Lately I have been getting back into studying the Bride of Christ. While I was studying, the Lord brought to me a word of encouragement. It seemed that for a while I have been feeling like there has been no growth in my life right now. It has been rough and at various times discouraging to myself. I was praying to the Lord this morning that I need understanding and wisdom. My thoughts were not His thoughts and I needed them to be His thoughts. He brought me to a certain page in a book entitled, "The Bride", Dc. Brian J. Bailey. On this page the authored talked a little bit about the seasons. He says this, "We know that they repeat themselves--the spring brings rain and thus, new growth; the summer is the season where the crop matures; the fall brings the harvest; and the winter when there is apparently no growth, yet during which time something unseen is happening deep within the earth" (Bailey 5).
In the natural, there are a lot of people who do not like winter. In-fact many people move to the hotter climates so that they don't have to put up with that season and all that it brings. Whether we realize it or not it is the same in the spiritual. We may not know immediately when it is spiritually summer, spring, fall, or winter, but over time we will know what season we are in. Many do not like winter because it is the time where a hidden work is being performed. Very few people like not knowing what is going on. Man-kind tends to be one who likes to always have all the cards laid out right in front of them so that they can see everything.
I say this to you all because I am going through the winter period right now. I want to encourage any one else who may be in this season (spiritually) too--do not give up! Keep trusting in the Lord and allow Him to do that hidden work in you. For those who are married, you want your spouse to trust you when you make a decision, right? When you first get married this process of trust is a learning process. It is obtained over a period of time of being together. Just as it is in the natural so it is in spirit. Christ too wants His Bride to learn to trust in Him and not doubt His every action. We learn to trust the Lord most during the winter time when we cannot feel or see anything.
Dc. Bailey continues to say this, "In our own spiritual lives, this is a very important principle we have four seasons that continually revolve. Within these periods God never does exactly the same work in our lives, but continually changes that work with the seasons" (Bailey 5). During this period we will struggle with many different things. God doesn't deal with the same thing in us for the rest of our life. He does a work in one area and as we submit that area to Him and allow Him to do that work, the next time it will be in a different area.
In my conclusion I want to bring in Romans 6:6. Christ wants His Church to experience being crucified with Him. He wants us to know when an area of our lives has been crucified with Him and to proclaim it! We must keep our eyes opened and set on Christ. The enemy desires to undo the work that God has completed in our lives. Keep your eyes set on Him. We are the Bride of Christ and we must Never, Never, Never Give up!
God Bless!
If you are interested in studying this yourself and want to order your own book, "The Bride" by: Dc. Brian J. Bailey, go to: http://www.zcpublishers.com/bride.html it is only $8.64 (including tax).
No comments:
Post a Comment