God's Wisdom In A Nutshell

Hello!

Today I’m going to continue sharing what we can learn from the Israelites journey out of Egypt where they were slaves.

God tells us in the Bible that we are a slave to anything we put before Him.  For instance, if you have a boyfriend/girlfriend and you put their priorities and beliefs above what you have been taught through God’s Word, you are a slave to him/her. If you have an all consuming job that takes up most of your mental and physical energy leaving no time to reconnect with God through reading Scripture and attending church, you are a slave to your job.  If you are a parent and you put your children before God by giving in to their demands or you let the way of the world influence how you parent- knowing full well it is contrary to the word of God- you are a slave to your children.

Prioritizing a  spouse, a job or your children looks virtuous at first glance, but according to the Bible, they should never be placed as a higher priority than your relationship with God. God is a jealous God and anything that you place before Him will not benefit you and can set you back years.

“Do not worship any other god, for the Lord Jesus, who’s name is Jealous, is a jealous God. (Exodus 34:14 NIV)

If you have given your life to Christ, the Holy Spirit is working on you to mold your behavior to be in line with the teachings in the Bible. This is described as walking out of slavery and into freedom.  God blesses those that choose to follow Him and these blessings can be nothing less than miraculous. Blessings should not be taken lightly or ignored without thanking God for them and thanking Him often.

It is always a good idea to make a list of the way in which God has intervened in your life so that you can keep track of His blessings.  This list is something that ideally should be read and re-read daily so that when the journey out of your old life toward your promise land (promises that you want fulfilled) seems excruciatingly long, remembering the supernatural assistance that you have received from God in the past, will fortify your faith!

When the Israelites left the slavery of Egypt and encountered miracle after miracle, I’m sure they were amazed and astounded. The 10 plagues alone- one after the other- that the Lord sent on Egypt in order to put pressure on Pharaoh to free the Israelites from slavery- was solid evidence of the Lord working in their life, but it didn’t end there.  God gave them many more miracles to assist them as they journeyed. They should have kept track of them, because their journey was longer than anticipated.  They got discouraged because they didn’t have the fine food that they had as slaves so they were contemplating going back to Egypt!  Can you imagine, they were so upset eating manna from heaven and journeying without the comforts they had grown accustomed to, that they thought about being a slave again?!

Sounds crazy doesn’t it?

Well, after you decide to leave the slavery of the secular world and follow the Lord you also, may miss some of the comforts you enjoyed. You may feel that God is so strict that His ways don’t seem like a fun way to live life.  Below is a list that many Christians fall prey to:

• drinking heavily
• Living with your boyfriend/girlfriend
• using your free time on yourself instead of volunteering and spreading the love of Christ
• keeping your tithe for a much needed vacation
• watching any television show you want no matter if it is filled with debauchery
• visiting internet sites that you know you shouldn’t visit

The list is really endless, but please realize that when God leads you away from something, it’s always for your benefit. It may be for the benefit of your health, or for your future relationships, or for a better job.  He is NOT  a task master, He knows that engaging in the things of this world, will cause us to miss out on things that bring us sustained, not temporary happiness.

It is common to look longingly at your old life- but if you know Scripture well enough and you have recorded the miracles that God has provided for you- you will KNOW beyond a doubt, that there is nothing worth going back to in the secular world.  You also know that God doesn’t lie, and every one of His promises He will fulfill for His followers.

“God is not human that He should lie, not a human being that He should change His mind.  Does He speak then not act? Does He promise then not fulfill? (Num 23:19 NIV)

“Let us not weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Gal 6:9 NIV)

“Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.  Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.” (John 14:23-24 NIV)

Please do not give in to the leading of the devil and give up hope!   Your fulfilled promise is up ahead!

Enjoy your week,

Lisa