Self-check daily. He reminded us that is necessary to regularly evaluate where we are & who we are, to get comfortable with real soul-searching. This is not meant to lead us to a place of shame or beating ourselves up for our failures, it’s simply the ability to be honest with ourselves and with God about where we are.
Seek Correction. This one is counterintuitive. We don’t love to be corrected and we tend to challenge instruction. To seek it out requires us, as Beau said, to embrace the fact that we don’t know everything. It requires humility. But the benefits of this step? It brings so much life!! Proverbs 15:31-32 says this: If you listen to constructive criticism, you will be at home among the wise. If you reject discipline, you only harm yourself; but if you listen to correction, you grow in understanding. Seeking correction is an important step in moving forward.
Live in community. This one can be almost as challenging as seeking correction. Most of us tend to isolate-at least when it comes to the deeper parts of our hearts. We can go to church every Sunday and still live isolated if we are not seeking out opportunities to go deeper and develop authentic relationships. Beau reminded us that it is when we confess our mess to one another that we find healing (James 5:16) and that we will not confess anything if we are not invested in real relationships with one another.
Remain connected. Beau identified this as the most critical of the five steps. He said that remaining connected in community is important, but here he spoke about remaining connected to God. He said, “We need to stop trying to lead, and embrace our dependence on God”. In John 15:4, Jesus says, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me”. Staying connected to God is paramount to having the ability to live out the other four steps.
Moving forward isn’t easy, but the alternative is not desirable in the least. We were reminded in this week’s message that “a lack of movement creates stagnancy”. Beau presented a comprehensive definition of the word “stagnant”. It means, “not flowing or running; stale or foul from standing, as a pool of water; characterized by lack of development, advancement, or progressive movement; inactive, sluggish, or dull“. While I found several points in the definition intriguing, one point stood out above the rest. “Not flowing”. This may be the most obvious of the definitions, but in this context, I found it profound.
I immediately related it to the Holy Spirit. Living a stagnant life means that I have dammed up the flow of the Holy Spirit. The other definitions aren’t pleasant, either–I wouldn’t want to be characterized as “stale” or “foul”, “sluggish” or “dull”. I don’t want my life to lack development, advancement or progressive movement. But the thought of living a life without the Holy Spirit flowing freely in and through me? I couldn’t bear a life like that. I am so aware of my lack… I know that I can produce no good, lasting fruit on my own. I need the power of the Holy Spirit desperately!!
If we don’t want to live a stagnant life, void of the flow of the Spirit, we have to commit to the process of moving forward. We have to take the steps. And I sit here and reflect on those points, I realize that none of them are possible in our own strength. To do any of them fully, we have to rely on the power available to us in the friend, counselor, presence of the Holy Spirit.
Why should we live in community? Why can’t we do this on our own? How do we build community anyway? “In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit“.
How do we create constancy and find the endurance to persevere? Romans 5:3-5: More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
The Holy Spirit is absolutely essential to taking steps forward. He is our helper, our counselor, our advocate. He is our guide and he convicts us of our sins. He empowers us to move forward and it is only through him that we bear good fruit. How do we keep from becoming stagnant? We take these steps that Beau outlined for us–relying on the power of the Holy Spirit within us.
How did the definition of “stagnant” impact you? Are there any areas of your life that have become stagnant, places where the Spirit is no longer flowing? Which of the five steps is the most difficult for you? We would love to hear your thoughts!!
We were in Birmingham celebrating our granddaughter’s first birthday, so I was not there for Beau’s sermon, but really look forward to hearing it. I find it ironic, that even though I have not yet heard Beau’s words, I was in the midst of a living illustration over the past few days of the perseverance that it takes to move forward. Our sweet one year old is right on the verge of walking. Every day she practices over and over and over. She uses a push walker sometimes, but can’t yet turn it by herself, so seeks help when she gets stuck. She loves to hold our fingers and walk with that support. She pulls herself up onto furniture and walks around it, looking for affirmation from time to time. Every once in a while she lets go and takes a tumble, but she gets right back up and tries again.
Can you imagine how puzzling it would be to see a toddler who stopped trying to walk? One who decided that the progress made to this point is good enough? Think of the growth stagnation that would happen, the life experiences that would be missed out on? Yet, I’m afraid that many of us do that in our spiritual journeys.
We are encouraged throughout scripture to “walk”. Knowing that most of us walk to get from one point to another, I’m going to take the liberty to substitute the words “move forward” in the place of “walk” in the following scriptures..
There is no “neutral” in moving forward. May we cast off any tendency to be okay with where we are. May we, with the humility of a learner, take the hands of our Savior, accepting the support of our brothers and sisters, breathing the breath of the Holy Spirit, move forward until the day He takes us home.
Are you moving forward? How do you keep yourself from becoming stagnant, especially in those tough seasons when you don’t “feel” like persevering?
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