When we started this journey with God, we weren’t just handed the “fullness” of the “fullness of Christ.” Instead, we entered a territory that is so huge it’s going to take the rest of our lives to explore.
As new creations, we are ever-evolving into the fullness of Christ because Jesus is big country. We must become explorers who are constantly finding something new in the face of God.
We are all learning how to explore the land that is in front us, to investigate the promises and new truths that God has placed in our lives.
A large part of this exploration is learning how to navigate seasons of tension and confusion.
When God is doing a new thing, it can often clash with a way of thinking that is already present within us, causing tension. This can create internal pressure, giving us the choice to remain at our current reality or take the opportunity to upgrade our thinking.
Internal tension is actually just God giving you the opportunity to let go of an old way of thinking and move towards a new one. This is exactly what repentance is all about.
When exploring new territory with Jesus, we must be quick to practice New Testament repentance, which is different than it is in the Old.
In the Old Testament they all repented backwards to what they did wrong. But the key to being in Jesus, is that we can’t repent towards the old man because he is not there anymore; he is dead. This makes for wonderful crazy learning opportunities to become a totally new person, and the Holy Spirit is going to help us explore this territory.
So if you make a mistake, then the way in which you apologize is not by saying, “Lord forgive me of my sin,” because all sin and the old man died on the cross. Rather, we are learning to be holy, learning to explore righteousness.
New testament repentance is about repenting forward.
If you become anxious, which is an old man behavior, then you can’t repent of anxiety because it died with Christ on the cross, what you have to say is,
“Lord, you gave me a brilliant opportunity to be peaceful and I didn’t take it. Forgive me for not being peaceful, and please give me another opportunity to learn this so that I can get it right.”
This is exactly what I have been learning to do, and it has been over nineteen years since I was really worried about anything because the Prince of Peace walked into my life and never left. I have used the times where I could have been anxious to learn peace. It’s been a brilliant territory to explore.
So the next time you find yourself struggling with a negative, take a minute to remember that it already died with Christ on the cross. Ask the Holy Spirit what new territory He is wanting you to explore, and set your intention for some transformational learning. I know the outcome will be well worth the journey. LINK
PS) If interested in learning more about this exploration in God, I’ve got a teaching I think you’ll love called FULLNESS NOW. Even better, my publisher is giving it away for free for the next week! In it, we discuss how the Lord loves to stand in the gap between our potential and our actual development in Christ, and resource the whole journey! I think you’ll be blessed. Download your copy now for free!
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