I was watching a Nigerian Christian movie recently and it made me think about my life. The main character in this story had a passion for worship music and his dream was to be a worship leader. The big problem was that he couldn’t sing. His pastor advised him that he should pray and fast about this issue to seek God’s purpose for his life. He found out while reading the Bible that his true calling was to help care for others in an intentional way. His passion for music reminded me of my passion for media. This passion drove me to study Film and Video Production and then later I obtained another degree in Journalism and Communications specializing in Television Production. I loved television programs and films. And so, when I became a Christian, I assumed that God would use my passion to grow His Kingdom, but He had other plans.
The Lord nullifies the counsel of the nations; He frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart from generation to generation. Psalm 33:10-11
The Lord definitely did frustrate my plans. Even though He allowed me to use my experience in media to an extent, it was never as how I dreamt it would have been. I tried over and over to do my media work my way for God without too much input from Him. However, I did ask Him to bless the work of my hands. Afterall, I was doing “His” work. But like Jonah I had my own big fish situations that would bring me right back to where God wanted me – to work with abused and underprivileged children. I didn’t even like children when I became a Christian and I had no intention of working in any type of children’s ministry. A few months after I became a Christian, the senior pastor of the church asked me to work with the children for summer camp as they lacked workers, and he promised me a stipend. The promise of money piqued my interest, and I went to work with the kids and of course I had the most energetic class which prompted a lot of prayers at the Church’s Wednesday night Bible study. I still have flashbacks of those times over twenty years ago and even today I am in disbelief about all that happened in the class. Yet, there is where I learned to love hurting children. This was never in my plans, but God was ordering my steps. I was like the reluctant Moses being sent to Egypt to set God’s people free.
Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?” Exodus 3:10-11
Moses was minding his own business at the back side of the desert tending his father-in-law’s sheep when his normal routine was interrupted by a burning bush and as he was overwhelmed with curiosity, he drew near to this unusual phenomenon. And from this burning bush the Lord spoke to him, but Moses did not like the Lord’s instructions and came up with many excuses, even when the Lord told him He would be with him. He told the Lord that he was slow of speech which angered God because He makes man’s mouth and He makes man mute, deaf, seeing or blind. Moses was making God small because of his own inadequacies. He even asked God to send someone else. But, although angry, the Lord had a purpose for Moses and worked with his insecurities by providing his brother Aaron to speak on his behalf. Moses was going to fulfill God’s purpose whether he liked it or not. God will have His way.
And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground. Luke 22:41-44
Jesus agonized over the prospect of what He would have to endure in fulfilling His purpose. Therefore, He asked God to take the cup of suffering from Him if it were His will. But it wasn’t. The Father had given His Son to die so that whoever believes in Him would have eternal life. Jesus had to carry out His purpose and go through the pain causing sorrow for those close to Him. Zipporah, Moses’ wife, experienced the pain of Moses’ purpose also, along with their son.
Now it came about at the lodging place on the way that the Lord met him and sought to put him to death. Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and threw it at Moses’ feet, and she said, “You are indeed a bridegroom of blood to me.” So He let him alone. At that time she said, “You are a bridegroom of blood”— because of the circumcision. Exodus 4:24-26
This passage is difficult for me to comprehend. God Himself was seeking to put to death the person who was going to do His purpose. But we must always remember that it is not only what we do, but how we do it. God demands holiness from us when we are carrying out His work. We must do His will in His way. And our obedience to God does come at a cost not only to us, but also for those close to us.
We are so involved in the universal purposes of God that immediately we obey God, others are affected. Are we going to remain loyal in our obedience to God and go through the humiliation of refusing to be independent, or are we going to take the other line and say — “I will not cost other people suffering”? We can disobey God if we choose, and it will bring immediate relief to the situation, but we shall be a grief to our Lord. Whereas if we obey God, He will look after those who have been pressed into the consequences of our obedience. We have simply to obey and to leave all consequences with Him.
This is an excerpt from Oswald Chambers’ Utmost for His Highest. We need to be careful not to put our passion for people or our dreams above God’s purpose in our life. We simply need to obey God in all things, and He will take care of all the consequences. He will change our passions to His passions when we truly surrender to Him. And He will empower us through His Holy Spirit to do things we never thought we could. We just have to trust and obey Him.
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