Desiring God

      Lately, I’ve been asking myself this question, “How can a sinner like me become the man that God wanted me to be”. Yes, I have been studying the Word of God, attending services and listening podcasts, yet I ended up doing things that are exactly opposite of what God wants me to do. It would require a great transformation in order to mold me into a great leader.

     I remembered a simple story or a let’s say, a logic (though I do not know what logic is XD). A sword cannot be beautifully made without going through the fire. Yes, fire, the blazing one. Every Christian is going through challenges, trials, and problems in their lives. Some suffer persecutions for their faith, some being left out by the world, and some needed someone to build them up because they are being dragged down. There are lots of things that a Christian is having, maybe I haven’t stated your reason but I know that you may be suffering of the same problems. But did you know that in every breaking, there is a breakthrough. In these times, God is teaching you how to handle situations that can be handled. Maybe not the way you expected but He wants you to become stronger than what you are yesterday. That is how we stay strong.

     Each of us has our own race, but all of us ends on one finish line. On that finish line is our goal, do you know what it is? Christ-likeness. That is our goal. We are running in order to reach that goal, we are following the example of our Lord since He was here and up until now, we are continuing the commission that He left in us which is to win this world for Him. Chasing Christ-likeness is not an easy race, it’s much harder than a 64-kilometer race. There are lots of obstacles that we are going to face, and in the middle of that race, we may feel tired, lose hope that we may even see the finish line, or even give up, but don’t worry, you are not alone.

When we are focusing more on what we do, we missed something important. We missed the things that are around us, we are not alone on that race. Lots of people are running that race and they never stop running until they have reached that goal. Do you know what is keeping them going? Look to your side, Jesus Christ is running beside you. You are not alone, He will be with you wherever you go. Ever since the race started until it is finished, He is with you. Through hardships and trials, through storms and drought, He will be with you. Whenever you need strength, He will give you strength (Phil. 4:13). And when you reached the end of the road, at the finish line, He is standing there, welcoming you with open arms and saying “Well done my child”. What a great race!

     This life is a race that God created for each people to run. There are times that we can get lost on the road but signs are put by God in order for us to be informed where to go or where is the right track. Those signs are His Word. If each of us read the Word of God, we may understand the mechanics of this race. What to do or what we shouldn’t do. It is a great instruction manual that we should follow if we want to reach the end of God’s race. Trust the manual that God gave, like how you trust the manual of the cellphone or television you just bought. Not only it has the instruction on running the race, but also it has the promises and the rewards that God has at the finish line, waiting for you. The only thing you need to do is read, understand, and learn from it. I know that obedience is not that easy, but when the Lordship of Christ is in you, you can do it.

     Desiring to be like Christ may seem impossible, but then again I say this to you, “We are created in the likeness of God, and we are His children, so it is our nature to imitate our father and to be what we are designed to be.” If our creator wanted us to be Holy and righteous like Him, then there’s no reason for us not to follow His instructions. For we have are purpose because of Him, and because of Him, we have this life! He died on the cross for us! Yes! For us! We were sinners that time, yet our God, who knows our sins, who knows our dirty works, died on the cross for us. Why? Because He knows that it is not the end of our race, we still have a long way to go. Despite the pain and sufferings He had gone through, He still loves us. He didn’t deserve to die! We deserve it, yet He still died on that cross for us. What a selfless act, that our savior did. Let us evaluate ourselves, were we like Jesus Christ this past few days, months, years? Is our attitude like His? Or are we still sleeping?

     This morning, while I was meditating, I feel that the Holy Spirit spoke to me. He said, “I have stored a great power inside of you. I chose you to be the leader in this generation because I know that you can do it. Maybe it is time to wake that sleeping warrior inside of you for you are going to face harder battles. Put on your armor (armor of God) and prepare yourself. Use the power I have in store for you in order to proclaim my Name to the world.” These words sparked up my life, the fire in my heart.

     So if you are a Christian, and the warrior inside of you is still sleeping, it’s time to wake it up. Those battles are not going to wait, they are coming. The question is, are you prepared? Or are you sleeping? Let’s pray to God that he give us the desire to know Him more and chase after His holiness and together, we will reach the finish line of the race that God made for us. God bless us all!

“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through His spirit in your inner being,”

-Ephesians 3:16