There was a time when I was experiencing true hardship and somehow I felt
like I was less than a Christian in my adversity. I felt shame that I was going
through so much tribulation and trials. I felt as if God was punishing me or if
I had done something wrong. These thoughts are all lies from the enemy!
Depending on your view of God the wilderness can be a place of victory or
misery. One day a brother came up to me inspired by God and said, "The
wilderness is where God performed the most miracles!" Indeed. The wilderness
doesn't have to a place of defeat. It is a place of training for reigning. Even
though Jesus was tempted in his wilderness He left that place in power. In
times of resistance that's when we build spiritual muscle. The key is what we
do with our tongue. Do we declare what is written or do we complain. Do we
stand in faith or wallow in self pity and doubt.
Satan, always tries to short circuit the process of dying to self. He
offered Jesus everything before he went to that cross. It won't be any
different for us. The greatest temptation of mankind is to take the easy way
out. In the garden, Satan got Eve to question God's word. In the wilderness
Satan tempted Jesus to doubt His own identity. "If you are the Son of
God..." However, if you know who you are, there isn't anything the devil
can offer you that don't already have. The devil always tries to deceive us
into forfeiting what we already have. Yes, read that statement again. The devil
always tries to deceive you into forfeiting what you already have by offering
you a counterfeit. What are the counterfeits you may ask?
The counterfeit of peace is self assurance. Self assurance is trusting in
your own ability, strength and finances. The
counterfeit for love is lust. Lust drives people to take from others. It only
wants to satisfy itself at someone's else's expense. Love wants to give and
sacrifice to meet a need. The
counterfeit for faith is fear. Fear is relied upon like an old friend because
it has shown people how to act out of instinct and desperation instead of God
led revelation. We walk by faith and not by what we see in the natural. The
counterfeit for righteousness is religion. Men trying to obtain God's favor and
love by doing good works. However, righteousness is the position that every son
and daughter have before their Father. It is our simple child-like trust in Jesus'
sacrifice that causes us to come boldly before the throne of grace. If we could
be good enough outside of the blood sacrifice Jesus' death would have been
pointless. The
counterfeit for joy is happiness. Happiness is based on circumstances and joy
is a fruit of God's spirit that does not waver in the storms of life. It wells
up from deep within our spirit when we praise God.
Our surrendered life is in good hands we don't have to take the devil's
counterfeit offers. I want to encourage you that just because you are going
through things doesn't change who you are in Christ. Jesus dying on the cross
did not make Him less of a Son of God and it doesn't make you less than a child
of God. The cross positioned Jesus for the greatest victory known to mankind. If
we can understand that then we will never despair again when we are standing
there facing our cross or mountain. We are given an opportunity everyday to
forgive those who have hurt us while we hang on our cross of tribulation and
circumstances. Raise up your hands and thank God that the devil only pushes us
into the will of God.
Look at the life of Joseph. He was pushed into a pit, sold into slavery, thrown into prison and raised up a prince in a palace. Paul was taken from place to place appealing his innocence while persecuted, thrown into prison and inspired to write the churches the revelations he received and because of that we have our New Testament. Their cross became their victory and ours! Our tendency is to feel like God is mad at us or that he loves us less when we are going through things. Our circumstances cannot separate us from the love of God and neither do they define who we are. We are not defined by our past, our present, our background, or even an event. We are only defined by who God made us to be. We were made to be over comers! God uses what has been intended to be our defeat, makes it our victory and defining moment. In the fires of adversity he refashions us for His purposes. Then stands back in admiration and says, "It is good!" I will further illustrate this by the following story of the Three Trees.
Look at the life of Joseph. He was pushed into a pit, sold into slavery, thrown into prison and raised up a prince in a palace. Paul was taken from place to place appealing his innocence while persecuted, thrown into prison and inspired to write the churches the revelations he received and because of that we have our New Testament. Their cross became their victory and ours! Our tendency is to feel like God is mad at us or that he loves us less when we are going through things. Our circumstances cannot separate us from the love of God and neither do they define who we are. We are not defined by our past, our present, our background, or even an event. We are only defined by who God made us to be. We were made to be over comers! God uses what has been intended to be our defeat, makes it our victory and defining moment. In the fires of adversity he refashions us for His purposes. Then stands back in admiration and says, "It is good!" I will further illustrate this by the following story of the Three Trees.
The following story was e-mailed to me. I read it to the women in Chino Women's Prison on September 14, 2013. They were wrecked when I was through reading it. Enjoy!
The Three Trees
Once
there were three trees on a hill in the woods. They were discussing their hopes
and dreams when the first tree said, 'Someday I hope to be a treasure chest. I
could be filled with gold, silver and precious gems. I could be decorated with
intricate carving and everyone would see the beauty.'
Then the second tree said, 'Someday I will be a mighty ship. I will take Kings and queens across the waters and sail to the corners of the world. Everyone will feel safe in me because of the strength of my hull.'
Finally the third tree said, 'I want to grow to be the tallest and straightest Tree in the forest. People will see me on top of the hill and look up to my branches, and think of the heavens and God and how close to them I am reaching. I will be the greatest tree of all time and people will always remember me.'
After a few years of praying that their dreams would come true, a group of woodsmen came upon the trees. When one came to the first tree he said, 'This looks like a strong tree, I think I should be able to sell the wood to a carpenter, 'and he began cutting it down. The tree was happy, because he knew that the carpenter would make him into a treasure chest.
At the second tree the woodsman said, 'This looks like a strong tree. I should be able to sell it to the shipyard.' The second tree was happy Because he knew he was on his way to becoming a mighty ship.
When the woodsmen came upon the third tree, the tree was frightened because he knew that if they cut him down his dreams would not come true. One of the woodsmen said, 'I don't need anything special from my tree, I'll take this one,' and he cut it down.
When the first tree arrived at the carpenters, he was made into a feed box for animals. He was then placed in a barn and filled with hay. This was not at all what he had prayed for.
The second tree was cut and made into a small fishing boat. His dreams of being a mighty ship and carrying kings had come to an end.
The third tree was cut into large pieces, and left alone in the dark.
The years went by, and the trees forgot about their dreams.
Then one day, a man and woman came to the barn. She gave birth and they placed the baby in the hay in the feed box that was made from the first tree. The man wished that he could have made a crib for the baby, but this manger would have to do. The tree could feel the importance of this event and knew that it had held the greatest treasure of all time.
Years later, a group of men got in the fishing boat made from the second tree. One of them was tired and went to sleep. While they were out on the water, a great storm arose and the tree didn't think it was strong enough to keep the men safe. The men woke the sleeping man, and He stood and said 'Peace' and the storm stopped. At this time, the tree knew that it had carried the King of Kings in its boat.
Finally, someone came and got the third tree. It was carried through the streets as the people mocked the man who was carrying it. When they came to a stop, the man was nailed to the tree and raised in the air to die at the top of a hill. When Sunday came, the tree came to realize that it was strong enough to stand at the top of the hill and be as close to God as was possible, because Jesus had been crucified on it.
The moral of this story is that when things don't seem to be going your way, always know that God has a plan for you. If you place your trust in Him, God will give you great gifts.
Each of the trees got what they wanted, just not in the way they had imagined.
We don't always know what God's plan are for us. We just know that His Ways are not our ways, but His ways are always best.
Please keep this moving... Pass it on, so God may inspire more people on The Way.
May your day be blessed. And until we meet again, may God cradle you in the palm of His hand.
If you find this article helpful or would like to leave a comment or visit our website:
Jaziz Gutierrez
http://www.loverevivalrevolution.com
Facebook: School Of Impartation and Living
Then the second tree said, 'Someday I will be a mighty ship. I will take Kings and queens across the waters and sail to the corners of the world. Everyone will feel safe in me because of the strength of my hull.'
Finally the third tree said, 'I want to grow to be the tallest and straightest Tree in the forest. People will see me on top of the hill and look up to my branches, and think of the heavens and God and how close to them I am reaching. I will be the greatest tree of all time and people will always remember me.'
After a few years of praying that their dreams would come true, a group of woodsmen came upon the trees. When one came to the first tree he said, 'This looks like a strong tree, I think I should be able to sell the wood to a carpenter, 'and he began cutting it down. The tree was happy, because he knew that the carpenter would make him into a treasure chest.
At the second tree the woodsman said, 'This looks like a strong tree. I should be able to sell it to the shipyard.' The second tree was happy Because he knew he was on his way to becoming a mighty ship.
When the woodsmen came upon the third tree, the tree was frightened because he knew that if they cut him down his dreams would not come true. One of the woodsmen said, 'I don't need anything special from my tree, I'll take this one,' and he cut it down.
When the first tree arrived at the carpenters, he was made into a feed box for animals. He was then placed in a barn and filled with hay. This was not at all what he had prayed for.
The second tree was cut and made into a small fishing boat. His dreams of being a mighty ship and carrying kings had come to an end.
The third tree was cut into large pieces, and left alone in the dark.
The years went by, and the trees forgot about their dreams.
Then one day, a man and woman came to the barn. She gave birth and they placed the baby in the hay in the feed box that was made from the first tree. The man wished that he could have made a crib for the baby, but this manger would have to do. The tree could feel the importance of this event and knew that it had held the greatest treasure of all time.
Years later, a group of men got in the fishing boat made from the second tree. One of them was tired and went to sleep. While they were out on the water, a great storm arose and the tree didn't think it was strong enough to keep the men safe. The men woke the sleeping man, and He stood and said 'Peace' and the storm stopped. At this time, the tree knew that it had carried the King of Kings in its boat.
Finally, someone came and got the third tree. It was carried through the streets as the people mocked the man who was carrying it. When they came to a stop, the man was nailed to the tree and raised in the air to die at the top of a hill. When Sunday came, the tree came to realize that it was strong enough to stand at the top of the hill and be as close to God as was possible, because Jesus had been crucified on it.
The moral of this story is that when things don't seem to be going your way, always know that God has a plan for you. If you place your trust in Him, God will give you great gifts.
Each of the trees got what they wanted, just not in the way they had imagined.
We don't always know what God's plan are for us. We just know that His Ways are not our ways, but His ways are always best.
Please keep this moving... Pass it on, so God may inspire more people on The Way.
May your day be blessed. And until we meet again, may God cradle you in the palm of His hand.
If you find this article helpful or would like to leave a comment or visit our website:
Jaziz Gutierrez
http://www.loverevivalrevolution.com
Facebook: School Of Impartation and Living
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