INTRODUCTION: We have all experienced hardships or have gone through difficult seasons in life, and as Christians, we often can get impatient, thinking that at a snap of our fingers God will erase or eliminate all our problems. The Bible teaches us about God’s faithfulness, and as we go through times not feeling or experiencing God’s presence, we should believe that God is busy forming and shaping our character while remaining faithful in the process.
NOTES:
We cannot wait for problems to disappear before we become better Christians.
We cannot expect everything else around us to be perfect before we can become perfect in our display of God.
Miracles are part of Christianity, through which God breaks the rules for us.
Christianity does not mean that there will not be problems.
Peter’s introduction to Christianity was by the miracle of the fish. God can bridge the gap between your reality and your potential by a miracle.
We lack the capacity to go through the process of transformation, and we want to skip transformation by cheating, pulling miracles into our reality, and not facing the consequences or the cost of changing.
How many people around us have failed to see the promises of God being fulfilled in their lives? Is it that God does not come through on His word or could it possibly be that the people are ejecting themselves out of the process prematurely because they cannot bear the cost or pain of being transformed?
We sometimes want to occupy a place which we are not qualified for. God says He will bring you up and out of your misery (Exodus 3:17).
God is not a Genie in a box. For example, our unemployment will not just go away overnight.
There is a treasure in the process.
We want a loophole in relationships, business, and life but there are no loopholes. God is not in the “quick fix” business. You must go through it, but God will always be with us and never leave nor forsake us.
We want God to kill the giant for us. God says that you must kill your own giant. He has already equipped you with everything you need to succeed. God is not a God of shortcuts.
God is taking you through the process of changing you.
God is our navigator, but we need to make the decisions and turn our own steering wheel.
It does not help to seek a miracle but never go through the process of change.
If you are not getting through the month financially, what do you need to learn so that you will not face that problem every month?
The things you go through qualifies you. The pains and hurts you face, make you stronger.
CONCLUSION: Of course, we should pray for miracles and lean on God for a breakthrough, but we are vessels for God so that the Holy Spirit can move through us, and not only for us. Miracles should not only take place in our lives but through us for others and the glorification of the body of Christ. Along the line, God is shaping us through every hardship, and a loophole will make us skip the process leaving us unqualified for the next level or season in life.
QUESTIONS:
- Are you willing to go through the process of change no matter what the cost?
- What would have happened if Peter did not want to listen to Jesus on the boat?
- What will you lack if you skip the process of transformation?
- Are you quitting the process prematurely?
- Are dealing with the things God is leading you through?
- Are you waiting for more energy or looking for shortcuts?
- What do you need to learn that you are wanting God to fix with a miracle?
SCRIPTURES:
Matthew 4:19
Exodus 3:17
Exodus 13:17
Exodus 10