Do you know that I just realized that I have challenges with believing God for a personal miracle /blessing? I found that when I am trusting God for things for other people my faith is unshakable but when it becomes personal something happens. It never occurred to me that it meant I did not believe God to do things for me. I always thought that it was just a matter of having “plan B” but what it actually translates to is “just in case God does not come through then I can….” Worse still in a sober manner, I would say to myself “well, He doesn’t have to do it anyway, He is God whether or not He does it and I will still love”. I wonder why my thought was not “He will do it anyway because He loves me, He is God of all flesh and nothing shall be impossible or difficult for Him. Is there anyone who like me wants to make excuses for God just in case He fails?
There is also the group of people who like to be realistic. They like to always think of the worst case scenario just so that if it happens anyway you won’t feel bad? These groups of people argue that it is foolery not to think of the worst that can happen but let me ask you a question – what is wrong with thinking of the best that can happen. Why do I want to meditate on the worst case scenario when I can meditate on the best case scenario? They say this is being realistic and that you have to accept reality but I have found that there is something more real than reality and that is the word of God. I want to encourage us to focus on that truth as we go on in this walk with God otherwise we are like the man that has not received Christ in His life as His personal Lord and Saviour and consequently without hope.
I thought deeply about all the various scenarios and I found that underlying all these thoughts is fear - the fear or uncertainty that God may fail you. I don’t encourage us to trust in man because man is flesh and is likely to fail but the God of man cannot fail and can cause any man to do what He wants done for us. The love that we share with God through Christ is perfect.
1 John 4: 18NLT “such love has no fear, because perfect love expels fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced His perfect love”
We need to learn to trust the love that God has for us. We need to build on that love and trust that He will keep us from the worst scenarios and where we have to go through what appears like a worst case scenario, it is because He is taking us to a large place. Interestingly, He will go through the entire experience with us because of His love for us and also ensure that we come through it. Let us make a deliberate effort to build on our faith.
Love believes the best, is hopeful and it never fails.
Obviously 'TRUST' is a very big word Pastor B. We use the word without appreciating its full implication. I know I have failed people when they trusted me to do something. The worst part of doing that is that somehow, I find myself trusting God with 'one eye open'. Could it be that my own past behavior is informing my inabilities to just let go? I don't know.
ReplyDeleteI entered this week believing God for a particular thing and by Monday morning something inside me was saying it was going to be too good to be true. By evening I got the hope-crushing negative result my heart had concieved earlier in the day. Of course I spent the whole Monday night till this morning in that state until I remembered that encouragement wasn't going to come from heaven. David encouraged himself so who was going to do it for me?
At this zero point, there's nothing/no one else to trust in even if I wanted to. Maybe if there was a possibility of a Plan B Pastor then I wouldn't have been discouraged. I would have used my plan B to be happy with myself. But guess what? In there, God has shown me the state of my heart. I never really really trusted Him 'totally'.
Today He has given me another opportunity and I'm so grateful for His mercies in doing so. This article was written just for me no matter what anyone thinks. This is the case of the sick man that was by the pool side for years. Jesus came just for him alone that day.
God bless you ma.
The bible says that "...hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us."Rom 5:5 NLT.
ReplyDeleteIf i trust Him for a penny, i can trust Him for a pound.