Worry Not, Trust God in Everything, and Be Faithful

We are unfished products until we meet Christ. What I mean is, we are untransformed until we meet Jesus and become transformed into His likeness. That’s why we often see ourselves in the story of the children of Israel. The Bible describes the rabble among them at the time when they had just been divinely rescued from their Egyptian slavery. We would think they would be grateful to God but Moses was faced with an angry mob. Israelites were craving for Egyptian food. They alarmingly forgot their own character as God’s people and threw a fit: Very disgraceful and ungrateful! They couldn’t wait to be in the promised land and expected a champagne lifestyle all the way. No, there is a bit of suffering on the way to where God is taking you. God is definitely willing to lead us. The trouble is: we act strangely like Israel when we face suffering. We grumble and forget the mountains that the Lord removed for us to be where we are now. Moses couldn’t deal with it. The letter of James attempts to focus our attention to the right place when faced with suffering: Pray, don’t grumble as if you don’t know what your God is capable of. What’s making you so unsettled in your heart while God is busy leading you? Since we are hardwired to worship God, obviously we would lose our peace, if we become impatient and go off on our own self-rescue. Our test is: what do you turn to in the heat of the moment? When things go south, do we force our way or believe God for our rescue? Jesus bluntly set it before our eyes: Be careful what your eyes; hands and feet are reaching out to, because to your eyes, it may seem pleasant and safe, but in reality, it is a trap, consider rather true life, and grasp for it: It is the Way, the Truth and the Life, Jesus Himself. Are what we are into today worthy of God’s name? Jesus was so concerned about our conduct that he warned us that if unchecked, we become like an infection to the whole community. There is an African proverb that says “Whoever steals teaches infants on the back how to steal.” That’s why Jesus used graphic shocking visuals: [Cut off what is causing you to sin, is it the eyes? Hands? Feet? Don’t allow them to make you lose your life! Consequently, also don’t let them make the little ones stumble… the new believers are so precious to God. Be very careful how you treat them, how you speak of/about them. The Psalmist said: “Let my words be acceptable in your sight…” Our behaviors and speeches should reflect our God! Anyways, what had happened in the camp of Israel? Did someone incite the children of Israel to rebel, grumble and complain? You bet! Do not let anyone amongst you be that kind of person who incite others by what they post on social media, or by what we tell others. Instead, as the letter of James suggests, we should stay the course with God’s leading; praying for one another, confessing our sins to one another, singing songs of praise… In other words, reach out and grasp for true life, worship the Lord your God patiently and let him act on your behalf! Prayer is powerful, James tells us. Do not grasp at other things that can’t save you like money and connections. People will always find ways to disappoint you! Do not put your confidence in them, they are created and finite, but your God is infinite and full of wisdom. Why would we abandon our God for that? Seek God’s wisdom and his lead, and be worthy of His name and His calling! Why is it so difficult for us to maintain our faithfulness to God during our hardships? Israel failed at it, and we might as well admit it: we fail time and time again! Could it be that amongst things that unsettle our hearts are our impatience and lack of real trust in our God? Especially when we allow our loves and comforts to dominate our thinking. Israel’s patience was at all time low/ at ground zero. The pressure of their desires for their regular diet was too much. They thought they were going to die! Were they? No! It pushed them to their limit and they grumbled, which was an insult to their divine rescuer. Sadly, that’s not too far-fetched with this generation. To what extent our feelings and emotions are winning over everything in our lives, before we get a chance to think? Beloved, we need God’s grace today so, we can run to Jesus, the living bread, far from whom nothing can grow. Reach out to God in your heart today and stay faithful to Him! Amen.

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