In a conversation with my husband over world affairs, the gravity of the future becoming unrecognizable as society the way we know it has provoked some interesting thoughts.
We look at the ugliness of the horrific events prophesied in end times and see them becoming a reality, ie: the pandemic, riots, discord, impending socialism which leads to communism, capitalist greed, evil becoming more prevalent, etc… and there is no middle ground that will solve it. There is no meeting of the minds to save the world, not the conservative right or the liberal left nor anything in between.
“The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of the heart to all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord…” (Psalm 33:10-12) ESV
Because, if God’s prophets are genuine and true, all this will and must happen before Jesus comes to save the world. Yes, only Jesus saves! He has promised and we believe by faith that he is coming soon. Yet, the world battles for sovereignty and control. But only God is sovereign! And He uses problems as part of His sovereign purpose.
“Remember the former things, those of long ago: I am God and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’” (Isaiah 46:10)
In spite of all of the chaos we are experiencing, Christians shouldn’t fret because we know how the story ends. (Check out the book of Revelation) Most Christ followers realize that the aggravation of political arguments and hostile debates are not worth engaging in because it is all part of God’s plan, and in doing so, we can easily ruin our witness for Jesus. However, we do fret over our personal problems and those of our loved ones. Can we not see that our individual lives are just a microcosm of society as a whole? We battle for sovereignty in our own lives when only God is sovereign and we fail to understand how God uses our problems to turn our hearts back to Him.
Stress and anxiety is heightened today due to all of the chaos. They affect us emotionally by causing depression, despair, sorrow and heartache. This pandemic has brought on increased use of recreational drugs and alcohol abuse as a means of coping with these feelings, instead of depending on God. This affects us spiritually by undermining our trust in God, leaving us to rely on ourselves to solve our problems. And eventually this leads to physical illness.The root of problems like anxiety, stress, addiction, health issues and relationship issues are caused by sin. It may or may not be your personal sin. It could be the effects of someone else’s sin, or it may be the effects of living in a broken sinful world.
Studies have shown that many illnesses begin in the gut, and are a result of anxiety, stress, anger, hostility, bitterness, addictions to food or alcohol, etc… Some of these emotions are caused by personal choices, others by genetic predispositions to things like alcohol and drugs, and still others are the effects of the negative circumstances surrounding them.
All of those negative emotions I mentioned above harm our body. Not one of them existed before sin came into the world in the garden of Eden. However, Sovereign God had a plan to save the world from the effects of sin on the human condition. God uses our sins, (failures, heartaches, mistakes, pride, etc…) to bring us into His sovereign plan to save us.
The Bible has many stories that show how God has used flawed people to accomplish His plan of salvation. For example: Abraham and Issac were both liars, Jacob was a deceiver, Moses was a murderer, David was an adulterer. Yet, God chose to make a covenant with each of them. Their sin caused many problems in their life, but God redeemed them from them all. The point is that all of Bible history is merely a foreshadowing of the ultimate plan God had set in place to save the world.
Jesus Christ was God’s own son (the second person of the trinity, the three in one Godhead) sent from heaven to bring good news to a lost and broken world. The Bible says, that He that knew no sin, became sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21) Sinless God took on the sin of the world to save it!
God knew exactly when He would send the Savior. His word illustrates to man that without the shedding of blood, there could be no forgiveness of sin. This was portrayed through sacrificial system in the Mosaic covenant. It was a foreshadowing of Jesus being the final sacrifice on the cross, that would one day cover the sins of the world, should people choose to believe, and put their faith and trust in Him.
We were created by Sovereign God with free will to choose to live according to His word or to follow our own desires. If our choice is the latter, Satan, the god of this world is permitted to oppress us with lies. Believing the lies of the devil brings affliction. These lies can cause us to question God’s sovereignty and maybe even turn away from Him. But God, who is rich in mercy, allows our affliction in order to demonstrate His great love and compassion when we turn back to Him.
We must realize that our problems are part of the plan, God’s loving, compassionate plan of salvation. That plan comes with a promise of healing and freedom for those held captive by sin. This is the only way we can truly be free from the stronghold of Satan in our life.
“Therefore… let us lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith…” Hebrews 12:1b-2a ESV
However, it is a life-long spiritual battle! And when we take our eyes off of the natural realm and put them on God’s supernatural realm where this battle exists, we are promised victory through Jesus. We must remember that the battle belongs to the Lord, and we are just spectators and supporters of His plan.
“I know the plans I have for you, not to ham you, plans to give you a hope and a future…when you seek me with all of your heart, I will be found.” (Jeremiah 29:11,13) ESV
“My grace is sufficient for you; for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9) NIV
Yes, Jesus saves! He saves us from the eternal pit, he will save us from this dying world and he saves us from ourselves. He uses our problems to do so in order for His power to be made perfect in us. When we fully grasp this promise, we will be able to truly rejoice in our trials. And so we are further encouraged by His word:
“Were not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18) MSG
Oh how I pray that we would allow our weary hearts and minds to be encouraged and lifted up by the power of the Word and walk victoriously in this wicked world for the glory of God. I ask this in Jesus. Name. Amen.
Beauty Problems
So if health problems tie into Gods plan for salvation what about beauty problems, like our hair, skin, makeup and body? These all fall into the category of vanity, which can be sinful, if it takes on more importance than God in our life. It can easily become the sin of idolatry.
The devil gets a foothold into your mind when you exalt your self, allowing lusts and desires to take on a higher priority than your spiritual life. You will end up believing his lies that you are not pretty enough, your hair is not good enough, you’re not thin enough, etc…
I have already explained how stress and anxiety affect our health, but it can cause all sorts of beauty problems. Hair loss is related to stress, wrinkles are related to stress, sullen people are often plagued by stress and walk around with a sourpuss. There is nothing pretty about that! (Remember my mother’s beauty advise on the value of a smile; funny how that keeps coming up.)
Many times beauty problems are a deeper rooted problem such as insecurity within oneself or jealousy of others. I know this sounds harsh, but it is true. I do not say this to make light of beauty issues, but rather from my own experience.
I have been recently experiencing beauty problems with my hair, growing out my Covid creation haircut. And for a hairdresser this is a problem indeed! But I recognize my own insecurity in feeling judged because of my less than usual, stellar professional appearance. (I’m still working on humility. LOL) I hear the devil’s lies in my head and constantly have to remind myself to take my thoughts captive to Jesus. Lately, I find myself creating beautiful haircuts on longer hair, feeling the sin of envy, wishing my hair would hurry up and grow. Yet, when I put my priorities in order, God is faithful to correct me and set me on level ground. I can move forward better understanding myself and the drama of beauty problems, so I can help others.
God is sovereign over everyone and everything! He knows about all of our problems, believe it or not, they are part of the plan. We just have to acknowledge His sovereignty and let Him take the lead in directing our path. As far as beauty problems go, God has inspired hairdressers, estheticians, personal trainers, makeup artists and a whole barrage of professionals to help you overcome those particular problems. Just as long as He is your first priority, everything else will fall into place and you can be satisfied. This happened to me the day I wrote this blog:
If ever there was a day I heard the devil telling me how unprofessional I looked, it was that morning. That’s because the previous night I washed my hair before going to bed and slept on it wet to keep me cool throughout the night. (Menopause is the pits) I had fully intended to style it before going to work, but I rushed out that morning without fussing with it, or even putting my make up on. After a tiring day, I found myself joyfully conversing with a very friendly employee at the supermarket. As I left he said to me, “ Have a beautiful day and take care of your beautiful hair”. WOW, this happened right after doing battle with the lies of the devil, and taking those thoughts captive to Him in obedience to His word. God once again was faithful to give me what I needed, even something as trivial as my perception of a bad hair day.
So, despite all that you are going through, search your heart, confess any sin that comes to mind, even if it is someone else’s sin that is affecting you. Repent of trying to control your life and enter into revival turning your heart to God. Messianic Rabi Jonathan Cahn had prophesied a great shaking that would come upon our nation in the year 2020 as a judgement for its sin. And so it has! But he also said that the shaking leads to revival. So you see, the problem is part of the plan.
“Delight yourself in the Lord… and He will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4) ESV
So my beautiful friends, once again I appreciate you taking the time to read my blog. I hope you found it encouraging. And I pray for each of you to be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Until next week may the Lord pour out His blessings upon each of you.
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