Today we continue our series entitled, “God Loves You”, under the overall theme for the year of, “Supernatural Manifestation.” We have been looking at the following two passages and we will go back to them today:
The Apostle John said:
And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
(1 John 4:16, 17 KJV)
King Solomon said:
God has made everything beautiful and appropriate in its time. He has also planted eternity [a sense of divine purpose] in the human heart [a mysterious longing which nothing under the sun can satisfy, except God]—yet man cannot find out (comprehend, grasp) what God has done (His overall plan) from the beginning to the end.
(Ecc 3:11 AMP)
I made the following statement about these two scriptures:
“The Bible is clear that God made plans for us before the world began. The challenge for us, when we are born and begin to walk through life is to: (1) accept Jesus as Lord, because our journey begins with Jesus (2) receive the revelation of God’s plans through the Holy Spirit, (3) fight the urge to feel unworthy and to disqualify ourselves before we ever get started, (4) renew our minds to believe what God believes about us, (5) wait on God’s timing for the things He revealed to come to pass, and (6) launch out to experience what God revealed when the timing is right. Now, what I just said in these six points is much easier said than done, but the pursuit of it becomes the joy of the journey with Jesus.”
We have looked at all six points and for the a while now we have been focused on the last one: pursuing true experiences with God. Flowing in this vein, we have also been looking at the context behind Paul’s famous declaration that he could DO ALL THINGS through Christ (Phil 4:13). This is what Paul said:
“I have learned to be content with what I have and with whatever happens. I know what it is like to not have much and to also I have plenty. I have learned the secret of how to live through any kind of situation—when I have enough to eat or when I am hungry, when I have everything I need or when I have nothing. I can do all things through Christ, for he is the one who gives me the strength I need to do whatever I must do.” (Phil 4:11-13)
So what does this mean to you today? Let’s see.
- The Apostle Paul is my favorite Bible character. I truly enjoy teaching from his teachings. And I am thankful that he made it clear that he had to learn some things. He would not have been who he was and he would not have made the impact that he made, had he not learned to totally rely on Jesus. Why do I say this? Because, while his impact is great, his opposition was great as well. Paul was initially ostracized by Christians, because he used to persecute them. But after spending three years in isolation, he started his Christian journey. Along the way he was beaten with sticks, flogged five times with a cat of 9 tails, stoned, imprisoned frequently, shipwrecked multiple times and he was even bitten by a snake. Paul was the most influential person in the first century church and he wrote half the New Testament, but it did not come without great opposition. None of this would have happened, had Paul not learned how important it is to place all your confidence in God. He had to learn how to do all things through Christ. This did not come from book knowledge. This came from life-experience. Like Paul, you must learn the same lesson.
- You must learn to place all your confidence in God, because your purpose will attract opposition. I would love to tell you that once you find your purpose in life, everything is going to be easy. If I told you that I would be lying. God never promised you a perpetual picnic. The truth is, the greater the assignment God has given you, the greater the attack the devil will bring against you. You can almost measure the size of your assignment by the size of the opposition you are facing. But take it as a good thing. The devil only attacks those worth attacking. If you are being attacked strongly, it is an indication that God wants to use you in a strong way!
- To overcome the opposition you will experience on the road to your purpose, you will have to learn how to truly rely on God. You can read about it in the Bible, in the classroom, but the type of learning I am talking about only occurs during your “hands-on experience” time, with God, in the real world.
- Anyone can quote the Bible. But you only really know what you have encountered. Get excited about your encounters with God!
- You can learn in any situation, but you must choose to learn. Learning is a choice. Choose to open your heart to every life-lesson the Father wants to teach you along the way. The more you learn, the more you will live!
Closing Confession: Father, this is a year of Great Victory for me. My victory is not based in me. My victory has is based in You! Like Paul, I have learned what it is like to live in this world. I know what it is like to have plenty and not enough. I know what it is like to struggle and to soar. I know what it is like to be up and to be down. And this is what I have learned along the way: I can do all things through Christ, who gives me the strength! I have learned not to place my confidence in me. I have learned to place all my confidence in You. I can say this without question, because I see myself as Jesus is, so am I, in this world! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
