As Abram, are we ready to go to the place that the Creator pointed out for us (Gen 12:1)? Or do we need a “little shove”?
Is Jesus really LORD of our life? If He is, so this verse ought to be a reality in our life:
• Joh 3:8 -> “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”.
If Jesus did with us something similar to what He did with Abram (he didn’t know whither he went – Heb 11:8), are we, like the apostles, ready to leave everything and follow Him (Luke 9:23) wherever He wish us (even toward a desert (Jer 2:2) to be tempted by Ha-Satan (Mat 4:1))?
I know that, many times, the paths of the Creator are so fantastic that, for us to go to the place that He prepared for us, we need to be propelled to it.
Think in the example of Joseph. Going toward the most cruel and pagan empire certainly should be unthinkable for someone that fear the Creator. So, the only way for him to learn what was necessary to keep alive the holy lineage (Gen 45:7,8) was being sold as slave through the turpitude of his brothers:
• Gen 37:26-28 -> “And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood? Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content. Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.”.
Alike, imagine the situation of Hadassah when Ahasuerus issued a unjust decree obliging all the fair virgins go to his harem:
• Est 2:3 -> “And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, that they may gather together all the fair young virgins unto Shushan the palace, to the house of the women, unto the custody of Hege the king's chamberlain, keeper of the women; and let their things for purification be given them:”
Certainly, she suffered very much going to this horrible place and with the expectance of becoming a wife of a heathen king. But, without this, Israel’s people would have been eliminated (Est 4:14).
And what about Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah? Imagine them to be obliged to use his talents and gifts to serve an idolater and cruel king (chiefly Daniel):
• Dan 1:1-4 -> “In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god. And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king's seed, and of the princes; children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans.”.
Certainly, they would prefer to stay in Jerusalem (see Psa 137). Nonetheless, they had a great influence in this empire.
Finally, and about Moses? He had to be pursued by pharaoh in order to be prepared to be used by the Creator to save His people:
• Exo 2:11,12 -> “And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren. And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.”.
• Exo 2:15 -> “Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well.”.
So, have a great day praising and worshipping Jesus, even if you are undergoing a narrow gate and hard way. It’s a signal that He loves you (1Pe 4:12-19). After all, as there are many people that don’t have interest on finding them (let alone go through them – Mat 7:13-14; Luke 13:23-28; 2Tim 4:3-4), this is His assistance so that you don’t stay apart from His salvation (as He did with Lot – Gen 19:16).
Is Jesus really LORD of our life? If He is, so this verse ought to be a reality in our life:
• Joh 3:8 -> “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”.
If Jesus did with us something similar to what He did with Abram (he didn’t know whither he went – Heb 11:8), are we, like the apostles, ready to leave everything and follow Him (Luke 9:23) wherever He wish us (even toward a desert (Jer 2:2) to be tempted by Ha-Satan (Mat 4:1))?
I know that, many times, the paths of the Creator are so fantastic that, for us to go to the place that He prepared for us, we need to be propelled to it.
Think in the example of Joseph. Going toward the most cruel and pagan empire certainly should be unthinkable for someone that fear the Creator. So, the only way for him to learn what was necessary to keep alive the holy lineage (Gen 45:7,8) was being sold as slave through the turpitude of his brothers:
• Gen 37:26-28 -> “And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood? Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content. Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.”.
Alike, imagine the situation of Hadassah when Ahasuerus issued a unjust decree obliging all the fair virgins go to his harem:
• Est 2:3 -> “And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, that they may gather together all the fair young virgins unto Shushan the palace, to the house of the women, unto the custody of Hege the king's chamberlain, keeper of the women; and let their things for purification be given them:”
Certainly, she suffered very much going to this horrible place and with the expectance of becoming a wife of a heathen king. But, without this, Israel’s people would have been eliminated (Est 4:14).
And what about Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah? Imagine them to be obliged to use his talents and gifts to serve an idolater and cruel king (chiefly Daniel):
• Dan 1:1-4 -> “In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god. And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king's seed, and of the princes; children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans.”.
Certainly, they would prefer to stay in Jerusalem (see Psa 137). Nonetheless, they had a great influence in this empire.
Finally, and about Moses? He had to be pursued by pharaoh in order to be prepared to be used by the Creator to save His people:
• Exo 2:11,12 -> “And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren. And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.”.
• Exo 2:15 -> “Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well.”.
So, have a great day praising and worshipping Jesus, even if you are undergoing a narrow gate and hard way. It’s a signal that He loves you (1Pe 4:12-19). After all, as there are many people that don’t have interest on finding them (let alone go through them – Mat 7:13-14; Luke 13:23-28; 2Tim 4:3-4), this is His assistance so that you don’t stay apart from His salvation (as He did with Lot – Gen 19:16).