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Proverbs 19 to 22
Have you come to a point of understanding that with God not everything is 'instant'?
Being so temporally challenged we always think in terms of 'now'. Very often God is dealing with a bigger picture than we can see and we do not realise the significance of what we have been involved in.
What is important is that we do what God tells us to do. If we obey, the big picture will turn out because in obedience we submit our 'instants' to God.
1 Thess 2:1 You yourselves know, dear brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not a failure. NLT
The visit of Paul to Thessalonica was not a failure! It looked like one from close up – but with the benefit of a better view it was a success.
It had to be a success because it was in response to the urging of the Holy Spirit.
The success was the establishment of the church, the grounding and discipling of the new Christians. This success cannot be measured!
But a little persecution and difficulty make those who look only at what is directly in front of them think that there must be failure. Somehow there is a strange response in the church that assumes failure when difficulty is encountered. Problems and awkward or challenging circumstances are the very stuff of life – the fallout from Eden – the clashing of swords in the battle of light against darkness. Pressure and problems don't indicate failure – they indicate struggle and opportunity!
Has God ever challenged you to do something which you don't think worked out as well as it could? Don't just make assumptions and don't think that the struggle that came out of your obedience meant failure – because it didn't. Remember that our responsibility is to obey God – the outcome is His responsibility!
There was no chance of success until Paul set of for Thessalonica! Had he stayed home there would have been failure - failure to reach the lost and set up church in that great city. The fact that he obeyed meant there was no failure and the same will be true of you today if you do what God is challenging you to do!
2 Cor 3:4 We are confident of all this because of our great trust in God through Christ. 5 It is not that we think we can do anything of lasting value by ourselves. Our only power and success come from God. NLT
When we realise that we are not responsible for success but only for obedience, there should be no fear in us about the outcome. We should step out in faith, integrity, Godly character and the power of the Holy Spirit. When we do we will also be able to say 'our visit wasn't a failure!"