NOT FINISHED YET...

“I am tethered to Your every word, my heart ever after Your heart first; I will trust You here, I will trust You here. My hope always set in who You are, even when I can't see every part; I will trust You here…I will trust You. 

I won't forget the things You've done, for I know that this is just the beginning; You're not finished yet, You're not finished yet. Until I see Your promise come, God with all I am, I'll keep believing that You're not finished yet, You're not finished yet.

You don't play games, it's not who You are, You're not the type to mislead my heart; I can trust You here, I can trust You here. I've only known You to keep Your word, I've only found love at every turn; I can trust You here…I can trust You. 

Until the dry bones wake, until the mountains shake, until the darkness breaks; I will praise You, I will praise You…”

These are the lyrics to a song that has been on repeat on my playlist for a while now. The song “Not Finished Yet” by The Belonging Co. is a beautiful song with simple yet powerful lyrics that display a total dependency on God, a dependency that allows Him to fulfill the promised destiny He has given to each one of us. Check out my cover of this beautiful song:

As Christians, we have an inkling of God’s divine calling and destiny for our lives (Jeremiah 29:11), but the picture isn’t always clear, is it? Especially when faced with certain roadblocks that have been seemingly set up to divert us from our calling. The hardships, the trials, and oh the dreaded wait! But we must seek to gain a biblical perspective while in the midst of the wait, the trials, and the hardships of life.

The lives of the patriarchs of our faith, Abraham & Sarah, Joseph, King David, and even the three Hebrew captives – Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego – exemplify this biblical perspective I’m referring to. For example, Abraham, as he waited for his child of promise, believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness (Romans 4:3) and Sarah judged Him faithful who had promised her this child, and thus was able to receive strength to conceive this seed of promise (Hebrews 11:11). 

Joseph, after receiving a prophetic dream concerning God’s great plan for His life, didn’t receive the promise until 13 years later. Thirteen Years! Wow! His attitude? Complete and total trust in God, faithfulness to whatever his hands found to do – the “little” things, and integrity in the midst of certain temptation (for reference, read Genesis 37, 39-50).

Then there’s King David, a mighty man of God who at a young age was anointed by the prophet Samuel, according to God’s edict, as King over Israel (1 Samuel 16). Yay! But not so “yay”, as he had to wait something like 20 years to become said King. His wait time was fraught with such difficulty, one would imagine he was tempted to give up. King David’s response in all this? Fearless courage as he faced the jealousy of King Saul, and integrity as he maintained he would not do a thing to hurt this adversary even when given prime opportunity to do so (2 Samuel 24:6-7).

Finally, the three Hebrew boys (I use the term “boys” loosely for I don't know how old they were exactly), Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego, not only had to deal with being dispossessed from the homeland, but also had to deal with the threat of being burned alive for honoring God and refusing to bow down to the King's image. Their response? They stood sure-footed against the threats of their captor, King Nebuchadnezzar and declared, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter…our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O King. But if not, let it be known to you, O King, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up”. Daniel 3:16-18. Such display of faith!

So, what is your response as you wait for His promise to be fulfilled in you? Some tips:

1.    Remain tethered to His word: Get so familiar with the word of God and His promises, that you're able to spot a lie when it is presented. The word of God is your sword against the lies of the enemy, so learn how to wield it, and then use it! “Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand” Psalm 149:6.

2.    Seek God’s heart: Seek His heart, not His hand. I mean, keep believing God for that promise, but do not make that your idol. Seek His face, surrender that promise to Him and let Him fulfill it in His timing, not yours.

3.    Maintain hope: Place your hope in God, it will never disappoint. Even when you don’t see how things work out, you can’t see every part, trust God. Trust that He is working behind the scenes in your life, because He is! Let hope be your anchor…(Hebrews 6:19).

4.    Remember: Remember all that God has done for you in times past – and I know if you take time to look back over your life, you’ll see glimpses of His work.  If He has done it before, that is, if He has fulfilled a dream you once had, then He surely will do it again. But you must have faith and believe that He is not only able to, but willing to complete all He’s begun in your life (Hebrews 11:6; Philippians 1:6).

5.    Trust God’s Character: Trust that the plan of God for your life, no matter what it looks like right now, is a good plan (Jeremiah 29:11). The Word of God never returns void but always accomplishes all it has been set out to accomplish – ALWAYS! ((Isaiah 55:11); “For all God’s promises are fulfilled in Christ with a resounding ‘Yes!’, and through Christ, our ‘Amen” (which means ‘Yes’) ascends to God for His glory". (2 Corinthians 1:20). Trust increases the more we know someone; so, get to know your Father. 

6.    Keep On Praising: determine in your heart that you will not allow anyone/anything to steal your joy, you peace, or your song. Keep on praising God Almighty, no matter what it looks like. Remember Paul and Silas in Acts 16:25-31, and how their sounds of praise precipitated a supernatural chain of events that enabled them escape the prison. Likewise, your praise is the key that unlocks the door to the promises of God over your life. Praising God enhances our vision of Him, thus making Him bigger (which He certainly is) than the issues we face. 

Trust Him! Trust the plan of God for your life for He’s not finished yet! Even when it looks like it's the end, remember, your story is yet to be completed. Take it one day at a time, and allow His dream for your life unfold. He is good, He is faithful, He loves you, and He will never ever leave you nor relax His hold on you (Hebrews 13:5-6).

HIS RECKLESS EXTRAVAGANCE

There's a particular song that has been on constant replay on my playlist - "Reckless Love" written by Cory Asbury of Bethel Church. From the moving lyrics that expound on the idea of God's love as reckless, to the well-placed minor chords (I so love minor chords!) weaved throughout the song, this is easily my #1 song of all time - well, at least in this season...lol. Here is my cover of this beautiful song:

So, when you think of the word "Reckless", what comes to mind? I don't know about you but for me, the distant memory of my mom scolding my twin for her recklessness when we were growing up comes to mind (cos I was the perfect child and was never reckless nor was I ever scolded...lol). According to the dictionary, the word "Reckless" is synonymous with a lack of proper caution; careless of consequences; a sort of reckless extravagance and abandonment. With these synonyms in mind, doesn't it seem almost scary that any love would be characterized as reckless? I mean, as humans, we don't usually have the boldness to love in such a manner. As much as we love someone in a relationship, whether a friendship or a marriage, there seems to be a bit of caution, no matter how small, that keeps up from potentially exposing ourselves to hurt. It's a protective mechanism of sorts. At least, for me it is.

And yet, we see this Reckless Love in action in Jesus, who demonstrated His love for us in that, while we were yet sinners, He died for us (Romans 5:8). This is the greatest romance ever written - "For God so loved the world (you) that He gave Himself (through His only begotten son), that whosever believes in Him will not perish, but will have eternal life" (John 3:16, paraphrased). Yes, I know you know that Jesus loves you. I mean, if you grew up in a Christian household, you've heard that refrain over and over again, to a point that it almost seems cliché. You know in your head that He loves you; but do you really KNOW His love for you? Have you been able to fully grasp it? Jesus loved us without caution, with reckless extravagance - He stripped off His Royalty and stepped down into our humanity - think about that; Because of love, because of the joy set before Him - our salvation, He endured the Cross and scorned it's shame (Hebrews 12:2). Our best attempts at unconditional love fall short in comparison to God's amazing love; our finite minds cannot fully grasp the depth, the height, the width and the length of God's love for us - not without Him giving us a deep revelation of this Love. Therefore, we must seek Him if we want to know Love. God is the very definition of Love (1 John 4:8), and in order to understand this love, we must seek Him. That way, we will be able to receive His love, and love Him in turn - we love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). And when we keep growing in our understanding of His love, we will be able to love others as well, thus fulfilling His command to love God AND love others (Matthew 22:37-40). I pray that God will increase you capacity to receive His love for you, in Jesus' name! 

The Bridge of this song is my favorite part:

"There's no shadow You won't light up, mountain You won't climb up, coming after me; There's no wall You won't kick down, lie You won't tear down, coming after me". - Cory Asbury, Reckless Love

Wow! So powerful right? And laced with so much truth! Cory Asbury, writer of this song, really got a glimpse into the powerful love of God when he penned these words:

• There's no Shadow He won't light up: There's no darkness too thick that the light of God's love can't pierce through! In your darkest hour, draw near to God confidently, boldly, trusting His love for you. He has given you access to His presence, and in the light of His presence, darkness is dispelled! 
• There's no Mountain He won't climb up: God did (and still does) all He could to reach us, to draw us to Himself. The Cross...that was no small thing, and we must be careful not to trample on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ through unbelief. He went through great lengths to rescue us from the grip of the evil one, and enabled us gain access to Father.  He so loved us! He so loves you! (John 3:16). When we realize the depth of our hopelessness without Jesus, our reasonable response is to love Him, for those who have been forgiven much, love much (Luke 7:47). 
• There's no wall He won't kick down: He conquered hell and the grave for you and for me. The plan for our salvation, despite Satan's best attempt to thwart it, was successful, even before it began. The wall of separation that kept us from Father was once and for all destroyed with Jesus' death on the cross, and His resurrection from the grave. With this in mind, be confident that any wall in your life the enemy is using to keep you from the promises of God has already been torn down in Jesus' name! Surrender to Jesus, surrender to Love, and watch Him fight every one of your battles.
• There's no lie He won't tear down: What lie has the enemy whispered to you recently? I feel like our identity in Christ is one truth that is constantly under attack by the enemy. Remember when Jesus was tempted in the wilderness? Satan always prefaced his sentence with, "IF You are the Son of God...turn these stones into bread; throw Yourself down...;" (Matthew 4:3-10). This IF seems to have been thrown there in question of Jesus' identity. Jesus was fully aware of who He was though, and thus was not fazed, neither did He feel the need to try and prove His identity. In the same way, we must stand up against the lies of the enemy through the Word of God; The enemy whispers to you, "You are nothing, a nobody", and you declare back according to the Word of God, "I am a royalty, I am chosen (1 Peter 2:9), I've been bought at a price (I Corinthians 7:23)...". The enemy whispers again, "You will not live, you will die", and you declare back, "I will not die; instead I will live to tell what the Lord had done" (Psalm 118:17). In order to do this, we have to be able to know the truth - and to know the Truth, we must be well-versed in the Word of God. This is our weapon guys, and it might sound pretty redundant, but it cannot be said enough, we must know the Word of God. It is imperative in this season. Spend time in the Word, ask Holy Spirit to teach you, to give you wisdom and revelation as you study His Word. 

Remember, you are loved! I know the things we go through sometimes in this life tends to have us believe otherwise but this is an important truth you must get deep down in your heart: "I am loved, I am chosen, I've been set apart, God loves me with reckless abandon!". With this deep heart-revelation of His love for us, we can't but trust Him with our lives, laying aside the sin that so easily besets us. Indeed, it is His love that draws us to repentance. 

He wants to love you; Let Him! Allow His love permeate through your being, and into your heart. Before long, you'll begin to see your love for others grow, till it reaches a place of reckless extravagance. 

"Oh the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God; Oh It chases me down, fights till I'm found, leaves the ninety-nine; I couldn't earn it, I don't deserve it, still You gave Yourself away; Oh the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God". - Cory Asbury, Reckless Love