Jesus told his disciples, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
True peace comes not from the absence of trouble, but from the presence of God.
Alexander MacLare
Matthew 28:6
Luke 4:16-30 depicts the time where Jesus went back to Nazareth, the hometown where he was brought up. He went to the synagogue and began to read from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor (v. 18-19).”
Jesus spoke graciously, and all who were listening, marveled at the words coming out of his mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph’s son (v.22)?” Jesus knew what they were thinking, because they could not bring themselves to believe who God had called him to be. Therefore, Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown (v. 24).”
When they heard these things, all who were in the synagogue were filled with wrath. And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. But passing through their midst, he went away (v. 28-30).
Jesus went away unto others, who would have welcomed and received him, as he continued his ministry with his twelve disciples. This is so, because he could not do any mighty work in his hometown of Nazareth, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief (Mark 6:5). He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him (John 1:11).
Can you imagine the regret the Nazarenes must have experienced, when they heard how much Jesus’ fame had spread around the world, because of the mighty work that he was doing for God’s kingdom?
Jesus’ experience at Nazareth is typical today of people whom God has called to fulfill his purpose on this earth. People in your very own hometown, who may include family members and friends, may not want to recognize and respect you for the person God has called you to be. However, no matter how much they hate, criticize, or continue to be jealous of you, no one can prevent God from blessing and using you for his purpose and glory.
When God calls you, he anoints and equips you for his purpose; therefore, the devil and evil people cannot touch your anointing or do you any harm (Psalm 105:15). When people try to fight you; they are not fighting you, but they are fighting God, who has called, anointed, and equipped you for his purpose. With that being said, no one ever wins a fight with God.
If you need to leave Nazareth, in order to fulfill the purpose that God has called you for, by all means, leave! At the end of the day, you have an account to give to God (Romans 14:12).
Sometimes life seems to be taking us down a huge detour and everything looks like it’s not going our way. In those situations, our life and our story seems to be a disaster.
This is exactly what happened to Joseph, whose story is found in Genesis 37-50. Joseph’s brothers jealously hated him and sold him into slavery. Joseph was wrongfully put in prison for raping Potifer’s wife, when really he refused to compromise his integrity by sleeping with her. Then, Joseph helped get the chief cupbearer out of jail; however, when the cupbearer had an opportunity to return the favor and get Joseph out of jail, the man forgot about Joseph. Joseph ended up spending thirteen years in jail for something he didn’t do.
At this point Joseph’s story was going haywire, but God’s story was right on track. That’s because God had an amazing plan for Joseph’s life; God was going to use Joseph to save Egypt and the surrounding lands for seven years of devastating famine. What looked to Joseph like a huge detour was really a great plan of God to provide food for countless people, including the very brothers that had sold Joseph into slavery.
At the end of this, Joseph realized that God had a bigger plan for his life, and after his brothers come to him for food, he tells them: “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (Genesis 50:20).
All along, God’s story was right on track.
This same principle is also true in the life of Jesus. To the disciples, it looked as those Jesus would be a great king who would rule Israel and return the nation to greatness. They hailed him as a great leader. So, when Jesus was being crucified, the story they saw looked like a major train wreck—this great leader whom they had followed for the past three years was suddenly dead. However, God’s story was at its peak—God was in the process of connecting humanity to himself.
There’s what you see and what God sees.
When your life seems to be a major disaster; know that God has bigger plans to use your life for great things. The story you see may not reflect the long-term story God has planned. Therefore, trust God, knowing that he works for good in all circumstances (Romans 8:28).
Contributed: Christ Notes
It can be difficult to find people of integrity, because so many people make mediocre compromises. At work, such people take every shortcut possible in order to finish the task as quickly as possible, even though they do a terrible job in the process. At school, mediocre people copy homework from friends and copy essays from the Internet just in order to avoid work while hoping to get a good grade, even though they’re cheating and don’t learn the material.
Unfortunately, many of the people who lack integrity are Christians. Yet, this is clearly not how God wants us to live. He desires that we be people of integrity.
Integrity means doing what is right when no one is looking, and it means going the extra mile, knowing that God sees everything and that what he sees in secret he will reward in the open (Matthew 6:4,6,18). Jesus told his disciples, “What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs” (Luke 12:3).
Whatever you do now, even if it is hidden from others, will be brought out into the open and made public. If you are wondering whether or not to do something, consider whether or not you’d be willing to do it in front of your boss, your teacher, your parents, or your pastor. If you have to hide what you’re doing to feel comfortable, then there’s a good chance you shouldn’t be doing it at all.
Contributed: Christ Notes
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