Maturing in Faith
Joshua 5:12b: "…neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year."
In their infant years as the children of God, Israel was constantly cared for as a child who had no power to protect itself, nor any wisdom to provide for itself. However, it was time to come to maturity. So it is with us. God cannot move us into our place of purpose and destiny as long as we continue to feel, act, and think like infants! The place He is leading us is a place of success, but never forget that with success comes great responsibility!
It is not that we become so self-sufficient that we no longer need the Lord, but rather that we must be weaned off the milk and brought into the meat of His Word! We must come to be a people of principle and trust. Let me explain. Before now, Israel was used to "having it made", if you will! There was the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. Whenever the visible glory of God lifted off the tent of the tabernacle they would move, and when it would rest upon the tent, they would camp out.
In other words, in their infant stages as a people of God, they needed constant reassurance and visible manifestations of God's presence before they could do anything. Although this stage of development was necessary for them to learn the necessity of their dependency upon God, it was never God's intent for them to remain infants! Therefore, God took the cloud from them by day, and the fire by night, and the visible glory of God, so that they at last could learn to walk, not by sight, but by faith!
Let's not forget that the Lord has purposed to use us, the body of Christ, as His hands and feet, with which to build! He does not wish to work without us, but through us! But, when we're infants, He is still working in essence without us! It is when He instills within us a certain level of faith and confidence in His presence and His calling upon our lives that He can through us begin to do a new thing in the earth!
It ought to be the desire of every child of God to get to a place where we no longer need the constant manifested presence of God in order to serve Him. When we learn to walk by faith, we understand and trust Him at His Word! That way, when the battle is on, and circumstances go south, and we don't know which way is up, and we can't seem to see God in our lives, we still have a Word!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill
In their infant years as the children of God, Israel was constantly cared for as a child who had no power to protect itself, nor any wisdom to provide for itself. However, it was time to come to maturity. So it is with us. God cannot move us into our place of purpose and destiny as long as we continue to feel, act, and think like infants! The place He is leading us is a place of success, but never forget that with success comes great responsibility!
It is not that we become so self-sufficient that we no longer need the Lord, but rather that we must be weaned off the milk and brought into the meat of His Word! We must come to be a people of principle and trust. Let me explain. Before now, Israel was used to "having it made", if you will! There was the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. Whenever the visible glory of God lifted off the tent of the tabernacle they would move, and when it would rest upon the tent, they would camp out.
In other words, in their infant stages as a people of God, they needed constant reassurance and visible manifestations of God's presence before they could do anything. Although this stage of development was necessary for them to learn the necessity of their dependency upon God, it was never God's intent for them to remain infants! Therefore, God took the cloud from them by day, and the fire by night, and the visible glory of God, so that they at last could learn to walk, not by sight, but by faith!
Let's not forget that the Lord has purposed to use us, the body of Christ, as His hands and feet, with which to build! He does not wish to work without us, but through us! But, when we're infants, He is still working in essence without us! It is when He instills within us a certain level of faith and confidence in His presence and His calling upon our lives that He can through us begin to do a new thing in the earth!
It ought to be the desire of every child of God to get to a place where we no longer need the constant manifested presence of God in order to serve Him. When we learn to walk by faith, we understand and trust Him at His Word! That way, when the battle is on, and circumstances go south, and we don't know which way is up, and we can't seem to see God in our lives, we still have a Word!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill