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“The Myth of Technicolor Holy Spirit Wonkaland”

Have you ever met hyperspiritual Christians who enjoy letting everyone know how in tune with God they are? I’m not talking about the people who really talk to God (I love them); I’m talking about the people who need you to know that they talk to God, like, all the time, and that He talks back, like, all the time, and that everything in their lives is a Technicolor Holy Spirit Wonkaland.

Is that the way it is supposed to be?

Or, here is an even more basic question: Why is God even talking to us in the first place?

God conversations all serve a single goal. Did you know that? Look back at today’s Scriptures and read them closely. The point of those passages is growth. The goal is becoming active participants of God’s family more and more. 

God wants sons and daughters of character. He wants sons and daughters with whom He can have a “real talk” relationship. Yeah, He loves you as an infant and will always bless you and think good thoughts about you that way. But as a Father, He wants maturity for you, and He wants to get you there sooner rather than later. He wants you to understand His will. He doesn’t need you to be perfect to understand it, but He needs your mind and heart to be renovated by the processes and practices that will bring about a trained and matured man or woman of God.

How is God growing you? Think about some areas that you’ve struggled in but are learning from. Can you see the value in the lessons yet? Or are they just painful to remember? Growth can be embarrassing, but if it’s real, we’ve heard something from God.

One day, by the grace of God at work in us, “impossible” choices of faith will seem like second nature. People won’t have seen the lifetime of missed opportunities and the countless hours of submitting to the work of God in our lives. They’ll see the fruit of a processed and practiced life—a son or daughter coming into the family business of abundant and victorious life.

It isn’t Technicolor Holy Spirit Wonkaland. It’s something much better.

Remember: God speaks for our growth. We need to surrender to His process of maturity and let Him talk on His own terms.