WHEN THE WORD BECOMES YOUR EXPERIENCE (PART 2)

*Faith, Obedience, and the Life in the Spirit*

**The Tests We Keep Repeating**

The righteous is tested and tried. But many times, we fail to recognize the test because we are expecting something dramatic.

We may be waiting for a great spiritual experience while God is examining our response to something very ordinary.

How do you respond when someone offends you? How do you respond when you are asked to sacrifice for another person? How do you respond when the Holy Spirit asks you to do something inconvenient? How do you respond when you have the opportunity to do good but your flesh wants to resist?

These moments may be spiritual tests. If we fail to learn what God is teaching us through them, we position ourselves to repeat the test. We keep encountering the same situations because we have not learned the lesson of obedience.

Therefore, when an opportunity comes to do good, we should pay attention. There may be a treasure hidden inside that opportunity.

**Meekness Is Spiritual Strength**

One of the areas we must examine is meekness. Ask yourself: Do I really understand true meekness?

Meekness is not weakness. It is the willingness to yield ourselves to the will and purpose of God.

Sometimes our lack of meekness, our lack of gentleness, and our unwillingness to sacrifice for others become obstacles to the manifestation of the Word in our lives.

We may want the promises of God while resisting the character that the Spirit is developing in us. But the life of the Spirit requires surrender.

When we release ourselves for the good of others, we are cooperating with God because goodness originates from Him. God extends His goodness to all. Therefore, every opportunity to do good can become an opportunity to cooperate with the nature of God.

**Beware of Stubbornness**

There is also a danger in developing a stubborn spirit and becoming proud of it.

Some people are proud of being oppositional. They oppose simply because they have developed a habit of opposing. They do not always stop to consider whether what they are opposing is good or bad. Their satisfaction is simply in resisting.

Scripture gives a serious warning about rebellion: "For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry." — 1 Samuel 15:23

We must therefore examine ourselves carefully. Not every resistance is discernment. Not every disagreement is conviction. Not every refusal is strength. And sometimes what we call "standing our ground" may actually be stubbornness.

The Holy Spirit teaches us how to distinguish between spiritual conviction and the resistance of the flesh.

**What Is Hiding Inside the Opportunity?**

There are hidden treasures in the opportunities God brings before us. An opportunity may look ordinary, inconvenient, or even insignificant.

But when we respond to it according to the Word and the leading of the Holy Spirit, we may discover something God has placed inside it.

The opportunity to serve. The opportunity to forgive. The opportunity to sacrifice. The opportunity to encourage. The opportunity to give. The opportunity to be gentle. The opportunity to put another person before yourself.

These are not interruptions to the spiritual life. They are often expressions of the spiritual life.

A prejudiced mindset can prevent us from seeing the treasure because we judge the opportunity before we obey the Spirit. But when our minds are renewed by the Word, we begin to see differently. We begin to recognize that God can use ordinary circumstances to accomplish spiritual purposes.

**Living by the Word and the Spirit**

The Word of God does not fail. The Word is a seed, and the power to produce its fruit is contained within it.

Our challenge is often not the inability of the Word to work, but our resistance to what the Word requires of us.

Therefore, take the Word. Put it in your heart. Meditate on it day and night. Believe it. And when the Holy Spirit gives you an instruction, obey.

Do not complicate the process by looking for another method. The Word gives you the truth. The Holy Spirit gives you the direction. Faith responds with obedience. And obedience becomes the practical expression of your faith.

The life in the Spirit is not merely knowing what God has said. It is learning to live in agreement with what He has said.

**Practical Application**

Today, instead of asking only, "What am I waiting for God to do?", ask: "What has God already said?" Then ask: "What is the Holy Spirit asking me to do?"

Look carefully at the opportunities around you. There may be an opportunity to do good that you have been overlooking. There may be an opportunity to demonstrate meekness. There may be an opportunity to forgive. There may be an opportunity to sacrifice. There may be an opportunity to obey.

Do not miss the treasure because the opportunity does not look significant. Sometimes the manifestation of the Word begins with a simple act of obedience.

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