I was "getting my soul happy" in the Word today, and God laid a thought on my heart. I have been reading in the beginning of Luke as Christmas approaches, and I was reading Zacharias's prophecy that starts in Luke 1:67. It struck me that the Jews must have been absolutely shocked when they encountered Jesus. The Jews had a promise from God about their salvation and redemption. They stood on that promise for hundreds of years. When Jesus came, the fulfillment of that promise didn't look how they thought it would look. God absolutely did what He said He would do. He saved them from their bondage. He gave them freedom, righteousness, and rescue from their enemies. However, it wasn't how they anticipated. In addition, it was more than they anticipated. He included the Gentiles in this opportunity for salvation and redemption. Even though He had told them He would through the prophets, they did not understand and became offended when Jesus began to do what the prophets said.
How many times in your life has God done something that He promised, but it did not look like what you expected? For example before I met David, I really had a desire in my heart that I would like to get married when I was 24. (Don't laugh, I just really wanted it.) However, there were no guys within a million miles to make that happen. So, I resigned myself to the fact that I would be single until I moved to CA where I would meet my husband. Then, David came out of no where and totally changed everything. I did not realize that I had a pre-conceived idea about how my husband would be, but I did. One day in Indiana I was sitting in Starbucks where a group of trendy (white) Christian guys were having a small group meeting. I realized it. My husband will not be a guy like that, and deep down I thought he would be. I didn't get offended though, and David is a bazillion--that's a real number--times better than I imagined my husband would be.
Second example: When we moved to CA, we thought that our church plant would go just like how it went for another church that we have really drawn from. Their church exploded in the first few months and has grown at an astronomical rate. That has not happened (yet) for us. We were very tempted to be offended. We knew that God sent us out here to start a church that would transform this entire region, but how would we ever change the region when no one was coming? God had a much bigger plan. Before He could change the region, He had to change us. He has unleashed a true revelation of grace and love on our team. I can honestly say that we are all different people than when we moved here. Now, people are coming, getting rocked by Jesus, and staying. Then, they are bringing their family and friends.
What do you do when the fulfillment of God's promise does not look like you imagined it? Choose to not be offended. He is infinitely more good than we can know. He won't let you down.
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