I am ‘far-fetched’ in my thinking.
I don’t believe anything is impossible and my
basis is this: GOD is sovereign (Ps24:1).
Simple. HE rules over all (Ps
103:19) and can do what HE likes and HE has a soft spot for me (Isaiah43:4), so
much that HE gave me HIS absolute best and allowed HIM to go through pain and
suffering just so I could be with HIM eternally (John3:16). If HE did that, what will HE not do
(Rom8:32)? So it’s hard for me to conceive anything as out of reach. The issue often times is that what we want is
not in alignment with GOD’s will (James4:3, Prov19:21). So it’s imperative that we be in tune with
HIS SPIRIT, because the SPIRIT knows HIS will (1Cor2:10) and if we are
surrendered, HE will lead us accordingly (Isaiah 30:21).
And sometimes, even when we are in
alignment with the will of GOD, things won’t come right when we want them. And if I’ve learned anything in my walk with
GOD (though through kicking, screaming, biting, and pouting), it is this
(besides the deep yet simple truth that GOD loves us fiercely), it is
that there is
power in the process.
I’ve learned that what we learn in the acquisition
of one thing or the other that GOD put in our hearts, is often times more valuable
and profound and lasting even than the very thing we go through it to
get. GOD is sooo wise and HE knows that
only such can motivate us enough to do certain things…things that if we do more
of, we can grow much more into what HE intends for us. So, you see, sometimes it’s not about the particular
desire, but the process that GOD wanted to work out in you along the way.
It is in the process that HE takes a mirror to
your soul and exposes the deep-seated things that you are yet to deal with…that
if left unaddressed before you get that which you desire, will take you out…self
destruction…an implosion of sorts, from which you may never recover. The bursts of anger wasn’t dealt with after
he killed the Egyptian man, so when Moses was in the wilderness, on the way to
the promised land, he was provoked to the point of self-destruction…that burst
of anger cost him much. What is GOD
exposing to you as you wait for that which HE has promised? Are you dealing with it? How? Do you know that if you leave it
unaddressed, it can destroy you? If GOD
is exposing it to you, please believe, it is that volatile. Address it. And address it now.
It is in the process that GOD reveals to you what
is dear to HIM…those things that HE wants you to focus on. It is in the process that HE reveals a deeper
essence of the desires HE has placed in you,…and you begin to grow in likeness
to HIM through the process.
So it all sounds abstract, maybe even vague…but
consider your own situations. What is
that thing that you are so ardently holding out for…what has GOD taught you
about you while you’ve been waiting?
What has HE taught you about HIMSELF?
I’ll tell you about me. Some
things GOD is working out in me.
1. Patience…
…Boy this is a tough one. I’ve been the ‘gimme now!’ type for a while
and it’s such an immature way of being (I know L), that GOD has employed drastic measures to cut that out of me. The surgery is ongoing, I’m definitely still
under the knife lol…but I’m already feeling lighter, as I am learning to wait
on HIM without grumbling, murmuring, or throwing a fit. Oh and also (which I think is a BIG deal)…without
slipping into the ‘poor-me, look at ALL that I’m going through…Oh if only they
knew’ syndrome (lol). That’s the song of
losers. Winners say ‘If the world saw
what GOD is cooking up in me, they would shout HIS praises and declare HIS
majesty!’ That should be your song because if you are truly surrendered, though
it may not look like it yet, GOD is cooking something up in you that will blow
the minds of people when the manifestation of it comes. So patience.
Question: How does this apply to you? Do
you struggle with patience through the process?
2. Faith…
The truth is, if GOD always gave me what I wanted
right away, though it be in alignment with HIS will, I would probably be as
close to HIM as east is to west (hint: not very!) lol. There are so many lessons I would have missed
out on and I’d just be a baby with a Bugatti…no sense of how to use it, no real
appreciation of it…just having it, just wasting it. GOD has amped up my faith through the
process. I have learned to depend totally
on HIM, for everything I want and need…not on my charm (I used to be a very
goooood flirt…but we thank GOD for JESUS!), wit, beauty, intellect, etc. but totally
on HIM. And HE can certainly work
(through) those things to my advantage, but it all boils down to HIM. HIS Word says the heart of the king is in HIS
Hands as a stream of water and HE can turn it any which way HE pleases
(Prov21:1).
And so it is HE who blesses me, and through the
process, I’ve learned to trust HIM…that HE will do what HE says HE will. It hasn’t been
easy! Sometimes it’s a struggle.
The enemy will try to infiltrate your mind with thoughts contrary to the
promises of GOD, but you have to take every thought captive to obey CHRIST
(2Cor10:5), and that is a daily hustle for me.
How about you? Through the
process, I’ve learned to focus on HIS promises, on the goodness of GOD, and on
HIS matchless love for me. You should
try it whenever you feel overwhelmed or discouraged. Just think how good HE is, and how HE loves
you (I recommend this song by JESUS Culture -Kim Walker version- HE loves
us). GOD is unchanging, and HE doesn’t
renege on HIS promises. If you remember
nothing else, remember these three things: GOD loves you fiercely. GOD
is sovereign. And GOD does not renege on
HIS promises. So, I’ve learned through
the process to rely entirely on HIM. How
does this apply to you?
3. Peace…
Peace is another thing I’ve learned in the
process. GOD has taught me to rest in
HIM. Instead of running helter skelter
trying to figure out how it’s all going to work out, just give it to HIM and
let HIM work it out as you follow HIS lead.
It is when we try to play GOD’s part that we experience unrest. And HE knows how restless we can get and so
HE says, ‘Be still and know that I am GOD; I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in all the earth.’ (Ps46:10).
So, I’ve learned to give it to HIM and trust that HE loves me enough to
take perfect care of me…much better than I can of me. And I can certainly testify! (HalleluYAH!
Amen!)…that HE does.
It’s like, when you surrender, it says something
that your words cannot convey…it says you truly believe that HE is GOD…LORD
over every aspect of you. You truly
believe that HE’s in charge. Peace comes
much like faith when we meditate on HIS promises and consider Who HE really
is. Peace also comes when we live holy,
consecrated lives. If you are feeling
unrest, it’s either you haven’t surrendered all, or you have some sin you haven’t
dealt with. And although HE forgives you
(Rom4:7-8), guilt comes because you haven’t brought it to HIM in repentance and
have chosen rather to cover it, or to hide yourself from HIM.
Something more about peace that I’ve
learned
through the process is that it is one of the first things the enemy goes
for. It can be so easy to lose if you
don’t learn to have faith. I’ve seen
that even your close ones…even believers…can say things out of panic,
such
that, if you’re not grounded in faith, may cause you also to panic. But
you’ve got to remember GOD. Who HE is and what HE says, and go with
HIM. Yes! Over that trusted friend, and
that wise parent. This is why it is
invaluable to have a personal, intimate relationship with GOD…where you
can know
what HE is saying to you, and you can differentiate it from what your flesh is
whispering. Shut out every voice that is
contrary to HIS, even if it is a familiar voice. Humans can err, but GOD cannot. What HE says has to come to pass (some
when met with our faith, others not requiring our faith), so how can HE
possibly be wrong. HE couldn’t even if
HE wanted to, because HIS Words are truth, and they become reality aka fact aka
what we see (Heb11:3). Has HE said “none
shall be barren in the land,” (Exo23:26)?…hold fast, you will conceive as your
faith meets with the promise. Has HE
said, “none shall be without her mate,” (Isaiah34:16)?…the woman/man of/to whom
you are flesh and bone will locate you…so rest.
Has HE said to delight yourself in HIM and HE will give you the desires
of your heart (Ps37:4)? then delight!…throughout the process, and you will see
your desires manifested.
The process is a fighting process and the enemy
will try to beat you down. The KINGdom
of GOD suffers violence, and the violent take it by force (Mt11:12). And the kind of force we use in the
KINGdom is not the general, superficial understanding of force. It is a force of faith where we believe and
we persist against all odds (Heb11:1, James 1:3, Heb10:36). It is the force of ceaseless prayers
(1Thess5:17, Mt17:21) even when we don’t feel like it. It is the force of obedience, even when it is
most inconvenient (Heb11:17, 1Sam15:22).
Our violence is that of holiness, which is a radical stance in a
perverted world (Phil2:14-15). It is by
this that we prevail against the wiles and impositions of the enemy, and we
possess that which GOD allotted for us.
It is by this that we reign as we were created to. There is power in the process, and what you
believe, say, and do during the process will influence whether or not you
acquire the promise (Num14:26-30).
It is in the process that your fruits begin to
emerge. What are they looking like? Like SPIRIT fruit? Or more like flesh
fruits?
“…the fruit of the SPIRIT is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control…” Gal
5:22-23a ESV
Can you boast in CHRIST of any of these? Or do you identify more quickly, readily,
truthfully, with the flesh fruit of “…sexual
immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy,
fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies”
etc.? Gal 5:19-21 ESV
The process reveals these things, and if you
surrender, GOD begins to work them out in you so that you can come through the
process purified and fit for HIS use…for after all, is that not what it’s all
about?…that we are used according to HIS pleasure.
There is power in the process to mold you
into the
man/woman that GOD has called you to be.
It is a fighting process (one in which you must fight) but it is not a
process that you should fight (not one against which you should fight).
It calls for surrender. Surrender of yourself to GOD…such that HE can
tease out the things in you that cannot continue with you without your
detriment and/or the detriment of those to whom HE has sent you.
The process, the passing through the fire, is a
cleansing process, and if you surrender, you will come through refined. There is a big picture, and it is imperative
that you keep it at the forefront of your mind.
Purpose cannot be fulfilled without the process (just ask Joseph,
Daniel, the three Hebrew boys aka SMA, Esther, JESUS!). Therefore there is POWER in the PROCESS
to bring about the fulfillment of purpose.
Surrender to GOD, trust HIM through the process, and you will come out
as gold.
So that’s my long, seemingly endless cup of Honest
Tea! I know it didn’t have much sugar or
honey, but trust me, the herbs are good for you. P.S. remember to flush… ‘cause this one
brings the mess out. That’s that
cleansing power! lol! I play too much. Bye now!
