Continuing from our series on being made in God’s image and likeness, it’s very difficult for us to believe that these incredible times are upon us. The people of Jesus’ day thought the same thing. They thought, “How can anyone be greater than David?”
A time is coming greater than that of David’s, greater than Christ’s. God’s plan was not to bring one son to glory, but to bring many sons to glory. The most glorious thing was not that God walked the earth in the form of a man (His Son), but that He will walk the earth in the form of many sons. Yet, just like the people of Jesus’ day, we find that idea almost impossible to grasp. There is a spirit that is very effective at convincing us that the idea is too grand and couldn’t possibly be the plan of God…even when He has written it in His word very clearly.
We will be stripped of many things we fully believe. For instance, when you first understand that God is raising His sons on the earth to rule, your mind might immediately begin to think that His sons will be given the presidencies of every country in the world…or maybe those who He has raised up will be handed the mega churches to lead. But these are all ideas of a worldly perspective. He might do some of this, but it seems more likely to me that the raised up sons will not be prominent in the world, at least in the beginning. We look at the men of the Bible and see them as the most amazing men of their era. But that is because we’ve been studying the Bible since we came to believe. If you lived at that time, these men were very minor characters. Sure, sometimes they were brought before kings…but often it was in chains. God can do what He wants, so I do not mean to say that those who serve Him cannot be put in a prominent “worldly” role, but be prepared to abandon your worldly understanding of what God is doing. He will turn everything upside down in this season!
“We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.” (2 Corinthians 1:8-11)
In this season, we will have the incredible opportunity to really rely on God for life! To get through it, we will need to look to Him for guidance. We will need to be in continual prayer. At times, things may seem so chaotic that God could not possibly be around, but if you are pure of heart towards Him and earnest in your prayers, He will use these times to transform you into a mature son whom He can guide and use to bring about His purposes on the earth.
If such a glorious thing is to come about, do you think it will be a nice easy transition, or do you think there will be trembling and shaking?
This is Part 9 in the series Bearing the Image and Likeness of God. To continue with this series, click on Pt 10. To use this as a growth tool to better understand your own calling, please read Pt 1, Pt 2, Pt 3, Pt 4, Pt 5, Pt 6, Pt 7 and Pt 8.
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