16/06/12

Walking into our tornado

Genesis 37:16 - And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks.


Yesterday a sister called me; she had got in touch with me about 6 months back. Her mother was serious and had to undergo a major operation. The operation had gone successfully and she recovered miraculously fast. Shortly after that she spoke to me about her marriage and that she was getting married to an unbeliever who was also a divorcee (widower). There was no problem with the man being a divorcee but the problem was with him being an unbeliever and she was yet to be baptized fully in Jesus Christ, for she had not yet surrendered to the Lord. I knew from the Lord that she was not to get married to him so tried to meet them and council them out of it. But them the man was very smart and at 2 occasions changed plans and did not let the meeting happen. He insisted on meeting me after marriage. They did a civil marriage and after 6 months she called me to tell me all the disasters that happened in their relationship. Thing got so bad that the husband got her arrested and put behind bars for a period. She was telling me that the Lord had got them married so He will take her through this relationship.

From day one I had advised she against it for it was not the Lord's desire that she marries him. The marriage was her personal choice. She walked herself into her tornado and now blames the Lord for it.

In today's message we read about Joseph who led a good life of favour of his father Jacob, was walking into his tornado that day. For from that day onwards his life was going to change completely. No doubt great things happened at the end but the disasters that led the good ending almost crushed him at many occasions.

Some may say if it was not for his going there Israel would not have been saved from the famine, and all that the Bible says later would not have been happened. That is true. But just think of it had he not gone there that day would not have God been able to yet save Israel from the famine? He is God of the impossible; He is omnipotent and all knowing.

God gives us choices in life and lets us chose. Our chose leads us to our experiences in life. It is from our experience that our testimony in the Lord is made. God is all knowing for He not only knows our presents and knows our past but since He dwells in the future He knows our life ahead also. When He chose us it was not because of our present but it is because of our future. For many among us in our present state is so bad that His anger would consume us instantly but since He sees the finish job in us He takes pleasure in us. He allows us to walk into our tornado, to be lifted of our stable ground, twirled around, pulled into the darkness of the eye of the tornado and be throw away from our present way of life.

This choice of Joseph to walk into his tornado not only changed him but also changed the lives of the people around him. This testimony even today changes people's lives.

I always tell people we have 2 choices as God's children, one to study His Word have relationship with Him and walk the easy way in life to our goal or else by our understanding walk into our tornado, have experience teach us about God and let our helplessness build our relationship with Him to then reach us to our goal.

We will surely reach our goal by either one of the routes we take, for the end result of the story is already written. Remember the Book of Life already has the names of those who will enter Heaven. It is only the route that we take to the finish that we decide, the easy or the hard way - God's way or our way.


[ Prayer Starter ]
Lord, when You created all things You already knew what your creation would do. It did pain You but what You saw the end it pleased You. Therefore You became our sacrifice from the foundation of creation. Lord, even before we were placed in the womb of our mothers You knew us. You knew our every thought and deed and yet You said You love us. We know Lord You will finish your work in us and we will reach our goal in You. But Lord we pray that we do not walk into tornadoes by desiring our will, by walking according to our understanding. Lord, by your Spirit guide us and by your Word open our minds that we may do greater as we reach our goal...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.


[ Reference Scriptures ]
Proverbs 8:8-9
8 All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them.
9 They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge.

Deuteronomy 30:18-20
18 I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it.
19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
20 That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

Exodus 32: 31-34
31 And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold.
32 Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.
33 And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out [actually the Hebrew verb is in past tense - Qal] of my book.
34 Therefore now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee: behold, mine Angel shall go before thee: nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them.

Revelation 3:5 - He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out [the Greek word translated a 'blot out' is made of 2 words and implies to remove His anointing] his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

Revelation 13:8 - And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Revelation 17:8 - The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

The Word of God was given free to us, therefore we should also share it freely with others. (All rights are with God)