Jesus Christ - The Health Of Our Countenance!

Jeremiah 8: 22 “Is there no medicine in Gilead? Is there no physician? Why is there no healing for the wounds of my people?

I found out recently that a number of people there are who believe that once saved, nothing bad should come their way. It is their firm belief that God keeps everything bad from believers so that their lives should be some form of a dream in which everything goes the way it ought to. For such people, if anything goes in a direction they think it shouldn’t or out of the script they wrote for themselves (God’s will notwithstanding), it would mean that something bad which is capable of negatively impacting them forever has happened. Such people are hit very hard when faced with challenges. They struggle with processing difficult moments because they don’t even know how to turn it over to God since they made up their minds that bad things should not be happening to them “in Christ”. They become bitter and disappointed in or frustrated at God and refuse to accept that they need to adjust their expectations making it better aligned with the word of God. This is a real problem amongst us and some of the reasons the number of depressed believers is increasing. If we don’t deal with this now, we will shortly start having problems of great proportions which we don’t need.

Psalm 43: 5 “Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again-my Savior and my God.”

I understand that there are some things we don’t like to talk about and even more so in Africa where I reside. Some believers will not even mention a challenging physical health problem because they are convinced that to be sick suggests their relationship with God is not as it should be and they would hate for people to even think so because everyone wants to be seen as having the best relationship with God, reality not withstanding. With mental health, it is even worse. Whilst it is true that we ought not to suffer from these things especially mental health challenges, we do and God knew that we would so He already made provision for our healing as well as tell us how we can prevent it from happening: and all of this is hidden in His word. If heaven has not judged anyone disgusting for any illness, then there is no reason to be ashamed or embarrassed by a health situation; even more so when it is a resolvable one. These things would definitely be easier to deal with if we allow ourselves to be to one another, what and who we ought to be.  Life is full of highs and lows so we somehow need one another from time to time and to varying extents. God made it so for reasons He understand perfectly. If it was not best for us, I am certain He would have found a way to fix it.

Jeremiah 8: 8 – 9 “How can you say, we are wise because we have the word of the Lord. When your teachers have twisted it by writing lies? These wise teachers will fall into the trap pf their own foolishness, for they rejected the word of the Lord.”

Jeremiah 8: 10b – 12a “… yes even my prophets and priests are like that. They are all frauds. They offer superficial treatments for my people’s mortal wound. They give assurances of peace when there is no peace. Are they ashamed of these disgusting actions? Not at all-they don’t even know how to blush!”

Interestingly, the one place we have difficulties turning to for help in challenging times is the very place we don’t turn to - The Word of God. This is truth that most of us know yet we won’t turn look in God’s word because it seems too ordinary to deal with such huge problems. Also, it won’t talk to us like as a man would so we don’t see God revealed in it and consequently, do not see the power in it too. We would rather turn to men because it feels easier and more often than not, we are looking to the men to do something which God only can do. Meanwhile, these men dare not point us to God because we will consider them failures without “power or anointing” so a number of them would step into God’s place and try to do what they certainly cannot do so that the end is futility whilst more and more believers lose their minds. We must accept our reality which is that we have a God who though is not physically identifiable yet His existence is confirm by the nature and all that He made including man. I know that it is tough for us to trust one whom we don’t even see but it is what we have to do. To be a Christ follower, we must believe that “He is” and that we must do, even in the face of all that the world throws at us. We must tell ourselves the truth about our very selfish expectations. It is time to manage them differently.

Jeremiah 46: 11 – 12 “Go up to Gilead to get medicine, O virgin daughter of Egypt! But your many treatments will bring you no healing.”

Jeremiah 30: 17 “I will give you back your health and heal your wounds, says The Lord.”

It is indeed a wonderful thing to have a God like ours at a time like this - an ever present God. Christ presence in any life is a privilege with great benefits; but only those who access these benefits will enjoy them. To do that, we have to give ourselves to studying the word and with open minds because The Word we read is not enough, it is the word we let into our lives that makes a difference.  In these perilous times, there is nothing we need more than God’s word; for therein is our strength. Every Word we understand or is revealed to us, is accompanied with power to do what the word says because He who reveals The Word, will always make available, the power to do the word. The darker the world gets, the more we need Jesus Christ the Son of God (The Word of God) who will guide our decision making so that we are able to make decisions that further facilitate the enforcing of our victory.  We cannot afford to let life determine our stability; our God alone will be allowed to do that.

Jeremiah 29: 11 “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

Job – A Life Filled With Lessons For Every Believer PT 2

I was listening to a sermon online recently where the preacher, Bishop TD Jakes, asked this question “are you willing to suffer a little to get to the next level?” My answer was, I am not. I love “the next level” which is like a cliché amongst believers where I live and about which we get excited even when we remain on the same level. Going to the “next level” is an enduring dream for believers around here. This should not be strange though, since the bible talks about us going from glory to glory, shining brighter and brighter and so on; consequently, there is no doubt that God’s working in our lives is not only continuous but takes us higher and higher. He doesn’t start and complete everything He promised us in one day. So, we are consistently getting better in every area of life. We should therefore be making quantifiable progress in every area of life. So that people can see and testify to God’s goodness in our lives. I am convinced, that with God, there is always an outward evidence of any development going on inside of us. God wants men to see it and give Him glory. Of course, not often from the very beginning because there is always the period when “God is digging downward in us ensuring that our roots go even deeper; deep enough to carry the next level of His goodness. At this stage, there is no outward display so God is working “secretly” to facilitate our readiness.

 

3 John 1: 2 “Beloved, I pray that in every way you may succeed and prosper and be in good health (physically), just as (I know) your soul prospers (spiritually).

So the problem is not with the next level, we love God’s next level, it is always with God’s method of getting us there which is made worse by the fact that He does not warn people around us to pay attention to what they say about what we may be going through because He is the one at work. So whilst one is dealing with the pain and inner turmoil, they also deal with lying tongues, strange counsel and scornful looks which are all part of satan’s package to ensure that one aborts the process. He knows that if he succeeds with getting one to abort the process, he has succeeded in facilitating their separation from God unto sorrow or depression and loneliness. Job was obviously a man greatly blessed of God who was sensitive to God’s methods and did not want to have any of those painful experiences so, he ensured that he had no sin at and that his children’s sins were also forgiven. He was so careful that he covered sins that may be committed. He definitely did not want to offend God preferring to avoid the painful experiences which he had assumed were only a product of sin not realizing that at a certain level, one was bound to have those experiences; those ones that make one wonder if God is still with them.

2 Corinthians 4: 17 – 18 “For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we see now; we fix our gaze n things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”

James 1: 2 “…when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.”

We are aware that God does not do evil. So we know that these experiences are instigated by our enemy, satan, who hopes to destroy us via the experience but God who knows that the victory is won and we are well equipped to enforce it coming through the experiences to “ a wealthy place” just like Job did. Job went through what may have seemed like the worst of the worst but he came out to a very wealthy place. Jesus Christ, when He died, seemed like a lost case because he was even buried; yet He came up again. The joke is always on the enemy who expects us to drown in his river of pain but again and again we keep surviving. Job thought his end had come but it was just an inconvenience that preceded another level of joy. Whilst we obviously may not like the suffering, it happens and often without warning. I believe very firmly that God bears with us at times like this knowing how tough it is for us, but we must be careful not to ruin everything with our words. As God watches over us closely, providing all the needed support in these tough times, He steps in like He did for Job, just when think it is all taking a turn for the worst. Until we go to glory, there will always be a next level and God’s plan is for us to get there. It will be sad if a believer lived their entire life only talking about the next level whilst remaining on the same level. Much as we hate the pain often associated with going on to the next level, our desire to keep going higher must outweigh the hate. Unlike Job who in his difficulty did not know he would come through, God has done more than enough to let us know that we would; and that the joy which awaits us outweighs the pain and glory will be returned to God who deserves it all.

James 1: 12 “God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward, they will received the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”

Job – A Life Filled With Lessons For Every Believer PT 1

Some stories I hear make life feel really tough. Interestingly, life gets worse. When I was much younger, I wondered what the book of Job was all about. I didn’t understand it no matter how many times I read it. Neither did I see its relevance in the bible. I thought it was not of benefit to anyone. As I have gotten older and increased in my understanding of the story, I realize that God certainly allowed it and for obvious reasons. It is indeed instructive for understanding the dynamics of life. In a very simply way, it summarizes the life that many believers would live at one point or the other. There is no doubt that it is meant to be read and understood especially by a people who have been called to live on earth, as sheep in the midst of wolves which can’t happen without the wolves troubling the sheep. Wolves always are described as evil even in children’s cartoon. In asking us to live in the midst of wolves, the stage is set for us to be troubled though we are always overcomers and never victims. The “troubles” don’t determine who we are, God who already won the victory, determines that. He called us sheep and instructs us to remain sheep in the face of all the difficulties or challenges we may face.

Mathew 10: 16 “Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves.”

2 Timothy 3: 12 “Yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.”

Job’s story typifies the life of a believer, encouraging us to hold on whilst reminding us that inspite of the extent of one’s difficulty or depth of pain, it will pass. I don’t think it gets worse than what Job went through. His story prepares one for life as a believer. Dealing with life is not taught in schools, not even in bible schools, but God uses different methods to prepare us and Job’s story is one of them. I don’t doubt that no one can ever be fully prepared to face life’s challenges but it helps to know that there is no challenge new to humanity and that every challenge has an end. It is so much easier to hold on knowing that despite the apparent weight of the challenge, God has not permitted it to destroy one but to release them to greater glory. We cannot allow life dictate who we are. We are sheep and empowered to reign despite the presence of an evil one whose only job is to trouble mankind (believers and unbelievers alike). He knows not how to do well and if he appears to do well, it is a trap. His thoughts toward us, unlike God’s thoughts, are only evil so that as soon as he was allowed to touch Job, he did all he knew to do – steal, kill and destroy. Don’t give up in that your situation; there is an end to it.

1 Peter 5: 8 “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.”

There is no doubt that Job was used to living well and enjoyed the honor and accolades he got from the people around him. Yet God allowed him lose even that alongside all he had. No wonder he pondered why God won’t take his life. It didn’t make sense to him anymore to be left on earth. Everything seemed meaningless and God was silent, not offering any explanations. Who would have thought He was actually rooting for Job all that time. Heaven held him in high esteem though men looked down on him. While he was treated with disdain on earth, he was accomplishing God’s purpose. No wonder it is not wise to judge one’s worth by how much men value them. Who would have known that God cared so much He was apparently watching over the entire situation carefully to ensure that Job would not only remain sheep but would be greater than he ever imagined. It is easy to take for granted that God is not with anyone going through difficulties but it is not always so. God sometimes works in unexplainable ways to work wonders. He knows how to bring us out of “it” just in time and who knows, He may be working another wonder in your life

Romans 8: 28 “…all thing work together for good to them that love God who are the called according to his purpose.”

1 Corinthians 10: 13 “The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.”