This title gets you scared doesn’t it? 
“A quiet life.. it sounds like I’m missing out”.

Some weeks ago I posted a series of stories where I was sharing how lately, wherever I turn, I feel God speaking to me about His fatherhood. It’s interesting that God, when He wants to communicate something to you, makes a way, gets through things, uses people and circumstances to do so.

The other thing that’s been so present in the last one year and a half is a quiet lifestyle. 

Some of y’all have been following me since my conversion to Christ. Both before and after there was never any boundary between my public and personal life. I used to think that the more I get known the more my life matters; the more I expose myself to the public the more fulfilment I’ll get. In the moment it kinda feels that way. 

“You don’t have to post about absolutely everything you do or think”, some people around me would tell me. I never liked it when they would say it. I only thought they couldn’t understand how important that was to me. I always thought I have a lot to give out to people, especially when I became a Christian. Thought people need ME, MY advice, MY opinion, MY MY MY. “Maybe God Himself needs ME to do His work.”

But the truth is nobody did. God doesn’t need me to save this world. Jesus’ sacrifice was enough. 

Now listen, I don’t mean we’re insignificant and not meaningful enough for our Abba. Would He send Jesus, His only Son, to die for us if His love for us wasn’t infinite and beyond comprehension? But that’s another question. 

My point is we’re so used to perform. And performance has been the successful old game of the devil. There’s nothing new under the sun. We don’t give up many of our habits when we come to Jesus, instead, we just ‘Christianise’ them. That’s been my life with Jesus for years: useless things adapted to church culture so that they look more acceptable to God and make me feel a better Christian.

Somehow a bit more accepted by God.  All it proved was I was not walking in my God-given identity. ‘A new creation in Christ’ wasn’t real for me. Because I was still holding on to the old me, trying to shift it to match the word of God. 

You know how the Bible says “all things are allowed but not all things are good for me”? Well, we use that as an excuse, not as an opportunity to make an introspection of ourselves and see what needs to be gone. I’m not saying this to shame anyone, cause I’d have to shame myself first, and God’s not shaming us.  

I hope to cause us to ask the Holy Spirit to search our hearts and bring the dirt to the surface. 

Many years I thought and lived as everything goes, as long as I make it look like or feel a bit more Christian. I’d fill my life with us many people as possible, with as much noise as possible, and with as many things to do as possible. I’d make myself the busiest. Productivity! – that’s what the culture screams. “Do! Make! Perform! Work hard! Make money!”

Not bad things. Not at all! But they become really bad when they become the focus. “Social media! Show off! Let them know about your life, how good it is, what fancy meals you have! Show them! “Tell them about what you’re reading in the Bible! Tell them your revelations! They have to know! Otherwise it doesn’t count!”

That would be going on in my mind constantly. And that is what keeps us away from the heart of the Father: the concerns of the world or, in other words, the pride of life. Because instead of developing a love relationship with Him, we focus on what else to do, what else to post, what the latest trends are, how to impress others, how to show off how spiritual we are – the bottom line: we try to earn points in God’s account. We try to increase our value..

But that’s not the Gospel.

The Gospel says that our value in God’s eyes was so great, that He couldn’t let us go to hell. So when it was impossible for us to reach out to Him with our broken nature, He decided to give us a heavenly nature. 

The exchange took place on the cross, sin for holiness and punishment for forgiveness. Through that God said that it’s finished. We don’t need to look for ways to make ourselves approved by Him. We don’t have to scream for affection and attention, because all of that has been given to us. 

We don’t need to try to save the world either. He does save even today. And we don’t need to need to earn favour points with Him either. We’ve been given all the possible favour we could ever get: we’re seated in heavenly places, in Jesus Christ, at the right hand of the Father. Can you go higher than that?

What about the great commission? What about the gifts? What about the five-fold ministry? Amazing stuff! Let’s do it, but do it from that place where everything is already accomplished, everything is finished, everything is provided. 

The orphans are posting for validation, cause they don’t know the Father eyes are burning with desire to be with them. What are you posting for? 

The orphans are serving God for approval, cause they don’t know the Father has received them in His family as legitimate children and has forgotten all their mistakes as if they never happened. What are you serving for?

The orphans are working hard and striving in their human strength, cause they forgot that once Jesus went to the Father, the Holy Spirit was abundantly given to them. How are you living? 

You see, our actions scream something. Behind everything you do there’s a very well determined reasoning. You don’t do a thing just because you like it. There’s a very well defined motive that makes you want the satisfaction you’re being given from what you do. When you do something FOR the Lord, WHY do you do it? Like, honestly, I challenge you to stop reading further and answer that question for yourself. Be brutally honestly. What is the WHY behind your actions? 

Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life (Proverbs 4:23). Guard it from what? Maybe it’s from everything that’s not pointing you to the Father. 

Maybe it’s from false life? From everything that promises life but has no life in itself? Since only One is life..

God had to take me forcefully on a cleansing journey. Not only from demons and false theology, but also from infectious habits and behaviours that were harming me for the couple seconds of fulfilment you experience on the spot. 

And that journey looked like laying down things I had forgotten what it felt like when laid down. 

It looked like cutting off things that were not intrinsically bad, but were medicating me so that I wouldn’t run to the Father. 

It looked like giving up some rights that seemed quite legitimate to have.

And what instead? With every surrender I gained unbelievable freedom. Freedom in areas it was hard to believe I could be free. And intimacy. Such intimacy with the Father I never dreamed is attainable. But the cost..! It will cost you. It will cost your reputation, your comfort, all your other lovers, your dignity even. The cost is high. But greater is the reward.

I wanna ask you today: 

What is Jesus asking you to lay down? 

What do you medicate yourself with in moments of weakness? 

What’s the excuse you use the most when you do something you shouldn’t? 

What’s a habit you’ve been Christianising for a while instead of giving it up?

Also, 

What is Jesus saying about your time on social media? 

What is Jesus thinking about your posts? 

I’m still on that journey. I began to like to disappear and be with the Lord of life and KNOW that no disaster will happen because of my absence. Because He is in control, not me. Jesus could be in constant connection with the Father because He knew how to live a quiet life, despite the chaos and tumult around Him. He didn’t need public relations to make His ministry the greatest in the world, the Father was doing that for Him. 

And you know what? I’m more efficient in my ministry and calling this way than all I’ve done in my own efforts put together. 

We all long to see God manifesting through our lives. But I believe God would do more with/through/for us if we chose to abide in Him and let Him.