Wind in your Sails
The power of a vessel lies in its aspiration. (Espiritus). Sometimes that aspiration is wind, sometimes it is a motor, sometimes it is the nitty gritty power of your own body. Getting to know your vessel thoroughly will better equip you to understand the power source that serves that vessel best. Whatever the power source, they all need a healthy dose of wind or spirit. People receive this spirit in many different ways. For some it is listening to inspiring music, for others it is a quiet time observing nature, and for others it is immersing themselves in a crowd of people. Whatever this spirit of movement is, it needs to be observed to be guided by the true spirit that never dies, that is, the spirit of God. There are three seaworthy tools to help discover this true spirit.
The first and best way to come to know God’s spirit is to interact with others who know it well. “For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the spirit the things of the spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death but the mind set on the things of the spirit is life and peace” (roman 8:5-6) Observing how authentic Christians live is the easiest way to assimilate His spirit into your own life. It is for this reason Jesus came to earth, to show the way back to God the Father and His spirit. If it was simply to die, God would have allowed him to be killed under Herod’s slaying of the innocence and it would have been enough. His example gave us life and light to follow him courageously.
The second way to know His spirit is to engage in studying the written word of those who “the church” commonly accepts as having lived by His spirit (reading the bible stories). By engaging in honest prayer and His written word, both of these will lead to a better understanding on what truly is God's spirit. After all, it is often GOD’s words verbatim. While in prayer it is good to remember God’s word will never violate natural law or universal truth. Having this confidence helps one more quickly decide on which way to act. As with anything, it takes time to become an expert in the subtleties of this discernment of spirits. Having a wise spiritual mentor is a great avenue to sifting the wheat from the chaff in your life. The true litmus test though, does that action lead to the fruits described in Galatians 5:22-23?.
The third way to know His spirit is to examine the common tenor of your life. Is it filled with strife, or a carefree and light spirit? Either of these circumstances can point to His spirit active in your life. If by strife, many times it is due to false idols leading your life. Not putting that inner voice of peace as the head master of your life can often be the cause of trouble as well. It takes examination of your mind and heart to determine if the current difficult circumstances in your life are from a lack of authentic faith, or a lack of turning to the knowledge that GOD PROVIDES if you would but listen and follow his voice (Hebrews 3:15).
If the tenor is mostly peace, joy and love, focus more of your attention on returning in thanksgiving for these great fruits and listening deep inside to where He wishes for you to bestow those gifts on others. There is opportunity in either circumstance to know how God and you are acting with one another. He is there and is active if you but pause and observer the where and how of His actions. This requires a humbleness of heart which leads me to the last point of knowing God’s spirit.
The last way to know God’s true, undying spirit in your life requires a humbleness of heart. Afterall, God already knows your heart. However, to manifest your truest heart, it is on you to come to know your heart so that you are forthright and upright before GOD (being HIMSELF). By casting out shame, doubt and fear, you can become honest. Once honest you come to live in the confidence of a child of God (Romans 8:14) “for all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God" and (Romans 8:16) “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God.” The only way to truly cast out this shame doubt and fear, is to understand you are anointed, you are CHRIST. By acknowledging through baptism that you are a part of the body of Christ Jesus, you can be assured that you too are ANNOINTED or CHRIST. Therefore, BELIEVE (John 20:27)!
In summary, if you want to know what the undying spirit of your life is (the motivating aspiration that you can rely on without any fear of being on the wrong path) you must come to truly know your own heart. In order to get to know your own heart you need the utmost honesty and vulnerability to call a spade a spade. For (romans 8:27) “he who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God”. Since God already knows your heart, it’s on you to come to know your own heart in order to have forward movement in your life. Dishonesty about one’s heart is a common area that holds back God’s blessings which he wishes to pour out on the world through you. It’s time to get honest with where your heart truly is. This will often times require a letting go of characters in your life that don’t want to see your heart. Those characters could be in your own mind/psyche (voices in your head) or it could be co-dependents in your life that don’t wish for you to change since doing so exposes their lies. This is where a good honest friend, prayer, or even a humble councilor can help sort the wheat from the chaff so to speak…. Peace will be the fruit of knowing your own heart and letting it shine in the world without any shame.
Once a person comes to know their truest spirit of heart, confidence in course of direction will become clear. This direction is inspired by the spirit of God in the ASPIRATIONS he guides you with. Through learning by other’s examples of GOD’s spirit, engaging in scripture and prayer, and examining the common tenor of your life, you become way more in tune with the truthful promptings of the spirit of GOD. This is known by searching your clear and honest heart for your ASPIRATION (Romans 8:27), producing the fruits of His spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)
Once you have this confidence of your truest spirit, it will be time to put that spirit into motion. That wind in your sails might take power by sail, might take power by a motor, or it might take power by your body (your own lungs and aspiring body). From a true and honest heart, the joy of life begins to unfold. For “a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors me” (Psalm 50:23) and “God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7).
This is where the fun begins as excitement is undeniable when you find your place in life. This excitement comes from finding the people places and things that bring INSPIRATION and ASPIRATION that most easily resonates with an honest heart that is true to its authentic being. As we described in the previous article on vessel knowledge, God will never require anything a vessel isn’t capable of. Once we have discovered the type of power our vessel is best served by, it will be time to reflect on a few other critical items needed before embarking on this journey of the LAIKE life.
In our next article we will discuss a direction and purpose, followed by a medium to ride on, and lastly an anchor to hold steady when in port. I’m Looking forward to sharing more seaworthy tools in this pursuit of the LAIKE life.