ByNobody is shielded from encountering challenges in life. However, our viewing perspective of these challenges changes everything.
For example, suppose two people come across a knife on a table; there are two options. One person may think it’s a tool to commit murder; the other may also think it’s useful for cooking.
The presence of the knife isn’t the problem. Instead, the differences in the people’s perspectives make that knife beneficial or tempting.
In the same way, God doesn’t manufacture problems in any Christian’s life. However, He allows some of them to happen to us so that He can use them to teach us some mysteries in His Word. Ephesians 5:15-17 NKJV (boldface mine) says,
[15] “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, [16] redeeming the time, because the days are evil. [17] Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”
From here, it’s clear that it takes wisdom to discern the spiritual insight (that is, the will of God) hidden in the situations you are facing in your life. Some of them are purely demonic and require us to pray earnestly for heaven to deal with them. But for some, they are meant for our training because of what God has prepared ahead of us.
Let’s look at a few life happenings in the Bible and how God used them to prepare His servants for their divine mandates.
Moses and the burning bush
Moses was one man who saw that he would lead the Israelites out of Egypt quite early in his life. But because of his impatience, he ended up fleeing from Egypt to live amongst the Midianites for forty years. It was through those forty years that God used to train him how to handle people by using flocks.
When God saw that the time for Moses to step into the fullness of his calling was up, He appeared as a flame of fire in a burning bush (Exodus 3:1-2).
If I were Moses, I would have concluded that it was a distraction from tending the flock. But God presented a glamorous advertisement scene that made Moses draw closer to Him (Exodus 3:3-4).
Moses may have returned home late that day and probably kept his wife, Zipporah, his child, and Jethro, his father-in-law, waiting for long. However, it was God’s plan to show Moses’ clear vision for his life.
Today, it’s not really about meeting God in a strange bush. It’s about preachers teaching the Word to invite you to come to Jesus and become accepted into the fellowship of Jesus Christ.
Jesus’ escape from public stoning
There were several attempts to end Jesus’ life before the appointed time of his crucifixion. While each one was unique, they had one thing in common: to prevent Jesus from staying on course with why the Father sent Him to the earth.
Read: Four reasons why Jesus came into the world
One happened in John 8:59 when the Israelites picked up stones to stone Jesus after He said He existed before Abraham. Truth be told, what Jesus said was correct.
In Colossians 1:16, it is written that everything was created by Jesus and for Him. So if the Creator became incarnate amongst men and then said He existed before Abraham, then it was (and is still) true.
However, Jesus knew that if He didn’t slip through the crowd, the people would stone Him. And although He may have died, there would be no stripes at his back for us to be healed (Isaiah 53:5, 1 Peter 2:24). That also means that prophecies about his life would have gotten unfulfilled.
So Jesus did a wise thing to escape the death threat. It wasn’t God-sent but got used by Him to preserve His life. Some pressing situations in your life require you to use spiritual understanding to get a permanent solution.
For instance, if you got raised in a poor family, you should develop a strong conviction, especially as a father, to provide for your children every time and also to be conscious of not repeating the mistakes of your parents. In that way, you’ll stop blaming your parents for their failures as you focus on building a new legacy for your generation.
Now is the time to discern your season of divine training and preparation amidst your current life circumstances. So that in the fullness of time, you’ll not mess up.
You’re a blessing.
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