Dear Friend,
Have you ever felt like your life's in a mess? You try to have it all together but somehow, somewhere, things end up way beyond your control.There are some things you want to do, and you can't seem to do it; on on the other hand, there are things you DON'T want to do, yet you find yourself doing them?
And to top it all off, the more you try to get your life straightened out, the worse it gets; until you just feel like throwing in the towel and calling it quits. You just decide to let it loose and just do whatever you feel like doing, because you don't see any way out.
I have.
That changed when I made a choice to shift my focus from looking at the problem to looking at someone who could solve the problem. Read Proverbs 29:18 with me in the Amplified:
Prov 29:18 (AMP)
18 Where there is no vision [no redemptive revelation of God], the people perish; but he who keeps the law [of God, which includes that of man]--blessed (happy, fortunate, and enviable) is he.
The word 'perish' in the text above, can also mean to 'be let loose', 'show lack of restraint', It could also be translated as 'to make naked', in a more literal form.
... That really sounds like life doesn't it? You lose whatever restraints you had, and you feel like your life's just laid bare and naked for everyone to see!
If we look at it from the reverse however; when you have a revelation of God's overwhelming redemption; you WON'T perish!
What do I mean by having a redemptive revelation of God?
I strongly believe that the Bible is a unfolding depiction of God's Redemption Plan for us; all the way from Genesis to Revelation. And by following that plan closely, we will know three things about us:
1. What Jesus did for us through the Cross (Redemption)
2. Who we are in Him (Identity)
3. What we can and will do in life (Purpose)
Too many times we look at the three items in reverse. We think that what we do (our purpose) will establish who we are to God (our identity), and that would make us fit to be accepted by Him (Redemption) We try following that order; we get frustrated and tire ourselves out before givine up. We perish!
Know this: The order set for us is not from (3) to (1), it's from (1) to (3)!
Your identity in God is not defined by the actions that you do (or don't do), it's defined by what Jesus paid for you because of what He sees in you!
And when you get it settled that your redemption is secure, you'd also find out who you are in Him; and that would naturally progress to doing what you know you get (not have) to do: fulfill God's purpose for your life!
Change your focus! In Numbers Chapter 21, we read how Israel complained against God and Moses for taking them out of Egypt int ot he wilderness. As a result, judgement came in the form of venomous serpents that came and killed many of them.
Notice how God's Redemption Plan came into effect when Moses was instructed to do the following in verses 8-9:
Num 21:8-9 (NKJV)
8 Then the LORD said to Moses,"Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live."
9 So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.
It reads that whoever looked on the bronze serpent, they lived. The bronze serpent on a pole is a representation of the work that Jesus would do on the Cross 2,000 years later, taking our sin upon Himself. Whoever looked at the serpent lived. The Amplified version reads that whoever looked at that serpent attentively lived. It implies that they didn't look at their bites but just focused on that serpent.
My friend, the bites of life will come to all of us, but choose to fix your eyes on Jesus and His finished work, get a revelation of it, and you will live!
Blessings
Ken
