(Continued)
The 2nd lesson is one of identity
Let’s say you’ve gotten good at being in that state of quietness and you’re hearing the Holy Spirit’s voice, following His promptings, being led and guided by Him and His peace and now you’re faced with the decision of acting on what He’s just asked of you … Do you obey what you’ve just heard, or do you decline out of feelings of embarrassment and awkwardness?
… I’m sure that many of us will testify to being in that position and giving into those feelings.
The lesson of identity challenges us and asks; “In that given moment when you’re feeling that way, who are you? … Are you a Christian, or are you “you”?”
… What do I mean by the word “you”?
In that given moment when the Holy Spirit asks us to do something and we experience feelings of embarrassment, awkwardness and thoughts of what others will think of us – all of those feelings are based on “self” - On how we look to others and what they’ll think of us, and how we don’t want to embarrass ourselves, or look unpopular and don’t want to be considered as an outsider or outcast because of our behaviour; like we want to fit in and be a part of the crowd, etc. … it’s all based on our identity and how we perceive ourselves to be – we say that this is who we are and when things challenge that, we become uncomfortable and dislike it … we forget about God in that moment and the stance we’ve taken for Him.