In the last post, I shared heavily on the story of Joseph and how I had some situational connection to what happened to him in the past. The waiting, wondering, questioning, and the surrendering. When we look at our situation and wallow deeply into the negative parts of it what are we actually doing? We actually complain. I know I was at one point because I was getting confused or well, impatient I guess you can say because I wasn't seeing the prayers and dreams comes to reality.
After reading Malachi 3:13-15, I felt guilty inside that my attitude was just like these people: “You have said terrible things about me,” says the Lord.
“But you say, ‘What do you mean? What have we said against you?’
“You have said, ‘What’s the use of serving God? What have we gained by obeying his commands or by trying to show the Lord of Heaven’s Armies that we are sorry for our sins? From now on we will call the arrogant blessed. For those who do evil get rich, and those who dare God to punish them suffer no harm.’”
In this passage, we see the people complaining and questioning the point of obeying God since they were not going anywhere. Nothing was changing for good in their life. They begin to compare with the wicked or in this day and age, we even complain about those who are carnal Christians. We see their positive situation and start believing that they are more blessed than we are since we are going through a bad season. Going back to the children of Israel, they were on a continuous journey of complaint which kept them from their promised land. John Bevere says, " Why is complaining an affront to God, and why did it meet a stern judgement? It indirectly says to God, "I don't like what You are doing in my life and if I were You, I would do it differently." It is a complete lack of reverence for Him.
God is finding out who is going to pursue Him and who is going to pursue the benefits. I realized at the time that when I was thinking people were being "blessed" I was looking at it in a worldly view. I was looking at the financial aspects, the material things, I was blinded by the things that fade away. I was hit with the realization of seeing things as what some call "blessings" and realizing what really are blessings and how these are two different things. Some blessings may not last if our attitude or heart is not right. Those who have selfish motives and complain, look at what the Lord says He will do to them, as well as to their blessings:
“Listen, you priests (complaining believers)—this command is for you!
Listen to me and make up your minds to honor my name,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “or I will bring a terrible curse against you. I will curse even the blessings you receive. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you have not taken my warning to heart"
----Malachi 2:1-2
Our reward or inheritance does not consist of things or positions. Our inheritance is the Lord. When you've come to the point of waking up from the worldly aspects of what "blessings" are or how our status should be at a certain level, you realize none of that matters. The most important blessing to have is knowledge in the truth in the Word of God. To have the opportunity to be saved is a blessing. The journey of being a Kingdom child and following the Lord out of love and obedience and not force is a blessing. To realize that we are not saved by just accepting God into our hearts but actually working on our salvation is a blessing. Why? Because if that is not known, we are living a life here on earth that does not guarantee us a way into heaven. Mark 8:36, For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? Blessings are not material things although the Lord does bless us in those ways. But when we are truly walking in the Kingdom, our main focus is not of the world but of God. And when we are more focused on the Lord (genuinely), He blesses us abundantly in many ways to enjoy this life.
Our biggest blessing is in heaven, and it is in this life that we are to work towards that. As it says in Malachi 3:16, "Then those who feared the Lord spoke with each other, and the Lord listened to what they said. In his presence, a scroll of remembrance was written to record the names of those who feared him and always thought about the honor of his name." In this passage, these are the people who are going through the same wilderness conditions as the "complainers," but this group's priority is not position, recognition, or things. They see the heart of God. The desire to know Him burns in them. You can talk to them about social things or business things, but their hearts burns when you talk to them about the Lord or what He is saying. Their behavior was not altered by whether they were in the middle of the desert or preaching to millions.
For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. (1 Corinthians 3:9-10). We need to pay careful attention to how we build our lives. In scripture, the building of a house symbolizes the building of our life and service to the kingdom. We belong to God, for we are His building. What man builds apart from God, whether it is his life, home, or even a ministry, it will not endure.
According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is (1 Corinthians 3:10-13)
I like how JB shared the meaning of these different elements. Gold, silver, and precious stones represent construction God's way. While wood, hay, and straw represent our own methods of construction by the blueprint of the world. God will come as fire, which will either consume wood, hay, and straw or refine gold and silver. If we build our lives, business, or ministry with bricks of our own making, such as the strength of our personality, or by worldly programs or techniques... if when building we tear down others through criticism or gossip.. then everything gained by these methods will be burned up and lost.
In God's eyes, any areas of your life in which our motives is self-seeking, is considered wood, hay or straw. The Lord definitely burned the wood, hay, or straw of the plans I had for myself in my career. I had a Joseph experience, a Promised Land journey, I had to have my self made dreams and efforts crumble so that I could see and focus on what was right, true, and everlasting. Because of this, I am able to live each day with the blessed hope of always knowing the Lord is with me every step of the way. In all things I endeavor in, dream for, long for, God is in the midst and He is the one to lead us into our situations from beginning, middle, and end.
My encouragement in the wilderness journey of your life is continue to keep the faith. Even when it seems like God is far or non-existent, He is there. If we genuinely seek God's heart, it may seem like the more we do, the more we begin to move away from Him. In frustration they cry out:
"God, the more I seek You, the more I go down, not up." But God answers, "DIG DEEPER!"
"Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock." (Luke 6:47-48)
Here's a survival tip JB shares for our journey:
This is #8 in his book-- "Joshua Got it Right"
If the wilderness is intended for our good, how do we lay hold of the good and avoid the bad? Joshua is a good example of someone whose heart was correct in the wilderness. When Moses went up to Mt. Sinai, Joshua stayed at the mountain's foot. He wanted to get as close as possible to the presence of the Lord. When Moses met with God in the tabernacle, Joshua was there also, in order to be close to the presence of the Lord. Even when Moses was finished, Joshua remained in the Tent of Meeting (Exodus 33:11). In the book of Joshua, we see that the five areas of sin that plagued their parents (the previous generation) did not manifest themselves as readily with the second (Joshua's) generation in the wilderness.
It did happen once with a man named Achan. However, the leadership and second generation got it right because they had watched the failures of the prior generation and how their parents had all died in the wilderness without seeing God's promise fulfilled. Joshua and his generation kept their focus on the Creator, and they entered the Promised Land. They were strong in keeping God's Word and they stayed free from discouragement. They refused to complain; they were quick to believe God.
Going back to our discussion earlier, in this dry or wilderness time, God separates those who will wait on Him in obedience from those who will build with the tools of deception or calculated self-promoting behavior or manipulation. True God-ordained promotion and an exit from the wilderness will come to those who are watching and waiting for God to come to His temple. Without my genuine submission and surrender to God on all the things I was dealing with, I would have not been able to see the beauty in the journey amidst the wilderness.
If we enter anything in our lives on our own, it will be very difficult to get through it and it is through our own might that we have to try to get through it. However, if we begin something with God, God will provide for it. JB shares how the fleshly scenarios usually leads to an environment of manipulation and control. It's unfortunate but there are leaders in the church who will exert power or play on human emotions to get results. If you are one of their followers, all of a sudden you have become responsible for their success or failure, depending upon how you respond to their direction.
But it is not just in the church or ministry practices. Anything created in the power of the flesh will have that type of hold on us. This can apply to our job, education, healthcare, and the many other arenas God calls His people to serve. Conversely, that born of the Spirit will understand that it had no role in its own formation, so it knows it cannot maintain or cause growth by its own ability. The responsibility will be on God to provide for that which He created (or built). The temptation to use our own strength to bring forth what God promised us must be resisted. It is so difficult and many times we stumble and realize that we are taking matters into our own hands again. When we continue to hit road blocks towards the dream, we need to take a step back and see if we have actually fully surrendered and submitted our situation to the Lord.
The more we rush towards what we want, the more set backs will appear. But the more patient we are towards trusting God in what we want, the more peaceful, lighter, and enjoyable the journey becomes. If we build our life totally through efforts of self-preservation and self-promotion, then all of it will burn. The only things that will remain are those that are received by promise, conceived and birthed through God's Spirit and grace.
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