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Don't Get
Stuck Spinning!
If you have been
going in circles spiritually,
it's time to make a change!
From a sermon by Sorin Filimon |
When I was a teenager, I used to drive over to Santa Cruz with some of the young people from our church in Sacramento. There was a boardwalk there with many shops and rides, and it was a fun place to go with friends. On one of the rides, they strapped you into a seat and all you did was spin around really fast. Personally, I did not care for that ride. I went on it sometimes just to go along with the others, but I never felt good afterward. Going around and around left me feeling sick!
Spiritually speaking, we do not want to be spinning around in circles. We want to move forward in the direction God points us. Otherwise, we could be left feeling spiritually sick.
In the Book of Deuteronomy, we read how the Children of Israel ended up going in circles for forty years because they did not obey God. Even though they had been in Mount Horeb, a sacred place where God came down from Heaven and they saw His presence, God’s plan was not for them to be in that place forever. God wanted them to move on and enter the Promised Land. We read, “The Lord our God spake unto us in Horeb, saying, Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount . . . Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers” (Deuteronomy 1:6,8).
Although God had promised the Israelites the Land of Canaan, they could not live there without exerting some effort. It was theirs for the taking, but they still had to go in and possess it. In fact, this is how many of God’s promises work. He gives us the promise, but there is also a necessary action on our part: we have to go in and possess it.
The Israelites who had been freed from Egyptian bondage did not possess the land. They sent spies into Canaan who came back and said, “We see that all the things God has promised are true, but there are giants in the land, and we cannot overtake them.” Because they did not trust God, that generation never entered the Promised Land, and instead wandered in the wilderness for forty years! After forty years, God gave the following generation of Israelites an opportunity to enter Canaan, and they obeyed. But how much easier it would have been if the Israelites had obeyed God’s instructions the first time—what a missed opportunity!
Our opportunity today is not unlike the one presented to the Israelites. We serve the same mighty God, who tells us to come and receive from Him whatever we have need of. We do not want to make the same mistake the Israelites made by passing up our opportunity. If God is speaking to our hearts, we need to respond right away! We do not know what tomorrow might bring, and we cannot presume upon God’s mercy. Today is the day to receive what the Lord has for us; today is the day for victory and deliverance.
Imagine for a moment what going in circles in our daily lives would mean. For example, suppose that your income level never progressed from what it was at your first job. In my case, I would still be earning $3.35 an hour! We all know that prices inflate over time, so our income must increase just to maintain what we have, let alone to improve our situation. A recent article in our local paper in Sacramento said that it takes an hourly wage of $28 to support a family of four today. Just think where I would be if I were still stuck at the same pay I started at!
What about a car? What would life be like if you had the same car for the rest of your life? Some of us might have had nice first cars, but even so, cars break down. They get old and need to be replaced. A good car is not usually so good twenty years later. Or what about being in school for the rest of your life? Imagine always being a freshman—never moving on to the next level and never graduating. Or how about a relationship, maybe a boyfriend or a girlfriend? What would it be like if you never moved to the deeper bond of marriage? As an eighty-year-old, you would still be a boyfriend or girlfriend! None of us would volunteer for going in these circles.
These examples are unlikely to happen, but the outcomes are not much different than what happens when people go in circles spiritually. Even if our hearts were in a good place at one time, it is not enough to stay in that same spot. We cannot keep doing the same things over and over again, and expect that one day we will get different results. It is not going to happen that way. We need a change of direction! When the Lord shows us that we have been in our current spiritual condition long enough and it is time to move into a deeper walk with Him, we must follow where He leads. That may not be easy—it could mean leaving our familiar comfort zones, seeking Him with everything we have, and praying like we have not prayed before—but that is the only way to possess His promises.
If you are not saved, that is the first step. You can surrender your life to God right now, and it will be the best decision you ever make. God will take out the things in your life that displease Him, and give you peace and joy. And if you have been going around in a circle seeking your sanctification for a while, you can move forward and receive. God does not want us to continue seeking indefinitely; He wants to bless and give the victory! If you have been going around the “mountain” seeking for your baptism, remember that God is the same God as on the Day of Pentecost. He still wants to fill hearts with the baptism of the Holy Ghost.
No matter how long we have been saved, it is still possible to get stuck going in circles. Ask yourself these questions: When was the last time you memorized Scripture? When was the last time you read the Bible from cover to cover? How about the last time you fasted for a need, or told somebody about Jesus, inviting that one to church or offering a tract? When was the last time you received a definite touch from God? If it has been a while since you have done these things, maybe it is time to turn north toward the Promised Land—time to receive what God has for you.
When the Israelites fully believed God and acted on that belief, God fulfilled His promise and brought them to the Land of Canaan. He delivered their enemies into their hands and gave victory—the giants they had feared turned out to be no match for God. Action is also required on our part to obtain God’s promises—we have to go in and possess the land!
What promises of God still need to be fulfilled in your life? It is up to us to stop compassing the mountain, and go forward to possess them.
Sorin Filimon is a minister of the Apostolic Faith Church in Sacramento, California.
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