The Inner Man

We often find ourselves in difficult situations.  There seems to be a choice before us; to change so that the situation molds us, or to remain the same so that we conquer the situation.  In our minds, either choice could be God’s best for us, at times.  But today I am writing about a third choice.  Because difficult situations can take us to the place where we have no more grace to give, and can leave us with no more energy left to fight with, we need to find that place of strength and abundance within ourselves called the “inner man.”

Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians was “that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love,… “ (Eph 3:16-17)

Our inner man is that new “man” inside of us, and is a place of abundance and strength in Christ. Though we may be accustomed to seeing ourselves as weak, out of energy, or barren in our trials, that is not how God sees us.  He is at work in our inner man to give forth what each situation needs.  That is why God has gifted us; so that we would have something to give.

It has been God’s design all along to hide His glorious riches in less-than-perfect men and women. “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God's glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;  we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing;… “ (2 Cor 4:6-7).  When we least suspect it, we are rich inside, in the inner man. God meant for us to bring light to dark situations, and therefore put gifts inside of each one of us.

Over the past 42 years I have been praying for the Lord to give me His grace for each situation I find myself in.  However, my willingness to be molded into His image left me short-sighted, for I could not see that He dwelt in my inner man richly, imparting much more than His grace for my trials.  I began noticing that there would come to my mind a “word fitly spoken” (Prov 25:11), which are words of council, wisdom, and knowledge (1 Cor 12:8). My prayers became filled with prophetic revelation so that I knew how to converse knowledgably with Him in the Spirit (1 Cor 14:15 & Eph 6:18).  Discernment and the distinguishing between spirits (1 Cor 12:10) brought functional wisdom into my life, which helped me to navigate the enemy’s mind field. It became apparent that there was, indeed, a third choice . . . one besides grace to be molded or determination to conquer.  I could go to that place inside, the inner man, and give the riches of Christ.

After becoming aware of our potential to give richly towards any situation, we might find ourselves confused, for we may not have the faith to proceed from our resources in our inner man.  Most of us proceed from our mind, which categorizes our weaknesses and failures.  This is where the gift of faith comes in, for faith enables us to believe that “as He is, so also are we in this world.” (1 Jn 4:17)  God’s best for us is to be as Jesus is.  Faith allows us to look at the Life of Christ within us and to live as He did.  Faith will see beyond the earthen vessel to the treasure within.

Today, be encouraged in your trials.  Go to that place of strength and riches within you.  Your faith will enable you to give from the gifts that He put within you.  Amen.