocks much like vocabularies, while spiritual thoughts are like sentences. A mind that is saturated with truths allows the Spirit to communicate His thoughts and insights with greater clarity and profundity as compared to one who is a novice. By praying in the Spirit, God begin to reveal inadequacies and pessimism in my thinking patterns so that I may receive the heavenly mindset that believes that all things are possible with God.
The natural mind is meant to comprehend this natural world, but the blessings of the heavenly kingdom requires a heavenly mindset. Paul prays for believers to acquire this heavenly mindset in order to receive the heavenly blessings.
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, Ephesians 1:18
A believer who meditates on the truth and prays in the Spirit is in synch with the Spirit’s thoughts. He will be able to walk with God and do His work with power and accuracy.
Applications
- Do you start the day by first getting an understanding of God’s perspective on how your day should go? Start the day by meditating on God’s word and understanding the truth therein. Empathize with the mind of the Spirit and know His thoughts concerning you.
Dear Lord, I humble myself and acknowledge that I lack understanding in the ways of righteousness. As I open my mind to your Spirit, fill me with your thoughts. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.