Painless Path

Think about a tree.   
First, when a tree is planted before any fruit comes on the branches; a long time has to be taken for that tree to get deep roots in the ground. Otherwise, when the fruit does come on the branches it will cause the whole thing to topple over and fall. If God gives any person more than they are spiritually ready to handle, He is not helping them, He’s hurting them. So don’t just pray for God to give you everything you want, rather pray He gives you what you can handle because stuff can take us away from God if we’re not ready.

A mushroom grows over night but a large oak tree takes time. There’s no scripture in the bible that compares us to a mushroom.

Jeremiah 17:8 ; For he will be nourished like a tree planted by the waters, that spreads out its roots by the river; and will not fear the heat when it comes; but its leaves will be green and moist, and it will not be anxious and concerned in a year of drought nor stop bearing fruits.
{God wants us to be people that are rooted and grounded in Him, in His love and the principles of the Word of God. So when there’s a storm going on in our lives, we get our nourishment from something other people cannot see because we’ve got roots that keeps drawing nourishments and, makes us to keep bearing fruits}. People would rather hire someone with experience than someone with education and no experience; so you can read the bible but until you apply those principles in your life, you have no experience. Hebrews 5:9-10

Whatever you might be going through right now, it might not seem fair or be fair, the bible never said life is fair but it did mention that God is a God of justice and that means He makes wrong thing right.{ Watch God be your vindicator in life}. Just don’t park at the point of your pain; don’t waste time regretting, feeling sorry for yourself, move forward with a better attitude. Exodus 14:15; The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the sons of Israel to move forward (towards the sea)

1 Samuel  9-31; “With God, it’s all or nothing”.  You cannot do a little bit of what God told you to and a little bit of what you want to and expect to get what God wants to give you. So if you’ve been trying to compromise with God; then today is the day to make a decision that you either go all the way with God or probably not go anywhere at all. {Salvation is a free gift but Victory requires you making some sacrifice sometimes}.

1 Samuel 16:1; The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve for Saul?  I have rejected him as king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and go; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have chosen a king for myself among his sons {God was like okay! that didn’t work out, how long are you going to mourn over something that didn’t work out? I’ve got a new plan God said). God is never without a plan, and if you messed up plan A, Plan B can be better just because it is God.

God created us to be people that are always moving forward and never backwards.

God uses very ordinary people to do extra ordinary things but you have to go all the way with God, you cannot park somewhere that is convenient, not half way through.

Genesis 11:31 – Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot; son of Haran and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they settled there. Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Haran
God initially called Terah (Abram’s dad) to go to the promise land (Canaan), on his way there, he got to Haran (the place wasn’t bad) so he decided to settle because he was too myopic to see all the great things God had in store for him. So he decided to “play safe”. If you allow God to direct your steps without holding back (total submission), you might not really understand, you will probably be in a state of constant denial or confusion but do not undermine or limit your potentials!!! Well, God later called his son Abram and he listened and God made a great and mighty nation out of him. So if you feel you’re indispensable. Think again!!!  

Character is much more important than talent. If you wait for God’s right timing, then you could be in for the long haul, but if you get promoted to early, you might go off like a fire cracker and fizzle right out.

True humility is knowing what you’re not but also knowing who you’re in Christ. {It’s in our unguarded moments that we really show who we are}. Independence is the fruit of pride; you cannot ask God to help you if you don’t feel you need Him.

Below are some of the scriptures that reassure me when I don’t understand what God is doing and it feels He has forsaken me...

Deuteronomy 7:22-23; The Lord your God will drive out those nations before you, little by little. You will not be allowed to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals will multiple around you. But the Lord your God will deliver them over to you, throwing them in great confusion until they are destroyed. (the Israelites didn't understand why God didn't drive out all the nations that were standing in their way all at once) {God is the master planner, sometimes He takes His time or hesitate a little while doing great things for you, because He is trying to avoid or stop any harm that might occur}.

The Bible also recorded that God didn't destroy the Philistines because He wanted to use them to teach the younger generation of the Israelites how to fight

Deuteronomy 8:2-12Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you. Observe the commands of the LORD your God, walking in his ways and revering him. For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land--a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills... 
{Sometimes God takes us through the hard road, in order to build us. When we grow through pain we become matured mentally, physically and emotionally in order to handle success when it comes. If not, we might end up being wasteful or not being able to handle the success properly when given prematurely}

Joshua 11:18-20; Joshua waged war against all these kings for a long time. Except for the Hivites living in Gibeon, not one city made a treaty of peace with the Israelites, who took them all in battle. For it was the Lord Himself who hardened their hearts to wage war against Israel, so that  He might destroy them totally, exterminating them without mercy, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
{Sometimes the Lord allows affliction to persist or harden the hearts of an enemy, just so He can show His mighty hand ie so your reward can be greater. Sometimes we question if God is listening or If He has forgotten us. But the reason is because He has bigger plans. Just the way He hardened Pharaoh’s heart so He could show His mighty hands and totally destroy Pharaoh without mercy. That’s exactly what He did here}

Jesus purposely waited for Lazarus to die and be in the grave for 4 days before He came, even though He loved Lazarus and his sisters, this was to bring glory to the name of God. Verse 39 was insightful; “take away the stone,” Jesus said. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” The Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God? John 11:32-45. {Sometimes God purposely wait for our situations to be hopeless, when we’ve done everything we could and given up; boom!!! He shows Himself mighty. He always makes a way where there seem to be no way.}

John 9:1-3; As He went along, He saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind? “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so the work of God might be displayed in his life.

Matthew 7:13-14; Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life and only a few find it. {There’s no short cut to happiness. Nothing good comes easy. All that glitters is not gold}

I have lost count how many places in the bible they talked about God rewarding those that patiently wait on Him till the end.

What comes easy won’t last and what last won’t come easy (fast and fragile, slow and solid).

God isn’t in a hurry because He is more interest in quality than quantity. We therefore, need to toughen up a little bit and be willing to go through what we ought to go through to have what we say we want to have. Of all the people we need to stop trying to impress is God, because He knows us. Stop trying to be in such a hurry, we need to wise up, and stop waiting for everything to be easy.

We need to stop being jealous of people that are blessed if we are not willing to do what they did to get what they’ve got. (It doesn’t just happen by the snap of your finger; it requires hard work and processes).
Someone’s victory won’t give you victory (you can like the way, but you still have to work the work). Pain always almost mean progress; that is, the pain of making right choices.

Luke 22:44; You can have trails and tribulation, and still be happy because we’ve got God on our side.

Galatians 6:9; Let’s not grow weary or become discouraged in doing good. For at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. {Let’s stop doing what we do to get a right result from God; let’s do what’s right because it’s right and because we love God. This is because if we do what’s right because we are waiting for a reward, and if the reward takes time/doesn’t come, we will get frustrated. So let’s do the right things because that’s the way it should be and because we love God. We should be committed to doing what’s right and leave the results in God’s hands}

When God knows you’re ready, whatever it is He has been preparing you for, when He knows you’re ready, no devil in hell can keep you from getting it. Why don’t we just settle down and enjoy the journey because there is nothing anyone can do to make God hurry.

When we do what’s right and it hurts, it means we’re making spiritual progress. Spiritual maturity requires obeying God when it is difficult to do so.

What’s free to you, someone paid for. Salvation is free; but Jesus paid for it , it cost Him, His life.

There is no such thing as doing nothing and getting the right result. Everyone step leads to the next level. Have faith and work with God; God has to prepare you for what you asked for, He has to get you ready for what you have faith for. You think when you get to the Promised Land and getting everything you want, they will be no attacks from the devil.

Every new level is a new devil

So we need to learn how to do wars and face our enemies while we’re still in the wilderness because every level of new responsibility means you will have new things coming against you. At that point, you don’t even get bothered; “been there, done that, I know where this is headed”.

When you’re in pain and you go over, you will get to know God in such a way you won’t have if you didn’t have that pain in your life; you will have something in God that nobody can take away from you. Seek God’s face and not His hand, by that we can trust Him to give us what is best for us at the right time.

We have to realise that God is not surprised by our weaknesses. The thing is we really don’t want to be transformed; we just want to be translated. We beg God to change our situation but when He doesn’t follow the route we want; we grumble.

Being translated is I’m here, all of a sudden I am there; we just want to skip the process.

When you’re transformed, God arranges circumstances that force you to trust Him and being dependent, and stop being stubborn and bull headed. And there’s a brokenness that has to take place in our lives. Only God knows how to gracefully break us. He breaks our pride, He breaks our stubbornness.

The Bible says that they are shorter route to take the Israelites to the Promised Land but HE took them to a long road on purpose because they weren’t ready for war.

Being honest with yourself about yourself is the bravest thing you can ever do in your life. God knows you and loves you anyway; learn to know you and love you {I don’t like everything I do but I do like myself}. It’s insulting God, if we do not love ourselves or have a good relationship with ourselves because we’re not the “epitome of perfection” that we think we should be. God didn’t die for perfect people. He died for imperfect people; Mark 2:17.

God approves of you; He might not approve of everything you do but He approves of you. You have to separate your WHO from your DO. Your kids are your kids no matter what they do or what punishment you give to them; they are still your kids and when someone tries to get involved, you hauled them. So when the devil tries to get involved in your affairs with God, stop him!!!. Recognize the devils voice of deceit and condemnation (condemnation is not of God). You can talk back at the devil(most times he comes as a thought in form of doubts, while other times as close friends or family or even as a stranger) “hey devil, God knew all about me before I came on earth(Jeremiah 1). You need to talk back to the devil and not sit around allowing him in to fill you with lies, then feeling sorry for yourself. 2 Corinthians 4:13.

If you cannot get along with yourself, you cannot get along with others (you cannot pour from an empty cup).

A lot of us pretend we’re at a different place in our faith that we really are. We pretend to be someone we’re not, hoping we’ll find more love or respect or popularity or get more attention. There usually isn’t a bad motive underlying this; we do it because we’re insecure or we’re reaching for a way to connect with the people around us. Yet when what our faith looks like becomes more important than what it is, it’s evidence we’ve forgotten who we really are. God constantly allows things to happen in our lives that help us understand where we are with Him and who we really are in the context of our circumstances.

There’s a story in the bible where a guy got his sight healed twice. After Jesus touched this guy the first time, He asked him what he could see. The man told Jesus, “I see people; they look like trees walking around. “Jesus touched his eyes a second time, and it was only after the second touch he could see things the way they really were. First touches, like first impressions, are great, but I think a lot of us need a second touch. There are quite a few people who may have bumped into Jesus along the way but didn’t stick the first time. It is not a failed attempt when it happens, just like Jesus didn’t mess up the miracle the first time He touched the guy’s eyes. God wants us to be real with Him about the effect He’s had in our lives. I’ll level up with you: if I were the blind guy in the story, I would have been tempted to lie to Jesus after the first touch and tell Him I was healed. You know, just so Jesus wouldn’t look bad. But what Jesus is looking for are honest answers about what’s really going on in our lives, not a bunch of spin. The reason is simple, if the guy without sight had faked it and said he could see everything just fine after the first touch, he wouldn’t have been actually healed.

The truth is, we don’t really know why Jesus touched this man’s eyes twice. I think some of the miracles God does in our lives happen in stages. Every one step leads to the next level; have faith and work with God. God has to prepare you for what you ask for; He has to get you ready for what you have faith for. {We live life forward but we understand it backward}.

God isn’t surprised we want more confirmation. He just hopes we won’t get stuck waiting for it. Perhaps we don’t get all the answers and confirmations we ask for because God loves seeing us grow. In the same breath, though, sometimes it’s a good thing to pause. One of the writers in the Bible said to his friends that just because the door was open didn’t mean it was for him to walk through. The difference between a prudent pause and persistent paralysis is a distinction worth knowing.

Recognize when your beautiful ambitions are getting stuck inside your head. You don’t need to take all the steps, just the next one.God may not give us all the green lights we want, but I’m confident He gives us all the green lights He wants us to have at the time. Go with what you’ve got. If God wants you to stay put, He’ll let you know. We also have guaranteed green lights that are always on: our noble desires; God’s clear instructions in the bible to love everybody always; His love for us; and the gift of each other. You can put a lot of weight on these and triangulate from there to figure out the rest of life’s unknowns.

The difference between the number of green lights we want and the number we get from God is a pretty good description of what faith is. Faith isn’t knowing what we can’t see, its landing the plane anyways, rather than just circling the field. Get the plane on the ground.

Broken hearts do mend,
Bodies do heal,
Disappointments turn to new dreams
And the end of one thing can open the door for something new
If we can trust GOD