Enthusiasm – Earthly or Eternal?

Do not lag in zeal, be enthusiastic in spirit, serve the Lord.
(Romans 12:11 – NET)

When God is exalted we should be excited, but even when the atmosphere doesn’t seem exciting, when God is exalted His Spirit is moving, guaranteed. Of course this means we need to truly understand when it is that God is truly exalted, and not that we are simply making casual mention of Him, or that we use Him as a reference to say what we really want to say.

Goosebumps aren’t the guarantee, His Word is. Usually when God is moving Satan is right there too, and that is why instead of people getting excited you see them getting enraged, they love their sin and they hate God and light is dispelling the darkness and God is moving. Just try and preach at someplace you know people don’t want to hear it, and you will see God move. If you want confirmation, look to the Bible, not to your blessings.

Yes we should praise God for those times when we see His grace manifest in our daily lives and through incidental encounters. It is a blessing to see God move people to repentance and faith within the church or evangelistic settings. Having said that, we all should know that this often isn’t the case. Many times we will have been right there where God was moving greatest, but it seemed boring. That is why, as a way of life, we need to be stirred from the inside before we are stirred from the outside. And we need to be stirred by the right things.

People say that they can tell when the Spirit is moving, but what they really mean is that they can sense when things are flowing right, at least to their understanding. When people seem to be on the same page and things just seem not to bother us, or when the music is “right” or everyone is excited, and everything just seems to be smooth, even if chaotic. People think that is when “the anointing” is present, or whatever, but all that is just your feelings. Often we may be looking at and listening to outward things that stir our insides into thinking this is God, when it may or may not be. I am just as guilty as the next guy in the fact that I like it when things are “flowing”, but we all need to be trained to have a fervent spirit even when things seem mundane. If we are full of the Spirit we will flavor all we do. If we are truly exalting Christ things will be happening.

The whole “I want more” idea points to “I”, not to Jesus, and that “I” is not the eye of faith. The truth is that people don’t really want something more; they want something else. We have all we need for faith and godliness (2 Timothy 3:16-17 / 2 Peter 1:3-4), and we have all we need to be stirred in our souls as a way of life.

This is not mere information for developing an intellectual acumen. We need to learn to match our knowledge with a godly zeal. We have an inheritance and we are kept by the power of God and even though we don’t see Him we can still have joy unspeakable and full of glory. We even have more than if we see something happening because we know that something is happening in the unseen realm because we have faith (1 Peter 1:3-8). Jesus said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29). Let me ask you a question: Is the world coloring your vision, or is your vision coloring your world?

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©