Stunted

 The quickest way to remain spiritually stunted is to lack faith. The absence of faith acts as a dam blocking the path of all that God has for you. It is a barrier that can only be removed by applying faith, and once faith is applied when you ask for wisdom, it is yours for the taking, just as James said it would be. He didn’t say there was a good chance, a possibility, or a probability that God would grant you the wisdom you ask for. He said if you ask it in faith, He will give it to you liberally and without reproach.

For those who like probability matrixes, there is a 100% guaranteed outcome of receiving what you ask for. Even though the adage about nothing being guaranteed in life but death and taxes has been bouncing around for a while, you can add a third thing to the list, which is God giving you wisdom if you ask for it in faith. There is a reservoir of promises waiting to be accessed, and the only thing that can access it is true and unwavering faith.

It is only with eyes of faith that we can analyze whatever God allows to come into our lives through the prism of His will rather than our own physical comfort or desire for earthly things. The shift in perspective is usually all that is required for us to understand that God’s heart is for us, and His desire is to mold us, perfect us, and make us whole and complete.

The tragedy of it all is that what we usually ask for is paltry compared to what we can ask for in faith. Why would you ask for something as fleeting and corruptible as earthly possessions when you can ask for wisdom? Every time we ask God for something of finite value in lieu of the priceless virtues on offer, we reveal our spiritual immaturity.

Once we reach a certain level of maturity, we begin to ask for the things we know will carry us through the dark days, when everything that can be shaken will be shaken, and all that will remain will be unshakable. We’re still playing games even though we are at war, and the longer we delay our understanding of the times we are living in, the easier it will be for the enemy to run roughshod over us.

Spiritual growth might be painful for a season, and the testing of your faith might make the flesh bristle, but they’re nothing compared to what the enemy will do if we are found powerless and weak.

No one ever looks back on the process of their faith being tested, only to conclude that it wasn’t worth it. What the testing of your faith produces is of such value that whatever it was you had endured and persevered through is but a faded memory.

The closest thing I can compare the process to is childbirth. No, I’ve never given birth; I'm still traditional about that one, but I was there when my wife gave birth not once but twice. Yes, there were grimaces, grunts, hand-holding, and enough pain to go around, but once the babies were delivered, once they were placed on her chest, it was as if all the pain was forgotten. Sometimes trials feel like they will never end, or that they’re so painful we will never get through them, but then, one day, it ceases, it ends, it has a culmination, and we come to realize we did survive it, get through it, and are the stronger for it.

No matter who tries to convince you that you don’t need faith to obtain wisdom from God, they are lying and have no knowledge of what the Word of God says. It can’t be stated any simpler than that. If the Word of God says one thing, but men insist upon another, it’s man who is wrong, not the Word of God.

Everyone’s looking for shortcuts, cheat codes, ways, and means to skip a level or five and just get to the end of the journey without making the journey, but there is no way around it. Throughout this journey called life, we make choices. We choose to be faithful; we choose to be obedient; we choose to endure; we choose to focus on our faith and grow it to the point that it opens the floodgates of God’s blessings. We choose what we ask God for, we choose what we do with what He gives us, and we choose how we react to the testing of our faith.

With every choice we make, we either grow, remain stagnant, or shrink. Our choices either glorify God and feed our spiritual man or feed the flesh. The one you feed consistently will grow in strength until it can subjugate the other. If you feed your spiritual man consistently, it will overcome the flesh. If you feed your flesh, it will stifle your spiritual man.

God’s promises are still valid; they have not changed, just as He has not changed. We can still approach Him in faith, and He will be faithful to give us the wisdom we seek liberally, meaning that it won’t be a bite-sized portion of wisdom but an entire buffet.

Wth love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.