Page 351 - Radical Love by Linda Robinson_FEB2025
P. 351

SESSION 20



          Speaking from my own experience, there is a process that each serious

          believer has to undergo, whereby the Holy Spirit transitions us from
          being doors into walls. You see, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is

          extremely  weak  and  loves  comfort,  power,  recognition,  indulgence,
          and  pleasure.  When  God  calls  us  to  give  Him  something  costly—

          something that means much to us—we often refuse, ignore, or pretend

          we  have  not  heard  what  the  Holy  Spirit  is  saying,  for  fear  of
          relinquishing whatever it is to the fire on the altar of His consecration.


          Then what happens is that God, in His goodness and mercy, allows the
          enemy  to  come  into  our  minds  with  fear,  accusations,  and

          condemnation,  and  we  feel  so  wretched  because  our  peace  and
          connection to God seem to have disappeared. That is not the case, of

          course, but God allows us to go through this because He yearns for our

          whole hearts. He wants us to repent so that He can disentangle us from
          the things of the world and the flesh—because in the light of what He

          wants to give us, these things are of no eternal value whatsoever.

          For  each  and  every  one  of  us,  there  is  a  pleasure,  a  pursuit,  a

          relationship—for  some,  even  a  ministry—that  we  are  loath  to  hand

          over. I had gone through the laying down of my job, my ministry (more
          than once), my marriage, and my family. I thought I was done with

          laying things down—but God wanted more! And now it was my love
          of coffee.


          Yes, I know! It may sound ridiculous, but I was a coffee gourmand! I

          didn’t buy instant coffee—oh no! I only used the best coffee and even

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