04 April 2013

God Precedes Us


More words of hope and encouragement in facing our daily challenges and adversities.

Many events will occur in our lives with no explanation nor reason.  Remember…God does not promise to give us total understanding.  But, He does promise that if we will obey and trust Him, we will be blessed no matter what comes our way.  We may or may not understand all that happens, but we can trust in Our Lord.  See…unlike us…God sees the big picture. From His perspective, life is fitting together, but from our vantage point, it may appear to be coming apart.

Many a times, people will be faced with a crossroad and wonder which way they should go.  Never count God out of your plans because he who holds the future also holds your hand.
I had recently read a piece from Dr. Stanley, Sr. Pastor at a church in Atlanta, Georgia mentioning about three things that can prevent us from stepping into the light of God’s will.  I had mentioned in a similar way to friends in the past of these mentioned points by Dr. Stanley, prior to reading of his insights.  It is not rocket science nor difficult, but we as humans, make it difficult.

First…Disobedience.  We often, and I had been guilty of this in the past, but have become more disciplined in my trust and faith, and I pray you will and can as well.  We so often, instead of waiting, we want to rush ahead or go in another direction, and we suffer as the result of our decision.   I remember a sermon on this premise many…many…many years ago…and it was based on being lost…and if the person only went forward just a little bit…he would have found his destination but instead, by turning too soon…remained lost.

Secondly…we need to get our hearts right.  Setting the focus of our hearts on the things of this world is often done.  Timing is everything to God.  He has a set time for the events that will unfold in your life. We need to become more intimate and in sync with God.  We often miss the blessing because we think we know what is best and try to convince God to move more quickly or change His mind.

Thirdly…we often will want to take the short cut.  A bible story that first comes to mind for me is the story about Sarah and Abraham were without child and were instructed by Our Lord, after up in years and beyond child bearing age, were told Sarah will conceive a child.  Of course as time passed by, Sarah apparently either stopped believing Our Lord’s instruction or grown inpatient.  You know the story…she recruited her maid to have a child with Abraham.  Lo and behold, a child was born…his name was Ishmael.  As you know…his birth set off a firestorm that is still blazing today.

Whenever you are tempted to doubt God’s plan or timetable, stop and ask Him to speak to your heart and encourage you as you wait.  I know…believe me…when I tell you I know about waiting.  I am still trusting and keeping the faith after over 3 years of not being gainfully employed from the civil engineering industry…God has a plan for me and my family.  Either it is in engineering, ministry or other…I continue to wait.  Has it been easy?  Definitely not!!! But my journey with Our Lord has grown and blessed beyond imagination.    So in short…He wants us to finish the course that He set before us.  In fact, He not only does He want us to finish; He wants us to become victors in life.

This leads me to a passage I read during the Easter season lately…it is from the book of Mark.  “But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.” (Mark 14:28)
Similar to the beginning of this piece, I had discussed how we face adversity and how we react and need to find confidence of God’s plan and point of view.  Also need to find comfort knowing as the verse from Mark indicates…as the good shepherd…like all shepherds…do they not lead the sheep?  They do not drive…but lead the sheep.  So, as Our Lord leads us…or should I say…precedes us.  This is important.  Please let me explain.

God never sends you into a situation alone.  He always goes before His children, as He did with the children of Israel when He led them with a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.  He always precedes you in any situation you encounter.  God is never caught by surprise by your experience; He has already been there.  He is prepared to meet every need because He has gone before you and knows exactly what you will need (reference Deut 31:8).

You will like this…Not only does God go before you, but He also stands beside you and behind you, to provide you protection and comfort (reference Ps 139:7-12). So returning to our recent rejoicing and celebrating of all the Easter events of the crucifixion and then of the resurrection…remember…Jesus knew His disciples would be totally bewildered by his crucifixion, so He assured them in advance that no matter what happened, no matter where they went or were, they could go in confidence that He had already gone before them.  Paul, too, first hand experienced this assurance as mentioned in Acts 18:9 and Acts 23:11).  As Paul and we would be too…in these most bewildering circumstances, his Lord was there!  How awesome!
So, either you are facing some life challenges and adversity today or soon will be…know that your Lord has gone before you and He is present with you.  He is fully aware of what you are facing, and He is actively responding to your need.  Granted, as mentioned above, the timing is not our timing, it is god’s timing, but of course, it is never soon enough for us…but is perfect for God’s plan.  There is nowhere you can go that you will not find Christ waiting for you to join Him.  So let’s be obedient, get our hearts right and not accept short cuts…develop patience, trust and keep the faith.  As a child of God, rest in the knowledge that your Savior preceded you and He will walk with you through each experience of your life.

Remember…keep the faith…continue trusting…and may you experience many blessings soon and throughout this new year.

I welcome you to visit my ministry blog (http://yourbrotherinchrist-nc.blogspot.com/).  Please feel welcome to provide comments and ideas I could improve as I witness and bring encouragement and hope to others.

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