When one becomes a Christian God commands to pick up your cross and follow Him! That requires letting go of all worldly plans, goals and desires. He sets us on a new course in Him. Oftentimes it may not be finite, sometimes He just reroutes our course. Like the children of Israel, sometimes God has to bring us through the desert before we can get to the promised land. But how long it takes to get there is most times up to you. I will be the first to tell you, if you go in obedience your plight will be much easier and may be faster. Many times we stall God’s plans for us by walking in disobedience and rebellion, or having a negative, complaining and bad attitude. But Beloved, still there are no guarantees.
“It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority (Acts 1:7).
Many other times God may be tearing down the walls we have built around ourselves and rebuilding us up in Him. Jeremiah 31:4-18. He takes us through hunger, distress and dry patches in the desert; often testing our faith, like our Father Abraham whom He tested with His beloved son Issac. He is teaching us patience, endurance, building up the character traits needed in us to be soldiers in this Christian army. Beloved, we come to God as weaklings. We think we are strong because we have been surviving off of the world system; flattery, social status, economic position. We have gotten our identity from the world’s modicum of success. God has to come in, clean house and teach us that our identity is solely in him, not of the things of this world! Beloved God is a GAME CHANGER! When in the world, we are looking through the dim eyes of success. When we give our lives to God, He can elevate us beyond what we can ever conceive of in our limited mind. He works in the supernatural! He can do exceedingly, abundantly whatever we think or ask (Ephesians 3:20). God has not forgotten you!
Joel 2:25 says:
So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, The crawling locust, The consuming locust, And the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you. (Joel 2:25 NKJV)
Moreover, Christ had to literally carry His own cross while beaten, battered, bloody and bruised. Here on this earth, those that are called to Christ must do the same. We must carry our cross; which is heavy on our backs as sickness, dis-ease, burdens and human loss; all while being beaten and bruised by the wicked spirits that work in the darkness of this world–often through the hands of man.
This brings to date the current Trayvon Martin situation. Some are deeming it profiling, racism, or a hate crime. Beloved, can I tell you that it’s neither! It is a spiritual battle! The eyes are the windows to the soul. When you look into George Zimmerman’s eyes, they emanate coldness, darkness, and lifelessness. Let us not forget our father Jesus Christ was the sacrificial lamb that was slain so you and I could be free! Satan and his kingdom worked through the insecurities, classism and hatred of man to slay Christ. The death of Trayvon Martin is an ever present reminder that souls, minds, and the heart of man still needs to be free from the grips of sin and fallen humanity. The war still rages between good and evil. If we look at this situation in the physical it is a tragedy indeed, but looking from the eyes of spirituality, God sent one of his children down to earth for an appointed time to do His will, and God has called Him back home! He is in a much better place than us, for he is sitting at the Father’s feet, while we are yet here to fight the good fight. Ofcouse, it is of great pain and loss when we lose a loved one, but let us not forget we are only here on borrowed time. Beloved, God has not forgotten us! He knows His plans for us before we are even born. Some of us will have to suffer the wrath of the devil; persecution, hatred, and even death! And let us not discount Mr. Zimmerman, also a life that was lost in the wilderness that only God can bring back home!
