Prefer to grow in faith
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and
the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father,
but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the
one who does the will of God lives forever.
1 John 2:16,17 NASB
God can give you rest in the midst of trouble, and peace
in the midst of conflict. That includes a difficult workplace, or a home that's
in constant turmoil. God's presence can help you to show love in the face of
mistreatment, and patience in times of stress. It can help you to bring
positive change without a lot of words, and end up feeling good about the way
you handled things. So spend time in God's presence today.
Yet if we believe He is who He says He is, how can
surrendering to His way not be to our benefit? Think about His unique,
praiseworthy qualities:
His
all-encompassing knowledge. Unlike us, the Lord has complete awareness about
our world and the details of every individual life--past, present, and future.
His complete
wisdom. God understands man's every motive, whereas none of us are able to
accurately discern people's intentions. We make choices based on partial
information, whereas He has the wisdom to take action based on truth.
His
unconditional love. Our Creator is always motivated by love and constantly has
our best in mind. Unless we trust His heart, our view of reality will be
distorted.
His perfect
sufficiency. At just the right time, God will provide us with everything we
need to carry out His plan.
Frequently, a Christian's trials involve people, often
those close to him: relatives, business coworkers, or social acquaintances.
Nothing is more consistently difficult than interpersonal relationships. Paul
writes in Philippians 2:14-15, "Do all things without murmuring and
disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without
fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine
as lights in the world." He tells the Corinthians, ". . . nor murmur,
as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed by the destroyer" (I
Corinthians 10:10). Finally, Peter advises, "Be hospitable to one another
without grumbling" (I Peter 4:9). Frankincense represents the pleasant
satisfaction God experiences when His children endure without grumbling the
hardships of unstinting service, especially to their brethren.
In my closing, I would like to share an interesting note:
Your dream will never be fulfilled unless you're willing
to pay the price that comes with it. And that price is paid not once, but over
a lifetime.
First, there's the initial cost. You will have to make
personal and sometimes painful sacrifices. You may have to walk away from
attractive options and valued relationships because they don't fit into God's
plan for your life. Leaving things that have given you your security and your
identity will require grit and grace that only God can provide. Paul's résumé
included being '...of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews...a
Pharisee' (Philippians 3:5 NIV). Paul once had wealth and status. Scholars
reckon that when he committed his life to Christ, as was customary, his friends
and family would have held a funeral service and considered him 'dead' to them
from that point forward. Paul's calling was to cover Asia with the Gospel and
write half the New Testament. But great assignments call for great sacrifice.
And Paul wasn't alone. 'By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be
known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with
the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time.
He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the
treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward' (Hebrews
11:24-26 NIV).
So the questions are: Has God given you a dream? Do you
have the faith and fortitude to fulfil it? Have you counted the cost and are
you ready to pay it?
In my closing, I would like to share an interesting note:
Fields Industries was made great by one man: Sam Fields.
He devoted himself to his work, and he made a fortune by his efforts. During
his climb to the top, he experienced two divorces; lost both parents, but was
unable to attend their funerals because of business conflicts; watched his
health deteriorate; and was in part responsible for the suicide of one of his
competitors. To his way of thinking, the benefits always outweighed the costs.
Men like Fields are not unusual in our world today.
Nothing stands in the way of their climb to the top. Sadly, these men do not
realize they have set an inferior goal for themselves. The top of the corporate
ladder is far short of the top of the eternal ladder that God has set before
us. What does it profit a man to save his life, if he forfeits his soul? Men
and women who have sacrificed themselves totally to earthly gain can carry
nothing with them beyond the grave. There they will stand naked to face
judgment for a life poorly lived. Is it worth the price?
We would probably all prefer to grow in our faith without
ever making a mistake before God's eyes, but we cannot deny that missteps are
instructive. Failure teaches believers that it is much wiser and more
profitable to be obedient to the Lord. That's a lesson we all should take to
heart.
We need to be crystal clear about where we are headed in
life if we want to ensure that we stay on the right track. Every decision we
make and every step that we take ought to be guided by our desired destination.
Wherever we go, let’s make sure that we are headed toward God.
Blessings
Raj Kosaraju
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