Posted on by intentional4christ · 1 Comment

Derailed- A Dream Deferred

Did you have certain goals for your life that have not materialized? Have you ever felt like the plans you had for your self and the outcomes of your life have been derailed? My whole childhood, I groomed myself to be a medical doctor. I graduated one of the top of my class from elementary school all the way to high school. I got accepted into two reputable medical schools, got recommended for partial and full ride scholarships to three countries outside my home country to study medicine, and actually started to pursue a career in medicine by virtue of one such scholarship. Then through a series of events, I switched my majors with a hope to find my way back into medical school. 17 years later, I have settled in another career and with each passing day my career as a medical doctor becomes a distant dream…a what could have been! I know I am not alone in having a dream or life plan be seemingly derailed. Let’s look at a story from the Old testament:

One day Terah took his son Abram, his daughter-in-law Sarai (his son Abram’s wife), and his grandson Lot (his son Haran’s child) and moved away from Ur of the Chaldeans. He was headed for the land of Canaan, but they stopped at Haran and settled there. Terah lived for 205 years and died while still in Haran.

Genesis 11:31-32 NLT

Terah was headed for Canaan, which was God’s promised land for the people who would come out of Abraham, the Israelites. This was land that God describes later as a land flowing with milk and honey… and Terah was headed towards his set destiny but got derailed. He stopped in Haran and settled there and there he died. His dream of a land flowing with milk and honey died with him in Haran. End of story. I could end my blog post here… he died and so did the dream of Canaan. But thank God for redemption.

I was recently introduced to the concept of redemptive thinking through a 2 minute podcast I heard from Susie Larson. I am going to explore this concept more in another post in the near future. But what I want to say about this for now is redemptive thinking is about changing the way you think and it starts by believing that God is good. When you believe that God is good, you can also believe that He works everything out for your good and for his glory. The dream of Canaan appeared to have died with Terah but it was always in the heart of God that the Israelites would possess the promised land. However, so much had to happen between when Terah had this plan and when his descendants would actually live in that land- including a name change of Terah’s great grandson from Jacob to Israel. And with each passing year, this dream became more a distant past but one day this happened…

The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”

Genesis 12:1-3 NLT

God put Abraham back on course towards the set destiny and plan! Funny enough, this dream was not Abraham’s to see fulfilled. In fact Abraham got to Canaan and there were people already there and so he had to move on. However, what Abraham had that Terah did not, was the blessing of God. God blessed him and his descendants and in so doing the dream even though was not fulfilled physically in Abraham’s lifetime, was fulfilled through his seed. The blessing of God ensured that God remembered Abraham long after he was dead and God fulfilled the promise of Canaan to him (Exodus 2:24). Abraham had a future and a hope and even though he died, the dream was preserved and fulfilled in its appointed time.

Many times we are so busy making and pursing our plans and desires that we forget to ask for God’s blessings. Other times, we forget that it is His plan for us that prevails despite our skilled planning. We forget that He is good and therefore His plans for us are good and are bringing us to His expected end… His vision of Canaan for us (Jeremiah 29:11).

Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. Proverbs 16:3 NIV

Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:21 NIV

When Abraham went through Canaan, there was no mention of a land flowing with milk and honey. In fact, there was famine in the land and so he had to go to Egypt. Abraham’s version of Canaan was not God’s expected end for Abraham and his descendants. I say all this to say that our plans are not always aligned with God’s expected end for our lives and so sometimes a dream “derailed” or deferred is not necessarily a bad thing. It could be the best thing that ever happened to us. The key is to trust God like Abraham did and even when plans seem derailed, God can bring us to His expected end.

There are a few concepts that I have touched on briefly that you can spend time reflecting on: God’s purpose [will] vs our plans; the blessings of God; the function of appointed time in the fulfilment of our plans; and the goodness of God. I will end with some questions and encouragement for you: Has your life in recent times or time past felt like a winding road? Have things not been going smoothly as planned? Does your career path feel like it is all over the place? Are you feeling tossed about by the billows of life? Then may you find encouragement in this:

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight [emphasis mine].

Proverbs 3:5-6 BSB
Posted on by intentional4christ

Settling Down in God’s Time and Season

For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 NLT

Wow! It has been over a month since I have been able to sit down to compose a post and this hiatus is because I have been going though a season in my life. This season has been one that has brought with it many life lessons, particularly, learning to trust in God when things are not going the way I plan. Yesterday, I picked up my bible to read after a few weeks of not doing so and my readings led me to this nugget of inspiration from Jeremiah 29.

For context: The Israelites were in captivity and they were hoping for God’s deliverance. In fact, many false prophets had assured them that God’s deliverance was around the corner and that their exile would last for only a maximum of two years. Because of this false hope, the Israelites lived in this state of flux, of uncertainty; and in many ways, they were stuck and could not move forward. But God sent his prophet with this message:

“Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”

Jeremiah 29: 5-7 NIV

God was telling them to get comfortable in the season He was taking them through. This sounds antithetical to everything I have come to believe when going through things in my life that I deem unpleasant. In fact, many Christian teachings and admonishing would urge me to pray and fast myself out of that situation. However, as I read through this scripture, I felt God’s encouragement to get comfortable in the seasons of my life. More often than not, I am in a hurry to move on to the next phase, to the next chapter of my life that I do not stop to take in the lessons and the blessings of each season of my life. Just like the Israelites, I sometimes refuse to accept the “realities” of what my situations are and rather look to future state as God’s promise for me. While this is not bad, there are many things that I miss out on in God’s season of my life: I miss out on planting and harvesting and on building during those seasons because I am waiting for better things to come. God told the Israelites to get comfortable, settle down, and build and in essence take advantage of everything the season of exile had to offer while they waited for His appointed time of deliverance. His promise to them was that at the end of the season, their deliverance would come but it was important that they did not waste the lessons and blessings of the season while waiting.

This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future…”

Jeremiah 29: 10-11 NIV

You see many of us quote the latter part of that scripture about God’s plans to give us a future and a hope with abandon but if you read this scripture in context, you will see it was part of an assurance to the Israelites during their season of exile. God was encouraging them to use the season of exile wisely because the plans that He had for them was to prosper them in the season of captivity and exile and bring them to the future state of deliverance they imagined better off than they currently were.

What season of life are you currently in? What are you waiting on God to do for you? Are you in between jobs? Waiting for your healing? Expecting a breakthrough in a particular area of your life? Grieving a loss? Disappointed at the outcomes of your life’s circumstances? Or are you celebrating great wins and successes in your life? Whatever, your season, there is a lesson and a blessing. And while I pray that the difficult seasons do not last long and that light breaks forth like the dawn over every gloomy circumstance, my greatest prayer is that you do not miss the opportunities God has in store for you during whatever season of your life. And particularly for those going through untoward circumstances, I pray that you do not miss out on what God is doing because you are only looking for respite and if it is God’s plan to prosper you in that particular season, may He give you the grace to get comfortable in that season. His plan for your life does not bring you harm and disaster but are for your well- being to bring you to the future you hope for.

I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to bring you prosperity and not disaster, plans to bring about the future you hope for…[for it is the LORD who changes the times and seasons]

Jeremiah 29: 11GNB/ Daniel 2:21 NIV

Yours Truly

Posted on by intentional4christ

You’ll understand why….later!

When God promised the Israelites the promised land, He also promised to drive their enemies from among them. However, many times as I read through the book of Joshua I noticed that the bible said the Israelites were not able to drive out all their enemies and in some cases lives among thee enemies or forced them into hard labor. Despite this fact, the book of Joshua concluded with the verse:

Not a single one of all the good promises the LORD had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything he had spoken came true.

Joshua 21:45 NLT

Well  that sounds very contradictory! If God fulfilled every promise then why weren’t all their enemies destroyed? Well after a whole generation this made sense. In the book of Judges, we see why:

…he did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience…

Judges 3:2 NIV

To the doubtful person, God had not kept his promise. However, because God has the bird’s eye view of our lives and certainly did of the Israelites. He left a few nations among them to teach warfare to generations of Israelites who would come later who had no experience in battle. God knew the Israelites would need to be prepared for battles later on in their history so He left nations in their promised land who would eventually give them this experience.

When life seems like it is not going the way you want or God’s promises seem unfulfilled, do not look to the bigness of your problem but to the bigness of your God. And know that His plans are always for your good, though you may not understand them today, he is making you battle ready for your tomorrow.

Yours Truly

Posted on by intentional4christ

For I know the plans I have for you….

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jer 29: 11 NIV

This scripture has brought comfort to many Christians (myself included) during times of uncertainty. Many times I have prayed this scripture when things happen in my life and I cannot explain them or when I am earnestly asking God for a special blessing, I remind Him from this scripture that his plans are to prosper me and give me a future and a hope.

Over the past few weeks, however, I have had the privilege of thinking about this scripture a little more deeply when I heard it quoted at the memorial service of a Christian young man who died very unexpectedly. The question was posed: “Was this God’s plan?” As I pondered the question, a very unusual answer came to me in the form of another question: “What is the future and hope God promises?”

If our hope in Christ is for this life alone, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ, all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ the firstfruits; then at His coming, those who belong to Him. 1 Cor 15: 19-23 BSB

As Christians, our hope and future are not of this world. Our hope, our future, our glory, and crown are in the fact that when our life is over in this world, we will stand victorious before the King of kings, Our God and Saviour Jesus Christ in the next world. If you have made Jesus the  Lord and Saviour of your life then you have a hope and a future and that is God’s plan for you. It is God’s desire that everyone is saved and comes to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim 2: 4 BSB).

So what about the prosperity promised in the scripture? People have a tendency to think of prosperity only in terms of money, wealth, and possessions but Jesus describes possessions not only as earthly but also heavenly. This is why He encouraged that we store up treasures in Heaven as well. This is not to say that I have prayed amiss all these years or encouraged myself with this scripture in vain. But as God calls me to enjoy a deeper relationship with him, I have come to the realization that this scripture Jer 29: 11 is both relevant for my life here on earth and also has eternal implications. I believe that God’s plan for me here on earth is that I prosper, be in good health, be successful, be happy and be delivered from harm. This is all scriptural. But I have also come to know in these past weeks that my prosperity, my future, and my hope is eternal and it is anchored in Christ the Solid Rock on which I stand while on this earth.

Thus by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be strongly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and steadfast. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus our forerunner has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever in the order of Melchizedek Hebrews 6: 18-20 BSB

As we slowly come to the end of the year, the end of a decade, the question I have for you and for myself is this: “Is your future anchored on the hope that is Jesus?” For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Yours Truly.