“Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.” 1st Peter 4:12-13
Coming into this month I knew that I was running from the Lord on some things that were happening to me. I knew that the Lord was trying to tell me something but I didn’t want to face what He was telling me. What he was telling me was this, “Are you willing to lay down everything for me.” In my mind I thought that I was but was I?
Looking into the word of God we see that no matter how you look at it, if you want to walk the life of a Christian, you will endure sufferings and persecutions. Some can try to glamorize and say that it is all wealth and joy but that is far from the truth. The fact of the matter is that God wants us to die to ourselves and follow after His Spirit which entails giving up our rights and will hurt at times. In doing so come all the blessings the Lord has to offer.
This month the Lord told me that I had to give up everything that I dreamed, my current desires and my future. Some may say why would God do that? The answer to that question is because He is worth it. The life of a Christian is this only, to fall madly in love with the Creator of the World and love him with your whole heart, soul and mind. If that is the case, then everything else will fall in line and your identity will be found only in your Creator.
What I saw this month was that I was consumed with my passions, dreams, future and I was losing touch with the “Present here and now”. Some of my identity was being wrapped up in my passions and my dreams. God wasn’t saying to get rid of dreams and passions, He was saying can you give them up to me and focus on me right now? The action itself was a test from God if I would abide in what He was calling me to do.
Many Christians fight this notion but the fact of the matter is that Christ is in everything. He is in your sufferings, He is in the deaths that surround us, He is in marriages, He is in our surprises, He is in our sin, He is in our shortcomings and He is in our victories. God is in everything!
God has stressed on me this month that He wants me to die to myself and follow after Him with everything that I have. When I am in that state I can feel the peace of God that surpasses all understanding. I can feel my gifting’s come fully alive within me and I can run in complete Freedom.
We as fallen beings count so much in our lives as attacks from the enemy when it is actually the Lord pointing His finger right at us. We don’t want to acknowledge it as that so we run from the issue. He is saying that no matter what the case, I have allowed everything into your lives. If you are a follower of Him, there is nothing that he hasn’t allowed into your life.
What I see through all of this is clear. God is rising up a generation that is going to walk into the anointing that He has called for them. I see that this generation will be different and won’t put up with what the Devil wants to do to the world. I see that change is on the Horizon and I am not afraid to die to myself and be apart of it. I actually am starting to see what it says in the above scripture, be glad with exceeding joy.
May the Lord continue to shower you with revelation and love.
God Bless.
