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“Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
and lean not unto your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he shall direct your paths.”
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust the Process to ‘Getting Right with God’
As a new Christian, after saying some version of The Sinner’s Prayer, you may ask... “I'm Saved! So, Now What?” The answer is actually quite simple: Now, we must learn how to get right (& stay right) with God, just like Jesus. Getting right with God is a daily process, takes commitment, and lots of practice. And there is a fair amount to learn in how to get right with God. Thus, in order to provide guidance for your new (and hopefully, daily) process of Getting Right with God, we put together this book "I'm Saved! So, Now What?" which includes 25+ practical ways I personally used to get right with God, including how to stay right with God... until Christ returns.
If you are all-in with Jesus (which I suspect you are!), this book should help you get set on the path of righteousness, and also is a good refresher if you just renewed your commitment to Jesus Christ to make Him Lord of your life. Either way, if you are not certain what to do next in your Christian walk, then you might use this book to help guide you.
Do I really need to read this book now? Can I Wait to Level Up in My Walk with God?
Sure, you can wait. You can do whatever you want. That is the freedom that God gives us. You get to choose whether you want to follow Him. Later. Never. Now. Forever. I just hope and pray that you choose Him now.
“Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself,
and take up his cross, and follow me.”
Mark 8:34
If you are not sure you are ready to level up in your walk with God, and not sure you are ready to give God full control over your life, that is understandable. I think we all have gone through that fear of the unknown, at some time or another. And there are things that can be quite tough, if not impossible (without Jesus) to give up for Our Heavenly Father, such as your girlfriend, your music, movies, etc. We must be ready and fully committed to embark on the spiritual journey with Our Heavenly Father. But I promise you, it is absolutely worth every earthly sacrifice.
“Rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.”
Luke 11:28
The Paradox of Giving Control to God: The Life Of The Righteous Is The Most Liberating
In our natural mind, you would think that giving up your personal freedom to control your own life is tantamount to involuntary bondage. However, paradoxically, the exact opposite is the truth.
“Jesus answered them, I say unto you,
whoever commits sin is the servant of sin.”
John 8:34
Following Jesus and letting Him be Lord over your life gives us unexpected freedom. The best analogy I can think of to illustrate this freedom is an image of a small child in the arms of a loving parent. When the small child needs to eat, the parent provides food. When the child needs clothing changed, the parent is ready with fresh clothes. When the child is dirty, the parent provides the bath. When there is danger, the parent is there to warn the child and provide safety. When the child is hurt, the parent is there to comfort and mend the boo-boo.
“Cast all your care upon Him; for He cares for you.”
1 Peter 5:7
This parent is a picture of Our Father in Heaven who naturally wants to take care of our every need. The freedom we receive is freedom from worrying about our daily provision of food, shelter, and clothing. Just as a child does not need to worry about their daily provison as the child's parents will care for them.
“He restores my soul:
he leads me in the paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.”
Psalm 23:3
We also receive freedom from worrying about what we shall do. Our Heavenly Father will guide us, as we ask Him, in the best path for us in our daily walk with Him. This same analogy also helps to understand what it is to have a “child-like faith” in God, just as Jesus called us to have.
God Will Not Interrupt Our Lives, Unless We Ask Him To
Our Heavenly Father is a gentleman and waits patiently for us to come to Him. All we need to do is ask Him for help, and then to trust Him that he is working on it for our good.
"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you,
saith the LORD, thoughts of peace,
and not of evil, to give you an expected end."
Jeremiah 29:11
Why You Will Want To Walk With God Sooner Rather Than Later
Our Heavenly Father is Holy. We can only come before Him in prayer when we are also Holy and made righteous, as Leviticus 11:45 recites: “For I am the Lord … you shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.” Righteousness gifted to us, through Jesus’s sacrifice for our sins, is the THE ONLY WAY to cleanse us from our sinful nature. Jesus’s sacrifice reconciled us with Our Father in heaven.
“I am the way, the truth, and the life:
no man comes unto the Father, but by me.”
John 14:6
If (more likely, when) we fall back into sin (even unknowingly!) we are no longer righteous. When we are not righteous, God must turn His face from us, and is unable to hear our petitions and prayers.
“But your iniquities have separated you from your God;
your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear,
and righteousness stands at a distance”
Isaiah 59:2, 14b
As we daily forgive others and repent, and follow Jesus, we are renewed into Our Father’s favor. Then, Our Father can hear our petitions and prayers, and work on our behalf behind the scenes to fulfill His Holy promises to us.
“And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you;
seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you…
If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children:
how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?”
Luke 11:7-13
I wondered for decades why Our Father was not able to give me whatever I asked for in prayer, as promised in the passage above. My personal answer was so simple: I was not right with God, as I didn’t truly understand what sin or repentance was. I thought if I wasn’t actively harming anyone, then I wasn’t sinning. I was wrong. I also wrongly thought that I could keep sinning and keep asking for forgiveness. I didn't understand that repentance meant that my heart needed to be changed permanently.
It was only when I circumstances in my life drastically changed, when I had to level up. My life was such that I had to get my prayers heard and answered. I had to seek Jesus and face the spiritual growth opportunities that God had always wanted me to do, for decades.
Recognizing Opportunities To Grow In Your Walk With God
I unknowingly held onto so many hurts, and unforgiveness all that time. I see I was foolish. I didn’t recognize these buried hurts as direct opportunities from Our Father to grow in my faith and walk with Him. Instead, I complained that life was too hard. I was moving backwards from the relationship I desired with Our Creator. With God, if you aren’t moving forward, or even if you are standing still passively in your faith walk, you are drifting backwards in your walk with God.
“We must pay much closer attention to what we have heard,
lest we drift away from it.”
Hebrews 2:1
The Holy Spirit revealed to me those buried hurts to deal with, as I finally asked to grow closer with God.
Changing Your Attitude Towards Challenges We Face In This Life
Sometimes faith-building opportunities, known as mountains in scripture, come with personal suffering. Well, I don't wish suffering on anybody. And yet, I wish the result on everyone.
As you go through more of these faith-building and growth challenges, you realize that these opportunities are gifts from God. These gifts are what we need to grow closer in our walk with God and to become Kingdom-minded. Successfully overcoming these challenges, while completely relying on God’s guidance, results in a hardening of resolve, strength, passion and compassion to help others, integrity, and, best of all, faith to move more mountains. God is faithful. He keeps all His promises. There is nothing more beautiful than watching your mountains pick up and move. Glory to God.
Example of a Challenge You Can Have Victory Over, Using the Principles in This Book and God’s Help
Let’s say you ask Abba Father for help in loving your fellow Christians with the same love (called ‘Agape’ love) that Jesus loves you. God may send you an opportunity that looks like this: you are now a co-leader responsible for the alms ministry at your church, ministry for the poorest among your church attendees. The other co-leader has worked in this alms ministry for years. You are new.
An elderly lady comes to the church begging for charity, week after week. Because you are obediently memorizing scripture, you blurt out your first thought. “I have never seen the righteous begging for bread!” Psalm 37:25. Here you believe that this lady seeking charity is unrighteous and is experiencing poverty or infirmity because she is lazy or committing one of the 'works of the flesh' listed in Galatians 5.
What you don’t realize is that this lady has been praying for long-suffering, a fruit of the Holy Spirit. There are no coincidences in God’s world. God has put you two together in His wisdom. You are to learn discernment and charity, but more important you are to learn the same type of love that Christ has shown you: agape love. Agape love is a love without condemnation and judgment. Your co-leader becomes your mentor in Christ and helps you to see that you are no better and no worse than the lady begging for charity at the church’s door. Every choice we get to make every day is a faith-building opportunity, if we only open our eyes to it.
If you ask to have a heart as Jesus, He may send you a test where your neighbor may cause you some heartache. You then have the opportunity to learn to love your neighbor, even when it's difficult. We must learn to pray for and rely upon Jesus’ help to love your neighbor, because you are not able to love like that in your own will.
Victory in Jesus over Every Mountain in your New Attitude in Christ Jesus
When you start to recognize the pattern of these tests, you start to claim victory over them. When you're ready to move to the next level, not only will Jesus meet you with his hands outstretched, but so will I. God Bless you in your journey of walking closer with Our Father.
"As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.”
Revelation 3:19
Trusting the Process
There may be no quick and easy fix for the trials and tribulations of your life. In fact, things may get worse before things are restored. But I will tell you now the key to fixing things: to trust the process and don’t let go of your faith in God. Nothing may seem to happen for a bit until you turn around one day and realize you have been moving one inch at a time until you crossed the finish line. It doesn’t matter as long as you “run as to win.” 1 Corinthians 9:24.
God is always working for your good. It is highly likely that you will not be able to see it, until it all comes together. “God’s ways are not our ways.” Isaiah 55:9. But if you don't give up hope, it will come together. That isn't my promise, which would be a vapid and shallow promise of man, but rather it is a promise from God,
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths.”
Proverbs 3:5-6
He will show you which way to go, if you ask Him and trust Him.
"Your word is a lamp on my feet, and a light on my path."
Psalm 119:105
This book illustrates my process; my road to redemption. I hope this book encourages you to also trust the process. But I hope you are not as stubborn as I was. My process took me on a path lit by a small lantern. I had to learn to take one small step at a time, and still cannot see more than a few feet in front of me at any one time. As I read the Word of God, He speaks to me and encourages me to keep going. At first, it was a hard path for me to stay on, as I am impatient. As I kept practicing every day, it has gotten much easier to patiently and peacefully wait for the next step. It isn't so bad to patiently wait; I get to look around to admire all of God's beauty while I wait.
Along my path, I also found all kinds of Godly gems placed along the way. I took copious notes of all the miraculous and wondrous things happening in my life. And notes of the pain. I called my notebook “My Book of Gems.” And now that I am writing this book, detailing my path to sanctification and redemption, I can turn around and see where along the path I found each of those gems. I am sharing with you now how each gem encouraged me to keep going, to trust the process, and to finish the race I had started: “let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily threatens us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.” Hebrews 12:1.
I have struggled with the question of whether or not this book makes sense to write and publish. Wasn't it the process itself that forced me to grow? Yes, it was. Thus, I am not sure why God has asked me to write it if we all must learn this process for ourselves. He is wiser than I and who am I to question Him? Perhaps this book will give confidence to others that they are on the right path. Maybe we all get there different ways. I don't know. I just am doing the will of Our Loving Heavenly Father, which I learned by following this process.
Must I Be Tested in These Faith-Building Opportunities?
You may ask yourself, ‘Now that I am a Christian, I thought everything was going to change. Why am I still suffering from [insert pain here]... I thought we are not called to suffer the wrath of God?"
As it is written: 'For God hath not appointed us to wrath.'
1 Thessalonians 5:9
A renewing, a change from giving your life to Christ, doesn't come quickly to some. I don't know why it took me so long to fully be renewed myself. I think I may have been stubborn and thought I was a good enough person as is. Maybe it was pride. So God had to step in, so I could step it up. God allowed suffering, trials, and tribulations as stepping stones to build my faith and grow my walk with God closer. The sooner you recognize this pattern of surrendering to an attitude of faith-building opportunities, that is, the path to learning God's ways, the sooner you move on to the next moutain and the next. Surrendering becomes your currency, your medium of exchange, to grow steadily and mightily in God's kingdom.
Bad things happen to everybody: the just and the unjust.
Don’t necessarily take it personally when bad things happen to you. Sometimes God allows a shake-up to wake us.
“Our Father which is in heaven make his sun to rise on the evil and on the good,
and send rain on the just and on the unjust.”
Matthew 5:45
Other times? That unexpected and sharp left detour is His protection over you. Either way, God has a plan for you.
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God,
to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8:28
Every day, for each thing that happens, you have a choice in deciding how you are going to handle it. Are you going to trust that God has everything in control? Or are you going to worry about what tomorrow brings? Have you heard the Chinese parable about the old man, his horse, and his son?
An old man’s horse ran away into enemy land.
Everyone said, “What bad luck.” He simply replied, “Maybe.”
Months later, the horse returned—leading a group of strong, wild horses.
“What good luck!” they said. He answered, “Maybe.”
His son began riding daily, but one day fell and broke his leg.
Again: “What bad luck.” And again, “Maybe.”
A year later, war broke out. All able-bodied men were drafted.
Most never returned. But the old man’s son, with his broken leg, stayed.
His son’s life was spared.
Your ability to control your attitude is a universal truth, as is keeping the bigger picture in mind. Even the ancient Chinese knew that God’s ways are better than our ways. God’s plans are always better than our plans.
Does the enemy get permission to attack me so that I suffer like Job?
God may allow our enemy, the destroyer, to take some negative action in your life. But trust that God has a plan for you. With Him, we can turn lemons into lemonade and also inspire others to go for the lemonade too. Or we can feel sorry for ourselves and pull everyone around us down too. God has given you complete and full freedom to choose which path you take. I hope to encourage you to take the attitude of 'this is all just faith-building opportunities, and I am here to strengthen my faith in my Heavenly Father.'
"Persecutions, afflictions, which came to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra;
what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.
Yes, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution."
2 Timothy 3:11-12.
Even if you are already right with God, which almost nobody is, you may suffer persecutions. The Holy Bible documents at least two instances when Satan was granted permission from God to sift His righteous saints: Job and Simon Peter. Job was a righteous man. Satan asked Our Father if he could test Job by taking all his riches, his children, and eventually his health. Job never cursed God. God eventually gave Job more children, and his health and riches back, doubled. Satan also asked if he could sift Peter like wheat. When God granted the permission, Christ didn’t pray that Peter be saved from testing. Jesus instead prayed that Peter would not lose his faith in Jesus, that Peter would repentant after he denied Christ, and that Peter would use the lesson learned through the testing to encourage fellow believers when they are tested:
“But I have prayed for you, that your faith does not fail:
and when you have repented, that you strengthen your brethren.”
Luke 22:32
I’m saying you aren’t special because you are being sifted, if you are. I’m saying you are special when you choose to rely more heavily on God through the wash cycle and inspire others to also endure until the end of the race. This is what Jesus meant when He told us to store up our treasures in heaven, not on earth.
Be patient with yourself and with God. It could take a longer than you expect to get your walk on track with God. I have been on this part of my Kingdom journey for a while. Two-way communication with God may happen instantly or it may not. I needed to learn to sit quietly and ‘wait upon the Lord’ in order to connect with God. Only then was I able to hear from Him. Some days I still struggle to sit quietly enough to hear him.
What is the Point of Walking Closer with God?
God created all of us. God wants a relationship with each of His children. When He created us, He left a space for Himself within each of us. You can choose to fill that space with God, or you can try to fill it with things of this world. Spoiler alert: Nothing will satisfy that longing, but God Himself. God made sure of that. The whole point of us walking with God, of filling our empty spaces with Our Heavenly Father, is to bring glory to God.
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me;
because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings to the meek;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all that mourn; To appoint to them that mourn in Zion,
to give to them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning,
the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
that they might be called trees of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.”
Isaiah 61:1-3
As to ‘why’ it is through this particular path including testing, trials, and tribulation, you can pray for this knowledge and wisdom to Our Father. But I believe this is the process because God created us in His image and thus knows each of us intimately. He knows how we learn and what motivates each of us to learn. And better yet, He knows what will get each of us to commit our lives to doing His will only. Doing the Father's will brings Him glory.
OK. So, Now What Do I Do?
Follow the examples of the Saints given in the Bible. The Patriarchs taught about within the Book of Genesis is a great place to start. Jacob wrestled with God. Jacob wasn’t going to let go until he received his blessings from the Father. Likewise, we need to grab hold tight of God and His Word, and don’t let go.
It doesn’t matter where you start, as long as you trust the process and stick with it. The process has worked for millions of other believers. And it WILL work for you too.
I was in the valley for a long time. I didn’t let go. I learned to trust the process of getting right with God. I still haven’t let go. I definitely wandered through the wilderness, but I am slowly emerging. And finally the light at the end of the tunnel is no longer a train. Our Heavenly Father changed Jacob’s name to Israel when the wrestling was over. Maybe He will change my name too when my cup finally runs over with blessings and favor.
Hope in Jesus
Trusting the process of getting right with God, following the saints, and the promises of God are what I call having “hope in Jesus.”
This book outlines and organizes the basic principles of getting right with God. I encourage you to reflect on each chapter on how the principle can be applied to your life in your walk with God.
Walking the Walk ~ Introduction: Trusting The Process of ‘Getting Right with God’
Think about what moved you in this section. Or perhaps what you may have learned. What are some practical things you can ask Our Heavenly Father for in your prayers to Him?
Possible things to pray for (in case you need ideas!).
- Get right with God or a closer walk with God
- Help to remember to pray with God more
- Courage to let go of control of your own life to Jesus, Our Lord
- Courage to pray for ‘faith-building’ opportunities
- Ability to recognize any anger, hurt, offense as a faith-growing opportunity
- Courage to change my attitude when these faith-growth opportunities happen
- Courage to respond to these opportunities by (1) praising God for the opportunities, and (2) then asking Him for wisdom on how to handle it
- Courage to keep asking Our Heavenly Father if He doesn’t answer or confirm right away
- Patience to do NOTHING if God doesn’t answer right away
- Courage to do God’s will when it is revealed to me
- Courage to ask Our Heavenly Father to take gentle care of you, as he will do nothing unless we ask
- Faith to ask for help in aligning your values (see quiz below) to the Fruit of the Spirit (see Galatians 5:22-23)
Note of caution: don’t pray for these opportunities all at once. Going slow is recommended, especially if you are healing from a hurt. In this case, ask Our Heavenly Father to take it slow with the opportunities, so you can ramp up to the one he created you to be, in such a time as this.
Have you given God control of your life? Do you trust Him completely?
Just in case or if you are not 100% sure that you are already "Right" with God, take this quiz to confirm.
Click to take a quiz to confirm your own values
Are your Core Values Aligned with God's?
Are you unequally yoked?
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