Radical Disciples – A Remnant Revolution

The Beautiful Violence of Transformation

“Since Jesus went through everything you’re going through and more, learn to think like Him. Think of your sufferings as a weaning from that old sinful habit of always expecting to get your own way. Then you’ll be able to live out your days free to pursue what God wants instead of being tyrannized by what you want.”
— 1 Peter 4:1–2, The Message

There is a process every true disciple must walk through as the old man dies and the new man rises in Christ. It is the death of the corrupted sinful nature and the awakening of the incorruptible life birthed by Holy Spirit. At times, that process can feel painful, stretching, and even violent within the soul. Yet on the other side of that death, something beautiful begins to emerge.

Picture a caterpillar inside its cocoon. What appears hidden, awkward, and even impossible is actually the place of transformation. A metamorphosis is taking place, and the creature that once crawled through dust and dirt is being remade for the heights. If that process never happens, the caterpillar remains trapped in a form it was never created to live in forever.

But when the process is completed, the cocoon breaks open. What once crawled now carries wings. What once lived low now rises into the air. It steps into the beauty of its intended design and begins to soar above the very ground that once defined its existence.

The life of a disciple is much the same. We come into the Kingdom as new creations, yet we often still carry the habits, appetites, mindsets, fears, and patterns of the old life. Then Holy Spirit begins the deeper work of transformation. If we surrender to the Father, we enter a spiritual cocoon where the old nature is confronted and the new man begins to take his rightful place.

This process is not always comfortable. It can feel like a war between who we were and who Christ has called us to become. The old man does not die quietly, and the flesh does not surrender its throne without resistance. Yet the disciple who refuses the process also refuses the very transformation that leads to maturity.

One of the great errors in a new believer’s life is resisting the refining work of God. Another danger is being surrounded by immature voices who call every painful process an attack of the enemy. Sometimes they will tell you to rebuke the very situation God has allowed as a refining fire. In doing so, they can lead you into the dangerous place of not rebuking the devil, but unknowingly resisting the hand of the Father.

Another tragedy in our generation is the preaching of half-truths. A watered-down gospel has promised people a storm-free life Jesus never promised. It tells them that if they come to Christ, everything will become easy, painless, and instantly prosperous. Yet when the storm comes, the same voices often become like Job’s friends, suggesting the trial must be proof of sin, failure, or a lack of faith.

But James gives us the Kingdom perspective: “Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort… Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience” (James 1:2–3, AMP). The trial is not always evidence that God has left you. Many times, it is proof that He is forming something eternal in you. Endurance must have its full work so we may become mature, complete, and lacking nothing.

A true disciple who submits to this process will eventually learn to stand in storms with the peace of the Master. Like Jesus resting in the boat, they learn that the presence of a storm does not mean the absence of the Father. When the Father gives the command, they rise in the authority of Christ and speak peace where chaos has been raging. They do not panic because they have learned who governs the winds and the waves.

Not every storm is simply an attack of the enemy, though some are. But we must enter every storm with the mind of Christ, knowing that nothing catches the Father by surprise. Our good Father has already prepared a way of triumph for His children. If we lack discernment, we must ask Him, and Holy Spirit will teach us how to recognize what is from God, what is from hell, and what is being used for our refining.

So embrace the process of transformation. Lay your life, your rights, your expectations, and your old identity at the foot of the cross. There, you will not only discover your calling, but you will find the arms of the Father reaching for you. He has waited from before the foundation of the world to clothe you with courage, beauty, righteousness, favor, and sonship.

Face the trials with courage, knowing they are killing what was never meant to rule you. The storms may wash away the residue of a corrupted life, but they also make room for the robe of righteousness. Enter the process with gladness, because chains are being broken, old desires are being stripped of power, and the life of Christ is being formed within you.

The cocoon is not your grave.

It is the womb of transformation.

And when Holy Spirit finishes His work, you will not crawl out as the person you used to be.

You will rise.

Russ Welch

Mighty Arm Ministries

For indeed we serve an Awesome God!