I don’t know about others, but in my life, there are certain people whom I might not see for several years, but when I meet them unexpectedly, it saddens me. It saddens me because there is no progress in their lives: their appearance seems faded, their words carry no meaning, and their jokes remind the nineties of the last century. There are others whom I meet quite often, but I still have the same impression both from their appearance and mentality.
Why is it so? Why is there no development in the lives of these people? The sad thing is, many of these people attend the church for years, listen to sermons, pray and even serve God. The same mentality, the same fears, the same clothes and shoes, the same narrow personal problems. Did God give His son for mankind to get such a result? I became so concerned about this that I started to look for answers, and now I am writing about this.
The reasons are different, but there are several common ones that apply to everyone. I want to discuss these common reasons so that we can learn about them and avoid them, and if some of them are already there in our lives, then we can apply all diligence and get rid of them.
The life of a believer stagnates if he does not give proper time to fellowship with the Lord. Any activity done with interruptions cannot be effective. Bible reading, receiving revelations, and life according to the Word of God are a work that requires daily effort. One must pray periodically – every day. Prayer is a dialogue: the person speaks, and God answers. Or God leads him to his secret place to have an encounter with him, and the person obeys, secludes oneself from what surrounds him, cleanses his mind from pleasant and unpleasant images and waits for the Spirit of the Lord.
Sometimes a person physically secludes himself and no one distracts him; however, the torrent of thoughts does not allow him to have fellowship with the Lord, listen to Him or come to know His will for resolving a certain problem. And having not learned the will of the Lord, he just prays another prayer and leaves his room. He does not realize that speaking and praying are two different concepts. Days go by, he prays such prayers every day or with interruptions, but the result is late. Whereas when we pray concerning any problem, we first of all shall receive a word from the Lord: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Ps. 119:105). The word given by the Lord illuminates the path of actions of the person.
Joshua had a promise from the Lord: “Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you…” (Jos. 1:3). However, when they tried to conquer the city of Ai, they experienced a bitter defeat. Joshua humbled himself before the Lord and asked about the reason. The Lord did not delay with His response. He revealed that there was sin in the camp and helped to disclose it. The sinner was removed from the camp; however, it was not all. The Lord also showed that Joshua started the battle not by His leading, but by the leading of his advisors – his commanders who were guided by their natural sight. It is wonderful to have by your side advisors and professionals who know their own business; however, in order to be successful, they also need to get to know God’s will in every situation. The Lord gave a new strategy to Joshua, and following it in detail brought victory to the army and people of Israel.
Some justify themselves by saying that they don’t hear the voice of the Lord, and because of it they either don’t pray or turn to others for solutions to their problems. Without knowing the voice of the Lord, one cannot be successful. Not always there would be people willing to pray for someone who does not want to pay the price of knowing the voice of the Lord Who created them.
Every believer must be convinced that when he prays, he is heard by Jesus Himself – the One Who went to the cross for him and is the only Mediator between the praying one and the Father. “Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full” (Jn. 16:23-24).
It is necessary to read the Bible and live according to the Word: “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments… all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you.” Deuteronomy 28:1-14 describes all these blessings.
When the fruit of the Holy Spirit is formed in a person, it becomes easy to obey the Word and do it. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…” (Gal. 5:22-23). Praying in tongues of the Holy Spirit also helps to build up our inner man so that we can please God. “He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself…” (1 Cor. 14:4).
Every sensible person who wants to build a house and enjoy it makes accurate calculations both in financial and other matters. He takes into account each obstacle and finds ways of removing them; he realizes that for a quality result, he shall not spare effort. How much more this applies to the believer who wants to build his life on the earth and spend the eternal life with Jesus the Savior!
However, to live the victorious life which has been granted us at the price of the cross of Calvary of Jesus the Savior, every believer must first of all change their mentality, learn about their identity in Jesus Christ and believe in His Word that says, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart” (Jer. 29:11-13).
Of course, the devil is not asleep; he is the sworn enemy of mankind: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pet. 5:8). Jesus the Savior was well aware of this, so He said, “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you” (Lk. 10:19). Every person must get to know the authority Jesus Christ gave them to enjoy the victorious life which was granted them by the power of the cross. I recommend you to read a book called “The Believer’s Authority” by Kenneth Hagin.
Every person is happy when they are in the calling, which the Lord predetermined for them. During their lives on this earth, every person shall get to know their calling. The Lord gave everyone big opportunities to change the quality of their lives. Everyone must make a decision to take steps toward their development. This development starts from a mentality change, and the encounter with the Lord is what changes the mentality. “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12:2).
Doing all this is not difficult at all; rather, it brings joy. When a person realizes that by doing the Word of God, he submits to the One Who did not spare His only begotten Son by sending Him to death to destroy the works and plans of the devil in his own life; when he understands that his Advocate is the only faithful and unselfish One Who loves him with an eternal love and values him, then he, full of joy, will seclude himself in his prayer closet to have an encounter with Him.
One day, when I had read quite a few chapters of the Bible, from both the Old and the New Testaments, then had prayed in my prayer closet and had received an answer to a problem that I had, I decided to do something else – to find some interesting pages on YouTube. Probably many are familiar with scrolling pages on YouTube or viewing images or posts on social media – something that quietly steals time from them. Suddenly I heard a question from the Holy Spirit: “Would you throw away diamond dust?” This question was out of the blue. I answered: “No!”, since I knew that even from diamond dust you can make nice stones for different types of jewelry.
The Holy Spirit explained that each second of our time is like a diamond dust speck. When someone dives into different internet pages, spends time before the TV set, or aimlessly chats around a coffee table, they unwittingly throw out diamond dust. On the other hand, you could collect diamond dust and make a valuable jewelry out of it; you can properly manage the time the Lord has granted you and have important achievements in life. The Lord is the Creator of man, and He knows very well about the opportunities given to him, and He wants the man to have understanding of the times the way sons of Issachar had: “…of the sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times…” (1 Ch. 12:32).
To make this topic fully understandable and effective, I suggest to read the following books by Kenneth Hagin: “The Believer’s Authority” and “How to Hear the Voice of the Holy Spirit.” And you can find books and articles by Gayane Hakobyan on her blog, gayaneblog.org. You can listen to the sermons “The Calling” and “Time Management” as well as read the book “Who Hears the Voice of the Lord” and the article “The Authority Given to the Believer.” You can also find the audio version of the article “The Authority Given to the Believer” on the blog.