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As someone was ministering a song during service on Sunday (Only Yeshua by David Dam), I paid attention to the lyrics of the song, and from it I realized that there is an end. Nothing lasts forever. Evil has an end. Hardship has an end. It often feels like these things are never ending, but it dawned on me in that moment that that’s not the case at all, and maintaining this perspective is probably more important than the difficulty itself.
The message that was preached was about the name of Jesus, and the power in this name. And it brought everything full circle, because if there is something more powerful than the forces of darkness around us, then there is hope.
When things have not been right for a long time-- years or even decades--the idea of hope seems laughable. Your mind cannot conceive better. A lot of us get stuck in this place, where all possibility is lost; your mind is conditioned by your environment and your circumstances, and your thoughts, your dreams, your ideas are only as high as your environment allows.
Do you dare consider better?
You must.
If you can’t imagine it, if you don’t see it, if you don’t grab that silver lining of possibility, you’ll forever be lost. Your environment will kill you, the people around you will kill you; and the best that happens to others will be the closest you get to seeing good things around you. It’s a shame when we use our own hands to build our own coffins because we made a decision to surrender. Listen: trust that still small voice, even when it hurts. The dark tunnels can’t stretch for a lifetime, because they weren’t created to stretch that far. There is an end. Hardship ends. But you have to believe it; and when God gives you an open door of hope, run through it with all your strength.
Unfortunately, we are too afraid of family, of friends, of perceptions. There are people who die for an idea, ideas that they won’t ever get to enjoy the fruits of, but we who are alive, cannot conceive to take steps to transform our lives in a direction that would change ourselves and materialize the lives we want. Why are we like this? Why must we give fear a blank check to reign in our lives like this?
Nevertheless, remember that God speaks. I’ve listened to the song that was ministered a few times before that person sang it. But it’s in that moment that I understood a few things, one of which I’m sharing now. We’ve made too many things powerful in our lives, things that have an expiry date. But what is it that which has no end? Who is it that has power over all of this that we are suffering? If his kingdom has no end, if his power is greater than the power of everything that is named, then why be afraid of anything or anyone? Why do we perceive as permanent things that are temporary?
I’m asking myself these questions, because something’s gotta give. Knowing this, I don’t want to continue living life the same, being frustrated or intimidated by people whose glory is like the flower of the field, which will fade. I don’t want to be frustrated and intimidated by situations that have an end. I just remembered a quote that says, “man is born free, but everywhere is in chains.” Certainly, there are chains we don’t see or know about unless by revelation it is made plain; and then there are those we choose; those that are imposed—and we accept--- because we presume the people imposing them do so out of love. But if it’s not of God, it’s not love. God liberates. Don’t be the fool that discovers that too late.
