The Vision Is Not Halted By Challenges; It Is For An Appointed Time

In the past week, for some very strange reasons, I had course to visit and counsel with people from different strata of society going through one thing or the other. Some very wealth, others were wealthy and some others are just on their way to being wealthy. Each experience humbled me and left me wondering, being the thinker that I am, why God would make expose me to their experiences at this point especially so soon after we had a program in church where God moved mightily. I wish I didn’t think so much but I do; I think things over and over again often trying to figure it all out and see if there is some wisdom to be gleaned from each experience. So, each story has gone through my mind repeatedly as I struggle to understand life on another level and the issues that are thrown at us. The one thing I can say for certain is that everyone encounters issues in life and no one can be sheltered from those issues. Much as we may desire to shelter all our loved ones from the issues of life, they will encounter life so it’s best to prepare them. Not doing so is like sending someone out without an umbrella or raincoat when you know for certain that it will rain heavily.

Mark 4: 35 “When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ’Silence! Be still!’ Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm.”

It can be very tough when life deals with one in the course of their journey to fulfilling destiny but that must never stop anyone from fulfilling destiny and neither is it meant to. Though it may indeed slow one down, it is not meant to stop us and should not cause us to seek alternative ways to fulfilling that God given destiny. When an elderly person easily though unintentionally communicates intense pain as he talks about relationships and how friends took advantage of him to the extent that they ruined his life, one is compelled to think about life more deeply. Indeed, the only comfort at such times is the fact that there is a healer in whose name the righteous also find shelter and His name is Jesus. Otherwise how does a very elderly man whose lost so much think about restoration especially when his loss was accompanied by a huge chunk of his life? He doesn’t know it but a part of him died with the pain. I honestly maybe better at commiserating with people who lost someone dear, painful as that is; than with people who though living seem to have a lost a huge chunk of their lives  along with their loss and are suffering in their old age. How does one explain to younger people that it does not have to end badly if we take counsel from Jesus? Life can leave one totally confused and feeling very daft and unintelligent.

1 Corinthians 10: 12 “If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall.”

Proverb 27: 1 “Don’t brag about tomorrow, since you don’t know what the day will bring.”

It is easy to assume people go through challenges because of some wrong they did, which is possible, but it is not always so. The truth is life just happens; indeed sometimes the worst people seem to have the best experiences and the determining factor for how one’s life is impacted would be their response to each challenge. I can say for certain that when we respond to life in the flesh, we provide very weak solutions to serious and compelling issues. Those solutions nice as they may seem do not resolve these issues for forever. They are like temporary fillers for challenges that are meant to alter the course of one's life permanently. I would like to suggest that at such times it is best to call out to Jesus immediately. He speaks to storms and they respond but He must be called in. His presence in our lives never prevents the storm that must come but stills it when we call on Him. Very often, we try to deal in the way we know best but there is only one way to respond – Jesus. Flesh never has the solution that stills the storms much as we may like to think otherwise. I am not by any means suggesting that one's flesh may not react; I am only saying that despite that reaction, you need to call out to Jesus. He alone has the solution and when His solution is put forward, it carries power that stills the storm.

Psalms 75: 7 “It is God alone who judges; He decides who will rise and who will fall.”

Habakkuk 2: 3 “For the vision is yet for an appointed time and it hastens to the end (fulfilment); it will not deceive or disappoint. Though it tarry, wait (earnestly) for it, because it will surely come; it will not be behindhand on its appointed day.”

 It is said that time does not wait for anyone and that may be true ordinarily, but we know that God caused it to wait for the children of Israel when they needed to win a battle; we serve that same God and if He did it before, I believe He can do it again. In truth, we do not have time to waste; I can't believe that we already are in the sixth month of this year and it is not going to slow down neither is God taking out all the challenges from life but be assured that God is still working to ensure that you fulfill your destiny. Life seems tougher now than ever before but God is fully in control and He is committed to ensuring that you accomplish all that which is written concerning you. He has not promised a smooth ride and never said it is going to be easy but our eyes must be on Jesus all the time as we are encouraged by the saints that cheer us on.