SOULSEARCHING SATURDAY

For a long time, I believed the saying, “God never gives you too much for you to bear”. That is not true. God will give us assignments that we on our own can’t handle. It is God’s strength and His grace that equips us to handle our assignments. Sometimes God’s assignments can be completed in a moment or a season, like praying for someone or a financial gift. Then there’s the difficult assignments? In the Bible, you will see that difficult, long-term assignments were the norm rather than the exception.  Abraham was given the assignment of leaving his home country for another land not knowing where he was going. Moses was given the assignment of telling a hard-hearted Pharaoh to let God’s people go. Jonah was given the assignment of preaching to Nineveh.  Hosea was given the assignment of marrying a prostitute. Paul was given the assignment of being an apostle to the Gentiles knowing that he would suffer terrible things for the cause of Christ.  And let us not forget about our Jesus who was given the most difficult assignment of all, living a sinless life, and bearing the sins of the world. People didn’t always want these assignments, just as we sometimes don’t want ours. But those who walked with God and had faith, eventually accepted their assignments. They understood that the assignment advanced the purposes of God in this world. When it’s clear that God wants us to do something difficult, we must be obedient. We must trust that even if we feel we can’t handle it, that God can. He will equip us and give us everything we need to fulfill the assignment!

I know this because there have been times in my life where I looked back and wondered how in the world did I do that or as Mahalia Jackson would sing, how did I make it over! I realize now I didn’t do that, it was not me, but God! One of those times was in 2005, my mother suffered a stroke. She was paralyzed on one side and diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. This changed her life forever. God put in my Spirit to be her caregiver and to not leave her in a rest home. I did not know how I was going to do it, but I chose to be obedient. It changed my life, as I knew it. Anyone that has been a caregiver or knows someone who is, understands it is physically, mentally, emotionally and financially draining. The next years were challenging to say the least. My siblings and I have never been close, but my mother’s illness pulled us further apart. And even though I chose to accept the assignment, I was hurt, angry, and I resented my siblings. I felt they were not doing their part. They resented me for their own reasons (that’s their story to tell). It was a hot mess! I had to be a caregiver and deal with all these emotions. I was angry and frustrated, I cried a lot. Then one night while I was walking the floor, crying and venting about my siblings, God stopped me dead in my tracks. I could hear Him clearly say to me, “why are you angry with your siblings? I gave you this assignment, not them”. And just as clearly, He sent me to my Bible and scriptures on Moses and Pharaoh. Scripture says God hardened Pharaohs heart. He needed Moses to keep going back to Pharaoh so He could show up and show out! Pharaoh mistakenly thought that he was in control. However, God put him in the place of being an Egyptian leader for His purpose. This is the very reason I don’t get distracted by politics. They may think they are in control, but trust me, God is on it! God has a purpose for everyone, including those who resist Him. In the end God will get the glory no matter the person because God is the Giver of purpose in every life whether they live for Him or not. Our job is to pray for them. 

The lesson I learned was that when God gives us an assignment, and we accept it, we can’t get resentful and look to other people for help. We look to God. That is how God gets His glory. That night, God freed me from all that and it was wonderful! It was my assignment and I can tell you that I have never been the same spiritually! There is no way I could have done that assignment myself! He kept me strong. He made sure we had everything we needed, even though I had left my job to take care of her. He put who I needed in my life when I needed them. My mother lived like a queen until the day He took her home! God will cause people to be blessed because of your obedience! He kept me healthy even though I was diagnosed back then. Never had any symptoms until after my mom went to her permanent home! Tell me God won’t sustain you when you are on His assignment! What I have learned is we don’t have to worry about the how’s, when’s, why’s, or what ifs. God will provide the resources, time, and the anointing. Kingdom assignments only requires our obedience, God provides everything we need in our lives once we accept. I am not going to lie, being a caregiver was not easy most of the time. It was a challenge but also so rewarding! God gave me the opportunity to love on my mother the last years of her life. I would do it all over again! Long-term assignments are more challenging because they require long-term commitment and determination. I’m thinking about difficult assignments like family life, leadership roles in the body of Christ, or difficult ongoing circumstances related to your health or your finances.  These assignments need huge amounts of grace from God because our human willpower will run out. Difficult assignments sometimes will mean that you give up your ideal of a nice, controlled, comfortable life. Your life may seem out of control and you feel overwhelmed. Matthew 16:24-25 says, “Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it”.  Joseph just came to my mind. This man had an assignment that was not only difficult but would last his lifetime. I can’t imagine what Joseph was thinking when he found out his wife-to-be was pregnant. In that era, the only explanation for pregnancy, was that you had been with a man. Believing this Joseph still wanted to make things easier for her. Joseph didn’t want her to be stoned to death; he didn’t even want her to be disgraced. So, he planned to send her away secretly. But then the angel explained to Joseph that he shouldn’t fear violating his righteousness by taking Mary as his wife, because the Child within her was of the Holy Spirit. Once God made clear to Joseph that he was supposed to marry Mary, Joseph was willing; he accepted that assignment from God.  Scripture calls Joseph a righteous man. He also was a compassionate man. Reading about Joseph, tells me he was a man of God. In calling Joseph, a “righteous man”, Matthew is saying that Joseph was faithful to the Old Testament law. He brought sacrifices and meditated on the law day and night (Psalm 1). These qualities made Joseph the type of person who could receive a difficult assignment from God. He was the type of person who had learned how to submit to the will of God. Trust me, this was not a surprise to God. He knew just how Joseph would react when he found out that Mary was pregnant. He knew this because He had prepared him for this specific assignment. He was able to prepare him because Joseph seeked Him and was a righteous man.  I talk about Joseph’s difficult assignment here because Joseph shows that our walks with God should prepare us for the difficult, challenging assignments that God might give us. We must discipline ourselves for the purposes of God and nurture the qualities in our lives that will help us when the difficult assignments come. It is also important that we stay connected to God. When we abandon ourselves to the will of God, like Joseph did, we may lose the life we always wanted for ourselves, but we will find the life that God wants for us. And that life will be more satisfying. I know the assignment had to be difficult for Joseph, but look at the reward, Joseph had been given the honor of being the earthly father of Jesus Christ! God always rewards us when we are obedient! Kingdom assignments always further God’s purposes, even if we are not sure exactly what purpose they serve! Limited information is not a sign that God doesn’t know what the future holds. God is Almighty and all knowing, He knows well what each day holds. When God withholds information from us, it causes us to stay close to Him, to depend on Him, to lean on Him moment by moment, day by day. If we miss our assignment, we miss out on our blessings and everything that God has for us. We miss out on the anointing, insights, revelations, and the transformation our assignments bring. I can look back and see the purpose for just about everything that I have been through, each one leads me to where I am now. The pieces of the puzzle fits! I am enjoying the journey! My desire is to hear God say, “well done my good and faithful child”. Mark Twain said, “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” I believe this to be true. God’s assignments draw us into His plans and purposes for this world and our lives. Sisters and brothers, obedience is better than sacrifice! Please go to “Food for the Soul” and read today’s scriptures. Meditate on them and seek God’s purpose for your life if you don’t know already. Please share and help me spread God’s word. Love and Blessings…