"'Not that I have already obtained it, or have already become perfect, but I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and raching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as are mature, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you' (Philippians 3:12-15).

Often I receive phone calls from committed believers vexed by new revelations of their self-centeredness. God has shown them new areas of their lives from which He would like them to walk away freely. Instead of greeting the prospect of Christ's doing a deeper work as He reveals and heals, the believers heed the voice of the enemy that immediately whispers, 'How could you be so selfish? Look at how your behavior has affected your children. Most of your Christian life is a joke; your hypocrisy is finally being revealed.' The excitement that we should have in anticipating Christ's deeper work is replaced with regret, depression, frustration, and a looking within that makes us all the more carnal.

As you twist a screw into a piece of wood, each new thread builds upon the previous thread to allow the screw to go deeper and deeper. Likewise, your life is moving deeper and deeper into Christ, with each thread a cycle that builds upon the previous cycle and takes you deeper into the abiding life. Each cycle is based on the fact that you have given Christ control of all known areas of your life, so He continually reveals new areas of the heart where you are maintaining hidden control. Such traits as self-centeredness, materialism, lack of love, lack of joy, self-consumption, judgment, and criticisms spring forth from the areas under your control. Remember that He reveals these areas only because you have been placed in Him, and the screw is turning that allows for deeper realizations. Beware when, upon seeing a new problem area, you immediately say, 'I can fix it.' Your attempts to clean yourself up in order for you and others to feel better will fail, and you will give up in despair. Then you must recognize, 'I cannot fix it, but the Lord can.' Your surrender just moved another thread deeper into His life. you can experience release, faith, and joy. More importantly, you are now prepared for the next revelation. As you go through the cycle, you continue to decrease, and the life within you is revealed, causing Him to increase.

The cycle, Lord willing, will last a lifetime, and there is no reason to be vexed by it. Though many want to know all, experience all, and be instantly free from all that would hinder, it is the unfolding of Christianity--of just how deep the Lord's work is and the accompanying gradual replacement of dependence on the flesh life with the recognition of the sovereignty of His life--that keeps life from becoming boring. Just as what it means to be a husband, father, and son constantly unfolds before me and causes excitement and anticipation, so does the meaning of my life in Christ. Whatever He makes known tomorrow can be revealed only because of all His work in me in the past. Paul says, in essence, I am mature but not yet mature. I am where I outhg to be today, but more awaits tomorrow. Life in the Giver of Life is never boring."

~ Michael Wells, Heavenly Discipleship