Kept!

Kept!

2 Thessalonians 3:3 AMPC

[3] Yet the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen [you] and set you on a firm foundation and guard you from the evil [one].

This second letter written to the church in Thessalonica was a joint effort by all three of Paul, Silas and Timothy. These where men with different experiences in their walk of faith. We read about Paul and his many troubles in the hands of the Jews, and we read about Silas in at least one instance too, whipped and placed in prison together with Paul. We also read of the boy/man Timothy, whose birth circumstances placed in a big disadvantage, at least, in the view of the Jews of his day, but by the tutelage and mentorship of Paul, he became a force in the hands of God for the gospel. All of the above point to the truth that there is no life that God cannot use to promote His plan and purpose. There is no one so far gone that s/he is beyond the mercy and grace of God. My past or present will be part of the story of God's grace upon my life, so that it is apparent that if not for God, I would have been lost. 

That was the foundation of the verse above. These men were writing to people who had seen tough times. The audience was brothers and sisters called the congregation of believers in God. There is nothing on earth that can adequately describe all that God has in store for those who put their trust in Him. There is no experience on earth that can be adequately preparation for all that God will bring the way of those who are committed to Him. How can you fully explain this level of opposition and resistance to God's Word in the days of Paul? How do you comprehend why men resist the Word of God with so much violence these days, as it was in the days of Paul? Indeed, the heart of man is corrupt and desperately wicked, and it is hard to fully understand what it can produce. This is why it is very important that I give God full control of my heart. It is only in His hands, and by His lesding and direction, that my heart can and will produce the right fruit. 

Can I say, of a truth, that God is fully in charge of my heart? God is capable to play His part, but He will not force Himself on me, or go against the exercise of my freewill. He will supply all that I need for the journey ahead, but He waits for me to plug myself into His supply. How can He provide strength if I already claim to be strong and independent? How can He set ms up on a firm foundation if I claim to be strong on my own? How does He guard me if I have already made alternative arrangements for my own protection, or raised an altar to my own promotion? God is indeed faithful, but He will not honour my own rebellion against His ordained process for me. He will bring me through the valley if the journey of impact requires it. He will bring me through the storms if the story of change He wants to tell in and through me requires it. He is all I need for Life and Godliness. Do you have all of Him? Does He have all of me? God's time of favour is here.