Recently we have been being challenged as to what it is to be 'family' and that when things arise, when confrontation happens, when offences come, in what ever way, we are so used to 'running' from the issues and not dealing with it. This sort of thinking comes from an 'orphan' mentality, one in which we don't know that confrontation can be a good thing as it looks at truths that actually set us and others, free. That in running away from the issue we don't allow God to heal, to restore, to reconcile, to honour, all sorts of issues are not actually dealt with when we run from confrontation, when we run from offences or hurt and we miss out on what could be if we trusted God to deal with our situations.
We have also talked about submitting ourselves to others and what that may look like. Recently I had a picture of an adult going around and around in a school yard because he would not honour the authority of the school headmaster and that authority was that of a child and he was an adult. He would not submit to the authority because the headmaster was actually a child. Scripture talks about that unless we become like little children, we will not enter the kingdom of heaven. And God has been talking about what it is to submit to authority, whatever authority that may look like. And until we learn to do this, we will go around and around the school yard of learning, until we learn to do that because it is actually a matter of pride and humility and until we learn lessons of what it is to humble ourselves to others, we will continue to go around and around the same issues.
After talking about and seeing these sorts of issues coming up around me, Nick from Pirongia Christian Fellowship sent this which I thought was wonderful and I would like to share it as it brings hope in our situations we may be facing so I hope this encourages you as it did me.
He writes from Genesis 16...
We have also talked about submitting ourselves to others and what that may look like. Recently I had a picture of an adult going around and around in a school yard because he would not honour the authority of the school headmaster and that authority was that of a child and he was an adult. He would not submit to the authority because the headmaster was actually a child. Scripture talks about that unless we become like little children, we will not enter the kingdom of heaven. And God has been talking about what it is to submit to authority, whatever authority that may look like. And until we learn to do this, we will go around and around the school yard of learning, until we learn to do that because it is actually a matter of pride and humility and until we learn lessons of what it is to humble ourselves to others, we will continue to go around and around the same issues.
After talking about and seeing these sorts of issues coming up around me, Nick from Pirongia Christian Fellowship sent this which I thought was wonderful and I would like to share it as it brings hope in our situations we may be facing so I hope this encourages you as it did me.
He writes from Genesis 16...
God Sees.....
Genesis 16 NLT
6. Sarai treated Hagar so heartily that she finally ran away.
7. The angel of the Lord found Hagar beside a spring of water in the wilderness, along the road to Shur.
8. The angel said to her, "Hagar, Sarah's servant, where have you come from and where are you going?"
"I'm running away from my mistress, Sarai," she replied.
9. The angel of the Lord said to her, "Return to your mistress, and submit to her authority.
10. Then he added, "I will give you more descendants than you can count."
11. And the angel also said, "You are no pregnant and will give birth to a son. You are to name him Ishmael (which means "God hears"), for the Lord has heard your cry of distress.
12. This son of yours will be a wild man, as untamed as a wild donkey! He will raise his fist against everyone, and everyone will be against him. Yes, he will live in open hostility against all his relatives."
13. Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her. She said, "You are the God who sees me." She also said. "Have I truly seen the One who sees me?"
14. So that well was named Beer-lahai-roi (which means "well of the Living One who sees me"). It can still be found between Kadesh and Bered.
So often we run because we may feel injustice, or wronged, or hurt. But in that we need to know that God sees and He is the God of justice, He is our redeemer and He works all things together for good for those who love him and are called according to His purpose. What I loved in this that was sent through from Nick, was that in going back Hagar was blessed with more descendants than she could count. We often see only our pain of the moment or our injustice and we take it into our own hands and don't entrust ourselves to the Lord for him to come into our situations, but in honouring the Lord, he gives us promises that will be fulfilled more than we dreamed, thought or imagined.
Be encouraged today that God sees everything and He will honour those who Honour Him and His word.
Check out 1 Peter Chapters 2 and 3 for more on submitting to authorities