Proverb 3:20a, 23 By his knowledge the depths are broken up, Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.

When you walk in darkness you cannot see what is tripping you up. I don’t think I am out of line here saying we stumble. The darkness I am speaking of is not spiritual darkness but rather mental awareness. It has become painfully aware to me these past two weeks that the past does not go quietly into the night. More than not, we ignore or learn to live with unresolved issues from our past.

I liken it to leaving your stuff on the floor rather than putting it away in storage. You learn to ignore it for the most part. You’ve learn to live with it to the point it doesn’t bother you consciously. But it is there and eventually you are going to trip over it.

What does that look like? For me it manifested itself in outbursts that were not in line with my character. A sharp word, a haughty look, a snide remark, ill humor, or perhaps inappropriate language are all signs that things are not normal, that you tripped on something. You might not even be aware of what set you off. Let me tell you what those things are called, triggers.

It isn’t that you are conscious of why you react as you do but rather that an old hurt is felt and in that moment, it was no longer in the past, it is in the present. We all have them to some degree. Most of us were raised in good homes. Some were raised in neglect and abuse. Some of us got help. Some of us don’t know we need help.

God knows everything about you and wants to help you move away from pain into peace. Not all things can be reasoned out by reading scripture. Not all things can be set right through prayer. Sometimes you just have to see a specialist. If you think of that as being weak, let my say God created specialist for a reason. After all God sent Aaron to Moses to help him with his insecurities.

Hebrews 1:2a Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son,

If you look to modern dictionaries for the definition of charisma, you will discover big personalities. A person who attracts a following. In use, this is correct. This is exactly what is happening. It is however not what was intended when the Greek form of charisma was used in the bible. G5486 xarisma has a totally different meaning.

G5486 Xarisma – the operation of grace

Given that in these later days God is speaking to us thru His Son Jesus Christ, then we can view all that Christ is and does is operation of grace. The Charismatics have focused on the personality of Christ in the operations of the spiritual gifts. These gifts were viewed as being God’s divine empowerment of His adoption to deliver God’s grace in operation. And it is, but….

Who does God choose to be endowed with the power of spiritual gifts? Well let’s look at our prime example, Christ Himself.

Philippians 2:7-8 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

He humbled Himself. Now that is exactly the opposite of the modern definition of charisma. Interestingly enough is this not exactly the type of thing Satan does? He takes a Godly virtue and changes it into something ugly in man. This is the method Satan uses.

A humble servant is endowed with grace gifts and uses them. He sees the good that the Lord has done. His desire is to do good. His desire is to reach as many as are in need of these gifts as possible. He now has a ministry. The ministry has a following, after all good is being done. Now the ministry needs to be fed. His reputation grows with the ministry and suddenly it is the man’s charisma rather than the operation of grace.

The man lost his humility just as soon as he desired to do good. Humility subjects itself to the will of God and does not care how it is being used.