“But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7
When I was younger I used to go out into my garage and play my guitar in the dark. Depending on how late in the evening it was there would sometimes be a narrow beam of light that would cut through the darkness of the unlit room. I could see it because it was the only source of light in the otherwise dark garage. It would come through a ventilation hole near the rafters across the room. One time I closed one eye and stood at a point in the garage where the light was directly in my open eye. I could see the sun so vividly and so bright that everything else around me essentially disappeared as my vision adjusted to the brightness of the sun.
The vision intrigued me enough that it made me want to reach the vent in the wall so I could see more. But I was young and short and the hole was almost all the way at the ceiling. Well, my garage is a very messy place so as I drew nearer to the light I would bump into things (speakers, desks, chairs) and I would fall down or hurt myself. But some of the things, I realized, could be used to stand on in order to keep the light in my eyes and continue to reach the highest point on the wall in order to see the sun outside. Without the obstacles in my way I would have had nothing to stand on to keep my focus and keep gaining altitude in order to reach my goal.
“Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” Colossians 3:2
Spiritual growth works in the same way. If we keep our mind set on things above we will maintain the motivation and the intensity that it takes to seek God.
But here’s the thing: We’re going to have obstacles in our way. Things are going to come up and discourage us and hinder us from reaching the light (just like the equipment in my garage tripped me up or made me stub my toe) but through perseverance and faith we can use those obstacles as leverage to our advantage by learning from mistakes and
surrendering our shortcomings to Christ who loves us and knows us and gave himself up for us. Keep the light of Christ as your focus and the obstacles around you will become less obvious and less distracting. We can use pain and trials as a catalyst for growth.
“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.” Romans 5:3
By no means should we seek trouble and trials though. If we are looking for trouble we aren’t focused on Christ. He will raise you up in His timing and through His ways. Our job is to grow in faith and knowledge of the Word so when we do run into trouble we will know how to handle it in such a way to bring glory to God. Pray that God will give you perseverance. Pray that your zeal– your intensity– for Christ would remain strong even when things discourage you.
“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have over come the world.” John 16:33
