Where is your spiritual backbone?

Do you ever find yourself questioning why something did or didn't happen to you? Do you ever get confused about why your prayers aren't answered right away? These very questions have enveloped my mind for years until I realized that my prayers were delayed and not denied. If you've ever been pregnant before you understand that it takes months for you to feel the baby moving inside of you. Just as it takes time for you to feel movement inside of you, it takes time for your dreams to become attainable.

We've discussed dreams previously but it never hurts to review certain things. How do dreams come about? God impregnates each and every one of us with a dream or vision. Everything that happens to you from that point on is to either help you achieve that dream or stop you from achieving that dream. But before you give up just remember that Romans 8:28 says: And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. We all have a dream and a purpose of doing great things, but on the road to that goal there's going to be some speed bumps. We have to remember to keep the Word of God in our faces and stop looking at what's not working. Work with what you have. God knows what's best for us if we just trust him.

There are many people who have aspirations, but they never achieve anything because they're scared to step out of their comfort zones and obey God. These are the same people that we see shouting and quoting scriptures in church but when ACTION TIME comes...

you get the picture. LOL!! The main thing that I am learning daily is how to put my faith into action. My previous post was "Easier said than done"...which is very true but again we have to be determined to be a doer of the word. When things get difficult we can't just jump up in run. We must have a spiritual backbone- endurance, staying power, and perseverance.

The question that we must ask ourselves is: How bad do I want the blessings of God in my life? Jacob demonstrated perfectly the desperation that it takes in order to receive from God. Genesis 32:24-26 {Amplified Version} says:

24 And Jacob was left alone, and a Man wrestled with him until daybreak.
25 And when [the Man] saw that He did not prevail against [Jacob], He touched the hollow of his thigh; and Jacob's thigh was put out of joint as he wrestled with Him.
26 Then He said, Let Me go, for day is breaking. But [Jacob] said, I will not let You go unless You declare a blessing upon me.

Notice that it says that the man pulled Jacob's thigh out of joint. OUCH!!! Many of us would have left that man alone but not Jacob. He was so desperate for a change in his life that he didn't care about the pain and the agony. Jacob's very name stood for liar, schemer; Jacob wanted to be a better person and he got what he wanted because of his dogged perseverance. Have you ever seen children fighting over toys? Better yet, have you ever tried to go to Wal-Mart for "Midnight madness"? You know that people start fighting and trampling over each other in order to pick out what they want. That is the very same desperation that we must have when it comes to obeying God.

There comes a time in every Christians life when we have to grow up. The older you get in God, the more mature you should be. If you've been saved for 10 years, God expects you to act like it. When things go wrong, a person who's been saved for that long should respond differently than a person who's only been saved for 6 months. Unfortunately, this is not the case at all. Hebrews 5:12-13 {Amplified Version} says:

12. For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
13. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.

You may have heard the scripture before that says: to much is given, much is required. If we want grown up blessings we have to believe God as a grown up should believe. An older Christian shouldn't still be worrying about what people think of them or how people look at them. That is so childish. At some point we have to know who we are in God and not care what anyone else says or thinks.

If I don't get any other point across I want to inspire people to have a spiritual backbone. Be determined to be all that you can be in God. Our father always has our best interests in mind. If we're going to say that we're Christians, we should be prepared to deal with or go through anything in order to prove our dedication and commitment to God. Many times as we get older in Christ we get lazy and stop spending time in God's presence. This is what causes a lack of faith when it is needed most. Many people think that going to church alone is enough to sustain our salvation but that couldn't be further from the truth. God wants our relationship with him to be personal. We're only going to receive what we're spiritually capable of handling. I hear many people praying for a new this and a new that but they fail to understand that we must mature before we can handle certain things. Would you give a three year old the keys to a Mercedes Benz? I most certainly hope not.

In conclusion, it is very important to understand how God works. How do you know how God works? By spending time in his word. Proverbs 4:20-22 {Amplified Version} says:

20 My son, attend to my words; consent and submit to my sayings.
21 Let them not depart from your sight; keep them in the center of your heart.
22 For they are life to those who find them, healing and health to all their flesh

In other words, keep your eyes on the Word of God. Don't be slack when it comes to spending time daily in the Word. There is a saying: "Much prayer....must power...Little prayer....little power. I used to wonder how people were able to deal with unspeakable tragedies, and I finally figured it out. They dealt with tragedies because they had a solid spiritual backbone. They trusted that God would take care of them no matter what. Where is your spiritual backbone?

Remain blessed