Flesh vs. Spirit - Stephen Weinhardt

Have you ever felt like standing in a hallway? Like you would need a direction, a signal, a word or just something or anything that would show you how to move on, what step to take next but nothing seems to happen? I believe that each and everyone of us knows that feeling. And it can get really challenging. Especially when we feel like our time is running out but you feel that God is still waiting and nothing is really changing. It could be a sickness, a difficult marriage, singleness, loss of a job, loss of a loved one, waiting for a child, or just simply a graduation. We have many examples in the Bible that show us similar stories or situations. How about Noah who was building the ark in the desert for approximately 75 years. How about our famous Abraham, how did he wait for his promised son? How about Joseph after his brothers sold him to Egypt or when he was imprisoned? How about Moses who spent 40 years in the desert before God called him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and then he had to wait another 40 years wandering through the desert towards the promised land? Or how about David whom Saul loved first but later became his enemy and chased him for about 4 years? There are so many more stories in the Bible about someone waiting on God, and not only for a few days but for weeks, months and years. How did these people spend those times of waiting? As we know, not all of them were able to wait faithfully. But we don’t want to raise our fingers to judge them. Rather, how do we deal with the times of waiting? With the times in the hallway where we seem to be alone, where every door seems to be closed and maybe we only glimpse a tiny window if we look up? I believe, that God is using those times for something good. He wants to see, how we react and behave in the hallway. If we get desperate, hopeless and depressed Or, if we look around us to see if there are other people in the hallway waiting just like us, who might need our encouragement, advice, a listening ear or simply a smile. How do we act in the hallways of our lives? A few days ago I had a conversation with someone about the “waiting in a hallway” and he said that sometimes it’s not easy to wait in the hallway. He sees it more as a desert. A plant challenged by drought learns to develop stronger roots. And that this is exactly the case in our spiritual life. Looking back, we see that God meant it well and that we were allowed to grow through our situation. Let us trust in God during the process, during the wait in the hallway and keep in mind that the hallway is just a season, not a destination, which God can and wants to use for our good, if we are willing to follow him and seek his will.

God has been teaching me so much during my stay here at Legacy, through the study of His Word. One of the most dominant lessons lately has been to surrender my ideas, hopes and dreams to Him. To surrender means to cease resistance and submit to an authority. To surrender, I must trust. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6  I serve the One with ultimate power and authority. Life is not “all gas no breaks” as lots of us young people seem to think sometimes. I have always said that I want whatever God wants for me but how will I know what that is? First, I must truly surrender my deepest hopes and dreams to Him in prayer and display my intent with my actions. I have begun to write my prayers down so that I can look back and praise God for the principles He's taught me and the wrongs He's convicted me of in my everyday habits and practices. Am I intentionally examining myself, my motives? How can I require His guidance while overlooking surrender to the things He has already given me in his word! I am called to be his steward here on earth. Verse 25 of Psalm 73 says: “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.” I have been asking myself ever since the first weeks of this year, is this verse a reality in my life? Deep down, if I do not get what I am hoping for out of this life, will I still praise Him and be content in Him? Does He fulfill my deepest desires or am I reserving that for something else? Am I experiencing true intimacy with my Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ? These are the challenges set before me and I can say, by the grace of God, I will strive to be obedient to the Holy Spirit no matter what my feelings may dictate. This life I have is a gift, I was not brought into this World to fulfill my desires but to shine the Light of the Gospel to those in darkness. Gods' way is best. “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” Galatians 2:20