Accept the way God does things...Enjoy prosperity while you can, but when hard times strike, realize that both come from God.
Ecclesiastes 7:13-14
Today I'd like to focus on the principle of accepting God's ways. Isaiah 55 says that His perception and awareness are higher than ours. Therefore, we should learn to trust the way He does things in our lives. It's to our benefit to accept the lessons and trials He has ordained for us to go through during our days on this earth. Here are a few examples of this topic from the Bible:
Cain is angry at God
"Why are you so angry?" Yahuah asked Cain..."You will be accepted if you do what is right..."
Genesis 4:6
In the book of Genesis there is a story about Cain and Abel. They were the first sons born to Adam and Eve. Cain became a farmer and Abel became a herdsman. One day at harvest time Cain decided to give a gift to God from the best of his crops. Abel did likewise and gave the best of his flocks. As it turns out, God accepted Abel and his sacrifice while rejecting Cain and his. Cain was absolutely livid that his plan to please God hadn't worked. To add insult to injury, God accepted his younger brother's gift! Cain then became depressed with the whole situation.
God goes to Cain and gives him advice to just accept reality and do as his brother has done. Apparently God only accepts animal sacrifices, not crops in that fashion. Cain is not receptive to anyway but his own way unfortunately. Cain suggests to Abel that they go out into the fields. While they are alone, he attacks and kills his brother.
As you can imagine, Cain's life was never the same again after the murder. If only he had humbled himself and accepted God's way instead of his own. Things could have turned out great for him.
Peter scolds Jesus about his death
But Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. "Heaven forbid, Lord," he said. "This will never happen to you!" Jesus turned to Peter and said, "Get away from me Satan! ...You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God's."
Matthew 16:22-23
Peter is known as one of Jesus's most trusted confidants during his ministry. That being said, when Jesus tells his disciples that there will come a day when he dies at the hands of the religious establishment, Peter resists that reality. This is all too much for Peter to accept so he takes Jesus aside and begins to reprimand him for saying such things. He can't perceive how the chosen Messiah could possibly be allowed to suffer such a fate. "Jesus is the King and will take over the governments of the earth!" He's thinking to himself. "You are going to experience victory after victory every which way you turn Jesus! Come on, stop talking so negatively!" Peter erupts.
Jesus, however, is not interested in Peter's ideas on how things should go. He calls him Satan for trying to suggest an alternative plan to what he already knows is God's plan. Even though God's plan will lead to his death, and Jesus may not understand it all, he is surrendered to God's way. He chooses to trust his heavenly Father's wisdom, not his own self-centered way.
Saul accepts the risen Jesus
And he said, "Who are you, Lord?" Then the Lord said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads."
Acts 9:5
Saul was a member of the religious establishment that crucified Jesus for calling himself God. Now that Jesus was no longer around, he would dedicate his life to oppressing anyone who claimed to follow 'The Way'. One day he was on the road to Damascus to mistreat more Christians when suddenly a supernatural light shone around him. He heard a voice calling him, "Saul, why are you harassing me?" He was confused so he asked, "Who are you, Lord?" Jesus explained who he was to Saul and announced to him that he shouldn't be resisting reality. Jesus said that it is hard to kick against the goads. A goad is a sharp tool used to drive cattle in the direction the herdsman wants them to go. In the same way, God will goad us with lessons in our lives to show us the right way to live. If we choose to resist those corrections, life can be an unnecessarily painful experience.
This heavenly encounter really got Saul's attention. He humbled himself and prayed to Jesus to heal his blindness - both physical blindness from the bright light and spiritual blindness he had lived in his whole life.
Conclusion
King Solomon once wrote in Ecclesiastes that, "Happy is the person that has accepted their lot in life.". What good is it to fight against the direction of life that God has set us on? Yes, sometimes we should definitely use wisdom and work hard to achieve difficult goals that inspire us. What I'm saying is, we can sometimes wear ourselves out by resisting the flow of life.
I had a vision once where I was in a kayak struggling to paddle against the flow of the river. When I finally stopped paddling and just went with the flow of the river, I began to notice the beauty of the nature surrounding me. It was a peaceful, more enjoyable experience and I ended up exactly where I was supposed to be anyways. I interpreted that the river was my life situation, and I was living too tense. I was worrying about stuff that didn't matter in the big scope of things.
I hope today's post encourages you to resist the flow of life less and accept the way God does things more. Cheers friends.
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