One of my favorite people in the Bible is the Apostle Paul. In my mind I see Paul as a rough character, maybe even a John Wayne type person, who moves through the different circumstances he finds himself in with great confidence. He had truly “seen the light” and knew exactly where his strength came from in his life.
Paul has an indomitable spirit. He is a master motivator, and in his book to the Philippians he is a one-liner machine. I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. (Phil 4:11) My God will meet all your needs. (Phil. 4:19), and For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. (Phil 1:21)
How can a person who has faced such hardship continue to be so powerfully effective in his ministry? Paul did not spend a lot of time telling his conversion story again and again. He did not spend much time recanting the hardships of his past or the way God was able to free him from every ill-fated attempt at evangelism. He did, however, have a living and breathing faith which truly believed the Lord was capable of using whatever he put forth to complete the work which was started in him.
In our positive thinking society, we believe that God is the person who is always delivering us from our problems, rather than helping us find our way into them. Consider this: what if God designs our problems so we can lean wholly into Him for our every step and breath? For Paul, the prison time allowed him time to write in such a way that could have never been done with his hectic ministry schedule. I am sure that sitting it out in prison is not your first choice for a life plan. But Paul knew in his heart that God was still in control.
Do you know that in your heart? Maybe? Would you tell that to your head? Hmm? As believers we should never doubt our future or become hopeless for our tomorrows. We are not called to create our future, but to know who holds the future. I challenge you to answer this blog this week after having spent some time in prayer. Maybe you can answer the blog in your daily journal, or maybe you can answer below so others can grow from your experiences and rejoice that they are not alone. When was the last time you felt truly confident about your life and where it was headed? Have you been trying to build a life or are you leaning on Jesus Christ as your life coach?
On the journey together,
Kirk
Posted on
Thu, August 12, 2010
by Kirk Norman