THE PICNIC BASKET

The Picnic Basket

God uses ordinary people extraordinarily and today I want to share about the life of one such ordinary person from the Bible, whom God used mightily to achieve something extraordinary. He was so ordinary that I don’t know his name, his genealogy or his age. I don’t know whether he had any siblings or whether he was rich or poor.  In fact I know nothing about him; I can only surmise a couple of things about him .Number 1: He probably had a healthy appetite   and Number 2: He had loving parents who provided for him.  I am talking about the little boy with the picnic basket- 5 barley loaves and 2 fish, in the story of Jesus feeding the 5000.  While this miracle is recorded in all 4 gospels, I’m picking it up from Mark 6 verses 35 – 44.

³⁵ By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late. ³⁶ Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”

It is easy to understand the mind-set of the disciples. They had been managing a crowd of about 20000 people. They were exhausted, hungry and ready to call it a day. And so they were desperately trying to persuade Jesus to send the crowd away.

Jesus however was having none of that.

³⁷ But he answered, “You give them something to eat.”  Can you imagine how shocked, the disciples would have been on hearing this statement. Feed such a huge crowd? Was Jesus serious?

They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s wages^[a]! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”

The Bible places the count of men who came to hear Jesus at 5000. In those days, however, only the men were counted, women and children were not considered whilst taking a count. Taking them also into account, the actual number of people present at that time could well have been around 15 to 20000.

I don’t know how much it would have cost to feed 15 – 20,000 people in those days.  But today If we have to feed so many people, it would be somewhere in the vicinity of Rs. 15  lakhs.  Now that’s a whopping amount of money, it’s almost more than a year’s income for many people.

³⁸ “How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.”

When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.”

I love this story because it has a lot of principles tucked away in it and today I want to share some principles that can be practically applied to our lives. So here goes…..

Principle 1: Offer what you have to Jesus.

I wonder how many among the 20000 present on that day had carried something to eat. I daresay some may have had their own lunchbox, but did not want to let go of it. In fact, if I had been in that boy’s place, I might have kept my lunch well hidden somewhere. That’s human nature, to hold on to things and never let go.

But this small boy, surprisingly gave his lunch to the disciples. It must have cost him a lot of heartache, to see his lunch walk away from him when he was hungry, yet he offered it. He might have had some misgivings on how so many people could be fed with the little that he had to offer, yet he offered it. God expects that from us. We are all blessed, some with little, some with much. But whatever we have- be it our time, talents, finances, or resources, we need to offer it willingly to Him.

Principle 2: God starts with what you offer.

We serve a mighty God who can speak things into existence, who can create something from nothing. That is God the Creator. However when He works in our life,  God always takes something that we offer and then multiplies it. Here Jesus   could have created bread from nothing, He could have created the money from nothing. He is the All Powerful One. He could have done anything. But he started with the 5 loaves and 2 fish that the little boy had offered. In II Kings chapter 4, God started with the oil that the widow had put inside the pot…. .In the case of the widow of Zarephath, he started with the flour.

Principle 3: God multiplies what you offer.

Luke 6: 38 is a powerful verse on multiplication and it says ‘Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. We generally associate this verse with finances, but it is not only for finances, it is for everything that we give. It says in the last part “For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again”. The keyword here is ‘it’; it stands for whatever we give.

In earthly multiplication, when we multiply any 2 numbers we get the Product of the 2 numbers. The product is a finite number i.e. something we can count.

But in heavenly multiplication, when something is multiplied by God, it becomes limitless, infinite.

In this case 5 loaves + 2 fish multiplied by God gave Food enough for 20000 people + 12 extra baskets of food.

Principle 4: Multiplication is in kind

Here loaves multiplied into more loaves and fish to more fish. It didn’t multiply to cakes or meat. Not that He couldn’t have done that, but we serve a systematic God, a God of order and he typically multiples in kind. If we offer Him our finances, he will multiply it and give it back to us, if we offer him our talents, he will multiply that and give it back to us.

Principle 5:  Nothing multiplies unless Jesus blesses it.

⁴¹ Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people.

Notice something interesting here? As long as they were with the boy, they were just 5 loaves and 2 fish, as long as they were with the disciples, it was only 5 loaves and 2 fish. Then Jesus gave thanks, broke the bread and handed the pieces to the disciples to distribute and as they were distributing it, it multiplied in their hands. Ditto with the fish. It continued increasing in their hands, the supply was limitless and that was incredible. They had 12 baskets left over!!! Wow!!

Principle 6: We become a channel of God’s blessings to others.

The little boy must not have imagined in his wildest dreams that the 5 barley loaves and 2 fish that he offered to Jesus, would be used to feed the multitude. He had become a channel of God’s supernatural blessings to the multitude. His offering had impacted so many people.

To conclude, we all have   barley loaves and fish in our lives that we can offer God. Handing over   our finances, our relationships, our talents, our time, our resources  to God, gives God the opportunity to multiply it and bless us and many others through us.

Many are unwilling to offer it up, fearing that there would be nothing left for them, many may think that what they have is not significant enough for God to use.

These are thoughts of insufficiency arising out of a scarcity mentality. It is a snare of the enemy by which we restrict God’s multiplication in our lives. 

We may not have much to give, but whatever we do have, we can offer it to Jesus. Even if it isn’t much, let’s offer it.  Little becomes limitless when multiplied by God.

Today, if there is any area of our lives in which we need to see a growth, a supernatural increase.  Let us offer it to God. And see the power of multiplication in our lives.

PETER AND THE REST

Thunder rolled and lightening flashed, the storm was raging,

The tiny boat shook and swayed, how long they couldn’t say.

Battered by the winds, the disciples with the oars, struggling;

Tired and weary, their Master seemed so far away.

Suddenly in the hazy darkness, on the stormy waters, a figure seemed to loom,

In wild terror shrieked out they;

Their minds sensing impending doom.

Who was this – a phantom or a ghost, come furtively to spirit them away?

“Shh, it is I. Do not be afraid” a familiar voice reassured.

Seeking to drive out their fear, ingrained deep within.

But the disciples cowered in fright, even though the Master’s voice they heard.

All, except Peter, who boldly spoke up, ignoring the din.

Eyes focused on the Lord; Obeying His Master’s call,

Into the water Peter stepped, letting go of the boat,

One step, then two, moving ahead, walking tall;
Until he shifted his gaze from Jesus and floundered; his heart leaping to his throat.

'My Lord! ‘ he cried, 'Save me! Save me!  '
Jesus caught ahold of him, 'wherefore did you doubt in your mind? '

I am with you in the storm, you see. 

I will never leave nor forsake you, let me again remind.

Am I like Peter who stepped out believing?

Eager to do as his Master bade?

Or am I like the rest, His voice not heeding;

Unable to answer, sore afraid?

Dearly beloved, let us not shift our gaze - from 'THE MASTER.'

And fix it on the stormy sea!
For in so doing – we may falter and confront disaster.
Let us look to the 'ONE' - who by His spoken word, created all things to be.

by Preetha Paul

THE DEW FACTOR

I have always associated dew with the three R’s- Refreshing, Renewing and Recharging.

While, towards evening, all foliage appears to droop, seemingly exhausted after a long day of work; in the morning, suddenly they appear refreshed and revitalized. Have you wondered why?

This happens due to the presence of the dew that falls gently on them during the night.

The appearance of dew is almost magical- We find it early in the morning sparkling like diamonds, tiny droplets of water, clinging onto the surfaces of leaves, flowers and grass.

There are many verses in the Bible about dew:
Job 29:19-20–For I am like a tree whose roots reach the water, whose branches are refreshed with the dew.

Psalm 110:3–Your vigour will be renewed each day like the morning dew.

Hosea 14:5–I will be to Israel like refreshing dew from heaven.

The comparison used here is very interesting and to appreciate that, we need to understand the process of formation of dew and why it is so important to plants.

Plants are very hardworking. The leaves of the plant are busy all day, preparing food for the entire plant. They use the water stored in their cells, carbon dioxide from the air and sunlight to prepare their food. Once the sun sets, they stop preparing food and their work for the day is complete.

It is the water stored in their cells, which help them to maintain their shape. Hence, when all the stored up water is used, they begin to lose their shape and wilt and droop.

That is the time they need to be refreshed and that is when the dew begins to play its part.

As the dew gently falls during the night, the leaves open up their pores, to soak in all the moisture, till they are completely filled and saturated. So when we look at the plants in the morning they appear rejuvenated and fresh…..however as the day progresses, the dew disappears.

Plants cannot store dew for the next day. They have to receive their quota daily…..

Why does the dew not form in the morning?? Or afternoon??

There are 2 conditions absolutely essential for formation of dew-

1.     The temperature of air should not be too high. The surrounding atmosphere should be cool.

2.     There should not be too much of air movement.

In other words, dew formation takes place only in a cool still place and that is why dew falls during the night or towards dawn.

Like the leaves, as we finish our daily chores, we begin to feel worn out and weary. And we need to be refreshed by heavenly dew. Just as the leaves wait quietly for the dew to fall on them and revive them daily, we too need to sit quietly someplace and allow the Holy Spirit to renew, refresh and recharge us daily.

That is a difficult task for most of us…. especially  nowadays, when we are busy rushing from deadline to deadline or from  one activity to another, with our hands flitting  over  our smartphones, our mind sifting  through a million random thoughts and earphones plugged tightly into our ears. In our busyness, we have lost our ability to just sit quietly someplace, not doing anything, enjoying a time of peace and rest. 

Spending quiet time with God, enjoying His presence daily, is much like receiving dew. He will give us the dew sufficient for that day, no more, no less. We cannot store the dew for the next day. We need to receive our quota daily.

Hence every day we should sit quietly at the Fathers feet, soaking in His presence through each and every fibre and pore of our body.

And when we are completely saturated, we will feel totally refreshed, well able tackle a new day with renewed vigour and strength that our Father gives us.

God bless you dear reader……….

THE STORMS IN OUR LIFE

We all go through storms in our life. Storms come without any warning; it just takes a split second for things to change. One minute everything is just fine and the next instant you don’t know what has hit you.

Storms can come in the areas of our relationships, jobs, health or finances – A sudden loss in the family, a sudden health problem, losing a job, or a challenge in the area of finances.

 Whenever we go through challenges or storms in our life we need to remember 2 things-

 God may allow the storm to continue for a long time OR He may still the storm immediately.

1. He is God over the storm and his eye is always on his children.

 To illustrate let us look at 3 stories from the Bible which talk about the storms that various people faced.

 Paul in the storm

Acts 27 tells us the story of Paul along with some other prisoners as they set sail for Italy. The ship in which all of them were sailing in was caught up in a huge storm. All were terrified. They were dangerously tossed about and had to throw the freight, ship’s equipment and even their provisions out of the ship in order to stay afloat. Their suffering continued for nearly 15 days before they could land someplace and escape. All through the horrifying ordeal Paul held on to the promise God had given him (V 24) that he and all those sailing with him would escape. Hence he could endure the storm and reassure the others sailing with him. And in the end none perished.

 Jesus and his disciples in the storm

Mark 4: 37-41 tells us another story of a storm. Jesus and his disciples spent a long day teaching by the shores of Galilee. When it was evening and the sun was beginning to set Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake”. Now the Sea of Galilee is notorious for its storms. It is a small sea and sudden and violent storms are very common here. As they were traveling in the boat a huge squall arose and kept beating at the sides of the boat. The boat began to fill with water. Jesus was at the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” Jesus immediately arose, rebuked the wind and at once it became calm.

 The disciples of Jesus in the storm

MARK 6:47-52 tells us the story of yet another storm.

After Jesus had finished teaching the crowds, He told his disciples to get into the boat and go on ahead of him, while he dismissed the crowd. After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray. When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. The wind and the waves were causing the boat to rock violently, threatening to capsize. So there was a possibility of the boat sinking and all on board perishing in the midst of the Sea. And to top it all, this time Jesus was not with them in the boat. Shortly before dawn (after the disciples had struggled for many hours), Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. And He went up unto them into the boat; and the wind ceased.

 There are certain principles that we can glean from these stories-

 In the first instance, God allowed the storm to rage on for a long time but he gave Paul a promise of deliverance which in turn gave him the strength and faith to go through the storm. God could have stilled the storm immediately but he did not do so.

• In the second instance, we see that even though Jesus was with the disciples in the boat, their faith wavered. But Jesus instantaneously stilled the storm, much to the relief of the disciples.

 In the third instance, we observe that though Jesus sent his disciples alone into a storm, HIS eye was on them. Even whilst He was praying and later, he could see that they were struggling, trying to row across. So what did He do? He went over to meet them. And once He was with them, the winds died down.

 So it is with us. Sometimes we have to go through difficulties and suffer but God gives us the strength to do so.

At other times He immediately removes the hurdles and our problems are solved at once.

But no matter what, what we need to understand is that His eye is always on us, His beloved children. He will meet us in the storm. He will be with us when we are in the storm.

 Just remember what Jesus told his disciples (Mark 4: V: 35) – Let US cross to the other side. Meaning He is there with us till we cross over. He will not abandon us midway. He and I, we will cross over safely.

MOSES AND THE BURNING BUSH

He was an Israelite who grew up in an Egyptian palace. While all other Israelites were slaves, Moses had everything. He had no lack for anything. He ate royal food and had fine clothes, lived in a palace and was well educated.

Bu then Moses made a mistake. He saw an Egyptian fighting with a Hebrew. Moses killed the Egyptian.

But the Hebrew turned hostile towards him. “Will you kill me too?” he asked

Now Moses knew he was in big trouble. He had to flee from Egypt and hide in the wilderness.

And that was how a bright, smart, talented Hebrew with huge potential began tending sheep. He went from the palace to the pastures. A downward slide into oblivion.

But Moses never ever wished to return to Egypt. He was perfectly happy where he was placed, looking after his father in law’s sheep.

And then one day, God spoke to him from the burning bush and commissioned him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. He was literally shocked out of his senses, nevertheless he managed to blurt out, “I am not a great man! How can I go to the king and lead the Israelites out of Egypt?”

Now that was the million dollar question. Why did God choose Moses, of all the people? And why did God wait till he was eighty-years old? He could have used him much earlier…. Say 40 years back. When he was still in Egypt, when he was at his peak. Back then he had been brave, capable and confident.

But at 80 years, he was too old, too weary and had none of his earlier capabilities, enthusiasm nor zeal for leadership .In fact he had a feeling that he was no good. How on earth could he impact the mighty Pharaoh??

He was a “had been”.

He had been well educated, he had been well trained for battle and he had been in the good books of Pharaoh. And at 40 years he had been the perfect man for the job.

Besides Moses was not too keen to deal with the Israelites. He had been frustrated and disillusioned once. He was perfectly happy to live with his sheep and did not want to get entangled with the Israelites again.

That in part explained his reluctance to go back. But God was just not going to take ‘No’ for an answer.

So what was the logic? What qualities did he have now that he didn’t have back then?

2 Points-

Point 1: He knew all the ways of the sheep. Moses tended to his flock diligently and after so many years he knew everything that there was to know about shepherding. And if he was going to lead an unruly, disobedient, murmuring, complaining bunch of Israelites out of Egypt, he needed to have good shepherding skills.

Point 2: Moses knew all about life in the desert. He knew the deserts inside out. If he was going to lead the Israelites out into the wilderness, he needed to know the basics of desert life.

 God had been perfecting him for 40 years and now he was perfect for the job.

 So it is with us. Many times we think that we are too old or past our prime or we are not strong enough for God’s purpose. Sometimes we may feel frustrated and disillusioned. Or sometimes we may feel that we are not good enough for anything. But that’s not true. God is perfecting us all the time. He does not look at our age. He does not care about how strong we are. He is not bothered about whether we are able, capable, suitable or notable. He only wants us to be available when he calls us and speaks to us to fulfill His plan and purpose in our life.

CONTROLLING FEELINGS AND EMOTIONS

While both these terms are used interchangeably there is a difference between them. Feelings are what we experience with our 5 senses (sight, smell, touch, hearing and taste) while Emotions are how we feel about a situation (anger, hurt, jealousy, envy, irritation etc).

  Being a great stickler for punctuality, when I observed my daily help getting to work later and later each day, I lost my temper and lashed out. However the relief that I momentarily felt when I had given vent to my feelings, soon turned to regret as she became upset and the whole episode snowballed into a mini crisis.

 You must have observed that sometimes when drivers have been cut off in traffic, they feel they have been terribly wronged. They begin shouting at the other driver, chasing and cutting them off, often with fatal results.

 Or take the case of Impulse purchasing, which is an unplanned decision to buy a product or service. Emotions and feelings play a decisive role in this kind of purchasing which is triggered by seeing the product or listening to advertisements. Companies capitalize on these emotions which encourage people to splurge on products which they may not even need or have budgeted for.

 These are all examples of what typically happen when we let our emotions or feelings control us.

 At such times we tend to act without thinking or caring about the fallout. While such behavior leads to instant gratification, it proves harmful in the long run.

 We may momentarily feel good when we retaliate in a moment of irritation, but that may damage a relationship.

We may choose to watch television over exercising because that makes us feel good, but that will harm our body.

Some parents thrash their children in a fit of anger when they do something wrong and feel good that they have disciplined them. But such abuse will damage the psyche of the child.

 God gave us emotions but he never intended for our emotions to rule over us. We all experience feelings like anger, grief, happiness, joy and envy. However, the Bible never refers to experiencing emotions as sin; for eg:

Ephesians 4: 26, 27 – amplified- When angry, do not sin; do not ever let your wrath (your exasperation, your fury or indignation) last until the sun goes down.

27 Leave no [such] room or foothold for the devil [give no opportunity to him].

which implies that it is one’s reaction to anger that has the potential to be sinful, not the anger itself.

Emotions or feelings are directly linked to our thoughts and if we let them control us rather than the other way round; we are leaving ourselves wide open to an attack by the enemy.

 It is therefore important to learn to respond rather than react to situations.

 Reactions are always instinctive and uncontrolled whereas responses are always reasonable and self controlled.

 Scriptures encourage us to have self control –

Proverbs 25:28 tells us that a man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.

In 1 Corinthians 9: 27, Paul says- But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

 For me keeping self under control could be in something as simple as choosing to snack on carrot sticks instead of potato chips. Or choosing to take the  stairs to my office daily instead of the lift.

Or could be something more difficult like choosing to remain silent when I feel like retaliating; choosing to forgive someone, I do not feel like forgiving.

While these are not happy choices for me, they are definitely wise choices.

If we always react based on feelings, it could lead to devastating consequences in areas of our social life, relationships, jobs and finances. It will cloud our judgment and lead to bad choices which will eventually ruin our life. Someone rightly said “do not make promises when you are happy or take decisions when you are angry. You will regret them at leisure”

 To think before acting, show restraint in the face of temptation, and control aggression, irritation etc is difficult and we cannot do anything in our own strength. But His grace is more than sufficient for us.

2 Titus 11-12 – The amplified version says-

 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.

 I would like to close with a quote by Oscar Wilde

 “I don’t want to be at the mercy of my emotions. I want to use them, to enjoy them, and to dominate them.”

LOW SELF ESTEEM

As human beings, we have the exceptional ability to place a value to ourselves. Self-esteem is the term which refers to the value or worth that we place on ourselves. Self esteem ranges from very poor or very low to very high, with varying degrees in between. Both extremes of the spectrum are bad.

High self esteem as the name indicates is placing a very high value on oneself, thereby perceiving oneself to be better than others. Such people tend to become self centered, conceited and egotistic and given time, develop a huge superiority complex.

 Low self-esteem is placing a general negative value on oneself. This usually occurs when there are unfavorable comparison with others- I am not as pretty, I am not as wealthy, I am not as intelligent , I am not as talented and so on……. Such people lose sight of the value of their own individuality and develop feelings of inadequacies or inferiority complexes.  Everyone suffers from low self esteem at times, usually when facing undue stress or challenging situations. However when an individual constantly suffers from low self esteem, it becomes an enduring personality trait which could give rise to many problems.

 Low self-esteem can impact a person’s performance at school, college, work place and interpersonal relationships. People with low self esteem consistently achieve less than they are able to, because they believe they are less capable than others. They refuse to take up challenges due to fear of under performing. They find it difficult to have Interpersonal relationships due to their inability to handle criticism, inability to relate with people due to shyness/ self consciousness and in extreme cases withdrawing from any kind of intimacy or social contact.

Our esteem generally develops from our childhood experiences (severe punishments, regular abuse at home or school, falling short of standards set by parents /friends/peer group, getting blamed for other people’s troubles, absence of an atmosphere of warmth and affection at home, absence of praise even when deserving or being a square peg in a round hole, at home or at school.

One  event or person cannot determine  one’s level of self-esteem; it does not happen instantaneously; it develops over a period of time.

Sometimes negative beliefs about oneself are also caused by experiences later in life, such as challenges at workplace, abusive relationships, high levels of stress or traumatic events.

 Now if we look at the Word of God –

The Bible tells us that all Christians are valuable to God.  God loves us simply for who we are. Author Philip Yancey writes, “There is nothing we can do to make God love us more, and nothing we can do to make God love us less.” God loves us as a Father. We are His special, unique creation, whose purpose is to live in close fellowship with Him.

 Song of Solomon 4:7 says

You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you.

Psalm 139:14 says

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.

1 John 3:1 says

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

1 Peter 2:9 says

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the Excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

 I wonder if you have noticed how people with poor self esteem conduct themselves. I know because I have been one of them many many years ago- Drooping shoulders, eyes to the ground, inability to meet people’s eyes while having a conversation, shyness, withdrawing into a shell or a cocoon at social gatherings, horror of meeting new people and so on……..

 The Bible tells us that we are a royal priesthood and that we are the children of the most High God. And we cannot dispute that. We have royal blood flowing within us. We are his ambassadors on earth and we need to move around with that confidence. Can you imagine a king or a queen of a country moving around with drooping shoulders? (What an incredibly funny sight that would be!!!)  Or with their eyes fixed on the ground?

Oh No  No……….. They would move around with the quiet confidence born out of the knowledge that they have royal blood flowing through their veins from many generations. And this, irrespective of whether they were richer than or more intelligent than or more beautiful than  other people  in that country.

How much more then should this attitude hold true for us as ambassadors of the most High God?

 Fortunately, low self-esteem isn’t something we cannot overcome and reverse. There are enough scriptures in the Bible to help us through.  It takes time, but we can surely change the way in which we perceive ourselves without becoming proud, mean, selfish or self-absorbed.  And then, what we achieve is a healthy or wholesome self esteem.

 Wholesome or healthy self-esteem is the assurance that one is as good as anyone else, but not more so. Humility is a key factor here.

Healthy self-esteem allows people to be levelheaded, reasonable, and pragmatic about goals, accept criticism, learn from mistakes rather than viewing them negatively and take up challenges

 We may not be as beautiful, wealthy, talented or intelligent as our friends, relatives or neighbors. Occasionally someone may say or do something to us that could make us feel guilty or angry. The correction could have been made either in love or spite. Whatever the circumstances, we need to respond in the right way and not let the feelings of negativity seep into our mind. We need to barricade our mind with encouraging scriptures from the Word of God.

 I would like to close with a quote which is one of my favorites- “Know that the best possible you may not be as successful as your neighbor but that is OK. The best you may not be as thin as your sister, but that is fine. The best possible you may not be as talented or dynamic or as outgoing as your colleague but that’s alright too. Be comfortable with the person God made you. You can’t get distracted and lose your focus by comparing yourself to others. We all need to run our own race.”

CHALLENGES ARE GOOD FOR US

We all think that challenges are unnecessary hindrances in our lives and  often wish that life would at some point be free of challenges- like- when I get out of school, when I get out of college, when I get married, when my kids have grown and settled, When I retire etc……my life would be very easy !! This is the typical thought pattern.

I was foolish enough to think along the same lines, earlier. Well, not only was I wrong about that wish turning into reality, but I now realize that not having challenges is not really something I should be wishing for in the first place.

Can you imagine a life free of challenges?  Challenges exist for a reason.

Even though they can be difficult to handle, if we had a life free of challenges, we would really just be going through the motions of living and miss out on some very good  opportunities to grow and live upto our God given potential.

 Challenges help shape our character, help us to grow and most importantly allow us to realize that God’s grace is sufficient for us to get through any situation that comes our way.

There’s no reason then to wish for a challenge free life.

Now listen to this: The Japanese have always loved fresh fish. But for some reason, the water close to Japan has not held many fish for decades. So to feed the Japanese population, fishing boats got bigger and bigger and went farther and farther out into the sea. The farther the fishermen went, the longer it took them to bring in the fish. If the return trip took more time, the fish did not remain fresh. To solve this problem, fishing companies installed freezers on their boats. The fishermen would catch the fish and freeze them at sea. Freezers allowed the boats to go farther and stay out longer.

 However, the Japanese could taste the difference between fresh fish and frozen fish. And they did not like the taste of frozen fish. The frozen fish fetched a lower price. To solve this problem, fishing companies installed fish tanks. The fishermen would catch the fish and stuff them into the tanks, fin to fin. After a little thrashing around, the fish were tired, dull, not motivated enough to keep moving around and as a result, lost their fresh-fish taste. The fishing industry faced an impending crisis! But today, they get fresh-tasting fish to Japan. How did they manage? To keep the fish tasting fresh, the Japanese fishing companies still put the fish in the tanks but along with a small shark. The fish are challenged and hence are constantly on the move just so that they survive. The challenge they face keeps them alive and fresh!

 Amplified version- James 1:2-4 tells us. “Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations.

Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience.

But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing.”

  and

Romans 8: 35, says” Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?”

And Romans 8: 37 tells us, “In all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.”

So 2 things are certain.  One is that in our life we will definitely have to face challenge and in all these trials we will be more than conquerors. Means Assured growth!!!!

Conquerors imply one thing- Wars, battles, dangers, difficulties. But according to this scripture, we are going to be more than conquerors! Something more than victory is assured. And that is what we take back from the enemy. We are going to get to keep the loot, the spoils of the battles. Simple  example- If one king defeats another in a war, not only does he carry away the other king as captive or kill him, but , he also gets to keep his  kingdom, his treasures, his servants all his material possessions, absolutely everything!!! That is what it means to be more than conquerors!

When challenges come our way we can choose either to face them or flee from them and our decision one way or the other, will not only impact us but also people around us.

Let me tell you about Dr. Moon. Dr. Moon suddenly became blind at the age of 21 after a bout of scarlet fever. He could barely make his living then. Most people in his place would have cursed their circumstances or their luck or lack of it, and had a wonderful time wallowing in self pity. But look at what Dr. Moon did. I really admire this man. He prayed in the following fashion,” Lord. I accept this talent of blindness from you. Help me to use it for your glory so that at the time of your coming you may receive your own with usury.” And God was faithful. He enabled him to invent the moon alphabet for the blind. News of Dr Moon’s new alphabet spread quickly and he was soon swamped with requests for parts of Bible. By this, many blind people could read the word of God and be added to the kingdom of God! You see- He not only overcame his difficulties, but was also enabled to save many souls.

Point to note: When we place our trust in the Lord and face battles that come our way, we not only overcome the challenges, we also get to keep the loot.

Now look at the flipside- What happens when we run away from challenges-

God ordered Jonah to preach the word in Nineveh. It was a big challenge for him and needless to say, Jonah was not at all pleased with this challenge. Not only was Nineveh known for its wickedness, but it was also the capital of the Assyrian empire, one of Israel’s fiercest enemies. So Jonah, disobeyed; he chose what he thought was the easy way out- i.e. to run away from this challenge. He went down to the seaport of Joppa and booked a passage on a ship to Tarshish, heading directly away from Nineveh. The Bible tells us Jonah “ran away from the Lord.” But unfortunately, the ship ran into a violent storm.

The sailors on the ship fearing for their lives ended up throwing all their cargo overboard in an attempt to save their ship, and their lives. Jonah finally admits he is the cause of all their problems and tells them to throw him overboard from where he landed inside  a whale’s belly.

When Jonah* decided to run from his problems, he had to suffer not only financial loss but also a lot of mental trauma. I am sure that being thrown out of a ship  during a storm and being swallowed up whole, by a whale would have been no fun at all.

In addition to him, the people around him, the sailors, were also dragged into his problem. They  experienced a great financial loss because of Jonah’s decision to run from his problem.

However when Jonah finally decided to obey God and take up the challenge of going to preach to the city of Nineveh—there was a great revival, and thousands repented and turned to God.

 Point to note- When you run away from problems, you don’t escape! You encounter even more problems. Other people around you  also get dragged into the problem unwittingly and suffer.

 There is no dodging, no escaping and no shortcuts from problems. Look at Jesus. He faced temptation in the wilderness but he overcame the temptation. He took twelve ordinary men and made them apostles with anointing power. Jesus led the woman who had come to draw water from the well, into a new life and a whole village was changed.

We don’t have to run from anything. God wants to lead us out of our problems, those things that threaten to sink us… Are you facing a no win situation in your life? Is there a shark in your tank?? Then take up the challenge, stand on the promise of God in Romans 8: 37 and turn the situation around.

And next time we face a challenge, let’s not say, “Oh no I have a problem, this is so awful.” Instead let’s declare, “ I have a problem; Let me face this and in all this I will be more than a conqueror.