Your Joker May be in The Desert
Today, we shall consider Luke 9:10-17. The Apostles had just returned from an eventful preaching tour and as they were recounting their experiences to Jesus Christ, people kept coming and going such that they had no time to eat or rest. And being mindful of their plight, Jesus led them to a desert place for respite all to no avail. At that point, He had no choice than to address, heal and feed the people (5000 of them excluding women and children). He did this with five loaves and two fishes only.
A typical desert is a huge expanse of barren land where most things including food and water are scarce. Its weather is at the extreme that is; very hot during the day and very cold at night. And being environmentally unfriendly, not too many species of plants and animals do well in it. Furthermore, security to lives and properties is a major concern. These and other issues make survival in deserts a big deal. However, not everything about them is horrible. For example, buried deep in their bowels are vast deposits of mineral resources such as Petroleum and Gas, Gold, Precious Stones, Uranium etc. These are what I call ‘Jokers in the deserts’. And a lot of them have been exploited to turn some deserts into paradise on earth.
Figuratively speaking, ‘desert situations’ can occur in people’s lives. These are agonizing situations that makes their existence difficult. Examples include war, natural disasters, joblessness, debt, poverty, hunger, ill health, lack of progress, lack of significant assistance, dearth of ideas and silence from God. If any of these is troubling you, then you need a ‘joker’ to bail you out but you have to locate it first!
The disciples first located the ‘jokers’ within their reach i.e. five loaves and two fishes before handling them over to Jesus. After that, He caused them to multiply greatly and then used them to eliminate the peoples’ most pressing ‘desert situation’ which was hunger.
Friend, let me congratulate you if there is no ‘desert situation’ in your life at the moment. But if there is any, please get rid of it very quickly with whatever ‘joker(s)’ you have. Thank God that He deposited many of them into us right from the word go. And if you utilize yours properly, they will turn your ‘desert situation(s)’ into a life changing experience (2 Kings 4:1-7).
Friend, what stands you out in the public? What do you have that others don’t? What are your unique characteristics? What are the things that you do with absolute ease? These are the ‘jokers’ that you can harness to eradicate your ‘desert situation(s)’. Please hand them over to Jesus Christ as did the disciples and He will multiply them greatly and use them to give you the clean break that you deserve (John 8:36). Please act wisely and act now!
Finally, please note that the most amazing ‘joker’ available to all for combating life’s ‘desert situations’ is the Name of Jesus (John 16:23-24, Mark 16: 17-18). Nevertheless, it can only work for you if you have accepted Him into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour that is, if you are born again. If you are, good but if you are not, do so today. After that, you can boldly utilize His powerful name with incredible results (Roman 10:13). Amen.
Jesus is Lord!
Categories: Mind of Christ Tags: Desert, Desert Situation, Jokers, Talents
Use Your Rod Wisely
In Exodus chapter 4, God instructed Moses to liberate the Israelites from bondage in Egypt. From all indications, nothing qualified Moses for this big task. He was not rich, his background was not great, he was not fluent in speech and he was even a fugitive. The only thing that stood him out in the crowd was his ordinary shepherd rod, which was nothing to write home about anyway. However it was transformed from ordinary to extraordinary just because he allowed God to control its use and it became the chief weapon used to liberate the Israelites. As a reward, God backed him up through out the remaining part of his life such that he recorded many unbelievable achievements for which he is revered till today.
Figuratively speaking, anything that stands you out in the crowd is your ‘rod’. It could be your position, wealth, background, power, education, beauty, physique, youthfulness, eloquence, etc. If you allow God to control its use to His glory and for the benefit of mankind, it will become extraordinary. Moses would have probably died unrecognized and unsung if he had not used his rod for the benefit of his people as directed by God.
Friend, God is looking for people to lift up in this age and time and I believe you are one of them-please give Him a chance. Position yourself rightly by first using your ‘rod’ to put smile on the face of at least one person this month. There are many widows, orphans, aged, poor, sick, needy, charity based organizations and institutions out there waiting for your help. Please help them! You don’t have to be a millionaire before you reach out to the vulnerable members of the society and the good news is that God will definitely reward you beyond your expectation (Mathews 25:34-40). May you not lose your reward and may it be full in Jesus name. Amen.
Finally, let me use this opportunity to commit you into God’s hands and may you be divinely lifted up throughout this month and beyond in Jesus name. Amen.
Jesus is Lord!
Categories: Mind of Christ Tags: Divine Lifting Up, God, Help, Helper, Service, Talents