Hoooo my gawd. Oshodi, you have come back.
Long time no talk! I hope you are doing well. In the midst of preparing for finals and coming back home, I’ve been a bit busy and distracted. But, don’t feel I have forgotten about you. I have so many things to share, so many experiences. But I won’t bore you about those things in this post. That’s for another time.
Ok. So as you all know or if you did not, I’ve been hosting fellowships at my campus. There have been talks about relationships with God (forming a personal one) to relationships with baes and boo’s. Which then went back to a relationship with God, people’s experiences and so on. So after thinking about these various experiences and sitting in church and so on, the Holy Spirit was droppin hints. The idea to do a series was born. The idea came about that if you have now given your life to Christ.. What happens next? I will do 3 parts in total, which I would love you all to follow along to. So, part 1 of the series begins NOW! Were going to talk about what to expect.
Trials and Tribulations
Trials and tribulations. Its going to happen. You didn’t choose this life, this life chose you! (jokes) But on the real, expect them. The enemy doesn’t want you to succeed. (He is the #1 hater) Therefore, he will try everything he can to break your new love and faith in Christ. Long-term friends may start getting too fresh with you, family members may seem like they are just there to frustrate you. Coworkers may start acting nasty and so on. They just can’t understand how you could have faith in something you can’t see. It sounds illogical to the human mind. Just remember, you are now a light in a dark place. Some people will just hate you because of the new light that has been ignited in you. Don’t loose hope. Pray that the lord directs you on how to deal with these attacks.
Also, the lord needs to strip you of old habits, people and things that belonged to the old you. Sometimes your trials are not the enemy attacking you. Sometimes, God is just putting you through a process. He needs to renew you so he can use you. Also, God ain’t no punk (read Isaiah pleaseee) . If you say you’re going to be on his team, he needs to see if you really about that life. He’s in it for the win 100%, not half-ass attempts.
1 Peter 1:6-7 says:
6 So be truly glad.[a] There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. 7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.
Basically, life does not always get easier when you give your life to Christ, especially at the beginning. But just remember, you have the attention of the heavenly father. You trials, pains and persecution, he cares about them. Talk to him about what you are going through. He wants to build that connection with you and see if you trust him through whatever. This is a lesson to learn now, than later.
1 James 1:5 says:
2 Dear brothers and sisters,[a] when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.
Expect to Be Renewed
So, you are a new believer or getting back on track with the Lord. What changes will you start to see? First off, habits will begin to change. Habits that were not the best for you or lead you in wrong directions will start falling off. You may not hang around the same people. They may not interest you; your eyes may be more open and realize they may not have been your real friends at all. (But really the holy spirit guiding you) and so many things about you may start to change for the better. But how sway??
First of all, there has to be a real and honest transformation of the heart. Giving your life to Christ should not be done because your friends are doing it or your family forced you. It has to be a decision you formed solely by yourself. That it came from the heart. You with out a doubt believed in the Gospel you heard, you feel like Jesus is calling you back to him, therefore, you professed it within yourself.
Romans 10:10 says
10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.
If your heart truly believes, it makes it much easier for the Holy Spirit to transform you. The Holy Spirit will guide you into doing things that bring you closer to the Lord, and allow more clarity on current situations. Your mind will begin to change. You cannot be the same person you were before you had your encounter. The old you must die and the new you is forming, therefore, new ways will also form. You may find yourself listening to more praise music, praying more, picking up the bible more than you did before, discovering new gifts. The list goes on. You also won’t have to force yourself to do things the way God instructed you personally to do, you will have the urge to please him in every thing you do.
God is in the business of restoration. He is restoring you. Making you fresh, pliable and able to live out your purpose to give him glory. Don’t resist the change. Be assured the lord is working on you. Just allow God’s work to be done in you.
Expect To Plug Into The Source
As humans, we get so caught up in what we can do by ourselves. What we can achieve, how much strength we have. Let me tell you something.. When you are truly renewed in Christ, all that goes out the window. Straight up. Not because you want to, but because you realize things seem a lot harder by yourself. When you declare Jesus as Lord over your life that means every part of your life belongs to HIM. All your dreams, goals, wants, desires, way of living, body, failures, pains, past, future. Everything belongs to him.
He has control over all aspects of your life. Therefore, when you declare this new mastership with your heart, you have relinquished the pseudo control you had over your life and finally let him rule it. Now, if you try to do things the way you used to or get to prideful of what you can do, it won’t work out so well. There can’t be two rulers in one house. Either he has control or he doesn’t. There is no middle ground with this. God is too much of a gentleman to impose on your free will.
The great thing about our God is that he is always willing to take control when we let him. He wants to know what’s up with you. He wants to know the projects you are working on. What’s going on in school that’s troubling you. The issues in your marriage. The dream you have had since you were 5. When you give your life, you are not relying purely on your strength because all you need to is go to him for guidance, advice, strength, whatever you need and he will provide. He is the ultimate plug. Once you truly understand this, life will be so much better for you. He can instruct you on what business deals to take, how to communicate with your spouse, the steps to take to get to your goal, but with his will at the center. The knowledge you desire, the confidence you are seeking. He will guide you, if you allow him too.
This is not only for a new believers. This is for all of us. We all need a reminder sometimes of what to expect when we give our lives to Christ, especially if we have not really been intentional about it for a while. It’s good to have a heads up about what comes with this life choice. Thank you for reading and come back for Part II of the series. You accepted Jesus Christ as Your Lord and Savior.. Now What? Where I will discuss God’s Love. Till then..
Bye Friend!
Great word! This story in Act would also bring around the message of what you are saying.
New King James Version (NKJV)
Christ Is Preached to an Ethiopian
26 Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is desert. 27 So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship, 28 was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. 29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.”
30 So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 The place in the Scripture which he read was this:
“He was led as a sheep to the slaughter;
And as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.
33 In His humiliation His justice was taken away,
And who will declare His generation?
For His life is taken from the earth.”[a]
34 So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. 36 Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?”
37 Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.”
And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”[b]
38 So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. 39 Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip was found at Azotus. And passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea.
Thank you for this word!