Know that He is God

Friends,

Men and women plan and scheme. We worry over what might or might not happen in this circumstance or another. We devise contingency plans and work out elaborate measures to attempt to control events in our world.

That is certainly one way to live.

Here is another ...

I know that whatever God does,
It shall be forever.
Nothing can be added to it,
And nothing taken from it.
God does it, that men should fear before Him.
That which is has already been,
And what is to be has already been;
And God requires an account of what is past.
Ecclesiastes 3:14-15, NKJV

Today, why don't we take a breath and rest, knowing that Almighty God, who is truly sovereign and completely good, has set every detail in place for a specific purpose. We cannot change the plan of God. We can only have reverential fear of Him who is all-powerful and all-good. We can only turn away from our controlling impulses and turn towards the only One worthy of trust. We can strive to finally and fully depend and rely on the LORD.

At His appointed time

Friends,

It seems we are all in a rush to reach the next point in our lives. A teenager wants to be an adult ... now. An expectant mother wants to give birth, and her excitement turns the waiting into torment. Dad grows impatient with the traffic that delays his homecoming. A suffering old timer just wants the pain to yield to the peaceful return to his Lord.

Luke 4:29b-30 [NKJV]
...and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff. Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.

The crowd had had enough of this Jesus of Nazareth. But had they gotten their way, it would have shattered the legitimacy of Christ's claim that He is the Lamb of God. It was not Passover. The Sacrifice had not yet been made ready.

And Christ could have chosen any time to remove the limitations and frailties of His humanly form. But to do so would have doomed us all. For Jesus to have stopped short of the Cross would have been an act of disobedience to the Father's will. And He would have been therefore been unable to pay the price for your sin and mine.

Brothers and sisters, nothing can happen outside of Almighty God's good time. He has made an appointment for every event in your life and mine. There is nothing that can delay that appointment, or make it happen sooner. He is sovereign.

Therefore, there is no need for you and I to rush through life. Relax. Rest in His perfect and total control. Recognize the Lord's dominion over even time. And celebrate the fact that His perfect timing will glorify Him even when time is no more.

Be encouraged, Jose

Peace in Him

These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33 (NKJV)

The pursuit of life, happiness and our dreams on our own can be a draining and sapping exercise. A constant confrontation of challenges of all sorts. But to them that be in Christ, they are able to experience peace and a life with the ability to null and void all the noisome pestilence of life. Trying and challenging seasons will come, but because Christ is the anchor and centerpiece of our journey, we can relax and remain confident that all things, no matter how rough they may look presently, will work together for our good for as long as we continue to operate in His purpose.

Overcoming is guaranteed, true and lasting peace is certain, we only need to know and acknowledge upon which Rock we stand.

Be encouraged,

Afolabi