Jesus told him, “Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to rest.” (Matt 8:20 ISV) The word of God is truly amazing. It has the power to motivate, heal, restore, deliver, create, transform, conquer etc. The power of the word of God is something wonderful to have at work in our lives. When allowed to function without limitation, the word of God is glorious and seems effortless in its operation. Who isnt attracted to something that seems to do all the work for anothers benefit especially when you are the beneficiary? Who doesnt want to enjoy the warmth and love of God that we find in having a close relationship with the word of God? We all enjoy being associated with something or someone successful, is it any wonder that Jesus attracted crowds wherever He went? It was wonderful to see Jesus in action and hear Him share Gods word, so much hope and life was released. When Jesus ministered you just never knew what blessing He would dish out. He was known for feeding thousands of people and popping in for dinner at peoples homes. Jesus made ministry seem so effortless. He made serving God seem like a piece of cake and something that could be done on autopilot. The scribe who wanted to follow Jesus wherever He went was given a reality check. Jesus had to let him know that the life that He lived was far from comfortable. The scribe needed to understand that the results he was seeing manifesting in public were the result of overcoming serious and regular challenges. Jesus was giving the scribe a reality check because it is easy to romanticise life and believe that things just happen without hard work and overcoming adversity. We normally put on display the triumph and not the process. A beautiful meal is presented to the public but the messy process and toiling is hidden in the kitchen. The months of filming are hidden but the two hours of success are splashed on screens around the world. When we are looking from the outside in, it is important that we seek a deeper understanding of the things that we desire. This understanding equips us for the behind the scenes stuff that is not attractive but is an essential part of the final product. It is too easy to assume that success is sudden and comes without a cost. Its easy to assume subconsciously that success is contagious and that proximity is all that is needed to be successful. When we understand what comes with walking in triumph and enjoying the desires of our hearts, we can adequately prepare ourselves for the ugly bits. This preparation helps prevent our flesh from causing us to look for and follow a shortcut to what we desire. When we are prepared to encounter expected and unexpected challenges we no longer make quitting a part of our strategy. We move in the direction of maturity that then guides our response to the tough times that come our way. The scribe desired a good thing, to follow Jesus everywhere. Jesus let him know what he was getting into if he was serious. Following Jesus is a journey where we surrender control of our lives and cannot expect things to follow the pattern that we have in our minds. The destination may be clear but the process of getting there may be far removed from what we have in mind. May you recalibrate your expectations of how life should happen using the word of God. May your expectations line up with the word of God. May your mindset be transformed and allow you to see past challenges and remain focused on the triumph that lies ahead. May you receive grace, wisdom and understanding that will allow you not to be discouraged by the fine print that may have initially escaped your attention. Mugove Chiviya
Posted on: Mon, 24 Nov 2014 04:59:10 +0000