YOU HAVE A ROLE TO PLAY FOR GOD’S WORD TO COME TO PASS IN YOUR LIFE
In this world, nothing happens by chance. Things happen because we had contributed to their happenings either directly and/or indirection. I have heard several people make comments such as, if God does such and such for me, I will glorify His name; oh God, why won’t you bless me with such an amount for me to start a business and glorify your name?; oh God when are you going to bless me with a car of my own?; oh Father, make me rich like Bill Gates of U.S.A. All these are nice and great wishes but as somebody said, “if wishes were horses, beggars will ride”. You can’t realize these dreams without actively working towards them! You have a role to play!
Ephesians 3:1 states that “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ”. God has already finished His part of the deal in blessing mankind. It is our responsible to mix God’s word with faith, work towards it and get the results that we desire. Let us examine a character in the bible in relation to the topic under discussion.
In the olden days, wars were very prevalent and chosen kings had to have qualities that will lead groups and win battles. As rulers, Kings had more problems to deal with in those days. Technology had not developed like we have today therefore brute force was used for many activities. In 1 Samuel 9:2, it states that “He (Kish) had a son named Saul, an impressive young man without equal among the Israelites- a head taller than any of the others”. Beyond these physical qualities, God Almighty saw other physical qualities in Saul and therefore recommended him to be the first king of Israel (1 Samuel 9:17).
The question we need to ask ourselves now is this- why did Saul fail as the first king of Israel? Saul failed because of fear of the Philistines and his lack of patience to wait for Samuel to do a sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22). “Fear not” is a phrase that appears several times in the bible. Anytime we are overwhelmed with fear, our faith becomes inoperative and we become impatient with the affairs of this life. Lack of patience may lead to gross errors. You have a role to play.
Faith is that which overcomes fear. Faith is one of the driving forces that enable us to succeed. To strengthen our faith, we need more of God’s word and encouragement. Saul, unfortunately, neglected God’s word as the source of encouragement and strength. Life on this earth is more spiritual than physical. For us to be successful, it is important to develop our spiritual senses with God’s word in order to overcome fear. There are other good books based on the bible which we can consult to strengthen our faith.
When our faith is strong, no obstacles can be insurmountable (Matthew 21:21). Faith strengthening using God’s word is a personal responsibility. All that we need to succeed is already in our spirit; we have the personal responsibility to work out things for ourselves. Bible says “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling”. For instance, to pass an academic examination, you need to sit for the exam although you may know in your head all the answers to the questions. You have a role to play.
