In this world life is more than eating bread.”
–Cliff Hudgins (Viejo and the Ranger)
“Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth; walk in the ways of your heart, and in the sight of your eyes; but know that for all these God will bring you into judgment.”
–Ecclesiastes 11:9 (NKJV)
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There is a Scripture that we should all take to heart, especially in the times in which we live. Not that it is not true in all times, but as children of God we need to get the truth of this verse engraved into our hearts.
“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” –2 Corinthians 5:7 (NKJV)
“For we live by faith, not by sight.” –2 Corinthians 5:7 (NIV)
Most versions follow the NKJV, but a couple say, as the NIV, “live by faith.” Now, there is really not much difference. As we walk through this life we are living. Either way we must have faith. Circumstances, situations, events, what are they in the light of eternity?
Often, far too often, we look at our Christian experiences and want to repeat them. All believers have experiences with God to one extent or another. The first is that of being born-again. What an experience. To now have eternal life; to now be part of the family of God. But there are times when perhaps God visited you in a special way. Have you noticed that when you go to the front to pray you tend to go to the same spot. Back in the day of altars, people would go to the place where God broke through to them once in a special way. They might even get in the same position–they remember the blessing, and that is not bad, for no one can take away a person’s experience.
Oswald Chambers wrote, “If we try to reintroduce the rare moments of inspiration, it is a sign that it is not God we want. We are making a fetish of the moments when God did come and speak, and insisting he must do it again,” is wrong. We look at the experience and do not focus on God. We want that same kind of blessing whereas God has something new, something different. That blessing was for a particular time, now we are to go forward in our walk. God wants us to walk by faith, not looking at a particular time when He blessed us.
“We never live for the rare moments, they are surprises,” continues Chambers. “God will give us touches of inspiration when he sees we are not in danger of being led away by them.” In my life I have seen many get carried away by the experience and forget God. As we walk/live by faith, maturity should come. We hold fast the experiences of the past, but we put ourselves in God’s hands and it is not healthy spiritually to live in a past experience. Think of Jacob’s wrestling match with the Lord. It was over when Jacob said he would not release the Lord until he received a blessing. The Lord spoke over Jacob, then touched his thigh, crippling him for life. Jacob didn’t stay in the “blessing,” he didn’t try to have the same touch of God to his life, but he went on in the blessing of the Lord–he continued his walk by faith.
Moments of inspiration are important to us. They help us along the way; they encourage us, comfort us, assure us, but they are not to be the standard of our walk with God. Chambers states, “We must never make our moments of inspiration our standards; our standard is our duty.” And what is that? “Fear God and keep His commandments,” (Ecclesiastes 12:13) Or we might use the Shorter Westminster Catechism, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.” That is your standard, not an experience, but a walk through life with God, every day, every hour giving Him glory.