Article of the Month
September 2007

Understanding the Circumstances of Life

Wade E Taylor

“And whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God, and the Father by Him.”  Colossians 3:17

Each spiritual consecration or decision that we make has an eternal purpose behind it that transcends its present purpose and effect.  It is very important for us to understand this spiritual principal.

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them.”  Ephesians 2:10

We remember most of our important spiritual consecrations because they have a recognizable purpose and directly affect our spiritual life in some way.  We value these and hold them as being important spiritual experiences.

Along with these, there are the many seemingly unrelated choices that we make each day of our lives, that do not appear to have any lasting purpose.  We tolerate these, but think concerning them, “If I can just get past all of these mundane things, then I will be able to seek that which is of spiritual value.”

However, the Lord views these seeming mundane decisions quite differently than we do, as they are not merely arbitrary choices that must be made as we pass through life.  These varied circumstances are purposely placed in our path by the Lord so as to provoke us to make a choice or decision.

“...Behold, a sower (the Lord) went forth to sow (seed).”  Matthew 13:3b

We are predestined to be “conformed to the image of His Son” (Romans 8:29a).  The present development of this “image” can be pictured as being a “seed” that is gradually being formulated and nurtured within us, which contains all of the ingredients that are necessary to bring us into spiritual maturity – the fully formed “image of His Son.”

This can be compared to an apple seed.  Every necessary ingredient is contained within this seed to produce a fully grown tree that is capable of producing a harvest of apples.  There is nothing that needs to be added to this seed.  All that is required for it to develop into a fully mature tree is the right environment.

We often become confused when our spiritual consecrations or decisions, which seemed so outstanding at the time, seemingly fade away without any apparent fulfillment.  This is because we only see the present effect that these produced.  We may not realize that our choosing that which relates to the purpose and desire of our Lord for us, will become an “ingredient” in the preparation of the “seed” that is being formed within us.

The most important thing that we can do today is to live in such a way that only the very best ingredients go into the make-up of this “seed” that we are becoming.  Most of the spiritual consecrations and decisions that we make will not come to the full outworking of their intended purpose in the here and now, as there is not enough time within the span of our lifetime for this to happen.  Much must be accomplished within each of us, in order to bring us into a level of compatibility that will enable us to relate to and function in the realms of heaven.

When we enter our eternal estate, the conditions will be present to release the pent-up life that is contained within this seed.  Only then will it be able to spring forth into its full expression of life, which is the cumulative result of all the ingredients (decisions and consecrations), both good and bad, that went into its make-up.   The “substance” of our new-creation life that developed within us during the allotted time of our present life, will be lifted into the place of its full fruition.

The vision that was given to John on the Isle of Patmos revealed a man with a four-sided face.  From one side he appeared to be as a lion; from the second, a man; from the third, a calf; and from the fourth, an eagle.  Each of these views revealed the same man, yet each demonstrated a different quality within his makeup.  This four-sided heavenly view is the result of a fully developed (spiritually mature) seed.

Our understanding the eternal purpose of the Lord in forming the “seed” that we are becoming, from the cumulative decisions, choices, and experiences of our lives is very important.  It will help us to rightly interpret life.  It may seem to us that the Lord moves in very unusual ways at times, but He has a higher purpose in view.

I can better express this by sharing an experience from my life.  In the immediate view, the things I went through made no sense at all, nor could they be interpreted at the time.

We were living in a very comfortable home.  Then, we were told that we had to move.  I began to look and found a home that was both affordable and desirable.  It seemed right for my family.  However, when I submitted it to the Lord, He clearly said “No.”  Later, I looked at another home that was adjacent to a swamp.  It was so enclosed in trees that it was dark within during the day-time.  As a result of this, it was very damp and musty throughout the house.  Also, it was too small for us to rightly fit within.  Everything about it seemed wrong.  Even the rent was higher than a more desirable home.

Nevertheless, the Lord said that this was the place for us to be.  We moved in, and all of our things began to get damp and musty.  At the time, it did not seem to make any sense at all for us to be there, nor did it seem reasonable that the Lord would tell us to live in such a place.  But, He did.

The guidance of the Lord almost always transcends our present understanding and requires faith on our part to be obedient.  Our obedience is far more important than our present understanding of things, or even our own comfort.  We may make a judgment and choose what we “feel” to be best, but in His Kingdom, all is quite different and relates to a far higher purpose.  Had I used my own judgment, the following could never have happened.

The principle of the Kingdom is “life out of death,” and that the way up may first be down.  The Lord moved us into this house completely against everything that was reasonable.  No one in their right mind would have done this.  However there was a purpose that was completely unknown at the time.

The second day that we were there, a lady came to the door and told my wife that because we were living just outside of the city limits, the children had to be registered for school that very day.  There was no way for her to get to the school, as I had gone to work in our car.  A family that we knew from church lived a short distance from us.  She walked over to see if they would take her to the school.

Just then, two men were leaving this home and told my wife about a special week end meeting at a Bible school.  My wife shared this with me and I said that I would rather not go.  Later, I remembered this and said, “If we were going, this would be the day, but we are not.”

Later, the same day, the Lord clearly told me that we were to go to this meeting.  While there, the academic dean gave a prophetic word that I had been sent there by the Lord to be a teacher, and I was hired.

When we moved to the Bible School from our undesirable “home,” we were only charged one weeks rent, the rest was refunded.  Had I chosen the more desirable house, a one-year lease was required and we would not have been able to enter this very important door of ministry.

This step of obedience, in falling into the ground to die to what I thought best, became a part of the “seed” that I am becoming.  And also, I was released into a higher realm of spiritual life and ministry.  This is an outworking of the Kingdom of God in practical reality.  Had we taken the more desirable home, the ingredients (meeting the two men) that were necessary to bring this seed into the necessary “soil” for its full development would not have been present.

For each of us who seek our Lord’s best, although our submission and obedience may have been very difficult at the time, in our Lord’s time we will understand the “why” of these trying experiences that we must daily endure.  Then, when we enter His eternal purposes “in that day,” we will be fully satisfied.