I wanted to find a book on God’s love. I was led (I believe) to do a personal study on the love of God for me. So, I wanted to find a good book on God’s love, a good book from a trusted source. Books are more powerful than you think. When you open your mind and your spirit to the information in a book, the source must be trusted. Great things, both good and bad, have originated from the reading of a book.
Anyway, since I wanted a good book, I prayed for God to guide me to the right book, asked the Holy Spirit to lead me to the perfect book for Him to reveal God’s love to me in a deeper measure. And somehow, I assumed that after praying, I would go online, do a search or ask people and come up with the perfect book. Wrong.
A few days later, after a search online and a trip to the bookstore, I still hadn’t found my book. Then, as I searched again, I was thinking, ‘This ought to be easy. This book ought to jump right into my hands. I have prayed for direction and my desire is a godly one. It should be smooth sailing for these reasons.’ Then I felt as if the Holy Spirit said to my heart, ‘Not necessarily.’
I paused to consider that.
And here’s the lesson: The fact that you have been called by God to do something that is so obviously His will doesn’t mean that it would be smooth sailing. You will still have to do some work. And most times, you actually have to fight to get it done. We have an active opposition, people.
I may not fight so much to find a great book on God’s love, but I would still be required to put in some effort. However, if what you’re trying to do is bigger than finding a book, you may have a fight ahead of you. The bigger the task, the more you may have to fight. The fight isn’t anything to be afraid of either. You’re mostly fighting your flesh and everything that comes with it. Perhaps your fight is to persevere in the face of challenges, because they will come.
The fact that you want to do a good or godly thing that the Lord Himself commanded doesn’t mean that it will come easy. It is a mistake to believe that because it is God, it would be smooth sailing.
The good news is that we’re not pushing through alone or pushing through with our strength. God Himself is with us, and that puts all the resources of heaven at our disposal. We are victorious in Jesus Name.
