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Even in these turbulent times, God’s good and perfect will for your life is one of peace and growth rather than evil and harm. For, His plan for your life is to build you up, and all that forms part of your life, every aspect of it. And it comes by His good and faithful promise to you that can never fail, that declares The Lord will build Zion, And He will demonstrate His glory. [Psalm 102:16] He is the Everlasting Father; and the revelation of His fatherhood is how He demonstrates His glory, His love and mighty power in the process of building you according to His will, His plan that is higher and more glorious than anything that your mind in its human nature can conceive or imagine. And it also could be radically different, as it was in the life of the apostle Paul, when he heard God’s will for him, being laid out by Ananias saying, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will, to see the Righteous One, and hear a voice from His mouth’. [Acts 22:14]
The journey of divine purpose began thus in Paul’s life, as he acknowledged the Lord Jesus to be the Messiah, and more importantly the Lord of his life from then on, to direct and lead him towards what really mattered. It was to know and appropriate God’s will for his life, to lay hold, and progress to firmly grasping the eternal purpose for which he had been born into the world. Everything else, he counted to be of no gain or profit to him at all, as he surrendered in repentance to be led to a renewal of his mind according to God’s word to him. And it was godly counsel that emanated from him in his letter to the Ephesians, to speak even now into your heart and mine, that we may not fritter away our precious time here on earth, walking in ways that ultimately lead to death or destruction.
His noble and high plan for your life is always towards life and life in all its abundance, and you need to ponder anew, and know what the plan of God for your life is Therefore the clarion call of the apostle is loud and clear Awake, O sleeper, Arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you. [vs 14] The light of Christ will reveal to you all that you need to put away, be it, discouragement, indifference or sheer laziness, when it comes to receiving clarity and wisdom so that you may grow and progress in the plan of God.
And what is prescribed by it, is to not be thoughtless, but apply thought. It is thinking things through, as you ponder and meditate upon God’s word to awake and come alive, by the light of Christ, for, It is the entrance of the word of God that brings light in any situation. And it needs to lead you to a place of understanding all dimensions and depth of the truth, not merely the superficial picture. It is why Paul goes on to say, Therefore, do not be unwise, but understand what the will of God is. [Ephesians 5:17]
Wisdom becomes necessary so that you may lay aside every dead weight that brings you down and the sin that so easily entangles you. And sin can be defined very simply as missing the mark, or not entering into the godly destiny that is His will for you, one that the evil one tries his very best to keep from manifesting in your life.
Therefore, having wisdom, and also importantly, having the right strain of it, is mandatory in the life of every christian. For, there is the wisdom of the Word, and the wisdom of the world. In a sinful world, you are in danger of being inundated by formulae and philosophies which are the handiwork of the devil, and have nothing to do with the Only Wise God, and His wisdom that comes to you by His word, in the person of Lord Jesus Christ. He Himself has become your wisdom, that you may be wise in the circumstances of your life.
It is the wise man who builds his house upon the rock, the wisdom of God’s word. And it is a Spirit given gift, for which He also gives you the opportunity that you may exercise it, and the promise of His presence that will empower you to be built for His glory. Money finds its place in being the resource that He makes abundantly available in your life, for His purposes to be worked out in your life. But at the center of it all is God, your loving Father, who knows your every need. And your primary dependence needs to be upon Him, for your provision and fulfillment, as you are led by the Spirit, to walk in step with the Spirit, and in its power.
Therefore even when you give your first and the best as a fragrant offering unto the Lord, it is all about your heart, your love and trust in Him that is reflected in what you give to Him. And above all it is your very life that you surrender to your Maker, that you may gain eternal life. For as Jim Elliot, the servant of God, has once spoken about his transformation, ‘he is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose’.
David Livingstone, the doctor who in obedience to the call of God upon his life, chose to serve in Africa, the ‘Dark continent’ as it was known then, was labeled a ‘fool’, by his own friend. But, he was certainly not unwise, and understood what the will of God for his life was. And it was a flourishing finish, when, as his life on earth ended he was buried among kings in the land of his birth. But the natives to whom he had ministered,had desired to have his heart, and bury it in their land, as a heart touching remembrance, and it was accomplished too.
And the watching world saw then that he was certainly not a ‘fool’, a truth acknowledged by a voice in the congregation, by the person who had ridiculed him years ago. For it is heaven’s kingdom riches that become your portion in life, when Christ, the wisdom and power of God is in you, and is your hope of glory.
But the dangerous influence of the voices that you hear all around, especially through the social media that surrounds you in this present electronic world can never be taken lightly. For, it can be like passive smoking when just by being associated with a wrong crowd, your thinking can also get contaminated. A thought that seems attractively plausible can creep in to tempt you into a wrong path that leads to death. And it is why, ‘God helps those who help themselves’, is not the wisdom of God at all. For, God helps those who trust and put their faith in Him He guides and builds their lives, their work, according to His magnificent design, in hearts that are willingly surrendered unto Him. For,to the world the focus is invariably on cash or money, but to a child of God what matters is the call of God upon his life.
Therefore, when many suggestions come through various sources, to cause fear or confusion, what you say to yourself is what can lead you in the path of righteousness, for His Name’s sake. ‘Why are you downcast , O my soul, put your hope in the Lord’, are the words of the psalmist, when his life’s situation did not appear very promising. And while the wisdom of the world, may advocate, ‘How to become a millionaire’, as a child of God, you will know that it is not your way. Material riches can appear tempting, but can never conquer you, for you have the mind of Christ, and He has put His desires in your heart. Therefore, rather than following the pattern of the world, with a mind renewed by God’s word,you can humble yourself under the mighty hand of God,so that He may lift you up at the proper or due time. And when He lifts you up, He will also sustain you, so that you may always be above, and never below. On the other hand, what you compromise with, in order to get to the top, will end up controlling you, once you get there. It pays therefore to be wise, by God’s wisdom, which is Lord Jesus Christ.
And how it transpires in your life is by God planting His desires in you, as you read His word, to meditate upon it and pray to Him. Thus, prayer is a time when you not only speak to Him, about all that is happening in and around you, to receive His perspective concerning it all, but it is also knowing what He is already doing about it, finding your part in it, and acting upon it.
It is how Nehemiah had a burden in his heart, to rebuild the ruined walls of Jerusalem, as he encouraged the people of Israel, to rise up and build. He knew that the hand of God was upon him, to reveal His will, and He would make them prosper in accomplishing it. [Nehemiah 2:8] And so he had the confidence to stand against the distraction of the enemies, for he knew and declared to them that he was doing a great work. In the eyes of the world though, it may not have been so great, for it was not a grand mansion or a royal palace. But the truth is that any work that you have been called to do by the Almighty God, your Father, is a great work. And you can with spiritual discernment know what it is, to then surrender willingly to it, for He knows what is best for you. And His grace teaches you to say no to ungodliness, the demonic wisdom of the world, that you may discern the great work that He has called you to do.
Paul on that momentous encounter, knowing that it was Lord Jesus, had just one question, ‘Lord, what do YOU want me to do?’ [Acts 9:6] And it is the one question that you will hear HIM ask, as you stand before Him, trusting in His righteousness alone – ‘Have you done what I appointed you to do?’
It is what is required of you; to do what He has called you to do, nothing more. Random meanderings beyond what has been appointed for you, are not God’s good and perfect will for you. You have a God who is clear in His specifications, and communicates it to you, in a manner that you can never misunderstand. You need to ask yourself therefore, whether you are wasting the opportunities that He has made available, so that you may fulfill His will and find true fulfillment in life. It comes only by living a life that is sown , and not in a life that is wasted, or merely existed. So take time to ponder anew, and with a renewed mind, you can buy back every wasted opportunity.
Redeem your time,therefore, instead of considering yourself to be too old to be used by God. For, Caleb’s words stand as a testimony, to give you strength, breathing hope of a fulfillment of what God has spoken to you, though you may now be in your twilight years. [Joshua 14:6-15] Break out of a worldly mindset, for His plan for you still stands! Do not dilute yourself though, and spread yourself thin,so that you cannot feel the taste. For divided finances, divided time, divided strength ultimately yield nothing. But it need not be your story. And as Amy Carmichael on serving the Lord at Dohnavur was able to rest in faith, you too can say that your work in obedience to the calling of God will live on, because it is from Him, for Him, and in Him.Therefore, make your days count, as you redeem the time. ‘I have heard you, and I have helped you’ is His precious promise to you this day.
And in response may we offer our lives unto Him as a willing sacrifice in prayer and supplication, saying – Father, we humbly thank Thee for the word in season that we received today, your timely word that instructs us. Grant us Your wisdom, that by grace and through faith we will do what you want us to do in our lives, redeeming the time, for Thy glory. In the Name of Christ Jesus Amen.
