Originally published Tuesday, 05 March 2013.
“I can’t tell you how much I long for you to enter this wide-open, spacious life. We didn’t fence you in. The smallness you feel comes from within you. Your lives aren’t small, but you’re living them in a small way. I’m speaking as plainly a I can with great affection. Open up your lives. Live openly and expansively!” 2 Corinthians 6:11-13
How do you live a big life? A life of freedom in Christ Jesus? Here are a few simple steps:
Live a life of expectation. Do you expect God to show up in your life? When you pray, do you expect Him to answer? Do you expect to see people healed when you pray? Do you expect to have God show up when you are in church? Do you get excited for all that God could do? Expectation. Expecting God to move mountains in our lives and in those around us….
Know the word of God. Romans 15:4, “Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled. The more Scripture you know, the more you know about what God’s already done in others’ lives, the move confident you can be of what He will do in your life.
Let go of childish things. 1 Corinthians 13:11,12b says, “When I was a child, I spoke, though, and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things…..then we will see everything with perfect clarity.” Put down things that do not matter. Spiritual maturity means being able to see the bigger picture. When you grow up and put on big girl pants, you are no longer interested in sitting in the corner gossiping about what Sally is wearing, like you did in jr. high. You are too busy being about your Father’s business. So when that comes to you, you simply say, “Yeah, her hair looks great, doesn’t it?” Or maybe instead of feeling this overwhelming, oppressive, binding need to put things on social media, texts, or emails, such as “Attn: all women, if you can’t ask me to my face, then don’t be talking about me behind my back.” We put away childish things. We gain strength to let things go, such as when Sally is talking about you. We no longer see the need to confront her. We are too mature for that. We see Sally’s desire to gossip as one of God’s hurting daughters who needs a friend & instead of confrontation, we are filled with compassion.
Accept correction. Embrace that God works through people. Embrace that he will often send you an answer to your prayer through trusted Godly counsel.
“Those who are strong in the faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter. “ Rom 15:1.
“People who despise advice are asking for trouble; those who respect a command will succeed. Prov 13:13
“Pride leads to conflict; those who take advice are wise.” Prov 13:10
Jennifer Maggio is an award-winning author and speaker who is considered one of the nation’s leading authorities on single parents’ and women’s issues. She is founder of The Life of a Single Mom Ministries and Overwhelmed: The Single Moms Magazine. For more information, visit http://www.thelifeofasinglemom.com.
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