Push and Pull Effect vs. Ebb and Flow of God
- Apostle Dr. Premla Mahadevan
- Jan 23, 2024
- 10 min read
Updated: May 13, 2024
The Push and Pull Effect in Spiritual Walk
The push and pull effect refers to the constant push and pull of God's guidance.
God's push leads us forward, but we can still be pulled back.
Allowing things to keep pulling us back can create a delay, causing stagnation and hindering progress in God's destinies.
Unhealthy patterns and bad fruit can result from this effect.
Below are some factors causing this unhealthy push and pull effect:
Self: disobedience or lack of obedience, lack of ability to be taught and led, lack of ability to see and perceive correctly—see through the eyes and mind of Christ, not our own—lack of inner healing and distort our perception as I have taught you before.
Sin: undealt with sin
Unforgiveness
Lack of healing and deliverance
The wrong company or people can hold us back.
Attacks of the enemy: not all things are an attack of the enemy or warfare; more often than not, it is oneself.
The enemy often creates fear and attacks the mind, making it the battlefield. Fear can lead to impaired functioning, poor prayer, and excessive worry, anxiety, and stress. God's promise is to comfort and help amid worries.
The enemy also steals joy, which can occur through depression, others, circumstances, or hopelessness. The joy of the Lord is the strength, and if there's a lack of it, it's time to examine the situation.
Living a Spirit-Led Life: The Ebb and Flow of the Lord
The ebb and flow of God is likened to a wave, rising and falling, and requires skillful navigation.
It's likened to a dance between the Lord and us, with God as the leader.
To fully embrace this dance, we need total surrender and trust, obeying all parts of the Bible, and trusting God.
The Bible advises not to swerve neither to the left nor to the right over 16 times, as this is where we can dance the Dance of Life.
Trust is key to this ongoing journey, and we should be ok with not knowing all the answers.
The Dance of Life is more than the beauty of creation; it points to our fundamental relationship with God as the Creator and perfect Partner.
Some people arrive early on the dance, leading to burnout, while others arrive late, leading to missed opportunities and depression.
To become a skilled dancer, we need practice, commitment to time, energy, resources, and a commitment to learning and progress.
Moving in the ebb and flow of God doesn't guarantee a bed of roses, but if we allow Him to lead us, we can have a steady eye on Jesus.
Remaining in God's flow is the sure path to victory.
Healing and delieverance come in waves, and grief is a part of this process.
The enemy uses fear and joy to paralyse and make us feel hopeless.
Overcoming these enemy ploys is possible as Christians by standing on God's word and trusting Him.
By taking the following steps, you can consistently overcome fear in difficult situations and tests:
Read, study, meditate on the Word of God, and trust in God and His Word.
Remember who you are and whose you are.
Examine yourself. Learn where your fear comes from. Identify what you are afraid of. Get the root of fear dealt with if necessary in inner healing and deliverance counselling.
Ask the Holy Spirit to help you. Listen to His voice and be quick to obey His promptings.
Encourage yourself. Be courageous and bold. Remember, the battle has already been won.
Refuse to speak curses over your life.
In every situation, look beyond the surface and discern the presence of spiritual warfare; put on the whole armour of God, which is the Word of God.
Use God’s Word against Satan; speak and say the Word out loud—remember, thinking it is not enough.
Decide that you are going to live by faith and apply the Word to your everyday life, no matter what.
Walk in the strength and power of the Spirit of God—walk in love!
1 John 4:18 reads, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.”
We need to be able to receive God’s love for us and also give it out to others.
Understanding Fear and Its Impact on Life
Freedom from Fear (See Galations 5:1)
Fear doesn't mean never experiencing it, but a commitment to not let it rule our lives.
Stand fast and not allow fear to entrap us again.
Satan is a shrewd and persistent enemy, and we must be prepared to confront things that steal our liberty.
The Righteous Man's Commitment to Not Giving Up (See Proverbs 24:16)
Even the most righteous person may fail at times, but they are committed to not giving up. It's important not to assume that God will always forgive or show His wrath. God is righteous, holy, and just, and there is also His wrath, which many people don't want to discuss. Instead, we should focus on His forgiving nature and love, not taking His wrath for granted.
Even in weak moments, we can overcome anything with God's help.
Staying positive, hopeful, and filled with faith can help overcome anything.
Recognizing and Refusing Fear (See James 4:7 & Romans 8:37)
Some fears are more deeply rooted in us, and we may need to be more aggressive against them.
Recognizing lies, deceits, and strategies of the devil is important.
The Word of God says we are more than conquerors through Christ who loves us.
We have what it takes, but we must be active and never give up.
Consciousness and Progress
Possessing full freedom in Christ is a journey that we gain and then need to maintain.
We should always enjoy our progress instead of focusing on how far we have to go.
Joy in the Lord
Identify and remove blockages in life that may hinder the Spirit's work. Ask the Lord to remove these factors to allow His joy to flow.
All humans desire more joy, as stated in John 15:11, 17:13.
F. B. Meyer, a 19th-century English pastor, helps us understand why we may not be overflowing with light, joy, and power. Meyer's insights (below) can guide us in our relationships with God, others, and ourselves.
Understanding Emotions
Meyer explains that emotions are perceptions of others' feelings, often based on personal emotions.
Emotions include sadness, fear, anger, guilt, happiness, gratefulness, and concern/care.
Controlling Emotions
Meyer argues that we can control our will, which is connected to our thoughts.
God does not hold us responsible for what we feel, but for what we will.
Meyer explains that our feelings are as changeable as April weather, affected by various factors. He emphasizes the importance of differentiating emotion from choice.
The Bible refers to the heart, not emotion, but the will. Meyer suggests that if emotions are the driving force, we may be pushed into sin and pain.
If our will is the center, we can choose to live in submission to God and follow Christ.
Fact, Faith and Feeling
Meyer says that by nature we live Feeling, Fact, Faith, but we’re created by God to live by Fact, Faith, Feeling. His teachings have been equated with a "Biblical" way, which disregards emotion.
Over-reliance on reason can lead to feelings of control and put God in a box.
Living by facts involves knowledge that is reasonable, observable, and experiential, keeping these in balance.
Experience, while not equal to emotion, refers to physical lives, relationships, attitudes, and character.
Dallas Willard teaches that faith is not a "leap of faith," but based on spiritual knowledge of God and his activity.
Abraham's faith was founded on his experience of knowing God and hearing his voice.
Stepping Stones in the River of Joy
The Bible's facts are like stepping stones across a brook, revealing their depth and direction.
These stepping stones are revealed in the Holy Spirit-inspired Word of God and can be observed in daily life.
Meyer identifies God's revelations for a joyful life:
It is a fact that God loves each of us with the tenderest and most particular love…
It is a fact that in Jesus every obstacle has been removed out of the way of your immediate forgiveness and acceptance…
It is a fact that the moment a person trusts Christ, he is born into God’s family and becomes a child of God…
It is a fact that God is faithful…
It is a fact that in Jesus Christ we are seated in heavenly places…
It is a fact that we have a share in that infilling of the Holy Spirit - that marvelous power in service that transformed the apostles from being timid sheep to lions in fight.
Living in the spiritual reality of the river of life revealed in the Bible can lead to a vibrant soul overflowing with God's love, even in suffering.
Emotions: Serving or Controlling Us?
Living by feeling is selfish and childish, leading to disregard for God and harm.
Denying emotions is to be controlled by them, as they influence us without our awareness or consent. It's important to be aware of, verbalize, and pray about our emotions daily.
Not feeling our emotions and not receiving the care we need can lead to problems like depression, anxiety, relationship conflict, eating disorders, and addiction.
Denying or escaping emotions leads to a lack of joy.
Meyer encourages not to chide ourselves for feeling strongly, as tears are natural and can help cool the atmosphere.
Emotions make wonderful servants, but horrible masters.
Understanding Joy
Joy is not an emotion but a state of well-being that includes emotions.
Joy is a fruit of the Spirit, encompassing lively, energetic, confident, and positive-minded individuals.
Joy can be experienced in the midst of hardship and stress, but if it rarely occurs, it may indicate a personality issue needing healing.
The Spiritual Reality of Joy
Real life, eternal, and abundant, is found in our hidden life in Christ.
Meyer encourages waiting on God.
Accepting Christ's existence and developing it can transform our life from glory to glory and radiate ordinary things.
Faith bears fruit in feeling, as happy and blessed feelings are the effect of the Spirit's work on the soul. Love, joy, peace, and all the fruit of the Spirit usually include an emotional component.
Five Reasons for a Lack of Joy
1 - We lack communion with God.
Meyer emphasizes the importance of being alone with God, waiting for His voice and lingering in Scripture.
He warns against rushing around and being busy, which threatens the life of devotion to Christ.
He encourages practicing his presence and living a joyful life by availing ourselves of the riches of the indwelling Christ.
Meyer encourages engaging personally and being vulnerable with people in the body of Christ to experience reconciliation with God.
2 - We're in a time of testing.
Meyer suggests that lack of emotion doesn't always mean wrong.
He suggests that Christ may teach us to distinguish between love and the emotion of love.
He suggests that God may sometimes cut off the supply of joy and allow us to hunger that He may know what is in our hearts and whether we love Him for himself.
He encourages us to cling to Him, as Job did, and to wait through a Dark Night of the Soul.
Meyer encourages us to pray, "Your will, O God, and not mine," during pain.
He suggests that this calmness, peace, and rest are not inconsistent with suffering but can be found in the midst of it.
3 - We need to repent of sin.
Unconfessed sin leads to a lack of joy.
Sin's pleasures are harmful and wrong, diminishing joy.
Sin enslaves us, leading to constant sinning.
Perpetual filling of the Holy Spirit is possible only through obedience. Like old apostles, we must seek perpetual refillings.
4 - We're burnt out.
Burnout often stems from overdoing or stress in ministry, caregiving, or work.
Appreciating the reality of "Christ in you" is crucial for spiritual renewal.
Meyer suggests that spiritual renewal can be achieved through Sabbath rest, which is the absence of burden-bearing.
Worry can break the soul as much as sin, and understanding peace requires shutting down burden-carrying thoughts.
5 - We have allowed people and things into our lives that are robbing our joy.
Meyer advises indifference to emotion leads to joy.
Detachment from selfish desires leads to a strong desire for God.
If joy doesn't overtake, seek Christ-centered inner healing, deliverance counselling, healing prayer, or other forms of soul care.
Explore the possibility that the reason for your lack of joy is that your heart is wounded or your emotional development is arrested. With God's help, new experiences of blessing and joy can be experienced.
Indifference to All But Jesus
Indifference to emotion lead to joy.
Detachment from selfish desires leads to strong desire for God.
Mary's example illustrates this divine paradox. She detached from the worry and weight of kitchen work to set at Jesus’ feet; she chose the “one thing” that is needful and experienced the great joy of beholding Jesus’ face in her heart and living off his words (See Luke 10:38-42).
If joy doesn't overtake, seek Christ-centered inner healing, deliverance counselling, healing prayer, or other soul care.
Explore the possibility of heart wounds or emotional development arrests. (Consider Understanding the Role of the Brain in Spiritual Transformation)
Emotional trauma leads to 90% of health issues and can significantly impact immune function, brain chemistry, blood sugar levels, and hormonal balance.
The brain's role in spiritual transformation involves neurological processes.
Neuroplasticity, the process of building and modifying neural networks, is crucial for spiritual transformation.
Neuroplasticity helps in the physical restructuring of the brain, influencing our thoughts and behavioral choices.
Unprocessed trauma can be stored in our subconscious mind and memory, leading to somatization.
Memories are stored in our cells. Cells can heal themselves when unhealthy, replicating to replace destroyed or damaged cells.
Stem cells are used to heal and regenerate bodies.
With God's help, new experiences of blessing and joy can be experienced.
Trusting God with Emotions
Emotional challenges and lack of joy are common.
Meyer encourages holding fast to God's will, even in the dark.
Joy is a fruit of the Spirit, not a natural fruit.
Planting oneself in a Christ centered community can cultivate joy.
In Jesus' presence, we will receive clarity and understand His will.
The joy of the Lord can be our strength, casting out fear and allowing us to walk in perfect love.
May we walk in perfect love that casts out all fear and may we move in the joy of the Lord which is our strength! May we remain in the ebb and flow of the Lord.
Prayer
Lord, let each ebb and flow of life draw me closer to You. Mold me, refine me, and let my faith grow through every experience. Teach me not to worry. Remind me to not be anxious. As it says in Philippians, 'Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. As I navigate the difficulties in my life, the stuff that hurts—the dark night of the soul kind of stuff—reminds me that real joy, your joy, comes with the morning. Amen.
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