Building Spiritual Muscles
What does it mean to Thrive Spiritually? To thrive spiritually is also to build spiritual muscles. The word thrive means to prosper,to flourish, and to advance. It is God’s will for his children to prosper, which is evident in Hispromise mentioned in Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord,“plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” God makes itvery clear that he does not intend for us to lack or to fail. To thrive is our birthright. We arecalled to thrive in everything we do and every area of our lives. To secure this birthright, wemust first learn how to thrive spiritually. Once we can thrive spiritually, thriving will manifest inour lives in mental, emotional, physical, relational, and financial aspects. In Matthew 6:33, weare commanded to seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness first, and then everything elsewill be added to us. This scripture speaks about thriving and gives us an “if-then” formula forthriving. “If” we seek God first, “then” everything will be added to us. In other words, if wethrive spiritually, we will thrive overall How to Build Spiritual Muscles? Feed on God’s word – Jesus overcame the enemy in the garden of Gethsemane becausehe understood that man should not live by bread alone but by every word that proceedsfrom the mouth of the Lord. Seeking God’s knowledge, wisdom, and understanding willfeed our souls with the truth while strengthening our faith, ultimately allowing us tothrive in our walk with God. In Hosea 4:6, God explained that his people are destroyedbecause they lack knowledge. It went on to say that because the people rejectedknowledge, the Lord rejected them. Those whom the Lord rejects will not thrive;therefore, to secure our thrive, we must secure the knowledge of the Lord. Obedience to God’s Word – Obeying the word of God requires us to lean not on ourunderstanding. We permit God to direct our paths when we do not lean on ourunderstanding. A path directed by God is safe, sure, and prosperous. However,disobedience to his word results in disobedience to his will for our lives, ultimatelytaking us out of His protection. Obedience to God’s word is protection, and anyoneunder the protection of God will ultimately thrive. Trust in the Lord – According to Psalm 125:1, “Those who trust in the LORD are likeMount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever.” Trusting God makes usunshakable. The unshakable, by definition, cannot fail, fall, or be destroyed, all of whichare the opposite of thriving. Therefore, trust in God is a prerequisite for thrivingspiritually Prayer – Praying is an important tool and posture in building our spiritual muscles. Whenwe go to the gym or work out at home, the tool and the posture we use determine theexercise’s effectiveness, which is evident in the muscles we build. It is the same conceptfor prayer. Prayer draws us closer to God; it strengthens our relationship with him byabasing our fleshly desire. Once our fleshly desires are abased, it paves the way for us tobuild our spiritual muscles. When our spiritual muscles are built through prayer, theymanifest in our faith and trust in God. Strong spiritual muscles are also evident in ourcommunication and consistent interaction with God. Most importantly, having strongspiritual muscles keeps us in a righteous posture because it strengthens ourcommunication and interaction with God. As we know, the prayer of a righteous personaccomplishes much, and to accomplish in the Lord is to thrive. In other words, we shouldlive a life of consistent communication with God through prayer. Therefore, how weapproach prayer is vital to building our spiritual muscles Orayne Williams, Head of SchoolThe Exodus Academy
Heaven is Waiting on Your Cry
Crying to God is powerful in the realm of the Spirit. It gets you divine attention and transformation from God! Throughout biblical history, God has always responded to the cry of His children. Crying to God is not childish; it is not weak. Crying is a language in heaven! It is proof of our trust and utter dependence on God. God responds to the cry of his people. Exodus 3:7-8 “And the LORD said I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have HEARD THEIR CRY by reason of their oppressor; for I know their sorrows; And I am come down to deliver them.” God’s response to our cry is DELIVERANCE (He delivers us). Sometimes, our deliverance tarries because we have not cried. Heaven is waiting on the cry of men! God allows certain situations to happen so that his people would cry unto him. He allows the suffering to last a little while so that his sons and daughters would cry unto him. He allows the heat to be turned up in the furnace so that his sons would cry unto him! Your cry reveals God’s glory!! We often hear people preach and teach about the topic “Jesus wept”! But we rarely hear someone talk about the result of Jesus weeping! Today, I want to reveal what happened due to Jesus weeping. John 11:35 says, “Jesus wept.” John 11:38 says, “Jesus groans in himself.” Then, in John 11:41, we are told that Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. Between verses 35 and 41, Jesus did not say any words to God, yet he thanked God for hearing him. Why did he look up and say “thank you”? What did God hear? Jesus’s cry was heard in heaven, and his groaning was understood. After Jesus wept, he said in verse 43, “Lazarus, come out!” Jesus’ cry was a request to his Father to resurrect Lazarus, and he knew his request was heard therefore, he thanked God in advance. Our cry has the ability to make God resurrect dead things. I hear God say that when his children cry unto Him, he will bring DEAD THINGS TO LIFE: dead dreams, dead hope, dead businesses, dead faith!! Crying, weeping, and groaning to God is the secret to bringing dead things to life. Orayne Williams, Head of SchoolThe Exodus Academy