Establish Your Thoughts, God Is Sovereign And He Will Judge Everything We Do.

ARE WE THE MAKERS OF OUR OWN FUTURE? CAN WE DO ANYTHING THAT WE WANT? IS ANYTHING POSSIBLE FOR ANYONE TO ACHIVE?

CHILDREN IN SCHOOL ARE TOLD THAT THEY CAN DO AND BECOME ANYTHING THEY WANT TO BE, THE SKY IS THE LIMIT, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME HAVING FUN. COUNTRY LEADERS TELL THEM THAT THEY WILL PROVIDE EVERYTHING THEY NEED TO BE HAPPY. A NEW WORLD IN WHICH EVERYONE CAN HAVE ANYTHING THEY WANT. NOT MUCH TIME PASSES WHEN YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN REALIZE THAT, NOTHING THEY HAVE BEEN TOLD IN SCHOOL IS TRUE. AND SOON, THEY WILL FIND OUT THAT THE POLITICAL LEADERS SAY ANYTHING REQUIRED TO GET INTO POWER, AND THAT ONCE IN POWER, NOTHING THEY PROMISED WILL COME TRUE.

PROVERBS 16 NEW KING JAMES VERSION (NKJV)

WISDOM IS BETTER THAN GOLD

16 The preparations[a] of the heart belong to man, But the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.

2 All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, But the Lord weighs the spirits.

3 Commit[b] your works to the Lord, And your thoughts will be established.

1. God is sovereign

2. God is judge

3. God affirms the character of those who submit to Him.

What then, should we work hard for anything? It seems futile. People less capable are more successful. People less noble are more revered. Who is controlling the levers of power? Who determines the outcome of things? It seems that no matter how hard you work, you cannot get ahead, why?

Despite the fact that all seems to be chaotic. The word of the Lord tells us that there is a sovereign God that judges the actions of every man and woman, and that those that honor Him are guided by Him to fulfill God’s will in them.

This concept is complex in itself. Only those who wait on Him, submit to God, honor Him, obey Him and have Him as the Master of their lives, understand their place within the society they live in and the duty they are to perform for the glory of God.

Joseph was a man of sorrows. Rejected by his brothers, sold as a slave while being saved from death, served as a slave and in doing so was unjustly placed in prison. All of this while at the same time being blessed from God with the preference of his father, a gift of dreams and interpretation of dreams. The Lord had chosen Him for a particular purpose and set Joseph’s heart to live pure and faithfully for God in the midst of betrayal, hate, injustice and worldliness. He moved through chaos with strength, single mindedness and filled with hope. God harnessed his character through fire and did not allowed him to break or be broken.

When the time was right, God brougth him out of prison and into success. His character was of such quality that Joseph could handle the rigors of leadership and the benefits of authority. At that moment, his brothers and father, at the brink of starvation, are saved by him into Egypt. This is not done for Joseph’s redemption or for his vengeance, nor for the humiliation or reprimand of his brothers and father. But all of this is done for God’s glory, the survival of the seed of Abraham, the seed of the promised Saviour of the World, the coming of the millennial King.

Yes, Joseph was vindicated and exulted, but this was not the purpose of Joseph’s life. Joseph’s strength of character served for the glory of God. Proverbs 16: 1-3 tells us this briefly. God is sovereign, God judges the actions of everyone within humanity and only those that live for God will understand their role within their society. Joseph was not born to be a regent in Egypt. He was born to honor God in his life so that God could use him for His divine purpose. The whole process meant being rejected, suffering injustice, using God’s given gifts, waiting patiently, living holy and rising to vice regent of Egypt. Had anyone being told this was our life, he or she would have said: no thank you. All I want is to live an uncomplicated life, with money and fame and without drama. But at the same time, we would have lived, what everyone knows is the life of everyone, unfulfilled and disappointing.

None of God’s men and women live unfulfilled and disappointing lives, no matter what their role in life is. John the Baptist was called to be an austere prophet in the wilderness. And although John captured the attention of his people, his end was less than rewarding. He was imprisoned and decapitated. Jesus called him the greatest prophet of all but did not save him from death. John only wanted to know if he had fulfilled the role that God had asked. Jesus sent word to him and said: the gospel is being preached and miracles like never before were being performed. We are not told that he died denying his faith. John the Baptist did not achieve his glory or the glory that all men want. John lived for the glory of God.

God established John the Baptist’s thoughts to the point that he could face his captors and a violent death with confidence. This has been the trait of every one of the men and women of God: all the apostles, except John, died a violent death, many of the disciples of Christ in the early church suffered all kinds of indignities: imprisonment, poverty, slavery, beatings and even martyrdom. And all of them had their thoughts established by God to shine as bright as God willed in the midst of a world of hate and persecution.

I would like to be as strong as these, and although today seems to be a different era, in places like China, the middle east and India, Christians need to be of such character. They are being persecuted, jailed, dispossessed of property and wealth, enslaved, sold into prostitution and some are killed in horrendous ways. If they can be strong now, we can be strong as well. All we must do is recognize that God is sovereign, he determines our beginning and our end. Thank you, Lord for the call you have placed on me and I will honor it as you will, must be our response. And our practice must be the daily obedience to God’s call.

God is the judge of all we do. Let us therefore do the will of the Lord. We will be judged obedient and gained the pleasure of God. We hardly can please anyone in this world, least of all ourselves. But those who please the Lord find complete and absolute pleasure. Many spend a life time of pleasure only to determined that it has all being in vain: authors, artists, actors, men and women of the world of entertainment, business and politics, some of which live suicidal lives that bring about their untimely death, they go from marriage to various unsavory relationships, to drugs and crime and others just commit suicide: Robin Williams, Anthony Bourdain, Kate Spade, Marilyn Monroe, etc.

Those who live for God develop a character similar to a warrior. God establishes their thoughts and they cannot be persuaded to turn back or give up. Love the Lord and your thoughts will be established,

9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1: 9.