Why God's things may seem not to work

Photo got from here 

As a teenager, I was fond  of concocting all kinds of things. I loved a good skincare or hair DIY (Yes, I mean do-It-yourself, you know those things?). This particular one was to be made of the usual home kitchen ingredients (though I don't really remember which specific ones exactly) and was to be kept, well covered for two weeks.

Almost every day I held the bottle containing my mixture, excitedly fantasizing about the end result, and how amazing the outcome would be. I don't clearly remember if this was a skincare or a hair DIY, but all I remember is that on day 15, I was seated in the sitting room at home with my mum and sisters when I exultantly started to open the bottle. The next thing I heard was a loud, bullet-like bang as the bottle top flew off to the roof while all my sisters fled the room.

I can't forget the disappointed look that my mother gave me as she said in the middle of a heavy sigh, "You almost killed me! If I had a heart problem, I would  be dead by now."

I felt so sad. My family being mad at me was bad, not to mention the sorrow of being unable to get the highly-expected cool result that was added to my sadness.

I never mixed any explosives in the bottle, just the normal kitchen items. That DIY video instructor I watched on YouTube didn't mention anything about explosive results. I wondered what went wrong.

At this point we could say that the DIY video instructions didn't work, or that the instructor was a liar.

However, later on I got to learn that one of my sisters, out of curiosity, had opened the bottle some time during the two weeks, yet my guidelines had been clear, "Keep the bottle closed till day 15."

God's things may seem not to work because:

We keep on leaving His path and coming back and leaving again.

The truth still stands that God's ways are not our ways. Most of us tend to come on and off God's track, we follow God's way and when it starts to get uncomfortable, unfamiliar and risky, we get off the track and start following our own wisdom and understanding. 

When we choose to follow God's way of doing anything, we need to be ready to stick with Him till the very end. And, just it is important for us to acknowledge that "the end" is not determined by us or how we might feel along the way; "the end" is ultimately determined by God because it's his way.

Because His ways are scary sometimes, 

Sometimes the most scary part of doing things God's way is risking everything that logic has to offer and not knowing certainly what is on the other side. You risk everything plan B (logic) has to offer for plan A (God's way), not clearly knowing what it has to offer, but simply because you trust the instructor (God).

Why are His ways scary sometimes?

1 Corinthians 2:9 

That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him."

The above is one of my favorite Bible verses because God is promising that he has prepared extraordinarily new things for me. But when you come to think about it, there is no way he is going to do things no one has seen or heard for me through ways that people already know of and are comfortable with.

So, while I love the extraordinary things God has for me, underneath it requires me to constantly obey and follow extraordinary paths that are often risky and uncomfortable, because no mind has imagined these things before. And it so happens that only very few minds will support you through that kind of path.

Whenever I feel like am running out of faith to stick to God's path, I tend to ask myself which part Isaiah 55:8-9 didn't I understand.

Isaiah 55:8-9

For my thoughts [are] not your thoughts, neither [are] your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For [as] the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Please hold onto your integrity even when it's clear that at your place of work no one gets successful while doing things God's way; Even when they say you can't graduate if you don't ever cheat during examinations; Even when certain things are acceptable in your Christian circles but you know what God 's word has told you about such things.

Please hang in there and know that his ways, which are not our ways, will always produce extraordinary results.

Sometimes it may feel like you are moving backwards, sometimes as though you are lagging behind among your peers, as if your life is generally stagnant; just keep making the next step, provided it's in the right direction.

If you can logically figure it out, then get ready for average results. The challenge is that God is a supernatural God who loves doing extraordinary things, which he can do if his people follow his unusual, seemingly uncomfortable ways.

Dear Holy Spirit, please give us the grace to keep moving ahead, one foot at time in the right direction. It is not easy most of the time, but we know we can do it through you.

Amen.

Blessed Wednesday lovely people!

Thank you