I Don’t Walk Alone!
It’s quite easy to look at someone who appears by themself and assume that they are alone. After all, it’s just them right? Because we don’t see a thing, does that make it non-existent? Would I be crazy to believe that there are powers beyond what we can lay our eyes on? Maybe, but who wants to be “sane” in today's society anyway.
Today it’s “sane” to ignore one's gender at birth and assume another. It’s “sane” to end a life before it even has a chance to live. With these ideas of sanity I'd much rather check myself into a mental institution.
Nowadays, if we cant see a thing we refuse to believe that it exists. Would this same belief apply to air? Or a thought? We can’t see air, but we can feel the evidence of its presence when we breathe or when the wind blows. We can’t see other people’s thoughts, but we can see the manifestation of a decision when one begins to carry out an action.
Is seeing really believing? If one sees a thing will they really need to believe it’s there? No, because their eyes provide all the evidence, there’s no need to believe if you can clearly see it.
“Out of sight, out of mind” this is a famous saying dating back to the thirteenth century. For some reason if something isn't seen, in our minds it doesn't exist. Jesus, a renowned historical figure also known as the physical manifestation, and Son of God, once said to one of his followers “Because you have seen me, you believed. Those who believe without seeing are blessed.”
Faith… has entered the chat. Faith and belief are one in the same. To have faith is to have hope in something we can not see. In fact, the opposite faith is not doubt, but sight. This generation desperately seeks for signs; something that they can see in order to believe. The idea of faith grows weaker everyday, just like patience. We want everything quick, and sometimes faith can move slower than we want it to.
This is one reason Christianity is at question in today’s generation. Christianity isn’t classified as a religion, but as a faith. Christianity is not a quick tangible thing, but more so a patient, hopeful thing that requires belief in things unseen.
So if Christianity is a faith, and faith is belief. The only question is: belief in what? That answer isn’t a what, but a Who! And I don’t mean what the elephant, Horton, heard.
In order to be considered a Christian you must believe in Jesus Christ, and the type of belief here is more than wishful thinking. or a fleeting feeling. This type of belief requires work! James 2:26 says “...Faith without work is dead” Not the type of work done with hands, or good deeds, but by a decision to live holy; that is the work!
We show our belief in Jesus by how we decide to live our lives! Not by simply professing with our lips. We say love is an action verb, in the same way believing in Jesus is not in feelings and thoughts alone, but in action. Jesus said in John 14:15 “if you love me, keep my commandments” In other words: “if you love me do what I say do, and do nothing I said not to do.” Once we believe in Jesus, he sends us an extension of himself and The Father, which is Holy Spirit.
Ahhh, so we finally get to what this article is about; the third person of the Godhead: The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit, the three make up one, and each are alive with personalities.
I have accepted Jesus into my heart and submitted my life to him. As a result I was imparted with a gift. This gift lives and comforts, this gift gives me power, this gift gives me the ability to reach God The Almighty! This living gift is called The Holy Spirit, and he walks and talks with me wherever I go.
In an article, I talked about realizing that God is always with us and so we should be mindful of our actions in the presence of the almighty. The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit are one, so if you have Holy Spirit you have The Father, and The Son. If Holy Spirit walks with you, so do they. If we were able to see without physical limitations, when you look at a child of God you’d see that they are never truly walking alone.
I used to be afraid of the dark as a child, but once I understood that I was able to walk with God, I never feared darkness again. I walked in full security, knowing that The Almighty was there with me. This also assisted me when it came to bullies and bitter people as I grew older. I understood that a fully submitted child of God was a dangerous person to offend. When the bible said in James 4:10 “Humble yourself before the Lord and in due time He will vindicate you” I took that to heart, and I swear by it today.
People in my life wonder why I grew so passive or “soft”, as I’ve heard repeatedly. There was a time where I’d fight to prove my toughness, but I understand now that if I sit back and allow God to fight my battles, the results are always better. I was never one to relish in others' pain, no matter how well deserved it was. I also never enjoyed inflicting pain, but my mother always taught me “if someone hits you, hit them back” This lesson was well-intended, but contrary to what the word of God teaches.
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I remember one day in high school, my football team was gathered on a bus geared to travel for an out of city football game. I was on injury reserve and still recovering from surgery for a torn meniscus. I was sitting on the outside closest to the isle, my teammate and good friend, Thomas, on the inside. I sat there, holding my crutches in place as the team loaded the bus.
There was a transferred player on the team, he was the kicker, Trey. Ttey was the shiny new toy at my highschool. He was tall and fair, but very immature, he fit right in. He loaded onto the bus. He and some other teammates were horse playing, and he fell into my lap and onto my injury. I pushed him off of me and yelled “man watch what you doing!”
He stood up, and without any remorse bent over, mugged my chest and said something to me. I don’t remember what he said because in my mind I was already thinking about which crutch to grab and hit him with, but I heard the Holy Spirit say “stop”, so I did. Everyone was staring at me to see what I’d do, so I searched my mind for some creative words, but it was like my mind fogged up and no words came to mind. I was known for my quick responses, it wouldn’t take much to read anyone to filth. Again, I heard “stop.”
By this time I had put together that God wanted me to take no action. I felt like it was a little unfair, this would happen often. I could never respond to things like other people could, without feeling immediate guilt or rebuke from Holy Spirit. So I sat there embarrassed by my lack of action and response.
We had arrived at the opponent's field and my mind was on the game, I had forgotten all about the incident on the bus. It was time for the kicker and our defense formed a line in front of the kicker to guard him from the other team as he attempted to kick the field goal. He went for the kick, but something behind me had caught my attention, so I missed what happened next.
The next thing I hear is the crowd letting out loud groans. I look into the field and the team along with the team physician surrounds Trey. I'm wondering what happened and who got injured? Next thing I know, everyone is taking a knee to pray for whoever is injured. I get on my knee still looking out into the field. The team begins to pick him up and I learn who it is.
Immediately my response was to pray. Nothing was else on my mind. I prayed that he was okay and that there was no permanent damage. Later on we found out that he had badly injured his kicking leg, and that would be out for the rest of the season.
I never put two and two together and it wasn't until I got home, I believe I was in prayer or sitting in silence when my mind suddenly began to roll. I remember what had taken place on the bus earlier that day.
My first feeling or response wasn’t gratitude, but rather shock and remorse at how quick God had responded. I said “God, I know you were looking out for me and I thank you, but have mercy on Trey and his career. I know he has to reap what he sowed, but I don't think he fully understood what he did and who he did it to.” Trey went on in the season on injury reserve right along with me. Did he ever fully recover? I believe so.
…
In conclusion we must be mindful that as children of God we never walk alone, and our Father is extremely protective. We must be mindful of where we go and what we do while we walk with the company of God. Others must be aware of how they treat us. Everyone is not a child of God, as harsh as it sounds, and the book of Romans testifies this,
“The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children, then we are heirs, heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, If we indeed share in His sufferings in order that we also share in his glory.”
As true children of God we suffer as Jesus did and we live a holy life unto God, obeying His every command. The Holy Spirit lives in the children of God.
So remember Abiders, as children of the Most High, understand that we have company and we never walk alone!
The Privy Penman
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