The Excellent Spirit
The excellent personalities we’ve heard of and have observed in our time are all renown for something. Their names are associated with an idea or concept, a brand that speaks for itself. You don’t think of a pear when you hear the name Steve Jobs. And hopefully these high gas prices make you think Elon Musk is on to something. The product of excellent people often outlives them, as is the case with Mr. Jobs, Dr. King…with the Lord Jesus.
There is an excellent Spirit as the bible describes, and this Spirit is fruitful. For King Solomon it produced wisdom, for Esther is formed courage, for Daniel, all knowledge and interpretation of dreams. It is the Spirit of the Creator who creates the things we see out of things which are not visible (Heb 11:3). I’m talking about FAITH. Excellent people seem to possess a unique mindset that might mistakenly make you believe they don’t expect failure. If only I could ask Esther what was going through her mind when she uttered the words: “If I die, I die (Esther 4:16), or Jesus when he said, “let this cup pass from me” (Matthew 26:39)! But in the end, they all relent to the Father’s will because no excellent individual ever thinks to himself ‘I’ve arrived’. Rather, they press on, knowing that challenges will inevitably arise. While they may tweak their approach, they never change the vision.
If I could offer a word of encouragement: you may hear 399 No’s before the Yes, but there is something to be respected about process. “Despise not the day of small beginnings” (Zechariah 4:10). You are excellent not because you were born with a sixth sense, but because you fell 10 times as an infant and still got up. I’m talking about faith. You understood ‘faith’ that young but today, you take walking for granted. Can I challenge you? If God’s Spirit is in you, then you must produce. It will be uncomfortable, maybe even painful. “But unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” John 12:24
God is pruning you. PRESS ON.