By Pr Michael Kintu
In Matthew 19:16-30, the rich young man had followed the law diligently all his life, but when Jesus Christ asked him to sell all he had and give to the poor and follow Him, he was saddened by that statement and left. His ego and wealth prevented him from going with Jesus Christ because he had defined his identity through wealth.
Have you ever wondered what Abraham lost when he answered God’s call to leave his home and go to a place that was strange to him? (Genesis 12:1-9). What was God trying to achieve here?
Abraham lost his family, friends, networks, good will; he lost his whole support system that you and I take for granted every day.
He also lost his estate, wealth, inheritance and citizenship. He lost his people, his place of love and belonging. But God wanted him to trust Him and move.
Trusting God
I have heard of sacrifice, but this was utter separation of Abraham from everything he had.
I believe God was humbling and putting him in a situation where he had to trust in His faithfulness to get through.
Abraham did not even have full instructions from God, and this meant he had to keep going back to Him like a slave to his master for more information.
He never knew where he was going when he left the land of the Chaldeans. He let go of his ego and trusted God and left everything behind for the unknown land.
Whenever we are stuck with ourselves, we should be careful of the voices we listen to. The Bible says we should test the spirits to see whether they are from God (1 John 4:16).
We also know that God did not send Christ Jesus to condemn the world but to save it through Him (John 3:17).
If you have thoughts that condemn you, those thoughts are not from the Lord. For our God is a loving compassionate Father, who calls us to Himself as His children.
In this time of separation, we need to guard our minds and nothing protects us better than prayer, regular reading and meditation on the Word of God; trusting that God has a plan for you and your family, a plan not to harm you but to give you a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).
Through the following scriptures, let us learn how to rely on the faithfulness of God.
Philippians 4:6-9
“Do not be anxious about anything but through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, make your requests known unto God. And the peace of God that transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable- if anything is excellent or praise worthy- think about such things. Whatever you have heard from me, or seen in me- put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”
2 Corinthians 10:3-6
“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.”
Ephesians 6:10-13
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore, put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything to stand.”
Romans 8:28
“And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”
The writer is the lead pastor at House of Revival Church, Kisaasi.
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