“And I heard a voice say, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat them.’ “‘No, Lord,’ I replied. ‘I have never eaten anything that our Jewish laws have declared impure or unclean.’ “But the voice from heaven spoke again: ‘Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.’ This happened three times before the sheet and all it contained was pulled back up to heaven.”

Acts 11:7-10 (NLT)

All of us have patterns of behaviors that we have learned since birth, and some of them are deeply entrenched in our way of thinking. We have assumed that these behaviors and attitudes are the right way to go. In Acts 11:7-10, this is where Peter was in his thinking regarding teaching the Gospel to those that he once considered unclean and not fit to receive it. Through Christ, God had made a new way, one that demonstrated His plan to expand His Kingdom to anyone who would accept His only begotten Son as their Lord and Savior. This was a vastly different way of thinking and believing, and many rejected it because they wouldn’t trust God and change their ways.

Trusting God totally and completely is not up for negotiation. It’s not an option for the believer and follower of Christ. We must trust Him! Jesus Christ told the disciples in Mark 11:22(NLT), “Have faith in God.”, and this is what we must do. Hebrews 11:6(NLT) tells us, “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.” When God tells us that something is impossible, we have no other choice but to believe that it is so. He says that it is impossible to please Him without having faith in Him. So, there’s no room in our relationship with God for doubt and unbelief. We must trust Him in every way, without exception, because this is what He deserves and requires.

Many of us are praying to God to bring newness into our lives. We want to walk by the power of the Holy Spirit in a greater way. We want increased financial abundance or greater health and wellness. Some of us are praying to cross paths with our future spouses, or to have greater unity and peace in our relationships with others. These all mean that we have recognized a need to move forward and upward to a place that is different from where we are right now. We want to expand because we know that this expansion will bring something new and greater than what is currently before us. We’re thankful and blessed, but we’re not satisfied. We want more.

Our Heavenly Father created us with the capacity for higher heights, so He’s delighted when we recognize a need to go higher in life. As a matter of truth, He is the only One who can take us higher, because we can’t do it without Him, but make no mistake, our faith in Him must be the springboard. Any time that we have a desire to expand in blessings, it is really a desire to go higher in Christ. That means some of the baggage we’re currently carrying must be left behind so that we can travel lighter to the next level of spiritual growth and blessings. It’s inevitable that we will have to change some aspect of our thinking and behaving to move to a greater level of blessings. This is the plain and simple truth.

We should never try to take the wheel and steer ourselves into the infinite possibilities for blessings and growth that are in Christ. God always knows best. Our destinies are in His most capable hands, and He knows how to get us to where He wants us to be. A desire to trust Him and a willingness to grow into the men and women in Christ that He has called us to be must exceed any other desire we may have. Prioritizing our relationship with God through Christ, as well as putting Him first in all things, demonstrates that we have a heart that pleases Him. It shows that we have the spiritual strength to steward and maintain the blessings we seek.  

1Peter 2:9(AMP) says, “9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a [special] people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies [the wonderful deeds and virtues and perfections] of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” Bringing glory to God, the One who has called us out of darkness, is our number one mission in Christ. It’s our privilege and responsibility to carry this out while we’re here on earth. We belong to our Heavenly Father, and He always knows what is best for us.  He has ordained that the way to go higher in life is to love, obey, and have faith in Him and His Word. So, if there’s anything in our hearts and minds that is against the example of Christ, we need to deal with it first by renewing our minds to the truth, and committing ourselves to increase our faith, love, and honor towards God. ■

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved. 

Amplified Bible (AMP)
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

“God Always Knows Best”, written for Springfield Fellowship © 2023. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.   Christian devotions, Christian Encouragement, Growing in Christ, God’s