Clearing Spiritual Vitality Roadblocks
Faith stagnation and doldrums . . . we all have them. But we hate to admit it. Sometimes we coast a bit before we realize we’ve hit a rather major roadblock to our spiritual vitality.
The Lord said to Joshua (7:13 NASB), “You cannot stand before your enemies until you have removed the things under the ban from your midst.”
Obstacles weaken your resolve and ability to defeat your adversaries. What do you need to remove to stay sharp, alert to your calling, your assignment from the Lord? You’ve got enemies of your faith and belief in Jesus. There’s a war out there. Mark 1 gives some keys and clues to why you may have hit an impasse in your spiritual growth.
~~ First, Daily Fess Up
Mark 1:5, “And all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.”
Let’s cut to the core. Spiritual vitality requires transparent confession of any and all sin. Begin in the privacy of your closet. Then, confess before God, to anyone you offended, and if it’s a public sin, also come clean openly at an appropriate place, like the folks did at this outdoor baptism service. Some sin should be confessed to the fellowship of believers.
James 5:16, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed.”
Failure to consistently confess sin stifles spiritual growth.
The Unclog Cure
Corinda was in a spiritual rut, an orderly, well-mannered one. Sundays filled up with church meetings morning and evening. Wednesday morning meant Bible study. She cooked monthly for the Youth Club meals, tithed to the church, and supported an orphanage in Taiwan. She’d been an active supporter of the Billy Graham Association too.
But every time she heard someone talk about a deeper spiritual life, or about someone leading others to the Lord, or called to a new ministry, she felt slighted because she didn’t have those kinds of stories to tell. She stayed stuck on routine. Here’s the cure for Corinda and others like her.
Mark 1:8,12, “‘I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit'” . . . And immediately the Spirit impelled Him to go out into the wilderness.”
Corinda needs the release of the Holy Spirit within her, to allow Him to control her. The person of the Holy Spirit dwells in all who confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. He brings assurance and power for daily living and appoints spiritual gifts.
We sing, “Fill my cup, Lord,” but the Holy Spirit is more than a cup of water. He’s like a roaring river. We tubed down the rivers in Idaho. It’s possible to get behind a large enough rock in a strong river and prop yourself behind and not go anywhere. But if you pick up your legs and hold onto the tube, you’ll be moved down a river of excitement. The same is true with the Holy Spirit. You can impede what He wants to do in your life. Ask Him daily to work through you. Allow God to release His Spirit. You won’t drown but the ride will never be dull or boring.
Corinda’s Journey
One Sunday a guest speaker at church challenged Corinda to let the Holy Spirit control her life. She wanted to do that so she prayed in her careful way, “God, I’m willing to do whatever you want me to. I will not turn down any ministry opportunity, if I have prayed it through first for at least a week and the desire remains.”
She anxiously awaited the Lord’s leading. The next six weeks she prayed through and decided not to teach pre-school, take a trip to the Holy Land, start a Kid’s Club in her backyard, attend a national evangelism conference, or teach English to Vietnamese immigrants. She earnest sought what she believed God assigned for her. And then it came. Due to a plea at the bottom of her monthly letter from the Taiwan ministry, she leased her house to her niece, packed her bags, and flew to Taiping to dedicate her life as a volunteer cook at a far-eastern orphanage.
Failure to free the Holy Spirit’s work in your life clogs spiritual vitality.
~~ Spiritual Life On Hold
Mark 1:15, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
Some spiritual lives stagnate because of avoidance of the full gospel. They explain away the Bible’s miracles. Or they doubt the Lord bothers with specific plans for every believer’s life. They refuse to understand cultural contexts for God’s dealing with His people. Or find the Genesis account of creation as rudimentary and incredulous. So, they pick and choose and compartmentalize faith to a one-time acknowledgement of Jesus. But that’s it.
They don’t really believe it all. Pride or intellect or doubt crowds in. When you fully believe, you search for answers in the Bible for contemporary questions. You’re open to the surprise of new truths discovered, including logical and scientific explanations. A heart of faith, trust, and acceptance with continual exposure to His Word produces an ever growing, changed life. A stunted faith in all of God’s revelation freezes spiritual growth.
~~ Quick Obedience
Mark 1:18,20, “And they immediately left the nets and followed him . . . And immediately He called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and went away to follow him.”
A quick solution to get your spiritual life going again is to give up something valuable for the Lord. It’s also the most difficult and the least followed because it costs you something.
What is your most valuable talent or block of time or material possession? Offer that sacrificially to the Lord’s work and you’ll find yourself growing again in vital ways.
~~ Fight Spiritual Warfare
Mark 1:25, “And Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be quiet, and come out of him!'”
Sometimes we neglect to teach believers about the power of Satan and his attacks on our lives. We can’t fight spiritual battles with earthly tools. We’ll lose every time.
To rebuke Satan, you tell him you know who he is, and you know who you are, a child of God cleansed by the blood of Jesus. And you know the limitations the enemy has in your life. For instance, he has no power to keep you tied to old, sinful habits.
Now, Satan might not be the direct cause of all your struggles. We battle the world and the flesh, as well as the devil. But if you’ve made all the changes you can and you’ve given your issues your best shot, and you still can’t overcome, you may be dealing with Satan. Renounce him and cast him out of your life, by the power of God’s Word and Jesus Name.
Anyone who thinks they can find a vital Christian life and never confront the demonic will be in for disappointment.
~~ Bring Them to Jesus
Mark 1:30,32, “Now Simon’s mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever; and immediately they spoke to Him about her . . . And when evening had come, after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all who were ill and those who were demon-possessed.”
New believers often seem full of fire. They tell everyone around them how they found faith, about their spiritual experience, about conversion to Jesus. They dominate groups with their questions. Every new experience explodes with spiritual application. They’re headed for a life of adventure.
But then, the long haul of life happens. The passion can fade. People avoid you. Some pretend nothing significant happened. Others constantly try to wear you down with cynicism and arguments.
The world’s full of hurting people. A truly needy person is one who hurts and knows they’re in pain, either physically, socially, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually. And they need what Jesus has to offer.
The longer we’re Christians, the less needy people we actually see. We tend to isolate ourselves from everyone except other Christians. And everyone know Christians don’t suffer. Anyway that’s the image we try to put forth. But we’re in the business of bringing the wounded into the Lord’s presence, expecting His touch of healing. For more spiritual vitality, put yourself close to people who hurt.
~~ Lifetime Prayer Lists
Mark 1:35, “And in the early morning, while it was still dark, He arose and went out and departed to a lonely place and was praying there.”
You might have been very faithful in prayer at different seasons of your spiritual life. When someone you love got sick or wounded. A relational crisis. Financial despair. But to what or to whom are you committed to intercede for on a daily basis, no matter what?
Narrow down those concerns that are worthy of your constant prayer. Lots of prayer needs bombard you all the time, but not everything requires a lifetime pledge. If your Prayer Notebook contains pages of copious notes on every request sent your way, you’ll grow weary and burnout some year. Determine what demands your permanent attention and make all others a pray and release offering. This keeps you faithful through long years when there may seem to be no results or changes. You’re not bargaining with God. You’ve made a commitment. You’ll find this will keep your spiritual life full of vitality in all other areas as you stay alert to these few.
~~ The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Mark 1:40, “And a leper came to Him, beseeching Him and falling on his knees before Him, and saying to Him, ‘If You are willing You can make me clean.'”
A leper approached with the most hideous of all diseases, exposing himself to Jesus and said, “Look at this. See my awfulness. How ashamed I am. But you can cure me.” He determined the solution was to open up his ugliness to the Lord and beseech Him to change him. He let Jesus know he was fully aware of his condition and persevered until the answer came. Then, he followed His instructions.
Take some serious assessment of your life. Spend time alone with the Lord and with His Word, asking Him to reveal any of your ugly. Have you somehow been part of a problem that concerns you? Consider opening up with a trusted friend about some matters where you’ve failed, a situation where you’ve been at fault. Maybe this will release some purifying in your life, and remove crucial spiritual roadblocks.
Big Sur, California Coast
Storms of Life
I saw on TV news about a huge storm at Big Sur, California on Highway 1. Big mud slides damaged and destroyed whole chunks of highway. Reporters interviewed various people. One man said, “You know, it’s a real tragedy. I don’t know if it will ever be the same here. Everything’s going to be different. Such a loss.” He seemed so depressed.
And then the camera panned others who danced at the scene. They seemed to be having a party on a stretch of the pavement still left. They explained why they celebrated. “This is great. We love the isolation.”
Then they revealed huge tracklayers laboring away to remove huge mounds of dirt, dust, and grime. They interviewed one of the drivers who said, “Hey, just around the corner are some of the most gorgeous vistas in all the world. And I want to make sure people get a chance to see it.”
The storms of life bring spiritual roadblocks to all of us. We certainly don’t experience the same ones. But if we refuse to remove them, we could miss the most breathless vistas we could ever imagine, a full life of adventures in faith with Jesus.
Stephen Bly
Circa 1984
Image Credits:
Blockade Deadend Image by John Hain from Pixabay
Holy Spirit Flame Image by Kei from Pixabay
Belief Questions Image by John Hain from Pixabay
Power of God’s Word Image by charlotte_202003 from Pixabay
Priority Prayer Notebook Image by Salomé Maydron from Pixabay
Big Sur, California Coastline Image by Pawel Kostrzewa from Pixabay
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Following Jesus by Stephen Bly, a study from the Book of Mark
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