Don't Just Cry About It; Decree It!
When life feels like a storm that won't stop, and the world is crashing around you, the time of darkness is not the time to quit. It is a time to arise and believe.
Come nearer and let me speak to you as a close friend, a younger sister, and an elder brother. If you are reading this, you are probably between your twenties and thirties. And in this time of your life, there are some common troubles and temptations that threaten to defeat you.
Yet, none of these perils should make you doubt your place in God.
Your house rent is too much for you to handle? Or you are thinking about moving out of your present accommodation but can’t just afford to do so?
Lately, your salary can hardly last you for the three weeks before you get the next alert? And you are struggling to give to your parents, get some necessary things for yourself, or even give to God’s work though your heart desires to contribute something too?
You feel you are a person full of love to give, and you have taken all the steps that were advised by relationship counsellors. But still, you can’t seem to find your own true love? And marriage seems like a destination that you may never arrive at?
Whatever your lot, God keeps whispering: “You are still Mine.” In Romans 8:33, Scripture says, “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect?” That verse means that your delays do not define your identity, and your current season is not your final definition.
The year started with a charge to set goals and take bold steps, so you have applied for twenty jobs already since this year began, and not even one company responded to your application? You have began to ask yourself if it is God’s will to keep managing this present place of work?
The health issue that you shared testimony about two years ago is slowly creeping back to afflict your body and mind? And you are now beginning to wonder if you will ever be truly free of this affliction?
Do you feel bound to a recurring sin, and the yoke is very heavy upon you despite your fasting and praying? And though you have sought salvation with tears, it seems elusive to you?
Are you at the edge of giving up, calling it quits, and just resigning to the fate of the devil? And you are just coming to church to cover up the disappointment and sorrow that weighs heavily upon your heart? Or maybe you have even stopped joining our services as you seek for ‘another solution’?
Are you presently tossed to and fro the raging sea, and it seems this is the end?
When the year started, you were motivated and full of vision. But right now, you keep wondering why your life is not moving as fast as everyone else’s seems to be. Your classmates are getting married; a friend just moved to a better apartment; your colleague has relocated abroad; and a junior just launched a business that is really “thriving.” But you? You are praying, trying, working, and fighting discouragement.
As these storms rage fiercely at you, and the whirlwind threaten to take your soul, can you take a moment to quiet your mind, detach yourself from the reality of these challenges, sit alone with your God, and have a deep personal conversation with the Almighty about where you are and what is happening to you?
Find a time to speak to God personally and honestly, “Lord, did You forget about me?” You may even shed a tear or two as you speak to your Heavenly Father and ask Him as Christ did on the cross “Hast thou forsaken me?”
But just as Christ eventually declared, let your prayers also include: “Lord, into your hands I commend my spirit.” Put your life in God’s hands, and let your faith in Him be as strong as ever. Let not your trust in God be ever broken, don’t you ever think that he does not hear you, never allow the devil deceive you into thinking that you will never rise again, and since you are not Jesus Christ, be rest assured that this challenge will not take your life.
What followed Calvary was Christ’s emergence from the tomb, and the glory of His resurrection erased every memory of His sorrow. And so shall it be for you. In three days, this storm will pass, the darkness will give way to everlasting light, and you will rise again in the beauty of God’s glory.
So, as you pray, let this truth bring you comfort and steady your soul: I am God’s elect. You are not God’s elect because everything is working out for you, you are God’s elected because God chose YOU. 1 Peter 2:9 says that “you are a chosen generation,” not a confused generation, an abandoned generation, or a failed generation. No; you are an elected, chosen generation, and a royal priesthood!
The time of darkness is not the time to isolate one’s self. Rather, it is a time to listen to voices that will calm your fears and lead you through the dark room into God’s marvelous light. So, please, don’t stay away from church. Stay accountable to God and be a true disciple. Stay connected to people who remind you of God’s promises when you forget them.
Tell God Everything. Tell God when you are tired, tell Him when you are scared, tell Him when you are confused. You will only be able to renew your strength if you “wait on the Lord.”
Spend time daily reminding yourself who you are in Christ. Speak it. Write it. Pray it. Declare it! Constantly hold on to God’s promise to you. “Thou shall decree a thing and it shall be established. And the light shall shine upon your path.” “For the thoughts I have for you are thoughts of peace, and not of evil to bring you an expected end.” “And thou shalt prosper and be in health even as your soul prospers.”
FIND YOUR VERSE, PRESENT IT TO GOD, HOLD ON TO IT, AND DECREE IT.
Let me leave you with this: If you still desire God, if you still care about growing in Christ, if you still feel conviction when you disobey, if you still return to Him after every struggle, that is proof that GOD has not left you.
You are God’s elect. Lift your head again. Trust again. Pray again. Believe again.
God loves YOU still.