Reality Check: The Big Picture

This has been a life-changing journey of discovery and growth.

Yeah, yeah. I know that sounds cheesy, but I mean it.

I didn’t have a plan. I just had questions.

And somehow, so many things that seemed like separate ideas along the way eventually converged into one picture.

I can’t tell you exactly how God led me from one question to the next, but I know He was behind every step. What He has shown me through all of this has changed the way I understand Him, myself, and what it actually means to follow Him.

And I am forever grateful.

When I look back now, I can finally see how all the pieces fit together.

Reality — God determines what is true.

Seeking/attention — I turn toward that reality.

Knowing — I learn who God actually is and what He says is true.

Faith — I trust what God says even when what I see or feel seemingly contradicts it.

Union with Christ — I’m not attempting any of this alone. His Spirit actually lives in me.

The Spirit — gives me spiritual life, reveals truth, produces new desires, empowers obedience, and transforms me.

Deny yourself — when my old desire conflicts with His, I relinquish my right to lead.

Follow Me — I choose His way.

Obedience — I actually take the step.

Abiding — I keep living in dependence on Him as the source.

Repentance — when I realize I’ve drifted, I turn back and realign with reality.

Transformation — over time, the Spirit changes me so that Christ’s character increasingly becomes visible in the way I live.

And suddenly, “Follow Me” isn’t an abstract Christian slogan anymore.

It’s Tuesday afternoon and somebody says something that pisses you off. 😂

Two desires appear.

One says:

Defend yourself. Make sure she knows you’re right.

And another says:

You don’t need to win this. Love her.

And suddenly, everything I’ve learned through this Reality Check has arrived at one ordinary human moment.

Which reality will I trust, and whose direction will I follow?

You don’t have to manufacture the second desire.

You don’t have to transform yourself.

You recognize where He’s leading, trust Him, surrender your competing way, and take the next step behind Him.

And as you keep doing that with Him, He does the transforming.

I started all of this with questions.

I certainly don’t have all the answers now.

But I know Him better than I did when I started.

And when I forget everything I just spent twelve articles and hundreds of hours learning, I know where to turn.

I really hope God uses these very human writings about one person’s search for truth to draw someone else a little closer to Him.