ALLOW GOD TO HELP YOU ARISE FROM THE WRECKAGE
Oh righteous and eternal God, I thank you for life, health, and
strength. As my day begins, I acknowledge you for your keeping presence
within me. I give you thanks Lord for continuing to quicken my spirit, and
letting me know you are only a breath away. I praise and thank you God for
ALL THINGS, because I know that all things are working together for good
to them that love You, and to them who are called according to Your
purpose. Dear God, thank you for not allowing me to wallow in self-pity
and rejection, but allowing me to see the bigger picture. I believe there
is purpose for my pain, and I ask that You continue to strengthen me to
rise from my ashes so that others will see YOU are my help and my
salvation. Let your DIVINE WILL be done in my life in Jesus mighty name I
pray……….AMEN!
Reading the story of Saul’s conversion in Acts chapter nine really
brought some things home for me. It’s amazing that every time you pick up
the bible and read it (although you've read it many times before), God
allows you to see new revelation. I was feeling rejection in my spirit,
and God pointed me in this direction, so this I share with you.
If you examine the story where Saul (a murderer) had just been
transformed into Paul,( a disciple of Christ), we see that even though
Paul was now a changed person, many rejected him because of his past
reputation as a murderer. How many of you know that we must get pass our
past? As Paul’s life goes on, he suffers much trouble and harassment. When we look at this from a Christian point of view
we wonder how a
CHANGED MAN would still be suffering from so much adversity. Do I have a
witness?
Paul was now devoted to serving Christ. He sacrificed a lot, namely his
life, his education, and even remained single so that he could better
serve the Lord. And yet through all of this, he was shipwrecked on several
occasions. He was falsely accused and thrown into prison more than once.
That seems odd for a man called by God doesn’t it? We would think that
God’s favor would protect him from so much adversity.
Have you personally suffered from something that lingered with you on
and on and that you thought would never go away, but in spite of it, you
continued to serve God? We all have dealt with or are dealing with such
situations and sometimes we began to feel rejected by God. Has anyone been
there? Some of us have been rejected by family, friends, co-workers, etc.,
and then some of us have been falsely accused. Some of us are imprisoned
right now because of our financial situation, and not to mention the
things we face because of someone else’s sins. Yes it does seem unfair,
especially when you’ve been living right all you know, and you’ve walked
in the obedience of God the best you can. I take God at His Word, (and I
know you probably do too), so you would think that your life in Christ
would be more smooth sailing instead of so stormy? Well let me encourage
your heart, because God's word surely encouraged my heart after reading Paul’s story again.
In the book of Isaiah, chapter 55, verse 8 reads:
“For my thoughts are
not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways.” That scripture says to
me that sometimes it’s tough to figure God out when our situation and/or
challenges are not being addressed the way we think they ought to.
The first
thing we must remember is that God doesn’t play by our rules or have the
same agenda we have. We forget that God sees and knows the bigger picture
for our lives.
If we follow Paul’s journey we see GOD even in the midst of Paul’s
rejection, the trials, the prison time, and the shipwrecks.
God used
those hardships to position Paul. Hallelujah! God didn’t do this for fame,
and for Paul to gain special recognition, but God did it to increase the
Kingdom of God. Through all of Paul’s rejection and imprisonment, he still
went on to do the will of God. He witnessed to the Pharisees, and people
were able to see God at work when Paul survived the storms, when the snake
didn’t kill him, when the jail shook, opening the doors and loosing
chains. God used these difficulties so others would witness His awesome
power and believe that HE IS!
Paul could have sit on the sidelines and wallowed
in self pity, but he didn’t. Instead he continued to allow God to use him
as a vessel. In Acts 16:22-31, it tells us that after Paul was stripped,
beaten, thrown in prison with his feet in stocks, but he prayed and sang
hymns to God while others around him were listening. The power of God came
in such a way that the prison guard begged Paul to tell him, “WHAT MUST I
DO TO BE SAVED? Paul’s reply; “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be
saved--- you and your household."
I was reminded of Paul’s story to get myself
and others to see that God does not waste our pain, our rejection, or our
shipwrecks. He uses
them to bring about HIS PLAN, and to POSITION US so that others can see
His awesome transforming power at work in our lives and believe in the
LIVING GOD! (Hallelujah!!!!) Seeing that this is true, the challenge for
each of us is to ALLOW GOD TO HELP US ARISE FROM THE WRECKAGE, so
that our personal testimonies will draw others to the Master!
We need to decree in our life today that we will
not sit on the sidelines full of rejection and self-pity, but we will
rise up, pray, and praise God so that He will continue to position us to
shine for His glory!
We pray once again Dear God that you forgive us
for wallowing in self-pity and rejection, and we shall trust YOU, because
we believe and know that our pain is for a greater purpose, and that YOU
and YOU ALONE will strengthen us to rise from our ashes so that others
will see and know that YOU are our help and our salvation! In so doing, we
affirm in our spirit that
Life….Is….Right!
