Daniel 2:1
“Now in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was troubled and his sleep left him.”
God communicates with everyone. It’s Nebuchadnezzar’s turn. God gave him a dream. Jesus says in John 12:32, “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw everyone to Myself.”
My call was when I was 17. My friend group was drifting. I was injured and could no longer participate in my sport. These were primary for me. I attended a christian concert and went forward. I was His now. God became a big part of my thoughts. I was hungry for Him. My only nourishment was christian tv. My mom, brother and myself watched often. God sent a seminary student to me and I went to his house every Friday for bible study. At Santa Ana College I was involved in the bible club. I gained lifelong christian friends there. He drew me to Himself, adopted me and gave me a new life.
He wants to do this with everyone. We have to accept the invitation. If we deny this we lose some of our God sensitivity. Hebrews 3:15 says, ‘As it has been said: “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as you did in the rebellion.”’ Pharaoh is the big example in scripture about hardening one’s heart. He would say no, get punished, then recant. He did this five or so times before God hardens his heart. God honors his choice and cements his decision. For him it may have been over the course of weeks or months. For many this may take years.
While I have been focusing on our call to Christ, He still speaks to us as we grow in Him. We can pick and choose what we listen to. This is partial obedience. Even as believers we can harden our hearts. Hebrews 5:13,14 says, “For everyone who partakes only of milk is unacquainted with the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to distinguish between good and evil.” These aren’t maturing in the faith. It takes practice. That is obeying the heart prompts the Lord gives us. The more we are in His Word, the more He communicates with us. Staying away from His Word, church and christian friends is being disobedient. We are starving our spirits. This is hardening our hearts to a degree.
These infants in Christ are unstable. Ephesians 4:14 says, “Then we will no longer be infants, tossed about by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching and by the clever cunning of men in their deceitful scheming.” Many things catch their attention and rattle them. People stay in the infancy stage by not responding to God.
Spiritual infants behave immaturely. Paul gives an example in I Corinthians 3:1-4, ‘”And I, brothers and sisters, could not speak to you as spiritual people, but only as fleshly, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to consume it. But even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like ordinary people? For when one person says, “I am with Paul,” and another, “I am with Apollos,” are you not ordinary people?’ They are being cliquish. Unity should be stronger.
These are only partaking of spiritual milk. Spiritual infants need to be retaught the primary lessons. Hebrews 6:1,2 says, “Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and about the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment.” It’s as if they are stuck in a rut. They aren’t getting the basics. Which means they aren’t able to get the more complicated lessons.
I like the phrase, “let us press on to maturity”. This usually involves obedience. God puts us in situations in which we have to love, forgive or share a comment. They each share their challenges. A relationship may change due to the words. All difficult. This builds our character and teaches us strong lessons. We press on to maturity. We are hearing from God and responding to Him.
He brings us to great heights. Places we would never have dreamed of. Yet, there we are. We don’t seek for ourselves. We have learned that He and others are primary. It’s no longer about us. That’s a great weight off us. We are there for Him and others.
Lord, thank You for Your words. Thank You for sticking with us, even when our obedience is slow. You are committed to us, You are patient with us. Thank You.