Note: I delivered this sermon yesterday during our Youth Day at my church. I hope it will be a blessing to you all. All Scripture quotations are from the ESV Bible unless otherwise.
Key verses: 1 Samuel 2:1-8; Luke 1:46-55; Isaiah 61:1-3
If we are keen in our walk with God, each
one of us has had an experience in life (and with God) where we have doubted
whether He is present in our lives or not...
We attend church, we serve God, we do many
things in His name... We may be faithful givers and generous both in the church and to many others out there. We may be the most pious people, those who feign all kinds of hypocrisy... but we seem not to see
the results of our labor upon what we need God for...
At this point (maybe), we may be tempted to
call out to God like Nehemiah or like Hezekiah - to claim what is rightfully
ours as His faithful servants, but it still does not bring out the fruits in
our lives and we still cannot experience breakthrough or a favor in our lives
(or so we think)...
We may try to proclaim Scripture, dig
ourselves into God's Word, become more faithful (just like Hannah did) and later on, after things have failed to work out, we are inclined to make songs
like "It Is Well With My Soul" or "Thou My Everlasting Portion"
(which are good songs by the way) our official anthems because we have learnt
about pain and suffering the tough/hard way.
Doubt then grows within us and our hearts
are inclined towards it making us hardened by it. This doubt is not only
common, but normal. It is because man is his natural sense is not subjective to
pain but to happiness and pleasure.
In short, you are experiencing a season of
ashes - where not much seems to work and many things in your life are in chaos.
But the one thing we lack to ask ourselves in this state is: what if God is using our season of
ashes to create beauty out of us? What if God is not enjoying our suffering but that He is using it for His glory? What if His plan is to make us better in
every area of our lives? The song sang earlier describes this... "What
if your blessings come through raindrops? What if your healing comes through
tears? What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes for us to know
that God is near? What if?"
The apostle Paul was able to celebrate on a few occasion of his ashes because He knew what mannaer of beauty they will bring forth. Read Romans 8:18 and 2 Corinthians 12:1-10.
But ashes do not automatically turn into beauty. They do not. It takes time. And patience. And endurance. It takes God. It takes the Spirit of God to turn ashes into beauty. It is not the working of man that turns ordinary people into
extraordinary people... Beauty is not the working of man, but the working of God. Ecclesiastes 3:11 (ESV) says, "He has made everything
beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that
he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end...". It is also worthwhile to note that a season of ashes does not last forever - it is only for a moment. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)
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God has an order of
doing things which He always follows through while dealing with mankind, (especially His children). Unless it is completed,
He is not complete with him/her (Romans 5:1-5). He seeks to develop character from us through trials and suffering. It may not be easy, but it is worthy it. Many servants of God had to pass through this season in order to learn how He works and to understand His Will for their lives.
So although your life, your business, your health,
your body, your family, your education, your plans may be in ashes right now (a season of pain and suffering which no-one else can relate with but you and God) making you feel that God is
absent (and probably uncaring); I assure you that the process is not yet complete - once God is
done with you, you'll come out pure and better: Romans 5:1-5; Job 23:10; Hebrews 12:3-11.
There are examples of people who were
expunged from ashes and transformed into beauty: Abraham, Moses, Job, Joseph
and the example of Hannah we read earlier on.
These people discovered a few things about
what God was doing in their lives and this caused them not to easily give up. Faith worked them
out of their situations when they believed in God. And on the account of their
faith, Hebrews 11 was written. We celebrate their beauty today regardless of how
ashed they had earlier been i.e.
people laughing at Hannah and Sarah for being barren.
So, people of God, what turns the ordinary
into the extraordinary? Ashes into beauty?
Here are some few facts to consider;
1. The anointing (the Holy Spirit) - an
example is Saul in 1 Samuel 10:1-8.
After Saul received the anointing as Samuel poured oil on his head (as a sign
of the Holy Spirit), he became extraordinary. Saul and his family did not know
that losing those donkeys was going to be God's highway to blessing them and making them the first family in the whole of Israel!!
2. Faith that comes with the calling of God
and surety that comes with God and His Word (Isaiah55:10-11). They believed that God can do whatever He says and they NEVER EVER change their minds about it. They had been given a task and they were
ready to take it on to the end because they knew the Lord was with them - as He had promised.
3. Confidence in who they are in God. (Job 19:25 and Psalm 42:5-11.) This moved them not to doubt that they are in His plan, thus although they were tempted to doubt (as shown in Psalm 13), they still held on to Him who was able to accomplish what He said.
Brethren, can we therefore strive to gain knowledge of God's Will for our lives (as shown in Hosea 4:6) so that we
may understand the season through which God is making us grow through because a
reward awaits us after the suffering for a good cause? (Romans 8:18 and 1Corinthians 15:58)?
Let us pray about this so that these seasons may be well defined before us and that we may gain a heart of endurance and patience as we await God's strength to come on us and create beauty out of our ashes...
God bless you all.
Bonface Morris.
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