Running Won't Bless You

None of us are exempt from the consequences God will place before us for the disobedience we as His children walk in. For every action there is a consequence. We may suffer immediately or it may take years, but it will come back to us. We all have choices, but God desires that we seek Him fully and completely. As we give our lives to God, we have a daily chore to walk right, talk right, and think right. We are to do good things and point others to Him. How are we to do so good in a world full of hate and anger? Though we will find our fleshly selves getting involved in things that do not concern us out of passion, anger or even love, how do we discern what steps to take or not? Prayerfully and on purpose.  

I have attended church, Sunday school, bible study, and many other events geared towards the edification of Christ like living.  I have spoken before woman, sharing what thus says the Lord. As of late, I have not been in fellowship as in going to church. I have been a member of my church for many years, I know the members, and I have a few beautiful woman that speak life into me when needed. But going to service has bored me to no end. The rituals and performances have left me empty and questioning. Because of my constant study of God’s word, I know that there is more. There is a greater message that is not being shared from many pulpits. And this is my dilemma. I have always said, if you come out of service the same way you went in, something is missing. Be it the message is not fitting for today’s crisis or the spirit is under attack. I know both. I thank God for divine connections who do not judge me or speak ill will of me as if I am committing the ultimate sin and should be nailed to a cross myself. No, I am understood and prayed for. I am encouraged and also admonished. Wisdom and experience is the best teachers.

I cannot pretend or put on a show when it comes to the many souls that are lost, broken, and hungry. I cannot pretend that with all that is going on around us in the world, that we somehow have missed the mark and for that, I take a back seat to surrender. I seek God in prayer for direction and guidance. I surrender my desire asking God to replace them with His. This is the mandate. Thy will be done Lord, not mine. In that surrender, I see and feel the turning of the winds, the grinding of teeth, and the pain of many hearts who are asking, where is God in all of the adversities? Where is God in the senseless killings of innocent and not so innocent? Where is God for the homeless and hungry? Is there a message in all of it? I say yes. As I read God’s word, I hear the call for repentance. I hear the call to lift up the down trodden. I hear the call to obedience or else. I hear the sounding of the gong sending the alarm to mount up and be ready. I hear the cries and I hear the joy of victory because victory is already ours. We just have to stand up to the tests with our heads high and hearts open, not with closed minds.

Jonah is a prime example of a disobedient spirit. He refused to do what God asked him to do, he ran to only end up tossed into the ocean and ending up in the belly of a whale, suffering and in horrific agony because of his disobedience. Read the book of Jonah to learn more about his story. This is how many of us are living right now, in disobedience. We are running away ending up in hardship , confusion, and despair. We are running ending up deeper in the muck of life when it is more pleasing to God to do what He has asked us to do, trust Him and follow Him, in spirit and in truth. Denying our fleshly desires and taking on the peace that does pass all understanding. We remain connected to people God is telling us to let go of. We continue to do things and go to places He is saying to us, not that. We are having conversations that God is whispering to us to end, and the list goes on. We remain in disobedience expecting blessings when it is evident of the pain either mental or physical. It is like pulling a scab off a scar expecting it to heal when all it is doing is bleeding. I have been there.

My brothers and sisters, there is no easy way to walk in Christ, but there is a manual that will give us the tools we need to do our best to stand up right. We will fail at it many times over. Though we will be persecuted, judged, ignored, and as of late killed for standing on God’s side, we must stand. Though many will turn their backs on us, talk about us, and even say we are hypocritical, we must continue to speak out and against that which is unpleasing to God, and in doing so we must count it all joy, the testing our faith, and know that in the end, who can be against us when God is for us. One day at a time, one prayer at a time, one request for forgiveness and the offering of that same forgiveness to others is a start. Though the wicked appear to outnumber the righteous, as in Ezekiel, the dry bones will connect and become united to fight along with you, the good fight. And fight you must.

Be Blessed