Grow Up =)

["Grow Up!" That seems to be the most valuable advice we can give others and even ourselves, not in impatience, but in a loving tone. I remember the cherished people by my side who have ever gently said that to me. I appreciate these words, and keep them close to my heart. Here's something from Alice Smith's Insight]

Who would you call in a spiritual emergency? Do you have an Elijah--someone whom God has placed in your life as a mentor and role model? Although God provides us Elijah, in due time, we learn that we must not continue to lean on them. God gives us mentors for a reason; but he also gives those mentors for a season. His ultimate intention for us is to stand on our own. The day will come--if it hasn't already--for you to leave the safety and security of the nest and fly.

Consider the partnership of Elijah and Elisha. Three times Elijah made plans to leave; and three times Elisha replied, "As Jehovah lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you." He admired and emulated Elijah. He didn't want his friend and mentor to leave. But there would come a time when Elijah would have to go (see 2 Kings 2:13-25).

At some point like Elisa experienced, your Elijah will have to leave. It is painful but predictable, and it's God's plan. You needn't refuse to release your Elijah, or else you will forfeit your full Kingdom potential.

When Elijah ascended in a chariot of fire, Elisha found himself alone. He returned to the Jordan River, which is symbolic of death and separation. "Crossing Jordan" means death to the old and birth to the new opportunities and responsibilities. Your Jordan experiences are those in which you must take the responsibility to walk out what your Elijahs have taught you. When you are alone, the Jordan, once a very familiar place, now seems overwhelming and impossible to cross.

Some wrongly conclude that troubles dissipate when one becomes a Christian. Not so. God does not remove trouble but He empowers us to overcome in the midst of it. After all, without trials there would never be triumph. There is no victory without war and there is no war without an enemy. Strangely, trouble is our friend. Trouble brings us to total dependency upon Christ. Prepare to cross your own Jordans, to confront your own giants and to gain your own victories.

The usual response to trouble is to say, "I can't." But we fail to realize that our tests are tailor-made by the Father (1 Cor. 10:13).

Wasn't God the God of Elisha as He was the God of Elijah? Even though it seemed overwhelming, Elisha was ready to cross the Jordan alone. And we must make the same journey too.

It's important when faced with trouble to keep our focus on Christ. When we focus on our trouble, all of our strength goes to the problem rather than the solution. At that point, we are not only afflicted by trouble but we are distracted from our communion with Christ who is the Source of our strength. Intimacy with Christ is where you will find the strength to stand. You are to stand in faith, walk by faith, and live by the faith of the Son of God (see Eph. 6:13-14; 2 Cor. 5:7; Gal. 2:20).

In 2 Kings 2:15, we read that "a company of prophets from Jericho were watching Elisha." Inside your heart you long to trust God for the extraordinary. But people are watching. You wish someone else could do the work for you. The thought may come to you as it probably did to Elisha, Where is my Elijah when I really need him? Amazingly, if you will press in and be true to the call of God, regardless of your feelings of insecurity and inadequacy or your lack of faith, the Lord will prove Himself to you.

In 2 Kings 2:23-25 we find Elisha being jeered by 42 young people at Bethel. Bethel means "the house of God." Yes, even Christian friends and family may mock your faith or your passion or the level of your commitment. When I was a newly saved teenager, older Christians said, "Alice, after you've been saved awhile, you'll settle down." Today, after more than 42 years, I am more passionately in love with Christ than ever!

Shortly after I began writing my first book, Beyond the Veil: Entering Into Intimacy With God Through Prayer, a Christian leader told me that I was foolish to think that I could write a book. That statement so intimidated me that I shelved the book for 10 months. However, I couldn't shake the fact that the Lord had spoken to me to write this book. In Christ I found the courage to begin again, and Beyond the Veil has become a best-seller. Yes, even in the Church you will find your critics. And its possible that those who have walked with you for years may leave you if the commitment level becomes too difficult for them.

Are you at your end of your endurance? Have you been feeling the need to quit? Don't do it! Your extremity of need is God's opportunity. Stand on His promises. In His time He will disclose the truth and validate you. The fight is not yours, the battle is the Lord's! Practice what the Elijahs in your life have taught you. Put on the mantle of prayer, stand confidently in Christ and stop looking back for your Elijah to do it for you. Jesus Christ is more than enough!