“I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency].” Phil 4:13 (Amplified)
It was Smith Wigglesworth who famously declared “If the Spirit does not move me, I will move the Spirit”. On the surface, this statement may seem rash, but it essentially mirrors the truth we have been discussing so far, which is that if God seems unwilling or occupied, you can through the force of faith still apprehend your faith objective. This is because God never fails to positively respond to the pull of faith, provided you act in line with His declared will. The profound truth that the above statement implies is that you are the one who decides the presence of God. You determine how far God will go with you. Granted, there are times when God in His wisdom sovereingly moves or inspires us to take bold steps of faith, but this does not always happen every time. However, in His wisdom, God sometimes place us in situations whereby we are forced to take the initiative. For a majority of the time God is the initiator while we are the responder. In the few circumstances where the role is reversed, it is usually a measure of our faith in His ability and our appreciation of His infallible character.
The two instances – when Joshua commanded the sun to stay and not set until he has annihilated his enemies and Jesus’ stilling of the fierce storm, are prime examples of what it means to move the Spirit. What gave these two men the confidence to know that God would not let them down in those desperate situations? It was because they were conversant with His character and were operating on the basis of His word. God had promised Joshua to honour him before His people and establish his leadership. Well, that was the time to cash his chips and he did just that by commanding the sun to stay in the sky and it did so for twenty four hours. God had declared of Jesus “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased”, so you can just imagine the scandal if the beloved of God were to drown in a storm instead of dying on the cross. Jesus knew God’s will for His life and on that basis commanded circumstances to line up with God’s word concerning Him. God the Father had no choice but to still the storm.
So, what is your excuse for not taking that step of faith? Are you still waiting for that Shekinah glory – the pillar of fire or cloud, reminiscent of God’s presence with and approval of the Israelites, to guide you? Do you expect to always feel the presence of God before you move or that tingling sensation that announces His presence? Are you still waiting to be led by the Spirit when the Spirit would rather that you compel Him to powerfully move in your life in line with the declared will of God? Well, you need to understand that you are equal to anything life might throw at you because of Jesus who lives in and gives you inner strength. Even when God’s anointing is not palpable, or you don’t feel led, He can still move. You can proactively seize the initiative rather than reactively waiting for a divine prompting, which might never come and thus miss out on His best for you. Apostle Paul was a man who did exploits for God and he perfectly understood this fact. Now that you know, what are you still waiting for? Step out boldly in faith and the Spirit of God will move to back your faith initiative.
Prayer:
Father, my sufficiency is in you. I declare according to your word in Gal 2:20 that I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who lives but Christ lives in me and the life that I now live I live by faith in the Son of God. I have victory in Jesus. Amen.