Breakthrough

There has been so little reality to my faith for most of my Christian life that though the two incidents I am about to relate will seem trifling to you, they represent a breakthrough for me---like the difference between a firefly and fire.

One is a relationship I am involved in that I have been so far handling in the usual way---letting the dogs of psychology and fear romp around freely in my mind. What's new is that this time I am rebuking the curs and sending them packing. I am realizing that as a slave to Christ I have no right to entertain worthless thinking. Christ tells me what to fill my mind with---"whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable . . . think about these things" (Philippians 4:8). That is as explicit a command as there is in Scripture. For me it is like redirecting a moving train, but I am doing it more or less well, one moment at a time, as AA says.

The second concerns giving up today's plans for someone in need, though the screaming banshees of fear in my mind are telling me I can't afford the time. I realize that the forfeiture of a day is in itself no big deal. The breakthrough is the way I reasoned it, in the secret recesses of my heart. I caught myself thinking, and actually believing, "If I give up these 24 hours, I'll bet God is able to make me prosper more than if I had protected it."

This is all virgin territory for me.

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