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After the cool and extremely dangerous gorge, which the walker climbs on the path of sanctification the peaceful hill now comes to him like a foretaste of the future. of the sky. The sun soothingly warms the hiker's tired limbs. The sweet scent of various flowers fills the hiker's nose. Such a variety and beauty of
He has never seen flowers before! The grass sways lightly in the wind, shining golden and silver. Insects and magnificent butterflies fly happily from flower to flower. The hiker observes the colorful goings-on in this meadow for quite a while. It makes you marvel at the Creator. What love for detail, what cheerfulness and creativity are in this great being! Very soon he would finally be able to stand in front of it and get to know it so much better!

Speaking of which! It's time to continue on the path. The hiker remembers the Words of Jesus, that he had given him on the path to sanctification. A great final test still awaited him. This test would far outshine everything else he had experienced so far. To pass it would require even more thorough preparation than ever before. In a way, the coming test was the final exam to see whether all the necessary qualifications for citizenship in heaven had been acquired.

But God knows that no human being can pass this test on their own. It is absolutely impossible. If he did not add his strength, then no human being would pass the test and all would be lost forever.

The hiker is more than aware of this. On his long journey, he has experienced God's care and faithfulness time and time again. He also had to painfully learn what it means to want to go through the training sessions under his own steam. It almost cost him his life at least twice (in the Forest of fear and on the sea of worries). He fully realized that he needed God's help now more than ever. He remembered how he was only able to defeat the dragon by God's power. It is precisely this source of strength that he now wants to tap into again.

Careful heart check

The hiker falls to his knees. His prayer begins with a review of his pilgrimage. He thanks God for freeing him from his heavy burden through his sacrifice and enabling him to become a citizen of the heavenly city. He praises God for the hope, love, strength and peace that he is able to experience through his presence. He gratefully brings all the dangers and joys of his journey before God and praises his almighty arm, which has always guided him safely. The wayfarer then asks the Holy Spirit to search his heart for sins. He carefully examines his heart to see if there is any guilt that has not yet been cleared before God. He looks back sadly on his many missteps and his unbelief. How often had he doubted the goodness of God and thus unnecessarily exposed himself to danger or made his path more difficult!

The wanderer is aware of his inadequacy and unworthiness. He finds nothing in his heart to boast about. All the positive changes in his life, all the victories and progress have been brought about by God. Deep within himself, he sees only selfishness and pride. In tears, he asks God to change his heart according to His promise in Ezekiel 36:26+27 and to cleanse him of all his sins:

„And I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will take away the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.And I will put my Spirit within you, and I will cause you to walk in my statutes and keep my judgments and do them.“

In his powerlessness, he clings to the divine promise. He trusts in the cleansing blood of Jesus and accepts forgiveness in faith.

Wrestling with God

But he needs even more! He needs heavenly strength to remain faithful to God. Beads of sweat mingle with the tears. His helplessness overwhelms him. Just as Jacob once wrestled with the mysterious stranger, the wanderer is now wrestling with God. It is a matter of life and death. There are only these two possibilities. He now faces the all-important battle. If he were to fail, he would be separated from God forever. If he were to win, he would gain access to the heavenly Jerusalem and thus eternal life. The wanderer does not want to take another step without the certainty of God's closeness. He clings helplessly to his God and cries out with Jacob: „I will not leave you, for you bless me!“ With this prayer, the wanderer entrusts his earthly and eternal life entirely to God. All his sins are forgiven. He has completed the process of sanctification. Although he does not realize it, his life is a reflection of his heavenly Father. But just as his great role model, Jesus, said that he did nothing of himself, but that God did his works through him, so the wanderer allows God to do his works through him. His ego and the urge for self-expression have now completely disappeared. All the wanderer longs for is to honor his God and make his name great. And if it would cost even his life, he would be willing to gratefully pay the price.

This is how the wanderer now defeats God. Fully aware of his own unworthiness, he relied completely on the faithfulness of his God. His request for special strength was granted.

The filling with the Holy Spirit

While the walker is still kneeling and praying, the heavens suddenly open above him. Light from the throne room of God surrounds the wanderer. Like Stephen once did when he was stoned to death by his own people, he sees the throne of God. He sees Jesus, his representative, standing before God and interceding for him. Deep peace returns as the certainty of peace with God fills his heart. Nothing stands between him and God. No more sin, no more pride stands between him and communion with the source of eternal joy!

At this moment, a white dove flies from the throne of God. It is the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus sends as an assistant to guide the traveler through the final trial.

The Holy Spirit had been the silent companion all along the way. It was He who gave the walker the courage and strength to go forward. It was only through the Holy Spirit that he had made it this far. The wanderer received the first outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the early rain, as he passed through the narrow gate. This was the baptism through which the Holy Spirit takes the lead in a person's heart. However, the Holy Spirit can only work in a person's heart as much as he is given permission to do so. People decide for themselves how much space they give him. Again, this is about trust. At the beginning of the life of faith, trust in God must first be learned. The more a person learns to trust God, the more control they give Him in their life. But we humans tend to want to keep control ourselves. That is why such a long pilgrimage is necessary in order to learn to trust God more and more. At the end of the journey, everyone must have learned what it means to trust God completely and to surrender to Him completely. Those who put their trust 100% in God can also be 100% filled with the Holy Spirit. Such a person will receive the latter rain.

The late rain

The latter rain has several functions. Here in our story, the main focus is on preparing for the final test, which is also referred to in the Bible as „the time of Jacob's trouble“. But the picture also shows a ripe field of grain. In the ancient Orient, the early rain fell in spring. This allowed the sown seed to sprout. This is how we receive the Holy Spirit at baptism, so that God's word comes to life in us and produces fruit for eternal life. In the fall, the latter rain fell. It ensured that the harvest ripened and could be gathered in. In this way, the spiritual latter rain serves to ripen the harvest of the world. God's work will once again be clearly visible in the world. Every person will be able to recognize God correctly. With this knowledge of God's true nature, he can and must make a decision as to which side he wants to be on in the great battle. On the side of the lamb or the dragon!

For every person to really have this choice, the followers of Jesus must be completely filled with the Holy Spirit so that God can work powerfully through them and they can proclaim the final warning to a perishing world with authority. Conversely, this means that people today know so little about the true God because his professing people have too little of him in their hearts. They prefer to follow their own desires and only give the Holy Spirit limited space to work. But God wants the whole heart! Only when we, like the wanderer, learn that God can satisfy every need in us and we surrender ourselves completely to him can God begin to work powerfully.

Who is in control of your life?

The cause of our dissatisfaction, worries, problems and hardships is that we want to remain in control ourselves. We try to do what God actually wants to do for us. Why do we find it so difficult to give everything to God? Perhaps we are afraid that God will take something we love away from us. But why does he take it away from us? Not because he wants to annoy us, but because he knows that he has something better for us. This is where our image of God comes into play again. If we really believed with all our heart that God means well with us, then we would not hesitate to give him what we love. But by wanting to keep control ourselves, we portray God as unloving and cold-hearted. But as we have already seen, trust is a process that we can learn. God is very patient with us. When we make mistakes, he does not scold us. Like a loving father who helps his little baby to learn to walk, he always puts us back on our feet when we fall. When we cry because of our weakness, he takes us in his loving arms and comforts us. He encourages us to try again. Even if we often fall, if we get up again and again, victory will come at some point!

The Holy Spirit is sent to us as a helper so that we can make faster progress. He comforts us, gives us courage and strength and assures us of God's eternal faithfulness. All we have to do is trust his guidance and go forward courageously. Then, like the wanderer, we will reach the point where our own ego has completely died and God fills us completely through his Spirit. Then we too will be ready to pass the final test!

So don't give up, the home of eternal peace is near! Keep your eyes firmly fixed on this goal! Look at the infinite love of our God, who has given everything for you! Soon he will come to take to himself those in whom he can see himself fully reflected! God has promised to bring this about in you! Trust his promise and you will experience it if you ask for it in faith!

Here it's time for the final test on the Wanderer's journey!