I would like to continue with the
same theme that it might not be easy once you start with what you
believe the Lord asked you to start with. The excitement of
starting the life that the Lord has planned for you could be very
thrilling and something that will make you feel as if you have been
asleep all these years! Every cell in your being would be alive and
ready for the challenge. But remember to stay realistic. Don't
think that you will only have smooth sailing from now on.
It is almost like a marriage. A lot
of couples think that the hard work is finished when they get
married. They think that now that they have the girl, they can live
happily ever after. Well, that may be true, but there is a lot of
hard work that lies ahead before you can live happily ever after.
You need to keep the passion and the love alive. The Devil loves it
when marriages and families fall apart and therefore you will
receive a lot of resistance when you try to make your marriage
work. But if you do persist, you will prevail and have love
forever. And it is the same with your purpose in life. You need to
persist and continue with what the Lord wants you to do. It will
not always be easy, but you need to keep the passion alive and you
need to keep your head down and continue with the Lord's plan. You
won't be sorry! But to get to that point is not always that
easy.
Look at Paul's life for example.
Since receiving the call of the Lord, he has experienced a lot of
hardship. He was a devoted Pharisee when the Lord called him to win
souls for Him in the Kingdom of God. And once his previous
'colleagues' (as you might call them) realized that he was not like
them anymore, they tried to kill him. He had to flee for his life
and he was sent back to his hometown of Tarsus, where he stayed for
several years before Barnabas fetched him there and took him to
Antioch where his ministry started. Now I'll need to write down the
whole book of Acts further if I would like to tell you everything
Paul went through, but I believe that you can go and read it in
detail yourself. What I actually just want to say is that Paul's
life was in danger several times, he was beaten several times,
stoned, imprisoned, basically homeless, unmarried, without
children, shipwrecked, he had a thorn in his flesh etc etc. If we
honestly look at his life I don't think that any of us would
willingly choose his life. I think we would say that it is not
humanly possible for anyone to survive all these things. But Paul
did, and not only did he survive, he rejoiced in the Lord! He was
someone who knew the true secret to life. Listen to what he wrote
to the Philippians from his prison in Rome:
Philippians 4:11-13 "…for I learned
how to get along happily whether I have much or little. I know how
to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the
secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full
stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything
with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need."
Wow, isn't it just amazing! This
man truly knew the secret of this life. He truly knew how to life
even though he had nothing! And what was his advise to people?
Philippians 4:4 "Always be full of
joy in the Lord. I say it again - rejoice!"
And I can just encore that. The joy
of the Lord is our strength! And yes, there might be times when you
don't feel like rejoicing or praising the Lord, but then think of
Paul. He had absolutely no reason to rejoice, but yet he
was singing songs of praise to the Lord while sitting in prison.
What an amazing testimony. He knew the true meaning of life and
today he is one of the most inspirational people of all time. We
can look up to him and read his letters and know that even if times
get tough, we need to persist, the true treasure is awaiting us in
heaven.
Lord Jesus, it is very difficult
for us to rejoice when things are not going the way we thought it
would. But please give us the courage to rejoice, despite gloomy
circumstances, because we know that is where our strength lies. We
love You. Amen