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As believers in Christ Jesus we are spiritually unlimited, even though we do live with minds that do have limitations. Our abilities in God are often hindered because of the limitations of our minds as human beings, in its struggle for renewal with God.

Apostle Paul once highlighted this through his own personal experience. He said:

“For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭7:22-23‬ ‭NIV‬‬

By living according to the law of God, unlimited spiritual potentials became available to Paul. But he did struggled in bringing these potentials into manifestation, due to the hindrances placed by the law of sin and death in his mind. Yes, he was a great apostle of God; but he was still human just like any one of us.

The human mind is the center of the spiritual warfare, that we are engaged in against the devil. Our enemy works at all times to make us unstable in our minds, so that we may not be able to discover our full potentials in God; even as we live in accordance with God’s law.

 

Strengthened by the Holy Spirit

That is why the Holy Spirit is always there to help us in praying, so as to overcome those limitations (infirmities or weaknesses of the mind – Romans 8:26-27).

Note that the very Greek word used for “infirmity” in this scripture text, is the exact same word in meaning to the word often used for “weakness and physical illness” in the human body.

In other words if the enemy can make a believer unstable in the mind, he may succeed in making him unstable and eventually unhealthy in the physical body also.

The heart of man is the center of his life, which influences his mind and his body. Since the heart or the spirit of man can easily detect the law of God with the help of the Holy Spirit (Romans 1:19; John 14:26 and 16:7-11); therefore our reliance on the Holy Spirit becomes inevitable.

The Holy Spirit knows our hearts, just as He knows the heart of God towards us as we pray. His job is to strengthen us in those weaknesses and help us to be stable in our hearts, minds and bodies until we fulfill the will of God.

Peter at Joppa

Peter (for example) had some limitations in his physical body, while waiting to eat in order to break a fast at Joppa (Acts 10:9-13). He received grace to be stable while waiting to eat. Peter positioned himself for grace by going to the rooftop of the house, where he was staying to pray.

He was actually in the spirit as he prayed, even though his stomach was sending signals to his mind that he was hungry. Whenever we pray in the Holy Ghost we are in the spirit. In my personal opinion Peter must have been praying in tongues, when all of a sudden he fell into a trance.

It is amazing to note how God could use what Peter was going through, in his physical limitation to communicate spiritual truth to him, even with a very strong sense of humor.

The scriptures described his experience like this:

“He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭10:11-13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Of course God knew about the physical hunger for natural food in Peter’s stomach; but He was also trying to show Peter what He (God) is spiritually hungry for gentile souls also. What Peter saw caught him unprepared, even though God knew that he was able to handle it with the help of the Holy Spirit.

As Peter continued to wonder about what he had seen while praying, the Holy Spirit directed him to follow the visitors who had been sent to him from Cornelius. Peter remained steadfast and stable in the spirit, even as he struggled in his mind about what he had seen in the spirit while still obeying the Holy Spirit.

Eventually the Holy Spirit gradually unveiled before him the spiritual truth and understanding of the vision he had received, as he acted in obedience to go to Cornelius’ house.

Those who are always ready to obey God are easily led by the Holy Spirit into the will of God concerning their lives. If we need the Holy Spirit to guide us into the will of God for our lives, then we must first be willing and ready to obey what His written word to us says at all times. To walk in obedience to the Holy Spirit requires an act of faith in God. Our acts of obedience before Him by faith guarantees us peace with God.

The scripture says:

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭5:1-2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

When we wait before the Lord for direction concerning anything in life, we must never forget that His written word is always there to guide us. Faith in the written word of God gives us peace with God. That is why we need God’s word in our hearts, as we wait on Him. His word in us increases our level of grace with Him.

The scripture also says that:

“Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.”

‭‭John‬ ‭1:16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

It is the fullness of the Word of God in us that gives us grace to be stable. The Word of God is personified in Christ Jesus (Revelation 19:11-13), who physically walked on this earth, healing the sick and setting the captives free. Without the grace of God, the Father upon Him; He would had not been able to achieve all that He accomplished.

 

Stability in the midst of the Shakings

It is only God who can cause us to be stable and steadfast in that which He has committed to us:

Paul again told the Corinthians:

“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭15:58‬ ‭NIV‬‬

We will see many things being shaken away from us while we wait in His presence (Hebrews 12:26-29). There are many instances in life when I had waited personally for answers to prayers and directions from God. In many cases I had often seen God shake off people and circumstances out of my life completely, before answering those prayers. He does this always in order to give me the grace to be able to stand strong and steadfast in His presence, and not to be dependent on those people or those circumstances in my life which may want to compete with His glory.

Things that hinders us from freely proclaiming the gospel are shaken away as we stand firm and steadfast by faith in the midst of spiritual warfare, while waiting for the salvation of the Lord. But in the midst of all the shakings, we must remain stable and strong in God’s presence.

God’s grace will always keep us in the midst of the shakings, until we receive the manifestation of His Kingdom. The same grace will carry us on into glory with Christ Jesus.

God will definitely allow some shakings to take place in our lives, in order to prepare us for His glory. We were created for His glory alone. God never shares His glory with anyone or anything else.

 

Shakings are for the Change

Our stability in Him gives us hope and peace (Isaiah 26:3). That is why patience is essential for us to walk with God.

Jesus is never instant, neither are there any fast track through His way of doing things. He is constant, patient, steadfast and stable (Hebrews 13:8). We therefore must be ready to experience Him in the stability and constancy of our hearts by exercising our faith in Him. If you are not ready to walk by faith with God, you will never see His glory.

Job declared in the midst of his trial while waiting on the Lord:

“If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my warfare and service I will wait, till my change and release shall come.”

‭‭Job‬ ‭14:14 AMPC

Job realized that all His looses as he waited on the Lord were part of the shakings by God in his life, in order to prepare him for the change and the blessing as he remained steadfast before the Lord. God will shake us in order to shape us up for His glory. He is the all consuming fire.

 

Wisdom into Stability

The time of the shaking of things around us, is also the time for the shaping of new things to come into our lives. In other words spiritual shaking time is also shaping time before God. It is the time we need to be wise and draw strength from God’s word in preparation for greater things to come into our lives.

We do not need to be spending our time of waiting on the Lord, by diverging into the elementary things of this world which will all eventually fade away. Do not let the television and friends take your precious time with the Lord away from you. Get into the word, be fervent in the spirit always. Pray and be ready to obey the Lord.

King Solomon once said in the wisdom that God gave him:

“Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer;”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭30:25‬ ‭NIV‬‬

In other words summer time is the preparation time for winter. The summer time in this sense is the waiting period for the manifestation of that fullness of time. Remember there is always a time and a season for everything in life (Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8). The time of waiting is the time of strengthening by grace. Spend it wisely by borrowing from the example of the ants.

Wisdom and grace is essential to store up the word of God in our hearts, in preparation for what God has in store for a later season in our lives. But wisdom and knowledge itself comes from God alone, and it brings stability in the midst of the inconsistencies of life.

It takes grace to apply knowledge and wisdom in being stable. This is also a divine provision. We need not to be running “helter skelter”, while all that is required of us is to be stable and steadfast before God. His voice will come to you.

The Psalmist wrote:

“He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.””

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭46:10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Your waiting season is never wasted before the Lord. Spend it wisely.

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