Learning to Love Friction – Walking In Power with Nate Ortiz

Happy New Year and I am thankful for this opportunity to have another year to share with you guys some

some words encourage you in your faith and to grow and develop to who God's called you to be.

And so as we think about this New Year, right, we all have goals and resolutions and things that we're focusing and thinking about.

And I just had this thought that whether it's in our faith, whether it's in our personal life, whatever it looks like,

there has to be this element of learning to love friction.

This thing of we want to grow, want to be just different than we were last year and see this element of development.

We have to learn how to love friction in our lives.

People can spend a lot of time seeing friction as negative or friction is just something wrong.

But if you are going to grow and accomplish great things for God, there's going to be friction in your lives.

Not everyone's going to be happy about the choices you're making.

Not everyone's going to be thrilled that you're deciding to stay home when everyone else is going on.

Not everyone's going to be thrilled about you watching the way that you're talking and things that you

used to think were funny that aren't funny now because you're making changes to your life.

And learning how to be okay with that within your relationship with Christ is so important.

And I want to share out of 2 Corinthians chapter 16 verse 18, it says,

therefore we do not lose heart but though our outer person's decaying get our inner person

being renewed day by day for our momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal

weight of glory far beyond all comparison. When we look at night at the things which are seen but

the things which are not seen for the things which are seen are temporal but the things which are

not seen are eternal. I know it's a mouthful and it's a lot there but you can read it at

your own time but understanding that the transition from who we are currently to who God is

calling us to be will cause friction in our lives. Like I said our friends are familiar routines

and the future that God is calling to requires focus and your focus is going to cause friction.

There are going to be things that you're going to be locked in on that it's going to create a narrow

space for you to walk through and it's going to cause this friction. It's going to cause this

uncomfortability but if we can sustain to stay in that place saying it's uncomfortable by

knowing there's a greater glory coming. I know it's uncomfortable by knowing there's greater

things on the other side. It's going to develop something some stamina inside of you. Now

your faith you can't muscle your faith you can't just say I don't make this happen but

you have to be in the place of walking in step with God whatever that might look like. And so to be

mindful of that you can't force you've got to move faster or slower you're not God right they're

all thankful for that that we aren't in control of it all but God is God and let God be God.

So when he's guiding me and he's walked me and you feel that friction don't try to run past it.

Don't just accept the friction that you enjoy except the friction is maybe even difficult to

accept in your own lives. Your ability to withstand friction will determine the fullness of your

transformation in life. Don't live your life avoiding friction right we think about the

sandpaper on piece of wood right that rubbing it back and forth that ultimately makes it smooth

right it feels uncomfortable it feels does it feel great by the end right it's accomplishing what

it's set out to do to make that wood smooth and there will be people things that you wish to

always and cause your great friction but if you can withstand it you will be the fullness of

your transformation who God's calling you to be. And so I want to encourage you in that

that never feel that you are doing something wrong or that if there's issues that you feel like

man need to you just need you know need more more of something else but sometimes it's just

being able to stay in that place with God knowing he's gonna come through and the only way to embrace

friction I believe is to just your perspective to God's perspective many times our perspectives

we like them to be God's perspective it's just not how it works but we have to say God this is

hard for me this is a struggle help me to see how this how you're seeing it you know so many of the

areas of life that are causing you stress or anxiety or depression they're really maybe just

you know God is really showing up for you in a major way and so from this past I have three

points this one share with you and the first one is that you're in yourself as being renewed daily

so when you're in yourself as being renewed daily that happens through the word of God but a lot of

what talks about that you will take every thought submit objective to Jesus Christ that you need to be

in that place of submission of your life as they God you you run my life you oversee the beginning

and the end I'm not in charge you are and so understand that when you're in yourself as being

renewed daily that's the most important part of your your spiritual development that the things

that maybe you're holding on for last year bitterness hurt anger you gotta let that you gotta

let that go you gotta let yourself be renewed you can't wake up in the morning holding on the things

from yesterday that's yesterday you gotta be in the moment now is it God how would be renewed

God has never finished work with us until our last breath so you have to understand that every time

you are going through something a circumstance situation your inner self is going to be renewed

all right the second thing I want to say is that eternal glory outweighs current suffering

the eternal glory that will experience one day to heaven we're staying before God and we have to

give an account for our lives and we all will you get to say God I gave everything I had I was in

the tough spots I was in the moments I didn't want to be and I was uncomfortable before your name

say because people could be uncomfortable just to be uncomfortable but can you be uncomfortable saying

God I know this is bigger than me and I know that you're accomplishing greater than I something

accomplishing something greater than I ever could accomplish we have to get our view point bigger

than just our current situation versus just what's happening today right we live in a big world and

time is short in understanding that God wants to do something great with your life so what is

going to look like in 2023 you know the path to eternal glory with God is always marked with sacrifice

so as God is continuing to develop you grow you you have to understand the sacrifice doesn't

require of you and you will not grow beyond your level of sacrifice so if you have a small sacrifice

in your life you can sound I want to sacrifice more that as far as you'll go but if you sound one

to sacrifice it all you'll be amazed what God can do in that so remember your eternal glory outweighs

what's happening in your current suffering so be encouraged in that in the third day I'd like to say

is that God works in the unseen God creates walking paths for us not free passes when God works in the

unseen where we understand that God is is ahead of us God is creating a way for us when we don't

see it and we have to trust him and to walk in that we have to be able to be faithful to say Lord I'm

walking in it you know where you're calling me and I know you're not giving me a free pass but you're

giving me a way so whether that way feels comfortable whether that way feels safe to you you have to

say because it's from God I'm gonna trust it so it's just up to us to stay the course so this year

I'm 2023 I want to encourage you that don't avoid friction find those places where God's challenging you

ask God what is he speaking to what is he challenging you in you know this is going to be year to

to grow deeper in your faith get deeper roots maybe some things that you need to cut out maybe some

friends maybe some conversations maybe just activities and routines that you have but being

I was a God I want to hear from you clearly I want to receive everything you have for me that I

want to be just completely refined and not just this person that is living my life just for myself

I want to be refined to your glory I want to refine to your purpose I want to refine to what you're

calling me to do and that's I truly believe I think that's one of the greatest places to be

once difficult once challenging when you are in the center of God's refining hand to your life

you will be able to see things I'm in a greater way than you've never did before so thank you

I hope you have an amazing day God bless