Isaiah 43:1 New International Version (NIV)
Israel’s Only Savior
43 But now, this is what the Lord says— he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
Exemplifying trust in God has been a great and challenging journey. I’ve read biblical text like a midnight train. When I did this I expected God to work for me and for all of my cares to be cast into a furnace. I’ve tested God many times just so he could prove how much he loved me. I can remember days not so long ago when I used to wake up and immediately question God’s loyalty instead of giving him proper praise. “Why God?” was the constant outcry that I poured out of my heart many times. God has said, “No”, an insurmountable amount of times that, like a child, I stomped my feet and was not willing to accept that my will and God’s Will were similar to oil and water.
I remember when I was in my early 20’s God spoke to me and He said,
“I have a different plan for your life but, I will allow you to stray away. Remember I love you and I know you will return to me with a story to tell. I will be waiting with open arms and a forgiving heart.”
When I first heard this I thought that I was losing sense of the reality I built with God. I believed in my heart that I would never discount the friendship that I assembled with the Holy Spirit. Once released into the wilderness I lost my way and placed my trust in God’s hatred towards me. When relationships or places of employment were not right for me it was God who blocked any harm that may have risen from the situations and/or people. God’s constraints on his blessings worked out in his favor the day I surrendered my all to Him. In the spirit of truth I am lead to bless the Lord and today I want to discuss about the tribe I belong to.
Whenever I think of the word Tribe I see a group of indigenous people working together to love and protect an unspoken covenant. My family was built on the gospel of truth so, it is highly anticipated that the devil would try very hard to deceive those who belong to God. When I really became of the world I thought that God was supposed to swoop in and pull me out of my own mess by launching me into a paradise provided in this life. I thought that my enemies would see me and be put to shame. God saw it differently however for, I was left to contemplate every sin. Without God I can do nothing. I can’t write, sing, speak freely with power, praise Him and all of my external relationships are null and void. My alignment with sin nearly cost my life. But, thanks be to God for He has enlightened me with the truth that I belong to Him alone. His ownership is not something that I can run from nor do I want to any longer. The tribe of a Gentile is the lineage I claim.
I fought with God when I wanted relationships to work out in my favor. I consistently cried when people had to be shown an exit because either I was no good for them or they were no good for me, the constituents have no honor because it was all according to God’s Will. God would rather I be alone than live one day without me praising His name and I bless my Father for this. I am overjoyed that my negative patterns did not have the power to destroy me. When you are called for a specific purpose God will stand between us and the object of our affection. God truly is a jealous God and we don’t always understand His methods but, all of our mess, all of our worries, all of our destructive efforts work out for a greater good. I surrender all to the tribe I belong to.
Thank you for visiting and reading today. I’ve always had the inner belief that believers and non-believers all have a purpose. As a member of the Christian faith I recognize and accept with joy that God causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous (Mark 5:45 NIV). Access to His abundance does not mean that the troubles of the world will be left behind. If life seems to be on a continuous downward spiral consider trusting in a God who offers assurance of a paradise and the gift of the Holy Spirit to help us through the hard times. Always remember that the difficulties we face are there to build something new in us. It is our choice to follow ways that lead to artificial abundance, our way, or concrete infinite abundance, God’s way. For me, the choice wasn’t easy but, I would rather live having nothing loving God than live being disconnected from God.
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Live United in Faith,
Miya