Colossians 2:6-7 As you, therefore, have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.
One of the proofs of a living thing is growth. Many people see the increase and external change that growth brings but not the internal work and personal responsibility that comes with growth. In the opening scripture, we see that after receiving Christ, the next step is to walk in Him. But that walking happens when we are rooted and built in Him, established in the faith. It brings to my mind a toddler who is trying to stand on his feet to walk. Before that toddler can walk, he would have to be firm in his legs. If the legs are not strong and firm, he falls after a few seconds. Then the word rooted gives me the understanding that because roots are not seen but in the ground, the real work that brings change externally happens where no one can see with their physical eyes(internally).
In a particular year when the Lord told me it was going to be a transformative year for me, I initially thought it meant more money, a car, etc. It was after a few months, I knew that the change God was talking about was internal. What He really wanted for me was change on my inside, then whatever I needed to see outside would be automatic. The church today has had this mindset of change being outside first so it has even affected the kinds of prayers we give more attention to. More people will rather prefer someone laying hands on them for magic to happen, than looking inside to see the change they need to make about themselves. Anyone who saw a change in their lives after prayer was made for them had an internal change that wasn’t seen. We have many people hopping from one prayer platform to the next and we wonder why we are at the same spot. We want things really fast so we aren’t ready for the path that takes us on a process. Any change that lasts is the one that first happens internally. If it came by someone else doing the work without your understanding of it, you can easily lose it.
Have you ever wondered why upon all the deliverances and falling down that happen in many churches, the same people come back the next week and fall once again? We think the change happens in the falling. After falling down, if you still have the same habits and mindset, it will look like nothing happened in spite of the prayer. So for instance, if there is an addiction and I pray and fast about it, I need to know the things that trigger me to engage and begin to take steps that hinder those triggers. I mustn’t always say it was the work of the devil because I had to cooperate. If it’s friends, I’d have to get new friends who will make me better.
After receiving Christ, growth is next on the list for God. And that growth will start on the inside. Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. This means the only way I can be assured of being in God’s will is when my mind is going through renewal. Mind is internal and spirit so we can’t see the mind. Once the internal changes, the external will naturally follow. We must be responsible for our own spiritual growth by spending time in the Word and having a personal prayer life not moving to different churches or Pastors. That change is short-lived because the Pastor won’t always be there. There’s a place for the five-fold ministry and their essence is to equip us to be mature enough to stand on our own at some point. Ephesians 4:11-13 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.
There’s a perception and even a statement many people make that God will do it. And the scripture that speaks about waiting on the Lord has also been given a meaning that is not entirely the truth. Waiting on the Lord doesn’t mean sitting down idle. A waiter or waitress is actually engaged in an activity. They are taking orders and serving so there’s an aspect of growth that requires a person to ask what changes they need to make in their lives, and that is introspection. No one else can do it for you. It can be likened to a waiter taking orders. Then after taking the orders, we put in the work required to see that change. So when I see someone who looks strong in faith and resilient, I don’t assume it’s a gift, they had to consistently feed on the right things to get there. When someone gets their prayer answered easily, I know it’s not a fluke, they paid a price.
Colossians 1:9-10 summarises the point of this excerpt for me. It says; For this cause, we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God. Look at the boldened words. Being filled suggests that something has to enter into you. That’s internal change. But after that internal change happens, the way you walk will change and that’s what people can see outside. Then you become fruitful. We can tell the kind of tree by the fruits on it but we don’t see what happened when there was a seed hidden in the ground.
So, fruits are external products of internal work done.
The Word In Clarity 