Living in the spirit Part 1

**LIVING IN THE SPIRIT — PART 1** ** THE BATTLE FOR YOUR ATTENTION** *Looking Away from the Problem and Looking to Christ*

One of the greatest challenges in the Christian life is learning where to direct our attention.

The natural human tendency is to focus on external circumstances. When there is a problem, our minds immediately turn toward the problem. We think about what happened, what was said, what someone did or failed to do, what might happen next, and what we can do about it.

If we have an argument with a neighbour, we can replay the conversation repeatedly in our minds. If there is tension in our marriage, we can become preoccupied with the things we believe our spouse is doing wrong. We rehearse their shortcomings and repeatedly examine the situation in our thoughts.

If we are in business, we may spend our days worrying about the economy, the market, rising costs, competition, or everything we believe could make business difficult in the days ahead.

The problem is not that these things are unreal. They are real circumstances. The danger is allowing them to become the dominant object of our attention.

** THE EXTERNAL CAN DISTURB THE INTERNAL**

The external circumstance is often not the greatest battle. The greater battle is what the circumstance does to our inner environment.

When our attention becomes consumed by the problem, our peace begins to disappear. Fear, anxiety, anger, resentment, and unbelief can take over our thoughts. We become increasingly conscious of what is happening around us and increasingly unconscious of what God has said within us.

This is why Scripture places such emphasis on our thought life.

God does not merely want us to change our circumstances; He wants us to learn how to live from the inside out.

There is a remarkable illustration of this principle in the wilderness.

** LOOK AND LIVE**

Israel had sinned against God by speaking against Him and against Moses. As a result, fiery serpents came among the people, and many were bitten.

The people came to Moses and pleaded with him to intercede for them. Moses prayed, and God gave him an unusual instruction:

*"Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live."* — Numbers 21:8

Imagine the situation.

A person has been bitten by a poisonous snake. There is pain. There may be swelling. There is a wound. There is fear because people are dying around him.

Yet God gives him one instruction: Look.

He could focus on the wound. He could focus on the pain. He could focus on the swelling. He could focus on the people dying around him. He could focus on the possibility of death.

But God told him to look at the bronze serpent.

His healing was connected to where he directed his attention.

It was a battle for attention.

Jesus later gave this event its greater meaning:

*"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up."* — John 3:14

The principle is profound:

What we continually behold matters.

** LOOKING AWAY FROM THE PROBLEM**

This does not mean that we deny our circumstances.

The person bitten by the serpent could see the wound. He did not have to pretend he had not been bitten.

The difference was that he refused to make the wound the object of his attention.

This is an important lesson for us.

Faith does not require us to pretend that problems do not exist. Faith requires us to refuse to allow the problem to become greater in our consciousness than the Word of God.

There is a difference between acknowledging a problem and continually meditating upon it.

You may have a genuine challenge in your marriage, but you do not have to spend the whole day rehearsing your spouse's failures.

You may be facing difficulties in business, but you do not have to spend every waking moment meditating on economic uncertainty.

You may be facing a difficult circumstance, but you do not have to allow that circumstance to become the centre of your inner world.

Look, but look in the right direction.

** THE WORD IS THE OBJECT OF OUR MEDITATION**

The Parable of the Sower gives us another dimension of this truth.

Jesus taught that the Word of God is the seed.

When the Word enters our heart, something has been planted within us. But the seed must be received, retained, and allowed to produce fruit.

This is why meditation is so important.

Meditation is not merely reading Scripture and moving on. It is giving the Word our sustained attention. It is considering it, thinking about it, speaking it, examining it, and allowing its truth to occupy our inner consciousness.

When we meditate on the Word, we are fellowshipping with what God has said.

Jesus is the Word made flesh. Therefore, when the Word fills our hearts, Christ's truth becomes increasingly dominant in our consciousness.

Instead of constantly asking, "What is happening to me?" we begin asking, "What has God said?"

Instead of continually rehearsing the problem, we begin rehearsing the promise.

Instead of being governed by what we see externally, we begin to live by what God has revealed internally.

** THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE WORD**

There is another important dimension to this.

The Holy Spirit already dwells in the believer. We do not meditate on the Word to persuade Him to come into us. He is already present.

Rather, meditation brings our consciousness into alignment with His presence and gives Him the Word within us through which He can bring understanding, wisdom, direction, conviction, and encouragement.

Jesus said concerning the Holy Spirit:

*"He shall bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."* — John 14:26

The Spirit brings the Word to remembrance because the Word has been received.

This is why storing the Word in our hearts is so important.

The Holy Spirit works with the truth God has deposited within us.

When we fill our hearts with the Word and continually meditate upon it, we create an environment in which our minds become increasingly responsive to the Spirit's leading.

Peter's experience in Acts 10 illustrates this beautifully. While Peter was on the rooftop praying, God gave him a vision. As Peter contemplated what he had seen, the Spirit spoke and gave him specific direction.

Peter was not disconnected from God while waiting for the next church service or prayer time.

He was living in fellowship with God in the ordinary circumstances of his day.

That is what it means to live in the Spirit.

** "I WILL LIFT UP MY EYES"**

The Psalmist said:

*"I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help."* — Psalm 121:1

In the Old Testament, God's presence was associated with particular places and physical manifestations. But under the New Covenant, something greater has happened.

God does not merely dwell in a temple made with hands.

He dwells in us.

The Holy Spirit has made the believer His dwelling place.

Therefore, our spiritual attention is not directed toward a geographical location where we believe God might be found. We look to God as He has revealed Himself in Christ, His Word, and the witness of His Spirit within us.

Our "looking" becomes an inward turning of our attention toward the truth of God's Word and the reality of His presence within our recreated spirit.

** THE CHALLENGE**

The question is not whether problems will come.

They will.

The question is:

What will receive our attention when they come?

Will we continually stare at the problem, or will we turn our attention toward Christ?

Will we rehearse what happened, or will we remember what God has said?

Will we allow the external circumstance to govern our inner environment, or will we allow God's Word to govern it?

The battle is often a battle for our attention.

And the first step toward living in the Spirit is learning to look in the right direction.

Look to Christ.

Look to His Word.

Look away from the problem as the controlling reality and fix your attention on the truth God has placed within you.

*In Part 2, we will examine what it means to keep our attention on the Word throughout the day, why Joshua was commanded to meditate day and night, the danger of living a divided spiritual life, and what we can learn from David's continual fellowship with God.*

*Hassan Thomas Nenger* *Author, My Divine Identity as the Righteousness of God* *Living in the Spirit Series*