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Heart-training — Continued... |
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Problems to Avoid!
Unexpected Reactions One common reaction in the early stages of Heart-training, is that as one area begins to change, another area may become a problem. Often it is something that has never before been an issue. I think what is happening is that as you "die" to one area and then another, your heart begins to look to other options—anything except God. You are growing toward God, but you just aren't there yet. Keep calming your heart with the truth. But be sure to keep watching yourself for clues about the new ways you are trying to fill yourself—adjust your heart-training accordingly.
Motivation The more your heart hears that you don't have to exalt and honor yourself in order to drink, the more your normal basis for motivation will decrease. This means your heart-training is being effective. You just can't stay there! Heart-training helps you learn to exalt and honor the Lord from the heart. When this happens, fear decreases and motivation becomes much more steady and strong than ever before. It was ugly news to me to learn how much my entire basis for motivation was just to avoid the pain of knowing my humanity just didn't have the glory I wanted. If you find this is true for you also, remind yourself that you are not alone. At that point, your new project will be to train your heart to find motivation in exalting God—with every activity and action you make. Heart-training! has an entire section dedicated to changing your basis for motivation.
The Panic from being Overwhelmed by Hope The process of repentance can sometimes produce so much hope that we react with fear. The tendency for some at that point is to sabotage themselves with sin. The thinking is that if we mess up we won't be "good enough" for God and will have to stay away. The problems here are that the person is still in the early stages of repentance and there is still a great tendency to fall back on works rather than grace. Yes, there can be a lot of fear that "I won't be able to maintain this." That is when hope turns to fear and fear becomes panic. It is best to watch for those times when you are not all worked up in a panic and use that time for heart-training. It is important to expect that this problem is a possibility. But even more than that, it is vital to begin heart-training before the problem occurs. Hit hard on the area of directing your heart to stand firm in your hope toward God and in what the Bible says about your being able to change. Thank the Lord often that I don't have to sabbotage myself with sin because I can change and God is GOOD -- He can and will quench my thirst for His presence." Direct your heart away from having to be afraid by rejoicing in the truth that you don't have to perform for God in order to experience His presence intensely. I struggled with panic and sabotage myself. The heart-training is what helped me to change. I believe it can help you too.
A Caution About Who "I am" in Christ Common ways of applying who "I am" in Christ greatly increases our sense of confidence and security. That is a good thing. Many would say that it is a confidence that is from God and I would agree with that. But is it a confidence and security that is from the presence of God around us? It is not. The emphasis today of who we are in Christ has greatly helped a lot of Christians. But there is a danger. The danger is in not having a clear understanding and application of what it means to be "in Christ." Being in Christ is far more than another way of saying that you are a Christian. Being in Christ means that we are inside the presence of Christ. Fish are in water and water is in the fish. That is how we should think of being in Christ. The problem is that religious pride results when a person declares who "I am" in Christ and they only think of being in Christ as being in some kind of special club. We have "Christianized" the worlds version of self-esteem. God as the "I AM" who is with us is a completely different approach from the emphasis today on who "I am" in relation to Christ. Who we are in Christ is powerful! Who we are in relation to Christ holds profound and deep truths that have been a source of great preaching down through the centuries! You can spend your whole life focusing on who we are in Christ and go far. I am only saying that the way we apply it falls far short of what God intended. What I observe is this. Many — if not most Christians who focus on who "I am" in Christ become so confident in themselves that the need to abide and drink from God appears to actually be diminished. I believe that the cause is because the emphasis placed on who "I am" meets a need for confidence that stunts our need to actually abide in Him. Think of it from a motivational standpoint. The practical motive for abiding is a driving emotional need to find refuge, a sense of strength, and God as our glory. When our focus is on who "I am" in relation to Christ the emotional need to abide in God isn’t there because the need is being met by confidence in who "I am." Yes it may be a confidence that is because of God but it is not a confidence that is from the presence of God as our "I AM." There is another problem. Emphasis about who "I am" in Christ puts the pressure of faith on us and not on God. What happens when life gets difficult? If you have been trying to believe who "I am" the critical point of faith is on who you are and not on who God is to you. In contrast, when the emphasis is properly placed on our being "in Christ" we are made confident and strong. But it is a humble kind of confidence because it is not about who "I am." It a humble confidence because our being "in Him" is clearly the cause. Our confidence must be from who God is to us, who God has made us, who we are because of what God has done! If not then it is religious pride. Our heart-training needs have a conscious and planned focus on the presence of God and who He has made us or our heart won’t hear it. When preach to yourself about who you are in Christ your confidence should get stronger because the kingdom of God is here. God is close and He is your "I AM!" That is much greater reason to be confident than who "I am." Without a direct and conscious effort to train our heart to hear about who we are because of what God has done we won’t get it. The problem is because pride in ourselves is too easy. When preaching to yourself about who you are in Christ please take the extra time it takes to focus on who God has made you, who you are because of what Christ has done. Then pause for a moment to enjoy the closeness of God! During that moment let yourself feel confidence because God is close. If you do this, your motivation to stand before the Lord will increase because the emotional need for God won’t be diminished by spiritual pride.
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I am praying for the Lord's abundant blessing on your efforts to direct your heart toward Him.
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Heart-training — Continued...
(C) Barry Hall 1999 Information on this site may be reproduced for personal or for instructional purposes if it is not being used for resale. If a page is distributed for instructional purposes, the web address must be included. Printed quotes must include the authors name and the web address. Quotes for use in publications intended for resale need the written permission of the author. All rights reserved. Scriptures are taken from the updated NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, © Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1987, 1988, The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. Other scriptures are from the New International Version or Amplified Bible as noted. Bold emphasis in the scriptures quoted here has been added by the author of this site. |
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