Growing Through Relationships

And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not (Deuteronomy 8:2).

God dealt with the Israelites a certain way in order to train them and as He said in the above verse to humble you, to test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. What happened to Israel is an example to us of how the Father deals with us as New Covenant folk who are to walk in love at all times in every situation.

I’ve seen so many patterns over the years in my own life that show me that this is how the Father trains us for the next level of responsibility He has for us. He will allow us to be placed in a relationship that makes us uncomfortable, that draws out of us a fleshly, carnal attitude, an anger problem, resentment and unforgiveness a caustic, bitter thoughts, words, actions, or feelings. Then He sits back to see how we’re going to deal with our human responses to those who don’t treat us the way we think is correct.

Our response shows our maturity and ability to change and adapt to all circumstances and put love first, or it shows our carnality and lack of spiritual maturity and the need to grow or deal with personal issues.

The deeper you go in God, the more He will ask of you. If you run when problems arise in relationships instead of facing the issues and dealing with yourself, you actually hinder an important part of the growth process in your spiritual life. Walking in love will make great demands on your flesh, on your human responses!

If you going to be used by the Spirit of God to minister life, you have to die! That is, die to having your own way, to having things go the way you think they should go. Being used by the Father means coming to the place that your personal needs and opinions no longer matter! What matter most is what God says as revealed in the Word. And for us New Covenant believers, we must be willing to compare all of our thoughts, words, actions, choices, attitudes, demeanor, as well as our responses to others with the unconditional love that we’re commanded to walk in!

Every relationship and every conversation you have today is a potential test for you. The Lord wants to see how you’re going to deal with others when they don’t treat you the way you think they should. It’s a character test. Your relationships today and how you deal with them are showing you what is in your heart.

Let the Father take you to the place of brokenness today. Brokenness is the response of humility to the conviction of God! Cry out to the Father for Him to have His way in you and help you make adjustments in how you relate to others. Make a choice to pass the tests life brings through relationships today!