Have you ever purchased an airplane ticket? If so, was it for personal or business? Don’t answer all at once.
Now let’s flip that scenario. Has the good Lord, ever orchestrated your itinerary? In other words, your primary reason for flying, God was at the inception of you buying the ticket. Was your final destination/ reason ever made known to you?
Depending on your reply, let this be a reminder to you. He is the compass for where we will end. Not giving all the details up front is typically His method of operation.
He ultimately wants to see you can be trusted, to follow His lead every step of the way. As He assigns more instruction, He knows the final outcome.
Because He is God all by Himself and His sovereignty rules. There comes a point where we are tested in the little things to determine our faithfulness.
It also is for the building of the saints. Where ever we pass the test, faith ignites new mindsets and instills visions for His children. After all, it’s about winning souls and the perfecting of the saints. The more faithful we are, the more He is sure to grant all the more.
“Therefore, I admonish thee that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.”
— 2 Timothy 1: 6
If you’re thinking, He is the Alpha and Omega, why would He continuously test His children? Coinciding with His love, He desires to see if our response will be better this time around.
You can rest assured, He has placed the task or assignment right before your eyes. In previous times you didn’t pass. He keeps putting the test/trial/assignment before you, for refinement.
Once you’ve passed, you’ll proceed. There should be a point where we mature as a believer in the things of God. Success will be our portion.
Because He is the Alpha and Omega, that is all the more reason for the Father rendering mercy, to see if we will obey His charter. Ultimately, preparing us for greater things. Thereby advancing the Kingdom of God.
“And it shall come to pass after this that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.” — Joel 2:28
Is your call and response to the Father, the same or unchanged? That is the temperature check.
More plainly put, is your heart hardened or plowable? If your heart is still hardened, you’ll continue to be tested, but never to the point of provoking.
If we truly belong to the Lord, He will yield instructions for us to comply. In the places where He instructs most assuredly, He also constructs.
It’s in these places He is measuring our response to gauge our outcome. The expectation is for His sheep to obey His voice and not yield to a stranger's voice. Even in our choices, there comes the response to obey or not. Where are you on that spectrum?
“And so it was that Jehoiachin exchanged his prison clothes for new clothes, and for the rest of his life he dined regularly at the king’s table.” — Jeremiah 52: 33
Placing our trust in Him, that is the spot where our faith germinates and begins to increase. So that others watching can glean and also grow in their stead. Knowing to walk by faith and not by sight is necessary, but also contagious.
I must warn you, walking by faith is not designed to be easy. Courageous and boldness are characteristics required to carry out God's exploits.
Done right, according to your faith be it unto you, is the posture to exemplify His business. As you continue to move by faith, it is certain to ignite and instill new visions, spreading like wildfire.
The obvious thing, God testing His children is never wasted. The not so obvious, how many times will He test you before you are ready to go forth and carry out His vision.
Since faith is the currency and that’s how He desires for His children to move. There’s no love story, orchestrated by God that doesn’t include faith.
Without faith, it is impossible to please God.
Apostle Jacqueline Hudson is a Waycross resident and author of the book “Never Say Never: A Memoir with a Twist.”
