As Christians, many are calling God as their Father, but somehow, they do not experience Him like a real father. God, to them, is like a detached parent and an unfamiliar relative. This lack of intimacy with God has caused many to seek for his “perfect love” elsewhere. Thousands of songs and ballads have been written seeking for this “perfect love”. But sadly, none of these songwriters or singers has ever discovered it or lived it out in their life. The music industry continues to serve as an aimless prophetic voice of the generations, seeking an elusive dream.
The effort to find this “perfect love” in people around ends
up in disappointment. This creates a sense of loneliness in the soul and many
have discarded this pursuit as an impossible goal. Even those who are married,
if you are not careful, you would be seeking for this “perfect love” in your
spouse. You may end up putting a lot of burden upon the spouse because this is
an unrealistic expectation. Your spouse has no capacity to respond as to how God can
respond. If these unworkable demands persist in your family, then you will
encounter relational problems, tensions, disagreements and conflicts.
Another reason why this internal struggle continues within you
is because your soulish self is seeking soulish solutions for spiritual requirements.
This will never do. It is like trying to plug a square peg into a round hole. Many
people are already so exhausted searching for the answer.
Nothing can fill that spiritual emptiness within you except
a personal encounter with God the Father. Even though you are a Christian,
that deep spiritual vacuum will continue to be there because you have never
taken this journey to encounter the heart of God. A cognitively generated image
of God is usually just a god of your imagination.
That is the reason why some Christians left Christianity
because they could not find the fulfilment deep within. No matter what slogans the
churches may use, what clichés they may apply or what scripture verses they may
share about God loving mankind, the person simply says, “I don’t experience God
and I really don’t know God.”
Little did most people realise that this encounter and
experience with God can only happen when they take a definite journey inward. This
is a journey of carrying your own cross – a journey whereby you deny yourself (Luke
9:23).
You may think that it is very difficult to carry your cross
or deny yourself. Now, exactly, what are you trying to deny in yourself and how
are you going to deny yourself? To put it simply, it is your soulish self that
you need to let go of and go for the spiritual self that God has prepared for you.
Once you understand that within yourself there is a soulish self and a spiritual
self, then it will become a lot easier for you to make your decisions and
choices daily.
The soulish self has to do with your self-will, a constant
desire to promote yourself, a sensitive attitude that can be hurt easily, and a
spirit of comparison and competition that challenges anyone whom you see as a
threat. This is the part of you that is taken from the Adamic nature of
self-will and self-rule. This is the part of you where you sit on the throne
and that you are king.
The spiritual self has to do with your spirit fully
surrendered to Jesus. In this spiritual self, God is the King of your life and you
function fully under His rule, power and authority. What do you need to do to
surrender to the lordship of Jesus Christ? You need to let go of all the
external trappings and status that you have depended on all your life. You need to
have a clear understanding that your identity does not come from other people
or in the things that you do or have. This is your first step of liberation – seek
first His kingdom and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33).
Albert Kang
Please read the second part of this article in "The Most Effective Prayer Approach - Handing-over Prayer"
https://faith2ndhalf.blogspot.com/2020/08/the-most-effective-prayer-approach.html
