When we had painting jobs that had to be done in a hurry, one of
my favorite painters, Jose from El Salvador, had a saying that made us laugh and
eased the stress. He’d cock his head sideways, raise his eyebrows, and put on a
quirky smile as he slowly drew the words out, “Dooon’ puuush me.” We all
adopted the saying and loved it.
Sometimes we want to say that to the Lord. He challenges us to go a
little further with Him and we hesitate or resist. “I’m pretty comfortable right
here. I pray regularly, read my Bible pretty often, tell others about Jesus,
minister healing occasionally. I’m actually pretty happy with things the way
they are. I’m not sure want to change things right now.”
But usually the Lord lovingly lets us know, “You’re doing great
with where you are now but I’ve got something new for you now if you’ll accept
it.”
Once He’s got us, He wants us to have the whole package. He wants
us to grow. “Then He [Jesus] said, “What
is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? It is like a mustard seed, which a man
took and put in his garden; and it grew and became a large tree” (Luke
13:18-19). In Luke 17:21 Jesus tells us “the kingdom of God is within you.”
The seed of God’s kingdom is a living thing and it’s supposed to
grow like the mustard seed into a large tree within us. There’s nothing in the
Word of God that says once we’ve learned a certain amount of Bible, we have the
right to just stop the tree from growing any more. Quite the opposite.
The Holy Spirit just keeps gently encouraging us to go further,
learn more. In Revelation 3:20 Jesus says, “Behold, I stand at the door, and
knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and
will sup with him, and he with me.” That’s not a onetime thing. The Lord
continues to pay us a visit if we will let Him come in and spend the time.
Second Corinthians 5:14 says, “The love of Christ constraineth
us.” That means He just keeps coming, imploring us to experience more of His
presence and the new things He wants to show us. We never have to be
afraid. Jesus said, “I am with you always, even unto the end of the world”
(Matt 28:20).
We can usually recognize when we’re being challenged to go further.
We’ll start to get an idea on our heart and it comes up from different angles: in
conversation, on the internet, in Bible teachings, etc. That’s often how God
lets us know He is trying to get us to pay attention and take a closer look.
Think about it. What is the Lord maybe nudging you with lately?
Love, Carolyn
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