LIVING ABOVE THE SYSTEM Recently, while flipping through one of the dailies, I stumbled on an excerpt of a lecture given by a former minister in the country who lamented that despite his connections, he had not been able to help secure jobs for two of his daughters who have been at home for more than a year with their master’s degree! As I reflected on this, I realized that it is not just a Nigerian situation because there are glaring facts all over the world that prove that these are uneasy times. The other day, I heard about the huge debts of the United States, and there is almost no day that you listen to/ watch the news that you will not hear of protests against the government in one part of the world or another. The world’s system is fluctuating so wild that, more than before, we are seeing the futility of human wisdom and the uncertainty of a life without God. However, in spite of it all, the scripture says God will always make the difference for His people (Mal.4:1-3). But how exactly does God make the difference for His people and what is it that He expects of them? That is what I want to share with you this month. WHAT IS THE SYSTEM? The system refers to the natural world or the natural order of events; it means your immediate environment, the world around you and the world at large. Living under the system is being affected by the system negatively. An example is falling sick because of the ‘weather’, being unemployed because ‘there are no jobs’ or losing your job ‘because of recession/depression in the economy’, failing an exam ‘because of the lecturer’ or ‘because the exam is too hard’, etc. Living above the system, therefore means rising above the prevailing circumstances, the storm that is sweeping everybody around (what students in higher institutions call ‘Tsunami’) and the ‘fire’ that is consuming everybody. It is having something beyond the ordinary/natural to show as results; it means not being affected by what affects others. How is this possible? The answer- “The just shall live by faith” that is, in spite of the troubles in the world, live by faith. Thus, we can say the situation in the world is not really our problem; our real problem is that we are not living by faith. THE REAL PROBLEM It is not because the economy is hard that we are not thriving; it is because we are not following God’s ways- you know the way of faith- that things are hard. For example, it is not because we are not having enough that we don’t pay tithes, rather it is because we don’t pay tithes that we are not having enough. It is not because some people have prophesied negativity or evil upon us that we are not prospering; it is because we are not confessing positives (blessings) upon ourselves and walking accordingly that we remain on the floor. It is not because the devil is wicked that we see many woes around; it is because people have not learned to counter his operations/activities- by faith- that we see so many woes around (see 1pet5:8-10). Faith enables you to live above the world “By faith, we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God so that the things which are seen were not made of the things which are visible” (Heb.11:3) i.e. faith created the world, and if it did, it can make the difference for individuals in the world. What is faith? Faith is walking with the supernatural God and having something beyond the natural/normal to show for it. Heb11:5 tells us that by faith Enoch walked with God and he did not see death because God took him. That is, by faith, he lived above death –the natural order. This is where I got the term living above the system from. From the above paragraph therefore, faith is not complete until there is ‘something’ to show for it i.e. proofs, testimonies or results. Faith is known by results. I mean the ‘extraordinariness’ or supernatural status of faith in God is known or proven through mighty works (See Jh3:2). You see, the point is not that many do not want to live an exemplary and prosperous life, but that they do not know how. For one, I have never seen anyone who is satisfied with failure or ignominy in life. No, not at all! Even when people say that they don’t care or act like they don’t bother about their results in life, they do. The truth is that they have cared all along, but they don’t know how to turn the ‘care’ to results, so they are disappointed and frustrated, and they express it in their whatever-would-be-would-be attitude. However, my claim is quite simple- if you have God and you are committed to Him- particularly learning and walking in His ways- you can rise above any situation (negative) in life. You can overcome all obstacles and subdue every mountain before you. Do you know why? “For with God, all things are possible”. If you have God, and you pay attention to your walk with Him especially to the point that you are constantly building your faith in Him, you can subdue any opposition before you, have the best of your desires granted, and live to become a surprise, not only to those around you, but also to yourself (Ephe3:20) A Glimpse of the Future You see, the future is very bleak for anyone that does not know the Lord. You only have to understand scriptures like Mal.3 and 4 to grasp what I am saying. Notice that I did not say the future is bleak for anyone who is not a Christian, but those who do not know the Lord. That is because a person may be a Christian (at least supposedly) and not know the Lord. Thus, those who do not know the Lord in this context are not only unbelievers but also believers that do not know the One they have believed/ understand His ways (see 2Tim. 1:12). CONNECTING TO THE POWER OF GOD What do I mean by the above? Scripture says ‘those that do know their God shall be strong and they shall do exploits’ (Dan 11:32) i.e. those that do not know their God shall be ‘weak’ and become victims or reflections of the system/environment they live in. That is why again being saved is not enough; one needs to be consistently building that relationship (with the Almighty) through personal fellowship. This is the only (major) way one can really get to know the Lord, understand His ways and live accordingly. And you cannot live according to the ways of heaven and not command waves on the earth. I tell you, those that hear God are not constrained or limited by what is happening on the earth or in their immediate environment. You see, when they tell you to study your Bible and get to know the Lord personally; it is not because anyone stands to gain anything from it. No, you principally will benefit from it. Someone told me in the month of May of a particular year that he had not opened his Bible to read personally that year! Now, how do you expect that one to rise above the ordinary? How do you expect him to contact or connect to the supernatural power that makes for exemplary living on earth? Why would he not be swept aside by what is ‘killing’ everybody and how would he have a different story to tell? Direction is crucial Next, take steps or keep walking on the basis of God’s specific instruction/direction to you such that you are moving when He says to and turning where necessary. This is talking about direction/guidance from heaven- which is one of the benefits or offshoots of being in fellowship (continuous) with Him. You see, sometimes, people look bemused- you know as if you are talking in parables- when you talk about God speaking to/leading His children, but I usually say this: you should not be surprised when people say God led them one way or the other (particularly when they have proofs to show for it), you should be surprised that He is not leading you or better still, that you are not hearing Him/receiving His guidance on a regular basis (see Psa32:8). This is so important because you don’t just live by what is happening around you or what you see/hear from others. No! Things are transient and they are hardly truly the way they appear to be. Sometimes, quitting may be like the next sensible thing to do, but the Lord may say ‘No’. At other times too, everything may seem perfect ordinarily and ‘something’ (as we often say) may just tell you to quit or turn. The key thing is being able to discern the Lord’s leading personally. Beyond popular thinking/’common’ sense Let me illustrate my point this way- the way to get a job is not just submitting multiple applications or dropping your CV everywhere that you hear they are recruiting. No, let the Lord guide you. The same way, going for further studies is not the solution to unemployment- you can get higher qualifications and get higher frustration with it. This is not being pessimistic but guarding against what the scripture calls the labor of fools (see Eccl. 10:15). We can give examples for other areas of life too. It is not by doing many things that you prosper, it is by being correctly positioned in God’s plan that you do. I am not in any way saying we should not be actively engaged, but that we should avoid laboring without God’s guidance- it usually only ends in frustration/disappointment. What we need is vision/innovation and creativity- something that we get as one of the benefits of being in God’s presence. Ideas flow, inspirations are received and strategies become clear when we are in fellowship with the Lord generally and when we seek Him specifically for some issues/areas of our lives. So, I seriously wonder why as a child of God, you would be confused when you have ‘the Fountain of knowledge and direction’ in and with you (see Psa. 36:9). I mean those that do not know the Lord may be directed by the winds of circumstances, but the same should not be said of the believers. This is not to deride anybody, but to tell the truth - all the systems and subsystems of the world are failing and you really need something beyond ‘natural/popular thinking’ and ‘common sense’ to truly thrive in this world. That ‘something’ is called the wisdom of God which manifests in supernatural insights, ideas and guidance. Keep sowing the seed Then, keep speaking the word of God/declaring God’s counsel for your life as you make moves in His name. You cannot have God’s plan/direction and sit still- in fact, you will not feel comfortable until you do something in that line. You just have to keep moving in His name for Him to keep confirming His word in your life. Keep sowing other seeds too like being liberal and doing good to all, lending helping hand whenever, wherever and to whomever you can per time, being faithful in tithes and offerings, walking in integrity, being diligent in your job and then some. Before you know it, you will see yourself emerging as a surprise to not only those around you, but also to yourself (see psa71:7) Then, don’t give up. Keep appreciating God for His grace that you enjoy and keep pressing on. No matter what seems not to be happening now, if you keep the faith, it is just a matter of time before everything turns out perfectly well for you. And you must never forget that:your situation is never as bad as the devil is trying to make you believe and you are actually far more blessed than you think. This is the word of the Lord: when you don’t give up in tough times, you will eventually see and smile through the good times. If you have faith and live accordingly, you can truly live above the system. Shalom! ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; If you have been blessed reading this, get a copy across to a friend. You can always pick FREE copies every month from where you got this or contact us for bulk distribution through any of the links below. Be sure not to miss the November Edition- out from 1st November, 2013. Be one of the very first to receive Light to the World. Send your email address(es) to 08033785707 (SMS only). You would receive the publication in a Portable Document Format (PDF) within the first 24 hours of every month. You can also read Light to the World online at peterolayiwola.wordpress ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Peter O. Olayiwola writes and speaks by inspiration from the word of God. He is the founder of JOYFUL INSPIRATION NETWORK- a Christian mission that is out to teach ‘how to live a godly and profitable life’ (1Tim.4:7-8) through seminars, meetings and invitations across campuses, churches and generally among Christians. For enquiries/contact: 08033785707, 08185413915 peter_olayiwola@yahoo
Posted on: Thu, 03 Oct 2013 09:40:19 +0000
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