He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:4-5 RSV)
God’s Divine Design
Our Creator permits both prosperity and adversity into our human experience for His sovereign purposes, often not revealing the entirety of His desired plan for us at the time of our suffering. Please consider this passage from the Book of Wisdom:
“In the day of prosperity be happy, but in the day of adversity consider-God has made the one as well as the other so that man may not discover anything that will be after him.” Ecclesiastes 7:14 NAS
Our Heavenly Father has designed our human experience on earth so that we would encounter “adversity,” thereby forcing each of us to evaluate our lives and all of the circumstances that control us. Pain, sickness, and human suffering is very difficult and traumatic for all of us to have to endure.
One of the important realities that are learned immediately as we revisit Ecclesiastes 7:14 is that our Creator has engineered human existence to include the process of adversity in our living. He equally wishes to educate each of us through human tragedy, to consider the brevity of our earthly existence as we are encouraged to live our lives wisely and not squander the time that has been granted to us.
Our Creator offers each of us a good and perfect plan to bring our human existence to a level of fulfillment and happiness. Through suffering [as opposed to health and wealth], each human can gain keen spiritual insight that serves them on their journey toward peace and maturity.
Such Faith
In a very interesting discovery last week in my study of The Exodus portion Into the Wilderness B’Shallah, Exodus 13:17-14:31, I was amazed that from Creation up to the moment that God delivered and liberated His People at the Sea, there is not any recorded Song of Praise to God in the recorded Scriptures until Exodus 15:1-21.
The essence of this Song of Praise that Moses and the Israelites sang to the Lord is that it is an open verbalization of faithful praise of the mighty acts of God as He intervenes in human affairs. Also, this song celebrates the People of God’s commitment to faith in God as their deliverer and provider.
Such required faith was not a belief in a doctrine, man-made-traditions, or creeds. The essential needed faith which is required by God refers to trust and loyalty which is expressed through commitment and obedience.
For those of us who have experienced miracles or supernatural blessings in our lives, quickly realized that such rare events are short-lived, nonetheless, it does not stop us from making false vows to God to honor and remain forever faithful to Him in our human frailties.
Today’s faithful followers are no different than the Hebrew Nation coming out of Egypt! We live in a godless, materialistic culture where it is very difficult to naturally sustain one’s faith without willful spiritual discipline or proper instructions.
Blessing and miracles last but for a season while the Lord our God delights and has recreated us to practice daily triumphs over life’s many challenges and adversities that we all will endure.
Our faith is to be deeply rooted in our daily experiences with God, His Beloved community, our service to others, our families, and spiritual investments into building up ourselves.
He Who Labors Not
The Master in John 6:25-27 forewarned His disciples to not seek out miracles, nor to just satisfy the demands of one’s appetites. For he who labors not, in the work of one’s soul salvation is at risk of not entering into the eternal Kingdom of God.
It goes without really needing to say that our human efforts cannot buy salvation, yet by God’s divine design, each living soul must strive for it!
Everything in this life can be possessed except for the soul salvation of God.
Salvation is a perishing thing in this finite time frame, this spiritual gift can last to us no longer than the physical body last. However, when the earth and its produce are useless, the Living Manna from Heaven, with His grace and salvation will be found remaining into the eternal life to come.
This is the daily portion that we are to be striving after and possess each step on our journey. Our Promised Land is in the Living Manna from Heaven who has overcome the world on our behalf.
Closing Thoughts
If we are honest it’s not so easy to praise God when life throws us a curveball, or when we have suffered loss, persecution, or hardship as well.
While having faith, spiritual discipline, and working on one’s soul salvation each day are essential, there are three other eternal truths that God has for us to consider in closing.
“Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock is cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s;
he makes me tread on my high places.” (Hab 3:17–19, ESV)
Modern-Day Song of Praise
I sing praises that Our God is Unchanged!
I rejoice in every situation because Our God is our Salvation!
Everything within me cry out before the heavens and the earth for Our God is Sovereign. Amen.
Much Grace and Peace
Brother Alonzo