July 26
Father, we thank Thee for another end of the week. Thank You for the season we are in; for the land is yielding its increase and we are blessed by its produces. O Lord! What a Wonder You Are.
Yesterday we considered some of the steps that you may be required to take if you are to live a victorious life in this higher calling. The truth is that you and I may have to suffer some inconveniences if truly we want to be obedient to His will. Your obedience may also affect your beloved ones but even at that you must keep faith with God your Maker, He is faithful and will not allow you to suffer unduly for He sees your heart. Remember, it is He that made us not we ourselves. Also when we become faithful with the impossible, He will bring Himself into the situation. Consider further:
Standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother, His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.—John 19:25
There is no Christianity without a cross, for you cannot be a disciple of Jesus without taking up your cross. Crosses are painful, they forever change your life, but sometimes the greatest cost will not be to you but to those you love. You may be prepared to obey the Lord’s commands, whatever they are, because you’ve walked with Him and know that His way is best. Yet there will be those close to you who have not related to Jesus in the same way and have not heard His voice as clearly.
Jesus understood that His Father’s will for Him led to a cross. The cross would mean a painful death for Jesus, and it would also bring suffering to those closest to Him. Because of the cross, Jesus’ mother would watch in agony as her son was publicly humiliated, tortured, and murdered. Jesus’ aunt and close friends would witness His excruciating death. His disciples would be scattered in terror and confusion in what would be the longest, darkest night of their lives. Because of Jesus’ obedience, there would also be a cross for each of His disciples.
Obedience to your Lord’s commands will affect others (Luke 14:26). Don’t refuse to obey what you know God is asking because you fear the cost to your family will be too great. Beware lest you seek to prevent those you love from taking up the cross God has for them. Don’t ever try to protect those you love by disobeying God. The cost of disobedience is always far greater. Rather, look to Jesus, your model, and see what it cost those around Him for Him to be obedient to His Father.
I have my share of experience in the above but the amazing thing is how God delivers us from all of it. Having worked in a financial institution where I can say that by His grace I left at the middle management level, money was not an issue of concern to my household, .the issue of what to eat, school fees, house rent and holidaying is not a major concern to either me and my husband nor the kids. Our bills were paid promptly but when the Lord made His calling known to me, asking me to leave what I was doing for what He wants to use me do “to bless nations”, at first I couldn’t understand it.
He stops all the major sources of income (including my husband’s) to draw us to himself. The bills were piling and it became impossible to meet up with our everyday demands, so it became a major concerns to us and as I embark on this journey (heed to his higher calling), His faithfulness was made manifest to us, our flour and oil He constantly supply by His faithful, He blest us from above and presently the children and I are on vacation in a neighboring country all to His glory and to the blessings of His faithful who are also obedient to blessed God’s servants(Ps 34:10). Are you one of them? Or are struggling to bless the people God put in charge to bless your soul and make you fat and rich in His word? or maybe you blessed them with things that are no longer useful to you?
Like Gideon, when God first commissioned this ministry in my hands; I was startled, who am I? Do you know that God is a humorous God? He uses the weak things to show forth His strength and He chooses the foolish things to show forth His infinite wisdom, but He is looking for willing souls. Though you may not know how or what to do, God is looking for a vessel that will make him or herself available to be used by Him. Find out more from some of our mentors who were faithful with the impossible:
The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and deliver Israel from the power of Midian. Am I not sending you?”—Judges 6:14
In Gideon’s mind, victory over the Midianites was an impossibility, and he was absolutely right! The Midianites, along with their allies, overwhelmed the feeble Hebrews. Yet the moment God told Gideon to fight them, victory was no longer an impossibility!
When Jesus commanded His small group of followers to make disciples of all nations, was that possible (Matt. 28:19)? Certainly, if Jesus said it was! When Jesus told His disciples to love their enemies, was He being realistic? Of course, because He was the One who would achieve reconciliation through them (2 Cor. 5:19–20).
Do you treat commands like these as implausible? Do you modify God’s word to find an interpretation that seems reasonable to you? Don’t discount what is possible with God (Phil. 4:13). When God gives an assignment, it is no longer an impossibility, but rather it is an absolute certainty. When God gives you a seemingly impossible task, the only thing preventing it from coming to pass is your disobedience. When God speaks, it can scare you to death! He will lead you to do things that are absolutely impossible in your own strength. But God will grant you victory, step by step, as you obey Him.
How do you respond to assignments that seem impossible? Do you write them off as unattainable? Or do you immediately adjust your life to God’s revelation, watching with anticipation to see how He will accomplish His purposes through your obedience?
God wants to do the impossible through your life. All He requires is your obedience. Will you be a willing soul or are you still full of excuses?
Till next week by His grace, see you at the top.
Remain blessed in the Lord.
Evang. Ifeoma Ohondu
