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Spiritual Check Up

  • Writer: Elaine Cowie
    Elaine Cowie
  • Feb 21, 2021
  • 9 min read

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If you are in a place where you feel your spiritual life has halted abruptly or is stagnant and you can't seem to move beyond where you are then maybe you need to check your heart and ask Holy Spirit to reveal aspects in your life that may be binding you to the past, to sinful ways, to unbelief, or to unforgiveness. It is essential for a healthy walk with the Lord to constantly check our hearts and minds, allowing Holy Spirit to reveal the things that are leading us in a wrong path whether through wrong thinking or wrong teachings; to free us from deception and bring us ever closer to Jesus and His truth.


I have detailed below different emotions that influence our lives and either hinder us or aid us in our walk with the Lord. As you read this post open your heart to the leading of Holy Spirit and honestly assess your spiritual condition, taking note of anything Holy Spirit reveals to you so you may address them in your life.


Don't hold on to things that hinder you from the presence of the Lord. Lay everything down in submission to Him knowing that His plans and purposes are perfect and His ways are above and beyond what we could imagine or desire for ourselves.


One thing I have learned with the Lord is that He never pushes us into make changes in our lives. He reveals His truths then allows you to make your own choices. Often we remain stagnant in our walk when we refuse to take heed of what He is showing us and follow His leading obediently. We will remain where we are until we deal with the issues at hand. God will not move us on in our walk until we rectify these issues in our lives.



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The first emotion is forgiveness.


Forgiveness

Forgiveness is an essential part of being a Christian. If you seek intimacy and maturity with God and long for peace and serenity in your life, then it is essential that in all things you learn to forgive. If you want to go deeper with God any unforgiveness you hold in your heart will hamper deeper intimacy with Him.


The Bible tells us in Matthew 6:14 -


"For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."


God is clear on unforgiveness and the peril for each believer to remain in unforgiveness; irrespective of who has wronged you and what has been done to you. The Word tells us that we must forgive.


In Matthew 18:23-35 we see the account of the unforgiving servant. The king wanted the servant and his family sold to repay the money they owed the king. The servant bowed before the king and begged for mercy. The king had compassion on him, released him and forgave him the debt. But then the servant seeks out his fellow servant who owes him money; (a much less debt than what he owed the king). He demands payment from this fellow servant; ruthlessly attacking him. This man cries out for mercy, begging him to give him time to pay his debt. Unlike the king, this servant has no compassion and mercy and throws this fellow servant into prison until he can pay his debt. When the king hears what has been done he immediately calls the servant to himself. He questions the servant saying -


"I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?"

The king was very angry and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.


Verse 35 tells us

"So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses."


This account of the king and the unforgiving servant is a picture of Jesus the King and every believer. We have been forgiven much. Each one of us sinful from birth owing a huge debt to the King of kings.


Romans 3:23

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.


Each believer has received the grace and mercy of Christ by the washing of our sin by His precious blood.


1 Peter 1:18-19

knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.


We didn't deserve the master of the universe coming to earth as a human and paying the debt owed by us. We didn't do anything to earn His forgiveness and He paid our debt before we even came to be.


Romans 5:8

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.


Our perfect saviour wants us to forgive because He doesn't want us to carry burdens that are not ours to carry. He doesn't want us to become the judge and the jury against our fellow human beings. He warns us the cost of judging others


Matthew 7:1-2

Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgement you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.


All God asks is that we bring any offense, any hurt, any frustration, any argument, anything that takes our peace, to the altar and lay it down as a sacrifice to God. For Him to deal with and heal our hurts and release us from the bondage of unforgiveness. This releases our grip from the throat of the wrong doer and allows God to work in both us and them.


Matthew 7:12

Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.



God will always deal with us personally. It is not our job to put other people right, but it is always our job to keep ourselves right. The consequences of drifting from the truth could be catastrophic.


Jeremiah 17:10

I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.


So you see, God searches our hearts and gives us according to our ways and according to the fruits in our lives. If we harbour unforgiveness our fruit will be bitter and rotten. Our minds will be plagued with stomach churning thoughts of our wrong doer. We will justify in our minds a rightful revenge on those who hurt us and remove ourselves from the cover and protection of the Lord.


The Bible tells us


Deuteronomy 32:35

Vengeance is Mine, and recompense; their foot shall slip in due times; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things to come hasten upon them.


Romans 12:19

Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written "Vengeance is Mind, I will repay", says the Lord.


Take all your offenses to the cross, lay them down, forgive the person and release them from the grip of your hand. You may have to say a thousand times a day "I forgive them", but bit by bit you will say it less, the stomach churning will grow less and less and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus - Philippians 4:7.


Jesus bore all your sins at the cross and forgave you, the least you can do is forgive others.


Luke 23:34

Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do."



Take a leap of faith and put this into practice in your life. I know for a fact it will radically change you life, your attitudes and your spiritual walk with the Lord.



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The second emotion I would like to bring before you is disappointment.


Disappointment

Disappointment can also harbour grudges and cause us to live a life of unambition and protection.


When you have had hopes and dreams in your life and for whatever reason these hopes and dreams have not came to pass, then this can leave you with disappointments. Disappointments, like unforgiveness, can rot away at your heart, steal your joy and reduce your hope. These disappointments stop us from achieving our God given purposes. They keep us from flying high and reaching for the skies. They keep us grounded and unsure of what may happen to us in our lives.


My advice is that if you know of any time in your life where you have been disappointed. Whether that is because of yourself, other people or even God, I urge you to address these disappointments before God. Talk to Him in prayer, telling Him everything that has disappointed you; confessing to God how that has affected you and hurt you. Lay down your emotions, your failed dreams, your dashed hopes; take them all to the altar asking the Lord to release you from the weight of carrying them. As you hand over these disappointments to the Lord ask Holy Spirit to release healing into your spirit. Then remind yourself that God has a better plan for your life.


Ephesians 3:20

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.


Don't allow the enemy to keep you focused on past failures and lost experiences. Look to the Lord for what He will do for you. For God uses all things for good for those who love Him.


Romans 8:28

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.


We do not need to carry all these extra burdens, Jesus has told us that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. If you are struggling under a heavy burden then it is not of the Lord. Seek guidance from the Holy Spirit and come clean with what is burdening you and allow the Holy Spirit to heal and restore your peace.



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The last emotion I want to look at is surrender.


Surrender

Surrender to God's will in everything. So what does surrender mean -


stop resisting to an enemy or opponent and submit to their authority

Surrender is giving control to another person and allowing that person to have their way in your life. Trouble comes when we grip on for dear life to control of our lives and don't relinquish control to the master. It can be a scary thing to hand over control of our lives. Here in the western world we are taught very much to be independent and do things for ourselves. Handing over control to someone else is not in our nature. However, if we are to fulfil our calling and walk a life worthy of what Jesus has died for us to have, we must surrender everything to Him and be guided by the One who knows all things. We must die to ourselves and allow Him to live through us. It's not about us it's all about Him.


Galatians 2:20

I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me, and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.


We are not surendering to an abuser, to someone who seeks to harm us. We are surrendering our lives into the hands of the perfect saviour who came to give us life and life in abundance (John 10:10). We are surrendering into the hands that were pierced for our sins. Our God is faithful and can be trusted.


Lamentations 3:23-24

Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.


We have a God that knows what we need before we ask for it.


Matthew 6:8

Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.


His plans are to give you peace and not evil, to give you a future and a hope - Jeremiah 29:11. He is a good, good Father and He knows how to give good gifts to His children -


Matthew 7:11

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him.



What are you waiting for?

To surrender to Him is to live with no regret; to live with no worry; to live with expectancy and adventure. To live in surrender means to trust Him.


Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the Lord will all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.




Let go and let God take control.



I pray these words will bring you to a place of repentence and submission to God, the author and perfector of our faith, the one who is able to keep you from falling.


Hebrews 12:2

Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.


Jude 1:24

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To God our Saviour, who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen


Trust in Him who is able to keep you from stumbling. Don't wait another minute. Go seek the Lord and surrender everything that ensnares you and keeps you from His glorious presence.



I pray you will be blessed with this short study and that it has given you some insight into what can cause you problems in your walk with the Lord. I pray you can see the benefit of laying down your disappointments, forgiving those who have hurt you and surrendering all things into His hands. I pray the Lord grants you the grace to lay all things down and leave them on the altar of sacrifice. I promise you, if you do these things you will know peace like never before and you will experience His easy yoke and His light burden. Bless you.




Please leave a comment if you have any questions.









2 Comments

georgecowie4
Mar 02, 2021

We need us to remember what our father did for our sinns,xx

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Elaine Cowie
Elaine Cowie
Mar 03, 2021
Replying to

Absolutely. He did it all, once for all 🥰

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