As they were walking along the road, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus said to him, "Foxes have dens and birds in the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." (Luke 9:57-58)
This past Sunday, Pastor Shane shared a prophetic inquiry from the heart of Christ: Are you ready? Do you understand the implications of what it means to follow Me?
Christians are tasked with reflecting the goodness of God in a sick and wicked world. But as we endeavor to do so, we may encounter hardships and circumstances that are designed to discourage our hearts or distract us from honoring God with our lives. The Luke 9 passage reminds us that, because God's kingdom is not of this world, there are some things that are not guaranteed to us in this world. Pastor Shane exhorted us to realize that material security, financial stability, and perfect relationships are not always found in our lives. As members of God's kingdom, though, we are assured that our God will supply all our needs as He sees fit: not according to our timetable, but according to God's timetable.
Our challenge, and our calling, is to be a consistent example of the love and grace of God without being derailed by our circumstances. Sometimes our most powerful testimony is not our recounting of spiritual victories, but our joy and our worship of God in the midst of severe struggles. Are you experiencing hardship today? Remember that our Lord sees, He knows, and at His appointed time He will act. Rejoice in the Lord; rest in Him; trust Him to do what is right and good.
May we always be willing to follow Him.
What God ordains is always good: He is my Friend and Father.
He suffers naught to do me harm, though many storms may gather.
Now I may know both joy and woe:
Someday I shall see clearly that He hath loved me dearly.
-Samuel Rodigast
No comments:
Post a Comment