The undivided heart

Is 43:18 "Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old.19 Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert.
Are you living in the past? Or are you trying to re-create the past where you are? Some times when we dwell on things of old we miss the exciting new thing God has for us to do. When we try to re-create the past, it opens our heart up to resentment, to be critical or to frustration because the past is not meant to be re-created. Take time today to ask the Lord to help you not to consider the things of old, but to clearly see the new and exciting road He has created in the wilderness so you can walk in it.
(Unknown)
Our pastor sent this out to the church body the other day and it got me to thinking about the way we grow in Christ. We grow in our faith, from infancy (brand new believer) to mature Christ-centered adulthood. We actually may never reach spiritual adulthood eventhough this is the goal. It is a life long journey, yet sometimes we tend to look back and envy our past relationship with God and forsake the new growth He wants us to take hold of.

At first, as a new believer, we are so unfamiliar with God’s ways. We are newly re-born into unfamiliar territories, however, the overwhelming peace is confirmation that God is good and He will take care of our needs. God proves this in many small and large ways, when we are first saved so that we have instantaneous proof of His provision, goodness, and faithfulness to take care of us. He protects us from some of the repercussions of the poor choices we made before we came to know Him, by covering them with His abundant grace. He also allows us to suffer some of the consequences of these choices, so we will not turn back to make the same errors again. In His effort to keep us near His feet, He continues to protect us from further poor choices by surrounding us with older believers to hold us accountable while also limiting our temptations/circumstances to only what we can bear. We can rest in the fact that God will always have an ‘escape plan’ waiting for us if we do make a ‘wrong turn’. When we realize we are ‘in the wrong place at the wrong time’ and the current surroundings are dangerous to our re-birth in Christ, He is faithful to provide us a way of escape. Just as infants look to their mom to keep them safe, God so desperately wants to do the same for us. He will move heaven and earth to keep us from making choices that will harm us. He will woo us in this manner to capture our heart and so we learn to hear and trust his still small voice over the booming voices of the world around us.
After we grow a bit we become even more ‘mobile’ in our walk with the Lord. We are learning and growing through every biblestudy we attend, and at every quiet time invested with the Lord. Basically, figuring out how to shed the "old man" and become the new creature created in Christ’s image. We become quite aware that there is a serious spiritual battle going on around us, and the war is waged over our eternity. While exploring the world through our new eyes, decisions become a big deal where we truly begin to desire to be in the center of God’s will. Because the battle of the flesh and the spirit is still very new, we begin asking God to protect us from ourselves. It is clear that hearing His will for us is a learning process. How God wants to do things may be at odds with how we have always done them but that desire to follow the Lord is what God sees. Therefore, He is faithful to place road blocks to protect us from stepping out of His will. It is very much like a child who is learning to crawl and explore the world around them. They are ignorant to what is out there that might hurt them. So, we as parents, provide safe places for them to play such as a playpen or we put up baby gates to keep them out of places where they might be harmed. We use barriers/boundaries because we love them and they are not yet old enough to understand the dangers that an older child understands as harmful.
As they grow a little more, become more mobile, parents begin the training process. We begin removing barriers to teach discernment of right and wrong, safe and unsafe. Coming alongside them & train them to obey because it will lead them down a path of righteous living. We begin to teach them in the bible the WHY behind discernment of right and wrong. This is very similar to God training us in our walks with Him. Just like with our children it is a life long process of teaching, reproof, encouragement and love invested with the ultimate goal of obedience and an allegiance to Christ.

In the teen years, this is usually when God ‘shakes us loose’ from this dependence on the former ways of living out God’s will. Since teenagers tend to be fickle & flakey based on how they feel in the moment, this is another indicator that we need to be putting on the mind of Christ. We seek the Lord and He may not provide an instant answer. He asks for more of our walk in order that we further die to self so that be can really LIVE for Him. We, being teens, may chose to rebel when we don’t receive our answer immediately, by maneuvering in front of the Lord and then, expect God to again protect us from ourselves. When we do this, we risk our flesh getting too wrapped up in what we are pursuing. We grasp at circumstances to justify or confirm the pursuit. Finally, in a last ditch effort to "not go outside of God’s will", we then wonder why we are SO conflicted and not able to discern His will over our own agenda/circumstances.

In our walks with the Lord growing up is a longer process for some more than others. Some people remain babies for far too long and desire spiritual milk rather than the training process of discernment, reproof & seeking the Lord diligently. It is the spiritual weaning process where we are no longer caudaled in the decision making process. God has established enough of a relationship with us where we can begin to weigh all decisions on the basis of knowing scripture and seeking His will for the direction of our lives. It is also the time where He removes many of the remaining barriers in order to grow us up and teach us to seek and trust Him more.
It is confusing to see mature Christians resort to the things of old & the former ways of God working in their life. Asking God to place barriers where we should and should not go, when instead we should be asking for direction before seeking any opportunity. It is much like grown children asking to be given a bottle again. Once we have grown past our the toddler years in Christ and are spiritually eating solid foods, there should not be this unhealthy dependence to ask for the former relationship of barriers & limitations in our path to figure out God’s will. Instead we should be so intimate in our walk with the Lord, that He has every opportunity to make His plan for us abundantly clear. We can therefore, step out in an obedient confidence, through scriptural confirmation, that we are moving forward in His will.
1 Corinthians 3:1 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able;
Hebrews 5: 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. 13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. 14 But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
God wants our loyalty to Him first……... He warns us to seek Him first, because He already knows our needs. If we don’t diligently seek and continue seeking to get an answer BEFORE following in our pursuit, God is not in it. Without God being at the forefront, we run the risk of becoming double-minded. The pursuit of God in an effort to follow His will is never the easy route, but it is the route that keeps us from have a flakey, divided heart.
James 4: 7 So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.
Matt 6: 31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Matthew 7: 7"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. 9"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!