word – And the word became flesh

Obedience to God can be downright painful, illogical (based on all the things you can see/perceive with the natural mind), contrary to our feelings and emotions, confusing etc. and the list goes on.

Yet taking God’s word over your emotions, can result in the most exhilarating and satisfying thing you can do because it is in the place of obedience that you find yourself truly walking in alignment (in step) with God and get to “see God” – have an experiential knowledge of Him. It’s the state where you’re dwelling in the secret place of the Most High. It’s also in this state of walking in obedience that God is able to commit His agenda to you because He can trust you to immediately run with whatever He says.

Obedience works like the origin of a ripple. It’s that action that says “I trust what God is leading me to more than my feelings or understanding” that God then sees and sets things in motion to honour your act of faith in Him.

There’s a great example of this in the book of Esther chapters 5 through 9. We start from the point where Esther has accepted Mordecai’s request to help even though it might cost her life and she’s now about to appear before the king after fasting for 3 days and nights. At the time Esther went and stood in the inner court of the King’s house, her heart would likely have been throbbing since this was in reality a matter of life and death. Now, here’s a sequence of the result of her act of obedience.
1) God caused the king to favour her so he raised his scepter and she wasn’t executed.
2) Her invite of Haman to the banquet she prepared made Haman feel even more important than he already was such that Mordecai’s defiance made him angrier and he couldn’t wait till the time he had decreed to kill all Jews to get rid of Mordecai. He immediately sought counsel and set up gallows to hang Mordecai the next day.
3) The same day Haman plotted this, the king could not sleep at night and God caused him to ask for the records of the Chronicles where he was reminded of how Mordecai told of those that plotted to kill the king and he decided to reward Mordecai when he discovered he had not been rewarded. Side note: sometimes when you do a good deed, expect a reward immediately and don’t get it, it just might be that the reward is gaining compound interest to come in at a time when it would be “life-saving”. Imagine if Mordecai had been rewarded before, the king just might have moved on…selah.
4) Once the king had decided to reward Mordecai and was looking for ideas, in walks Haman. God uses the person that wanted to destroy Mordecai to come up with a way to honour him.
5) Esther tells the king about the plan to kill all Jews and informs him that Haman is the orchestrator to which Haman tried to plead with her and this leads to the king’s fury and Haman’s death on the same gallows he had set for Mordecai.
6) Mordecai and Esther get to repeal the decree that Haman had made to kill the Jews and in fact turn the tables around on their enemies and killed them instead.
7) Esther found so much favour with the king that in Esther 9 v 12 after the king had gotten the report of the people the Jews had killed even in Shushan, the king further asked Esther what else she wanted – up to half of his kingdom.
8) The Jews were saved, their sorrow turned to joy and had peace in a foreign land.

By a single act of obedience that seemed like a death sentence at the time, Esther triggered a partnership with God that culminated in the salvation of a whole nation – the Jews.

What is God asking you to do that you’re holding back on because it doesn’t “feel” right or seem practical? Truth is, God will still accomplish His purpose with or without you (ask the Israelites that died in the desert…their children fulfilled God’s word) however He wants you to take His word over your emotions so you can be a part of His “kingdom come” movement and walk in the good works which He created you for. The choice is yours and I pray that you choose obedience over “emotions” or ‘reason”.

Remain connected

Bolaji Ajayi

John 11 starts off with information about Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha being sick and the sisters sending for Jesus. Verse 4 tells us, “When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Yet Jesus stays 2 more days in the place he was (Vs 5 – 6 “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was”) and by vs 14, He tells His disciples that Lazarus is already dead “Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead.”

One minute, Jesus is saying Lazarus won’t die and a few days later, He’s confirming he is dead. We know from the story that by the time Jesus got there, Lazarus had been in the tomb 4 days and Jesus was just 2 miles (3.2km) from where Lazarus was.

All of these seem like a paradox at this point and begs a few questions. So, indulge me for a moment. Try and forget you know how this story ends but you’re in Bethany hearing and experiencing all that is going on. At this point, some of the thoughts that might cross your mind could include the following:

Jesus had lied when in verse 4 He said the sickness wasn’t unto death.
Jesus’ love for Mary, Martha and Lazarus is questionable since He could surely have journeyed the 2 miles in less than 4 days to prevent Lazarus from dying in the first place and save them from 4 days of heartache. Besides, how do you intentionally wait 2 days because you love them (vs 5-6)?
Jesus is not to be trusted and is bound to disappoint.

Fast forward to the later part of the chapter and we see Jesus weep in vs 35 after He saw Mary and all the Jews who were with her weeping. At this point, the people obviously figured He loved Lazarus but wondered why He didn’t get there on time to heal him before he died (vs 36-37). By vs 44, Lazarus is raised and Jesus commands to lose the clothes he was bound with and let him go. Subsequently, many people came to believe Jesus because of the raising of Lazarus from the dead (the son of man was glorified).

So, what do we do with all this information?

See, many of us are in the ‘tomb’ phase in one area of our lives or the other. God said something to you about a matter or a situation. There seemed to be a time where it looked plausible, but now that window has closed and you’re in that phase when everything ‘is’ dead. You analyze the situation and you can’t see how that word is going to be fulfilled. Yet, this story suggests that sometimes, because of God’s love for us, He allows things (hopes, dreams etc.) to ‘die’ around us and even mourns with us when we mourn those things. Doesn’t make much sense to the natural mind but isn’t that how it is with God? His ways are not our ways nor His thoughts our thoughts.

So, during the 4 days (yours could be hours, days, months or years) of ‘death’, what should we be doing? Job 14 vs 7-9 and Habakkuk 3 vs 17 – 18 gives us an idea “For there is hope for a tree, if it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its tender shoots will not cease. Though its root may grow old in the earth, and its stump may die in the ground, yet at the scent of water it will bud and bring forth branches like a plant.” (Job 14:7-9) “Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls, Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” Hab 3: 17-18.

Therefore, HOPE in the Lord, hold on to His WORD which is what brings back life to that dead situation and REJOICE in the Lord not in your situation. These are not easy to do but as you ask the Holy Spirit for help to act in faith, may you experience the resurrection power of God in your situation and may your story draw men to God and bring Him all the glory in Jesus’ name.

Remain connected to the vine,

Bolaji Ajayi

Tag: word

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