Refreshing Your Kingdom Perspective
Refreshing Your Kingdom Perspective
After my first 7 years of counseling (2007), I was burnt out and feeling hopeless about not seeing true healing or freedom in the lives of my clients, most of whom were Christian. So, I spent several years diving deep into Scripture, scouring its contents to discover the principles that could lead to lives transformed. This learning/maturing journey would last almost nine years, before it was truly birthed as the mindset training ministry it is today.
My first discovery? Deception and bondage begin in the mind. When Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, it indefinitely broke humankind, in the mind. God knew we did not need to have this information, for it would lead to suffering. Alas, Satan deceived them and convinced them they were missing out on information and power that God had, and they did not. This was a lie. Adam and Eve were made in the image of Father God, His Word and His Spirit and they had everything they needed in the Garden. But after that fateful day, they were left to their own devices, their own human reasoning.
Without total reliance on God, humans will instinctually rely on their wits, their intellect, and analysis of their circumstances. Which always causes believers to fall to fear, doubt, idolatry, and sometimes, all out rebellion against God. In the case of the Israelites, despite seeing many miracles, whenever they focused on their natural circumstances they would be left feeling afraid and full of doubt. Left without their prophetic leader (Moses) for a few days? They created and worshipped a golden calf. Fear of not having enough to eat? They tried to store up manna, just to see it rot before their eyes. Constricted to the wilderness? Because they saw giants in the promised land. You get the picture.
Throughout the Bible, whenever God’s people suffer it is because they are striving in their own strengths, relying on their human perceptions, and failing to trust and wait upon Him. Self-reliance and dependence on human intellect always results in pride. And pride is the root of all sin. The alternative? Being Holy Spirit-led and having the mind of Christ. Is this lifestyle uncertain, and at times, does it feel like you are blindly stepping off a cliff? Absolutely. Living the Kingdom way is not for the faint of heart, but it is so, so pleasing to the Lord. Like any good Father, He loves a trusting, obedient and love-pursuing child. As a parent, how does it feel when you know your kids are only being nice to you or seek to be around you to get something from you? On the contrary, it is oh-so-fulfilling when you know they just like (maybe even love) being in your presence, without ulterior motives or a selfish agenda. So is our relationship with the Lord.
And it is through this love-trust bond that the parent has permission to speak to the child, when their heart is soft, open and ready to receive. As the child grows, they will need to make more decisions based on the way their parents raised them, the ways in which they have been trained that will lead to a good life. So is it in the Kingdom. When we hear the Father’s voice we must obey, if we seek to live the abundant life Jesus came to give us. When we don’t hear His voice, then we keep doing what His Word says, and recall all the other times He has spoken to us, to remind ourselves of His faithful nature and that He never leaves us. When we need wisdom, we must ask the Holy Spirit and NOT rely on human reasoning, assuredly He will answer, but it might be in ways that do not seem logical or offer immediate remedy to our current circumstances. Some good questions to ask God in these frustrating times:
· What do you want me to know about this life situation Lord?
· What aspect of Your nature Lord would You like me to see or encounter in greater measure because of what I am going through?
· Is there a lie I am believing related to my circumstances that You want to expose that is keeping me from going deeper in relationship and revelation of Christ Jesus?
· What Christ-like attribute are You refining in me through this experience?
· Is there anything about my current circumstances that might be part of Your greater plan Holy Spirit, perhaps involving more lives than just my own?
***Be sure the answers you hear to these questions align with God’s Word.
It is through these types of conversations with Father God/Jesus/Holy Spirit that will lead you to be renewed of mind and anchored in soul. I encourage you to challenge your tendency to simply and quickly rely on your intellect or human perspective, both are easily corruptible and will often lead you to suffer more than necessary or miss out on a miracle.
More than anything, the Father is most concerned with the hearts of His children, His Bride. He is desiring laid-down lovers, confident sons and daughter who know they are loved and provided for by a good, good Daddy. Our earthly afflictions are temporary and producing a greater eternal glory beyond our imagination.
As believers, I’m praying we can continue to spur each other on during testing times, wilderness times, times when we see giants in the land, knowing there is always a Kingdom perspective that brings life, fruit, peace and most of all, a remembrance of what a mighty God we serve.
“Christ’s resurrection is your resurrection too. This is why we are to yearn for all that is above, for that’s where Christ sits enthroned in the place of all power, honor and authority. Yes, feast on all the treasures of the heavenly realm and fill your thoughts with heavenly realities, and not with the distractions of the natural realm.” -Colossians 3:1-2 TPT
