THE SILENT TEARS

in Spirituality By Mccuon on 21 Jan 2017

The life of God’s sons is peculiar and He puts on their way a variety of things to handle and among them is, AWAITED GLORY. In fact the Bible tells us that the creation is groaning awaiting the revelation of the Sons of God and on the other hand these sons as Paul said, they groan each day not that they be unclothed but that they be further clothed.

It is in the nature of God to pre-empt or to shed some light about the future to His People so that He may: Enable a clearer focus towards some particular direction, enable reliability on Him as the source of all things and give hope to bind up in such a way that the servant of God may be equipped for greater things.

There is a great challenge there whose result is Tears and a call for Patience. This is in view of a great future promised which looks inconsistent with the present situation one is in. Let us reflect on a few examples and learn from the same:

• Abraham, the friend of God had faithfully paid the cost and at the point of His call, God promised to bless Him and multiply Him. It never stopped at that for at each stage he would encounter God, angels and altars- God would keep promising him greater things.

God made it so clear that he was a FATHER OF MANY NATIONS yet for 25 years after the call, he remained childless. He had great things spoken of him, he had received the blessing from the High Priest, Melchizedek but he still had the period of silent tears. The Bible says that it was reckoned to him as righteousness for though his body was dead he believed God.

• Jacob had slept the night he went forth from his father’s house at a place where God was and he saw a vision whereby angels descended and ascended on a ladder and God revealed Himself to Jacob that night and based on such a great start, you would expect great things and favor as he went to pick a wife. However, it took 20 years before he came to Bethel again with a company of peoples. He had been mishandled by Laban though faithful in his jobs and while yet he had known what the God of Bethel had in store for him. It was a call for humility and patience.

• Joseph-the dreamer- as they called him understood what the God of His fathers had promised him and joyfully and enthusiastically shared about the same with his family who were not pleased at all. He ended up being sold as a slave in Egypt; his feet fastened with fetters and his neck hurt by a collar and as if that was not enough, within the land of His greatness, Joseph stayed in prison for several years in the name of being a rapist…this is the period of silent tears. He served faithfully at whatever task that came his way.

• David is yet another person who had such a moment of silent tears. He had witnessed great favor when God ordered Samuel-ARISE AND ANOINT- and indeed the oil never flowed on any of His deserving brother’s heads but his. But since the time he was anointed to the time he became king and was accepted by the people there were years of pain. He served faithfully in the army and attended to the personal needs of his selfish predecessor and fought great battles. His intentional faithful service and selfless love for Saul and his family made him to be ushered into that glorious promised end. He had to humble himself and though he knew that he was the anointed king, he had to stay under the harsh tutelage of King Saul.

• Jesus Christ humbled Himself and allowed himself to be contained in flesh. God gave Him a bitter cup of suffering and made Him sin, him who knew no sin and not for His good but for us to be accounted righteous. Isaiah says that by His righteousness my servant, shall He make many to be accounted as righteous. Christ suffered the most humiliating death from those He came to save.

When asked a question about His greatness, He was silent. But in prayer to the Father, He mentions the deeper need to get back to the glory that they shared with the Father. He needed to be faithful and deny Himself.

• Simon son of John was called by Jesus who gave him the name Peter to mean a rock yet he was always shiftless and unstable; today willing to die with Jesus, tomorrow ever denying that he knew Jesus. That is to reveal the fact that Jesus spoke into his life the great person he was not and the very person he had to be made into. It’s a process of follow me and I will make you…

For all the above characters, following the Lord was what qualified them to inherit those great promises that God faithfully gave them. Abraham was instructed to leave his kindred and go into the unknown land he was to be shown as he faithfully followed the Lord.

All of them were separate from their people so as to solely depend upon the Lord. In Genesis 49, Israel blessed Joseph, he that was separate from his brothers. For us in the book of Revelation, the great reward is for those who follow the Lamb closely wherever He goes.

The Lord, our Father mentions that He had already predestined work for us to do long before the foundations of the earth were laid.

It takes patience for you to know the greatness within you before it is actualized on earth and yet deny it for a greater cause and let it be trampled upon for the sake of working out patience and other virtues within us to be able to handle that which is to come.

It is only vital for a work that goes beyond one generation just like in the examples above which involved fathers of nations and preservers of generations.

Prayer:

Lord, I worship You for indeed You are wise and all-knowing and you know the why’s  of my life.  May You  grant me strength each day to delight in doing Your will and afterwards receive what is promised. Grant me the sufficient grace to deny myself each day and to walk in your predestined perfect will for my life in the Name of Jesus Christ. I bless Your Holy Name, in Jesus Name I pray, Amen.

By BRENDA MAINA