Ecclesiastes 11:4
(NIV)
4 Whoever
watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.
Relying on spiritual
weather forecast limits God’s work in us and through us. Are you following a
weather forecast to stay attuned as to what to wear and what to do on each day?
God told in His word clearly that if we do that we would miss out on His work.
Obviously here He is referring to our spiritual faith. When we look at the
“wind” of our circumstances and the causes of it, it prevents us from taking
chances and trust the Lord would guide us; it kills any concept of faith.
Nobody can trust the Lord if relying on one’s strength and visible
capabilities. In other words, God is saying that it’s futile to even try
understanding your circumstances or try to avoid/change them on your own. It
also prevents us from “stepping out of the boat to walk on water” like Peter
did when he saw Jesus because without faith we are not capable to take risks
(Matthew 14:22-33).
If I would only
look at what I see, I would never be able to believe that God is capable to
change my circumstances, and if I would expect the “spiritual rain of victory”,
I would not be able to see those “clouds” because God does a miracle when the
situation is impossible. If I choose to only believe God when I can rationalize
the outcome, I limit His work.
In Hebrews 11:6
(NKJV) God made it a very clear point that, as believers, we must have four
requirements in order to please God:
6 But without
faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that
He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
These four
requirements are:
- We must have faith
in order to please God
- We must believe
that God is; that God exists
- We must seek God
diligently
- We must believe that
God rewards fairly for our faith/our seeking Him diligently
Without these four
main things the life of a believer is futile and cannot be pleasing to the Lord. When
we prioritize our lives around these main points, the desire to watch for
“weather forecast” becomes irrelevant and unnecessary because we trust the Lord
completely to sustain us and to guide us.
Each day for me
becomes harder and harder because I don’t have a timeline as to when God would
complete what He started. Each day is more like a week, and each week is more
like a year. I pray more and more, but I get weary from endless waiting. In the
past few days God started to ponder on me about my faith yet again. I have to
stop looking for the signs and symptoms of the situation and trust the Lord
would complete what He started in His due time.
Today my husband
sent me a text message letting me know that he is going back to the church
where he’s been going to where incorrect teaching is preached, and although I
was devastated, but I also realized that God has a plan for everything, and He
still holds everything under His control. I emphasize that He holds it under
His control and not under my control. I remember the days last year when I
tried to play "god" and manipulate my situations to bring my husband to God, but
it never worked because it wasn’t God who was doing this, but it was me who was
doing it. I was trying to watch for the wind in order to have the appropriate
response ready for my husband, and it failed every single time. If I would have
had strong faith back then, I would have given him up to God back then, but I didn’t;
I kept on pursuing my own agenda thinking that I was doing God’s work.
By following on my
own plans, I was blocking the existence of God in my life because if I trusted
that He existed, I would have trusted that He holds everything in His hand. This is
the circle of Faith that God is willing for us to understand and know with
whole heart. If I believe that God exists, and I seek Him diligently, I will
have faith to trust Him; I will also trust that God is fair and He rewards
according to His love. I would not worry about the weather and its impact on
the harvest because my trust would be in the Lord.
Do you trust the
Lord with your circumstances or do you try to resolve your problems yourself?
God has called us- His children to believe in Him, and Him doing the impossible
when the impossible is due. I urge you to put all your doubts and concerns to
His feet and surrender to Him. He will show you the greatest harvest you have
ever dreamed of if you would submit to Him with your whole heart. Have faith
and believe that God is the One who orchestrates the winds, gives the rain, and
saves us from spiritual and physical famine and drought.
This is the
hardest part of my heart to have faith that God is faithful to reward me for my
faith and surrendering to Him. I have been working very hard by praying and
fasting and praying some more about my impossible circumstances and I doubted
God that He would judge fairly. Not to trust that He rewards fairly is the same
thing as not believing that He will judge fairly, so I had to repent. This
brought me to specific step that I had to commit myself in doing- to stop
boasting about the things I sacrificed or did for the sake of my family. If I
trust the Lord rewards fairly, I would not have a need to boast about the
things that I’ve done. What’s more, if the circumstances are unresolved, that
means there is always room for improvement and for me to do more sacrificing.
To believe that
God rewards for those who seek Him diligently means not to watch what your
right hand does because it eliminates any expectation to receive reward from
people. God said in Matthew 6:3-4 (NIV):
3 But when
you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is
doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees
what is done in secret, will reward you.
Although this
scripture mostly is applied to the financial offerings/material giving, I will
take a step further and will apply it to contributions that we make in
relationships. If I sacrifice things for my family, I shouldn’t expect to get
recognition for that because I would eliminate my reward from the Lord.
I tie this
scripture to the definition of Love by Paul in Corinthians 13:4 (NIV):
4 Love is
patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
God’s love doesn’t
boast, and this is one of the arguments that me and my husband always end up
with; he tells me all these things that he’s been doing, and I tell him in
return what I’ve been doing, and in the end no resolution but more arguing.
This is the specific area that God showed me I needed to stop. The next time,
this deadly circle would start, I would keep silent if necessary, but I will
not give in to boasting.
If you think that
you have issues with any of these main four components, you can pray for God to
show you what could be done specifically, just like God showed me how to stop
boasting to seek justice. In the end I have to surrender to God to have faith
that He is fair, and He will reward those who diligently seek Him.
I come to You, Lord,
and I ask You to teach me to rely on You even when I doubt or try to solve
things on my own. Lord, I ask You to strengthen my faith and to make it as
strong as a tree that grows by the water. Thank you, Father, for being so
faithful and patient with me even when I feel hopeless and helpless. You pick
me up and strengthen me in Your word. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen.
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