Not What You May Think

Not What You May Think 

by David Brenneman 

"Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time,  casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.  Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.  But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.  After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you." 1 Peter 5:6-10.

"Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.  But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.  You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.  All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;  so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:12-17.

Life isn't at all a culmination of time through chance.  It isn't your own understanding of controlled chaos either.  It's not a collection of random emotions and events that collide in your life with you doing the best you can to stay afloat. 

It's not what you may think. 

A life in Christ Jesus is an orchestrated life.  It's a sympathy of colossal Spiritual proportions.  It really is beyond what you can see, ask about or think. 

We start with Adam and Eve...their experiences with Jesus in the Garden of Eden, we will never know this side of Heaven.  

We read in the New Testament of how God causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.   He is orchestrating the aspects of your life and the lives of over 8 billion people towards the plans He has for mankind.  

The fulfillment of the Scriptures. 

You indeed can pray for the desires of your heart...but keep in mind...those desires must also fit into those plans. 

There too is the personal plan of God for you.  Did you know there is one?  Jesus not only obeyed His Father in order to bring about the salvation of mankind...He has wonderful plans to cultivate a personal relationship with you.  To help you to grow with respect to your salvation in Christ.  The Father’s plan to transform your life into the image of His Son. 

It's not about what you see, what you perceive, you understand.  It begins with obedience to God's Word.  It is us living lives in Christ that point others to the life in Christ that He has waiting for them.

"For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.  Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:11-13.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6.

Pray without ceasing comes to mind as well.  Intentional time with Jesus.  

That enemy of God is your enemy too but what befalls you or those close to you might not at all be because of him.   Your own sin nature rears it's ugly head when you do not want it to.  Same goes for all others in the world. 

We must seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.  Among those are the understanding of many things, but not all things. 

Job wasn't understanding the why's of his experience until probably after his death.  Daniel and others were told to go their way because further explanations were not going to come. 

There's inventions that this world will not see because they do not fit into the plans of God for humanity.

The Spirit seals the Believer in Christ Jesus.  The Spirit's job is to set that Believer in the body of Christ as He sees fit.  Giving them a spiritually discerned job to be doing.  He's going to bring to remembrance all that Jesus taught.  He's going to teach us how to live transformed lives in Christ.  The Spirit, when we came to Christ, wrote our names down in the book of life.  

A life in Christ isn't what you may think because you've never seen anything like what's going on around you with Spiritual eyes before.  

My thinking isn't His thinking anymore than yours is either. 

His ways are higher than our ways.

Those who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus are going to be persecuted.  They're going to butt heads with those still under the influence of the Devil.  

A life in Christ is ready to be more that we can ask for or think about...it comes down to our obedience and our letting go of controlling our lives.  

All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) Lockman Foundation.