ByIn my few years as a leader at The Bible Daily Network, I’ve learnt that following God’s direction is one of the hardest things to do as a corporate body. Why? Because the reluctance from people in general is enough to discourage you, the leader. That is why, as a leader, spending enough time with God each day is paramount to living a fulfilled purpose-driven life despite the challenges that you go through in the pathway of fulfilling purpose.
Jesus had just finished preaching to multitudes all day. It was evening time, and he was probably tired. Peter and the other disciples may have said, “Master, let’s rest here and continue working tomorrow.” But from Jesus’ mouth, He said, “Let us go over to the other side” (see Mark 4:35). That statement meant a lot, and today, we’re going to delve deeper through this article.
God is your leader
The first and foremost meaning of what Jesus said is that God is your leader in (eternal) life as a believer, not yourself. And as sovereign as He is, He doesn’t give negotiable instructions to either you or any of His children. In other words, when He tells you to do something, your excuses don’t matter to Him. Do you remember when some people approached Jesus to follow Him in Luke 9:57-62? What did Jesus say to them? To one, He said,
[58] … “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
And to the one who said “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” (Luke 9:59 NKJV), He said,
“Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.”
Luke 9:60 (NKJV)
It’s clear that God’s leadership style is more spontaneous when giving life-changing instructions. I’ve always wondered why God does that because, from my organisational leadership qualities, I usually tell people what they’re supposed to do days or weeks earlier. I do that for the sake of orderliness and to prevent them from being stressed about their work schedules. But God is perfect, and none of His ways is flawed. His ways are higher than mine. He knows that when it comes to life-changing decisions, He has to be more authoritative for faster adherence, lest it gets delayed or treated with less attention.
Dear friend, when God tells you what to do, especially after praying for His will to be done in your life, expect to hear uncommon directive instructions to Him. And when they come, don’t be reluctant. Do it because there’s grace attached to ensure that work will be well executed.
God is your leader in (eternal) life as a believer, not yourself.
There will be challenges on your path of divine obedience
Even when Jesus was on their way to the other side of the sea, a storm arose and beat into the boat (see Mark 4:37). Now, you may think the storm just arose because Jesus and His disciples were on the sea. But it’s not like that. He, with the disciples, was sailing towards the land of Gad, whom Jacob prophesied in Genesis 49:19 that they would be attacked by a band of raiders, but they’ll overcome them at last.
It was time for their deliverance; that was why Jesus was going there. No wonder that the moment Jesus arrived on the land, a man with an unclean spirit met Him and worshipped Him. Even before meeting Jesus, he cried out with a loud voice and said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me.” – Mark 5:7 (NKJV)
Clearly, it was the devil using the man to elude Jesus. But Jesus was wise. He dealt with the situation once and for all. So, for the storm to arise from the sea and beat nowhere but into the boat, that challenge they faced on the sea wasn’t ordinary. It was spiritual, intending to prevent the deliverance of the Gadarenes.
Child of God, I want you to take note that the moment you stand on your ground to live on purpose, the devil will come up with various forms of situations against your journey. His main aim is to discourage you through those situations so you will stop following God’s direction. But don’t be deceived. Stay with God so much and draw your strength from Him. Only then will you be inspired to move on in your faith journey despite the issues that arise to face you.
Nothing earthly is beyond the authority of Jesus. He can calm down any situation you’re facing in seconds. Don’t lose your faith in Him because of the atrocities you’re facing. Lay hold on to what He has taught you and keep moving forward.
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Jesus will always defend His Word
Also, when the storm was beating into the boat, Jesus was asleep. It’s something I find hard to understand with my human mind. Didn’t the water beating into the boat wet Jesus? It was a boat they were using, not a ship. So, it wasn’t that expansive. But, what scripture says is final – that is, Jesus was asleep, whether He got wet by the water beating into the boat or not.
After experienced fishermen like Peter and Andrew did all they could to stabilise the boat but to no avail, they went to wake up Jesus. And when He woke up, He rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace be still” (see Mark 4:39).
Nothing earthly is beyond the authority of Jesus. He can calm down any situation you’re facing in seconds. Don’t lose your faith in Him because of the atrocities you’re facing. Lay hold on to what He has taught you and keep moving forward. It is well with you.
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