For last couple of weeks, we are charged up with so many exciting things happening. Brother Anilkant from Mumbai visited us for a worship event – YESHU BHAKTI SANDHYA. Lovely man of God with humility and joy of the Lord in him and anointed with awesome gift of engaging people in worship using his music and singing talent. This was a time of learning and sheer excitement as we worshipped our Lord in joy with dancing and singing.
As he left, pastor uncle (Peter Kuruvilla) joined us and the blessings have continued to flow. We heard his testimony of coming in faith from Catholic background and then how God has trained him for his service during his youth through his submission and suffering. This was an encouragement to our young lives.
However, One thing what God was talking through both of them was – Make God your Lord in every way!
Lord is the one who is above all, whose word and command is above all our pleasure or displeasure, we cannot do anything but submit to the Lord, we cannot question him, we know that ALL that he does is perfect, we are bound to give up all our appointments, plannings, choices and all that seems important when the Lord demands, it may be our needs, desires, hopes, future, present, family, job, talent, knowledge, body, thoughts, ideas or whatever you can name.
Instead of our boss, employer, career, name, fame, talent and our desires, let God be supreme in our lives, let him be our Lord.
Pastor Anilkant gave an example of making bread. We can do all things but without a hot tawa, it is not possible to make chapati (bread). Moreover, insects and flies cannot come near this hot tawa because it knows that if it touched the hot surface, that would be the end of it. We can do all things but without burning faith in God through Christ, we are useless and cannot please God (Hebrews 11:6). While if we have burning faith, not only can we live the abundant life that Jesus promised, but even Satan cannot dare to touch us.
This can happen and is possible only if we make our creator God our Lord in every way. Not just giving him a corner in our lives and living rest of the life in our own way but giving him total lordship over our lives.
Pastor Peter a week later came to us with the same message – make Jesus the Lord of your life, in every way. He quoted from Psalm 23:
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want… – [Psalm 23:1]
and, then he suggested – if Lord is my shepherd then the same shepherd should be my Lord as well. Why to keep an outlook of only seeking blessings and not make him Lord. If he is our provider then we are focused on provision, but if we make our Jehowa Jireh as our Lord, we are focused on his glory.
During his Sunday message in Dubai, he still persisted on the same theme. This time it was backed up with another scripture message (Luke 5:1-11) about calling of the first disciples. The verse on which pastor dwelled was verse 11:
So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him. – [Luke 5:11]
I never read this verse in the way uncle explained. Professional fisherman Peter and his team worked for the whole night and found no fish. It was utterly shameful for such experts to be not able to catch one fish in the whole night which is the best time for catching fish. As Jesus came to Peter and asked him to take his boat in the water again, he diligently followed and caught enormous amount of fishes that they could not even carry. The normal teaching here is about obedience and we all understand that.
However, the teaching uncle brought was from the next verse (11). Normally, Peter should be very pleased to have the blessing and should have gone to market and sell the fishes and praise God for his provision. He could even give testimonies in synagogues praising God for such a blessing. We would do this. Right? Peter did not do this. They pulled their boats up on shore, LEFT EVERYTHING (the recently caught fishes) and followed Jesus.
It is an encouragement to all of us to be focused on God rather than his provisions.
Lets confess today before God that we somehow did not give total lordship to God in our lives. We allowed him in several sections of our lives probably, but God deserves all. If we give him the driving seat, we can sit and relax in his rest through our faithful obedience and his mercies. Lets pray:
God, we thank you for opening our eyes to see this attitude in our lives. Today we confess that have not trusted you completely in several circumstances and have not given you complete lordship in various parts of our lives. Lord forgive our this sin and fill us with the power of your Holy Spirit so that we can live obediently following you in love and faith. Please be our Lord and take complete control. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.