#19 - Thorn to be Wild & Holy
Thank you everyone for taking the time to give me the opportunity to share what God has put on my heart.. Lets pray I want to start this off by saying Thank you God for making the word of the year (Obedience) which is why I am here right now talking to everyone of you that has come across this blog. Lord, please guide me through this process of bringing truth and life to others. I pray that each and every person that comes across this can be encouraged and uplifted in their life when nothing seems to be going right. Lord renew the Holy Spirit inside of each and every person that has been given the opportunity to come across this. Thank you Jesus. Amen.
Obedience can be difficult often because it typically can cost us something, and often it is something that we don’t want to give up. Or maybe it puts us in a place where we might not want to be. But often God uses our obedience to set us up for something greater.
Most of us know that it is hard to be obedient when it goes against all the normalcies in life and we also know that delayed obedience is disobedience and that is definitely not where I want to be starting off this year.
It was brought to me in an analogy similar to this.(by your favorite blog writer: Ever) You are a vessel that is open sitting in a body of water getting filled up with the (Holy Spirit) and over time it overflows. As it does this you are typically prompted by the (Holy Spirit) to get out a message to others so you can receive more “water”. This is (Obedience). But when you are disobedient and close off that vessel and ignore the (Holy Spirit) you can’t expect to receive anything from the Lord if you’re being disobedient.
In James and Romans the verses listed below we can see and understand that we are going to go through times that challenge everything that we believe and our true character. The best part about it is that the Holy Spirit lives in us.
James 1:2-8 NIV
2Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, a whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.
Romans 5:1-5 NIV
1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.
3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope.
5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
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Which leads me to imprisonment and the apostle Paul. How do you find faith when everything around you is in shambles? I mean Paul was recorded to be imprisoned 3 different times and in different locations. For being obedient to God and doing exactly what God called him to do… (Sometimes doing what is right and being obedient to what God has called you to do may indeed cost you something) but consider it pure joy and give thanks to God, his ways are better.
First imprisonment in Acts 16 Paul had baptized a woman doing what God called him to do and what he has called us all to do.(Obedience)
As Matthew 28:19-20 NIV explains:
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
I bolded baptizing because this was something Jesus called us “all” to do and Paul was doing just that.
After baptizing this woman Paul and Silas get followed by a slave woman that continually followed them and shouted for days “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” Paul eventually got fed up and cast out a demon and then got thrown into (prison)… What? Prison…
I encourage you to read the full context of Act 16 but the point is we can be doing exactly everything right but still be in a place that we don’t want to be in. (Imprisoned)
We pray, we read God’s word, we do devotionals, go to church, get involved in community outreach and yet we still feel (Stuck) but why?
Why are we feeling stuck, why do we feel like we are being attacked? Because we know the truth and that is the enemy comes to (kill, steal and destroy).
John 10:10 NIV 10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
But the second part here is John 10:10 is that we know in our moments of imprisonment that we (must) seek first the Kingdom of God. That Jesus has come for us so that we may have life to the fullest. He is our Good Shepherd and will lead us (Psalms 23)
As you keep reading in Acts 21 to the end of the book of Acts 28 Paul's second “imprisonment” you find out that he was imprisoned for 2 plus years. Talk about “mental health” that had to be difficult and quite the journey for Paul but his “faith” never wavered.
He is kidnapped (Acts 21:27), beaten (Acts 21:30-31; 23:3), threatened (Acts 22:22; 27:42), arrested many times (Acts 21:33; 22:24, 31; 23:35; 28:16), accused in lawsuits (Acts 21:34; 22:30; 24:1-2; 25:2, 7; 28:4), interrogated (Acts 25:24-27), ridiculed (Acts 26:24), ignored (Acts 27:11), shipwrecked (Acts 27:41) and bitten by a viper (Acts 28:3).
The last two really put the “icing on the cake” SHIPWRECKED and bitten by a VIPER which had nothing to do with the imprisonment!!!
This takes James 1:2-8 to a whole different level, trials of many kinds and counting it all joy “HOW?”
How did Paul endure all of this? Could you? How would this effect your “mental health” I think we have some insight in Acts to how Paul managed.
Paul credits the Holy Spirit for keeping him going in the face of such adversity (Acts 20:22; 21:4; 23:11). This is an encouragement to us today, because we also can depend on the Holy Spirit to give us the courage we may lack. The danger is not so much that courage may fail us in the moment of greatest terror, but that general worry will deter us from taking even the first step into following the ways of God’s kingdom in our work. How often do we fail to defend a colleague, serve a customer, challenge a boss, or speak up about an issue, not because we are under actual pressure, but because we are afraid that if we do we might offend someone in authority? What if we adopted a position that before we will act contrary to God’s ways at work, we at least have to receive an actual order to do so? Could we begin by counting on the Holy Spirit to sustain us at least that far?
I have to give credit to The TOW Project for this insight. But it is so true we have to rely on the Holy Spirit. The other ways Paul endured was through prayer and worshiping God.
Acts 16:25-26
25About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.
One of my favorite things to do is worship God. Truly, there is nothing greater in my opinion. He deserves everything that we have and there's nothing better than to pour out your all when singing to God. (“IT DOESN”T HAVE TO BE PRETTY”) thanks Jesus Cantu.
One song that I really like right now is called “The Demons in Me” by Johnny Paige. The reason I like the song is it is a cry out to God. Seeking God for dependance. We need God to survive and without God we have nothing. We can’t keep trying to do it on our own; we need to find our dependence with God.
From the song “Be my shelter, my sword and shield”
2 Samuel 22:2-7 NIV
2 He said: “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; 3 my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield[a] and the horn[b] of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior— from violent people you save me. 4 “I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and have been saved from my enemies. 5 The waves of death swirled about me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. 6 The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. 7 “In my distress I called to the Lord; I called out to my God. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came to his ears.
Pauls third "imprisonment" comes in 2 Timothy 2:8 this had to be difficult because he is just being “obedient”. I can not imagine being in prison even one time let alone three. But guess what, many of us live a life of “imprisonment”. We feel stuck somewhere, a place that we just can’t seem to get out of even though we may be doing things right. We can feel “imprisoned” at work, school, home, in a mortgage, a marriage, a car payment, fill in the blank. There are many things in life that depending on our perspective of our circumstances, we are stuck and imprisoned.
How does this affect our mental health and ability to go through life?
Let’s go back to Paul and his writing in 2 Corinthians:
2 Corinthians 12:1-10 NIV
1I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. 2I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. 3And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— 4was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell. 5I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. 6Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, 7or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
The key here is in verse 9 “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” God is truly all that we need, do you have the mental GRIT for that. Many of us like to say in my Men’s Life Group and friend circles. “GOOD” from Jocko Willink.
I know I am repeating myself for the third time but please reference James 1:2-8.
The point is the prison you are in isn’t your identity and it doesn’t define you and guess what God has a plan.
Romans 8:28 NIV
28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who i have been called according to his purpose.
Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
11For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
There are many more scriptures to reference here but the best part is knowing that God knows your struggles, your pain, suffering. He is near the brokenhearted, the ones that are struggling, crushed in spirit.(Psalms 34:18) He listens to you and will uplift you with his righteous right hand.(Isaiah 41:10)
Isaiah 55:8 NIV
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.
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Where you are at it is not where you are going, God has bigger plans and a greater purpose for you. So although you might be in a season where nothing makes sense, everything is going wrong, mostly. Give it to God, cry out to God just as David did in the book of Psalms or as Job did. We all go through different kinds of trials but God will always be faithful and he will never fail you.
So when going through these trials I highly encourage you to “Seek GOD first” not your husband,wife, gf, bf, best friend … but instead GOD. Then you can go to them.
Matthew 6:33-34 NIV
33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
There are a few closing thoughts that I want to leave you with. I talked about the sword and shield which we find to be 2 of the 6 pieces of armor that Paul wrote about in Ephesians 6 which will be listed below. The sword being the Word of God which is essential to spiritual growth. Being immersed in Gods word helps you recall (Truth) when being deceived by satan. We see this clearly when Jesus himself is being tempted in the wilderness in Matthew 4.
Next, the shield, God is our protector, our savoir, our stronghold, our fortress, our refuge, our defense, our Rock, and so much more. The bible is seasoned with scriptures regarding this which is absolutely a blessing and an assurance that we don’t have to worry about anything, even when everything is going wrong and we are being “obedient”.
Ephesians 6:10-20 NIV
The Armor of God
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. 19 Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
Nothing in life may be going right at the moment, maybe your workplace is in disarray, your family life is chaotic or crumbling around you, or you just broke your big toe. Whatever it may be “GOOD” but seriously pray and seek God always and continuously through prayer and thanksgiving. Our time is not our own, it is Gods and wherever you're at right now just know that God has put you exactly right where he needs you and when the time is right he will bring you out of the wilderness and into a different season. Thank you God for where I am at.
Now I couldn't have written all of this without giving a special thanks to Ever, your favorite blog writer for allowing me (MGST) the opportunity to get this message out to every single one of you. I pray that you all find peace knowing that God is on your side watching over you, protecting you and providing for you. He cares for you and most of all loves you. Amen.
For all of that… I am…
#Satisfied
