Sometimes we as Christians forget what we were created for. God created us to be in relationship with Him and to spread His Word. The thing is, sometimes we try to do one and leave out the other, or worse... we try to just go through the motions and not worry about authenticity.
Maybe I'm talking in circles; let me go back....
To be a Christian you have to have a relationship with Christ. That's better isn't it? More clear. Our faith several times in the Bible is referred to as a race. Here are the verses in the concordance of my Bible:
- "It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding. It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race." -Psalm 19:5 (NLT)
- "Don't you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win!" - 1 Corinthians 9:24 (NLT)
- "I went there because God revealed to me that I should go. While I was there I met privately with those considered to be leaders of the church and shared with them the message I had been preaching to the Gentiles. I wanted to make sure that we were in agreement, for fear that all my efforts had been wasted and I was running the race for nothing." - Galatians 2:2 (NLT)
- "You were running the race so well. Who has held you back from following the truth?" - Galatians 5:7 (NLT)
- "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful." - 2 Timothy 4:7 (NLT)
- "Therefore since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us." - Hebrews 12:1 (NLT)
We are to run this race strong, but as a person I admire once said, sometimes we just want to sit on the sidelines and cheer everyone else on, but we're done. Some of us slow up.... and eventually, if we don't take it to God.... we sit down. We are watching everyone zip by running hard... but we're just too tired....
Then someone comes to sit beside us.... someone who is going to tell us that it's okay we chose to sit out... that someone is Satan....
Satan is the father of all lies... and so he will lie to you. He will even go as far as twisting the truth to make it fit what he is saying.... Satan will tell you that you have fought the good fight, but you're finished now, you've done your part and remained faithful so it's okay for you to sit down now...
It will make sense... so you'll believe him because... well quite honestly you want to believe him. You're just so tired.... Trust me, I understand.... I've been there and recently at that, but we can't trust him. As I said he is the father of all lies. Yes, the race isn't easy, but God can strengthen you. Yes, you are going to be overwhelmed with weariness but God can give you rest and replenish your energy.
Getting Back Up Again
The longer you've sat the harder it is. When you are working on getting healthy it requires time, effort, exercise and eating right. If you do that for a while, your body will adjust to all of these things and they will become easier for you. However, while it takes time to become healthy it takes no time at all to get unhealthy. If you stop exercising and eat nothing but junk it will be incredibly difficult for you to get back into your healthy routine. It's the same with your spiritual health. If you sit down on the sideline and allow Satan to fill your heart with a bunch of junk, it's going to be harder than you imagined to start running again, and may even require some open heart surgery from God.
What is Spiritual Open Heart Surgery?
Spiritual open heart surgery, at least to me, is when you bring absolutely everything to the Lord without holding back. It's every secret, every lie, every bit of shame and guilt, every sin.... leaving nothing out even though He already knows.... Telling Him everything as if He didn't know. It's getting real with God and opening up your heart so that He can go in and do some surgery that is probably going to be very painful, but surgery that will be worth every bit of that pain.
If a doctor told you that there was something wrong with your heart and said the only way to fix it.... the only way you would be able to continue living would be to have open heart surgery, you would probably take the surgery. It would be very painful, but it would be worth the pain. Why? Because the pain that you endure is only for a season, but the reward is for a lifetime. The same situation occurs here. A season of pain for an eternity of living.
A Friend to Come Alongside You
Above I mentioned that when you sit down on the sideline the enemy comes to sit beside you. He sits down to fill your heart with all of that junk, but if you have a friend and accountability partner, a battle buddy to give you a hand up, you may be able to avoid the pain of this open heart surgery.
"Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble."
-Ecclesiastes 4:9 (NLT)
As you run the race there are going to be times where you trip or stumble and fall. During those times it's always good to have a friend to help you up. In the same way, if you run with a battle buddy and you keep an open line of communication between you and that person, that person can stop you from sitting down or pull you back up when you do.
To be more clear here is the picture that comes to mind when I think about this. I'm running a race, I'm surrounded by people who love and care about me and I wear out, I fall back and then fall out, walking over and sitting on the side line. One of those people (if I have chosen to be open and honest with them) will more than likely jog to me and, in love, correct me while reaching their hand out to pull me back up. They come alongside me before the enemy has a chance to start filling my heart with junk.
If you read the blog that I posted a few days ago then you may be asking why there was no one to come alongside me.... Well there was, in fact I have plenty of people that (had I been open with them) would have surrounded me.... but I chose to keep everything locked up.... I didn't share how I was feeling and so now I am having to have that spiritual open heart surgery. The Lord's hands are deep at work in my heart trying to fix everything I let get so gunky. Had I kept that open line of communication with the amazing people God has placed in my life, I probably wouldn't have even leaned toward the sideline. In fact, I may not have even had the chance. So don't make the same mistake; be open with the people God has placed in your life and if you don't have that battle buddy, find someone. Pray and ask God to send someone. Just don't run alone.
Avoiding Spiritual Open Heart Surgery
- If you don't have a relationship with Jesus, get one. It's not rocket science. You need Him! Everyone needs Jesus!!! There isn't even a question. How? Admit you are sinner, believe Christ died for your sins, and confess your sins to God bringing EVERYTHING to Him and leaving nothing out (remember, He already knows but still wants you to tell Him).
-Romans 10:9-10 (NLT)
- Get in the Word. Read, read, read your Bible. Some people tell you to start in the book of John. I've heard someone say that they found it easier to start in Corinthians 1 and 2. You may be different. Just read. Ask God to speak to you and then open His Word.
- Pray! Communication with God is very important. He is always there, He is always ready to listen. Get on your knees until they are raw, cry out to God until you have no voice or maybe you just simply need to talk to Him. Prayers don't have to be elaborate monologues. Prayer is a conversation between you and God. Open up your heart be real with Him, and then be still and quite, allowing Him to speak to you.
All of this being said it's always good to have a battle buddy. If you've just accepted Christ or even if you have been in a relationship with Christ, God never intended for you to go through life alone. He intended for us to have community with each other. We all need mentors, friends and accountability partners (which may be found in the mentors and friends) to help us as we run this race. A pastor I know once said that our mentors are like pace setters in a race. In a race you find a pace setter that is going at a pace you can handle and keep pace with them (I'm not a runner but it goes something like that). Anyway, the same works for a mentor. A mentor is your pace setter in the greatest race of all and the idea is that you keep pace with them, learning from them as you go. Not to mention keeping that open line of communication. Mentors pray for you and are there to help you stay the course. You are meant to surround yourself with people like this. Let me give you a couple of different translations of a verse that kind of clarifies what I am saying:
"Plans go wrong for lack of advice; many advisers bring success." - Proverbs 15:22 (NLT)
"Without counsel, plans go awry, But in the multitude of counselors they are established."
-Proverbs 15:22 (NKJV)
Mentors, godly friends, and accountability partners are advisers. They are pace setters and we all need them. Even if you are someone's mentor you still need people to mentor you.
This is not a one person job; it is a community effort. This faith, this race is a body of believers working together as one to keep each other going. To help each other remain spiritually healthy in order to avoid the pain of spiritual open heart surgery.
May each and everyone of us run strong the race that is set before us, helping our brothers and sisters to stay the course as we go, so that at the end of this life, when we cross the finish line we can hear.... "Well done my good and faithful servant."
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us." -Hebrews 12:1 (NLT)
May the Lord bless you all exceeding abundantly beyond all you could ever ask or imagine in Jesus' Name! :)
