I am pretty sure that many of us have done at least a little soul searching during the past 8-9 months of lock-down and quarantine. I sure have! Don’t worry; it is not as whimsical or glamorous as it sounds. But, I did learn a lot about my relationship with Jesus during this time that really shifted my mindset.
So as my first blog post after a few months, allow me to share them with you.

1. I did not really understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ

I know. How can I even admit this? But it is very true. If you had asked me what the gospel is a year ago, I would have quoted John 3:16 perfectly, without really understanding the meaning and implication thereof.
If we use John 3:16 as a basis (because it’s a good, all-encompassing verse) – it starts off by saying “For God so loved the world….” , which is exactly where I used to mess things up because in my mind, I thought that my love for God will secure my salvation when in fact, that is not true! Only God’s amazing love can enable us to enter into the gracious gift of being able to be saved (but more on that later)

2. The Word of God is powerful and life-changing

Hebrews 4:12

“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

This is an ongoing lesson for me and over the past 4 years, I have constantly been reminded of the opening statement. I cannot stress enough how important it is to read God’s word and not just to read it but to ask the Holy Spirit to clarify and minister to us first. God’s word is more than just a bunch of stories or motivational quotes – it encompasses all that God is and what His plan is.

If you want to know more about God, read His Word.
One thing that I have learned while studying God’s word, is that almost everything that I have encountered in scripture is in some way connected to Jesus.
Another thing is that, it is our duty as Christians to know what we are talking about. You cannot proclaim to be a believer and yet have no understanding of who God is.

3. Spiritual warfare is very real.

For some reason, I always used to brush over the above statement because I generally don’t like to think negatively; however, this year has definitely woken me up to the realities of getting closer to Jesus. The devil will try HARD to stop you. I experienced things this year and by the grace of God, the Holy Spirit revealed things to me that left me astonished. It made me realise that I need to stay all the more closer to Jesus and also that the enemy is not always obvious. He may even sometimes reveal himself through seemingly good things. But, remember that Jesus has already won so he is fighting a losing battle. One portion of scripture that I hold onto with regards to this topic is, Ephesians 6:10-18.

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness arrayed, and with your feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints. Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will boldly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it fearlessly, as I should.”

4. I do not know anything nor am I able to control anything.

This may seem weird but I am serious. This year has taught me that I cannot plan, decide or try anything without the Holy Spirit to guide me. If I think back on the many times I slipped up this year because I wanted to do things by myself; thinking that by merely giving Jesus my plan and expecting Him to execute it without prior counsel. Now, in theory this is not wrong because Jesus said in John 14:14, “If you ask anything in my name, I will do it.” But, this is not how a relationship with Jesus works. I need to fall into step with His plan for my life and not my own.

Isaiah 55:8-9

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.”

5. A relationship with Jesus is extremely intimate and personal.

Another realisation from this year is that not everyone is going to understand you when you start to walk closer to God and that is not always a bad thing – in fact it shows that you may be on the right path because they thought that Jesus was crazy too. So hang in there.
I used to feel silly for the way that I felt about my relationship with God, thinking that maybe I am doing the wrong thing, maybe God didn’t really say that to me, maybe I should calm down in His presence. But one day after prayer, I felt such a deep, powerful feeling of joy bubble up inside of me and I remember feeling so thankful for the presence of God because that where I feel most myself. Jesus is not rigid or stiff but He truly, walks with me, the Holy Spirit speaks to me and He dances with me. And I am so thankful for that. Now, you may have a different experience with the Holy Spirit than me and that is okay. We just need to get to Jesus, and allow Him to do the rest.
One thing that I want to clarify though is that while our walk with Christ is personal, it is our duty to share the Gospel with the world. When I say that your relationship with God is personal, I mean that we have to stay connected to our source which is Jesus. Intimate time with Him equips us to live our lives like Him and also to say what He wants us to say.

There is so more that I want to share, but I think that I will leave it here for now.
The Holy Spirit is moving and waiting for hearts directed toward Him so that He can come in and share things with us.
I pray that we all – including me – open up our hearts and minds towards Heaven so that it can come down.