Uplifting Christ

Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. I believe everything happens for a reason. The devil can’t touch us as God’s children because of the hedge of protection around us. However, God does allow the devil for a reason. There is no way God will allow Satan and his demons unless He has a reason for that. And that reason is for their defeat. The situation may not be pleasant (like what happened to Job) but if we can maintain positive attitude toward that situation, I believe at the end, God will use what was meant for our downfall, harm, disgrace, death, etc to lift us up to a new and a higher level. He has promised to give us expected end but He never said anything about how the journey will be like.

WHO KNOWS GOD’S WAY?

Nobody knows how God does things. I have tried many years to understand how He works but the more I try, the more I get confuse. The scripture tells us God’s ways are above our ways, and His thoughts above our thoughts. As humans it is sometimes difficult to see from God’s perspective, or to understand how He works. You may not understand why you lost that lovely family member, why that fellow walked out of that relationship, why despite all your efforts the company decided to lay you off. You may not understand the situation you are going through now. But hear me today; they are happening so that God’s divine purpose for your life can come to pass.

In John 9, when Jesus and His disciples saw a man blind from birth, Jesus told them in verse 3 that “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.” This means that some things (both good and bad) happen to us so that the work of God might be displayed in our lives, so that others will see how powerful our Father is. When something good happens, we tend to give Him thanks. However, we cry, worry, talks when something bad happens to us. Let us have in mind that all things work together for our good. When the scripture says all things, it means both good and bad. In bad situation, we should maintain our positive attitude, and give thanks to God. We should also know that He is more than able to see us through. Nothing happens to us, they happen for us. What was, and is meant for your harm will be used for your good.

TURN AWAY FROM PEOPLE

“When Jesus entered the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd, He said, Go away, the girl is not dead but asleep. But they laughed at him. After the crowd had  been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up.” Matthew 9:23-25. From the story Jesus saw the girl was asleep but the crowd thought nothing good could come from her. When Jesus made the confession that she was asleep, the crowd laughed. Other people may not see what you see. The dream and vision you have today may be stupid to friends, family members, etc. They may say “well, you know this can’t work, it is impossible.”  If you don’t turn away from them, they will kill that dream and burry that vision. Remember the crowd was put out before Jesus performed that miracle. The same happened when David was sent to the battle field. . Eliab, his oldest brother, ridiculed his status and accused him of laziness, pride, and naughtiness. The scripture tells us in 1 Samuel 17:30 that “And David turned away from Eliab to another…” When you are facing the storms of Life, people will always talk you down. I will advise you turn away from friends, mothers, sisters, brothers, mentors, etc who believe that you can do nothing about that challenge. Know that, like Jesus and David, that situation or challenge is meant for you to bring glory to God. The same people who thought you can’t do anything about the situation will come back to say well done. The seed of greatness is in you.

GOD IS WORKING BEHIND THE SCENE

God is a loving Father who rejoices when His children make right choices in life. He doesn’t force us. He has given us the total freedom to run the race. When we make the right choice by accepting Jesus as our High Priest, He works behind the scene for us. Let us look at the work of movie production or television broadcast. Those working behind the scene do greater part of the Job. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, together with the holy angel are working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year, to ensure that everything works for our good. They constantly guard our steps and direct our decisions. Isn’t it a great privilege to have the Creator of the Universe working constantly behind the scene for you?

YOUR ENEMY CAN HELP YOU MORE THAN FRIENDS

Goliath was there for one purpose; to promote David from being a shepherd to a King. Every enemy or Goliath you see today is there for your promotion. Whenever you identify or see your enemy, know that it your time to move forward. They will plan evil against you; they will laugh at you, ridicule you and even attempt to kill you. But God will use those plans to push you forward. In the book of Esther, Haman planned all sort of evil against the Jews. He planned to hang Mordecai but in the end, he was hanged on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. This is what I am trying to say, had it not been Haman, Mordecai who was always at the king’s gate wouldn’t have been Prominent in the palace. His reputation wouldn’t have spread throughout the province, and he wouldn’t have become more and more powerful. Esther 9:4. Judas Iscariot also played significant role in Jesus’ life. Had it not been him, there wouldn’t have been crucifixion, and without crucifixion, there wouldn’t have been resurrection. Tell me, what would have become the foundation of our Faith? Our Father is a wise God. He knows all those people whose evil thoughts will push us up. Quit worrying about who is against you, who is planning to do you wrong, who has threaten you, etc. There is a cause for that. Those plans will be used by God for your good.

WHAT IS YOUR GOLIATH?

Let’s say Goliath represents the world, sin, all untruths, etc. As Christians, we are to take a stand against these things. However, I’ve noticed many Christians doing the exact opposite. I see Christians dropping the truth like a hot rock and buying into lies. I have watched Christians forsake what they once stood for, and embrace compromise. I have watched churches drop their stance on the Word, Faith, and Doctrine as they try to be more “relevant” and “comfortable” in an effort to draw in a larger crowd. We call ourselves Christians; we say that we serve a great and powerful God but many of us really live lives of defeat and inconsequence because we are afraid of the giants that we see before us.

YOU CAN BE A HERO

You can be a hero but you must be willing to pay for the price. Everyone wants to be like Carlos slim, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Facebook owner (Mark Zuckerberg with his college roommates and fellow computer science students Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes), etc. But I wonder how many of us will be willing to face the challenges they faced; the rejections, betrayals, defeats, pains, people who walked away because they had different opinions, the trials they faced, the sacrifices, etc. When we face negative situation, let us not write ourselves off. Keep on believing because there is a cause for that. Everyone loves a hero. Everyone loves a happy ending. Everyone loves a courageous individual who’s willing to go against the grain, beat all odds, and win the girl or boy in the end to marry. Everyone loves a hero. Everyone wants to be a hero. However, not everyone wants to pay the price of being a hero. The good news is you can become one because God has placed in you all you will need to be one. Just take steps of Faith and follow your heart, and mind which have been transformed according to God’s Word.

GOD WILL SHOW A PATH

In every situation, let us know that God wouldn’t have allowed that unless He has a purpose for that. He knows the end from the beginning, and He able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all we can think of, or ask. God used Goliath to promote David to his divine destination. He used Joseph’s brothers to push him up to be the Prime Minister. Moses killed, that wasn’t pleasant, but God had a purpose for that. Jesus was betrayed by one His disciples, His closed friend denied Him three times, and the rest fled. All the great men and women who ever lived pass through one test to another before they could achieve their aims. Don’t be angry at every closed door because God will open a new one before the old one closes. Always maintain a positive attitude, make the right confession, and renew your mind daily with the Word of God. God is bigger than anything you can think of. He gave up Jesus for us. And He is ready to do whatever we want. He has promised us a successful end. But He never said anything about how the journey will be like. All He said was He will be with us. There is a cause for everything, but as a child of the Most High, ALL THINGS will work together for your good.