“But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.”
Matthew 7:14

If you are like me, you may have interpreted this verse as a fearful caution to make sure you always perform and behave right, otherwise you might make one too many mistakes, walk off the Jesus road like Christian from Pilgrim’s Progress, and be lost to hell forever.

Yikes!

If I’m honest, for most of my life that “road” has felt difficult – connecting with God, hearing His voice, walking in the miraculous, etc…maybe more like striving or trying to make something happen than growing a 2-way relationship. I’ve had rhythms that have helped me connect with God, but for the majority of my life it hasn’t felt “easy”, probably for 2 reasons: what I’ve experienced, and my beliefs (theology).

First, I think it’s important to address how our experience affects our theology. It’s so easy for the two to be intertwined, and God intended it that way, otherwise He wouldn’t have made us to experience Him. However, what I experience cannot dictate my theology.

I’ve heard many people (including my past self) use this statement to undermine powerful physical experiences believers from other churches have had with God. Even though it is a very true statement, many times people only see it as a way to discredit experience with God and forget that it has a direct impact on their own theology and potential lack of experience. Let me explain:

There are many statements made in Scripture about us that we may not be experiencing at the moment, but that doesn’t change that they are true. For example, in 2 Corinthians 5:17, the Bible says “If anyone is in Christ, He is a new creation; the old has passed away, the new has come!” If I read this, and yet am still trapped in addiction to pornography, or I am still struggling with the same thought patterns and lies I was before I gave my life to Jesus, do I allow my experience to determine what I believe? “I guess it must just not be true about me, I’m just too messed up!”

Absolutely not! What I experience has to be submitted to the ultimate reality of what God says is true. So if my experience is out of alignment with His truth, I press into His truth and declare it over my life until I begin to experience it.

If you’ve ever thought or believed that it’s not easy to walk with God, hear from God, or walk in the power of God, I’ve got good news for you.

The last few months of 2020, something deep in my spirit shifted. I heard something in school that was simple yet profound:

“God wanted to be so close to you…He wanted to make it so easy for you to walk with Him, know Him, and be like Jesus that He died so He could live IN you.”

Now, you may have heard this before. But read it again, slower.

“God wanted to be so close to you…He wanted to make it so easy for you to walk with Him, know Him, and be like Jesus that He died so He could live IN you.”

Wait…so even when I feel disconnected, or connecting with Him feels difficult, or I feel like I can’t walk in the greater things He promised I would, it’s never a problem on His end, and my experience doesn’t determine what’s actually true. He’s closer than anyone else I could ever know – He lives in me. After Jesus died and we received Holy Spirit, there would never again be any separation between us and Him…unless I believed there was separation.

Last week, my daughter Louise came out to our living room with loud sobs and a look on her face like she’d just seen a ghost. She explained through choking tears that there was a spider on the floor of her room and she wanted me to come take care of it for her. We walked to her room together and I quickly found that it was nothing more than a small black fuzzy with some hairs stuck to it, masquerading as her most formidable foe. Had I not taken care of it, she would have completely avoided everything in her room (including some of her favorite toys) and walked in an emotional and spiritual state of fear until it was removed. The power of our beliefs can never be overstated; they determine how we live.

If one belief in a child’s mind can cause such a reaction of fear and worry, completely altering her behavior for a day, what about a seemingly small belief that’s not based on truth that we accepted in our childhood…then through circumstances led to another small belief that’s also based on a lie? If we don’t deal with these lies early on, they multiply and become a rooted belief system in us, leading us to live an entirely different life than we were intended to. These belief systems founded on lies are what the Bible refers to as strongholds…a place in our lives the enemy has a hiding spot to try to keep us from the fullness God has for us. Holy Spirit longs to show us the root of these belief systems we never meant to establish so He can bring freedom in that area of our life, completely transforming how we think and act to be more like Him.

Some of the most frustrating weapons the enemy tries to use on us is lies and old thinking. From the moment we are saved, we have the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16) and our old mind and nature are dead (Romans 6:8). But if we don’t know the battle we’re in, we’ll continue to agree with the lies and spiritual partnerships our old man walked in and never fully step into the beliefs Christ had and has about who we are and who our Father is.

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”
Romans 12:2

If you have said yes to following Jesus and given your life to Him, and you walk in the belief that you’re separated from God or unable to walk the way Jesus did, for any reason, you’re ignoring and undermining the finished work of the cross and the greatest gift the Father has ever given you…His very own Spirit living in you and your personal access to the fullness of God dwelling in you.

“Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”
Matthew 11:29-30

“By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.”
2 Peter 1:3

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
John 10:10

I want to encourage you to invite Holy Spirit to show you any lies you’re believing that have created belief systems that are not aligned with the truth of who God is and who He says you are. Nail those belief systems to the cross and ask Him what truth He has for you in exchange.

I pray you experience new freedom and hope as these belief systems are torn down in your mind and replaced with the thoughts of Christ.

Next time you feel disconnected, or face an impossibility that requires God to show up for anything to change, remember He is IN you and has fully empowered you to walk as He did…allow that truth to determine your experience, and press into it until you see the breakthrough He is leading you into!

There’s nothing like shedding the spirit of performance to walk in the rest He has for us. And when we do, we begin to experience a whole new dimension of His presence and power marking our lives. Jesus came to draw us close to God, to close the gap between us, and to empower us to walk as He did. It’s easy because He made it so!

– Leighton