Conviction and Compulsion – Part 1

When it comes to being in the flow of the Holy Spirit, it comes back to what I call conviction and compulsion. I struggled with apathy, lethargy, anxiety and depression for years. I struggled to do a lot of things without an almighty spurt of energy. It was a major breakthrough for me when I finally gained the revelation that Jesus really did mean what He said when He spoke the Words, "Apart from me you can do nothing."

I believe that no matter what you do, there has to be conviction in your heart that it is the right thing for you to do. You can take this concept to extremes to the point whereby you won't do anything unless you knew for certain that God has called you to do it. There are times when we do get that level of heart-felt conviction: we know it is God and we cannot help but act upon what He tells us to do.

As Christians, we all need that kind of conviction at certain times in our lives. But the kind of conviction that I am talking about here will often be just enough conviction to get us doing something without questioning it twice. We might even wonder to ourselves, "Is this God or is it just me?" However, if it is heart-felt conviction from God, it should be enough to cause us to do what we need to do without deliberating about it for a significant length of time.

Charismatic Christian preaching often seeks to set people free from apathy by making statements such as, "You can do things even when you don't feel like doing them" and, "You don't have to fell confident to be confident" and, "Just step out and God will anoint you." But if a person does not have a conviction and compulsion in their heart, such preaching will not do them much good.

Pep-talks cannot substitute the conviction and compulsion that only God can deliver. Such pep-talks can cause apathetic Christians a lot of distress as they agonise over decisions, leaving them wondering if they are wrong to wait for an inner conviction about what they should do; they can end-up wondering if they should force themselves to things that they have no conviction about.
I do realize that some people can take things to extremes.

I don't know about you, but I've had enough of going through the same old rigmarole of deliberating to myself over any little thing that I intend to do or other people expect me to do. I also don't appreciate people calling me lazy and uncaring because I am battling-away with a spiritual condition of apathy and lethargy.

I have learned that if I have to have a debate with myself, if I consider doing something, then God is not in it. That does not necessarily mean that God does not want me to do that thing, it just means that I do not have the grace I need in order to commit to it and see it through.

If I find myself having such debates when it comes to doing almost anything - then I know there is something not quite right about my spiritual condition and I have to address it.