Christians talk about growing spiritually but do not understand what it means to be spiritual. They know what it means to live in the natural, for it is in the natural that they live each day. But the spiritual seems so foreign and mysterious because it is a place they have never been.
Spiritual power is not built up but poured in. Moses said, “…Oh, that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!” (Numbers 11:29 NKJV).
Too often, believers think the spiritual is living a life a notch or two above the natural. They know the level that they are in with their own measurement of holiness, and so imagine the spiritual as being an improved version of their natural.
When you surrender all, you gain so much more. “For whoever wants to save his [higher, spiritual, eternal] life, will lose it [the lower, natural, temporal life which is lived only on earth]; and whoever gives up his life [which is lived only on earth] for My sake and the Gospel’s will save it [his higher, spiritual life in the eternal kingdom of God]” (Mark 8:35 AMPC).
The problem with thinking the spiritual is slightly better than the natural is the goal is always set to be far below what God would have you reach for. The measurement is still of this world, and if we were honest, we would find we set the goal to a level we can get to on our own.
Stop using earthly measures when you’re trying to reach heavenly goals. “The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit” (1 Corinthians 2:14 NIV).
Another error saints make is thinking the spiritual is so mysterious and beyond understanding that they give up and don’t try to get there. They think it is a level we can only get to in heaven and think the natural is all we can have while here on earth.
God can show you in a moment what you couldn’t learn in a lifetime. “This is what Yahweh says: Call to me, and I will answer you. I will tell you great and mysterious things that you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:3 NOG).
The problem with putting off the spiritual until we get to heaven is we squander everything God wants to do in us and through us while we are here on earth. We were meant for more right now, and if we don’t take hold of it, we are a hindrance to all that God could do through us.
When you’re praying by heaven’s rules, impossible is the goal line. “For with God nothing will be impossible” (Luke 1:37 NKJV).
Until we see the spiritual life from the eternal perspective of God, we will never be able to walk in it. It is not something to be attained by the striving of man or the programs that institutions can offer. Rather, it is a life that surrenders to God such that He can fill it with the Holy Spirit from above.
Only God can take you higher than yourself. “For by You I can run at a troop of warriors; and by my God I can leap over a wall” (Psalm 18:29 NASB).
The spiritual life is not just a little higher than the natural life; rather, it turns the natural life upside down on its head. It is so radically different from worldly measurements that the scales of man can’t even be used to see what level your spiritual life has risen to.
God is so upside down to our worldly thinking, so stop trying to understand your circumstances right side up. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9).
In the natural, the more you take, the more you have. In the spiritual, the more you give, the more you have. In the natural, the ends justify the means. In the spiritual, the means justify the ends. In the natural, the stronger you are, the more you can do. In the spiritual, the weaker you are, the more God can do through you.
Divine power flows in natural weakness. Jesus told the apostle Paul, “My grace is enough for you, for my power is brought to perfection in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9 CJB).
The test of how high your spiritual life has gotten to is how much your natural life still controls you. You are either pleasing to God or just pleasing your flesh. The spiritual life is not a switch but a dial, an ever-increasing way of living your life, controlled either by you or the Holy Spirit.
Just because you are in the flesh does not mean you cannot walk in the Spirit. “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16 NKJV).
The spiritual life is not just experiencing the spiritual realm around you, but having the spiritual realm within you as you traverse the world you live in. The highest form of spiritual living is having the life of the Lord Jesus reigning in you such that your entire life is subject to Him.
Spiritual growth is revealed in practical outcomes. “Let everyone see that you are gentle and kind. The Lord is coming soon” (Philippians 4:5 ERV).
Blessings to you,
Paul Balius
As always I have been deeply touched and ministered by your devotions. There is such depth and revelation in them, I’m challenged every time to go deeper and further into His purpose and Presence.
I thank God for your life and ministry.
May He bless you and your family much more than you could ever imagine!
Marcela Alonso
Hi Marcela, thank you so much for your kind and encouraging words! This particular blog is also going into my next book, though in the book I expand it a lot more. I am getting so excited for this next book! Hope to release it by the end of the year. Blessings to you and your family, Paul