Long time, no write. Let’s write.
I have been getting more insight on the Old Testament lately — studying more about the Israelites, the tabernacle and a bit of the Prophets. It’s interesting that when I started, all I wanted to do was read my Bible from the beginning — Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus… in that order. But then I read something in Exodus 28 about the priestly garment, and it made me remember something I had seen in Revelations 21 about the new Jerusalem. I checked and it was quite similar to something I had seen in Isaiah 60. That has led me down this rabbit hole of finding answers to a question I can’t quite phrase.
Usually, I’m scared to ask questions about the Bible. I don’t know if “scared” is the right word — maybe “hesitant”. I think it stemmed from a place of fear. You know, I grew up conscious of the fact that you can’t question God. I remember going to a friend’s place when her dad passed, and the patron we went with spoke about how we can’t question God. Back then, if I read something in the Bible and I didn’t understand, that was fine. At least I had read it, and I believed I would receive the blessings that follow. That was my mindset at the time. By the grace of God, I’m relearning. I’m asking more questions now, even though sometimes, I feel like I’m getting side-eye from the Holy Spirit.
Anyway, the more I studied, the more questions and realizations I had. I asked questions and got answers through scripture itself and other teachers. Sometimes, I felt afraid of waiting to hear from the Holy Spirit directly. What if he didn’t respond on time — or at all? I was expecting that the answers I sought would come like the whole Moses-on-the-mountaintop experience and then I’d hear a still small voice like Job did and then, boom, my answer would be revealed. LOL. I mean that’s still possible. However, I was led most of the time to other scriptures that provided the answers or I did my own research and gained the clarity that I needed, bit by bit.
This whole thing has led me to see how God’s plan of eternal redemption had been carefully crafted right from the beginning. How that the calling of Abram was intentional. The formation of the Israelites and the creation of the tabernacle wasn’t just something God asked them to do for fun. The patterns and prophecies spoken about the Messiah wasn’t an illusion. God knew these things, said them and they all came to pass. If you’ve read my previous piece about the Israelites, you’d see that they were a special breed of stubborn people (no offence) — same as me and you (or just me, if you’re not stubborn). One would think that they could just scatter the plans God had made before time began. God knew what he wanted and he used their good and bad to bring his plans to actualization. It was all bigger than them.
Another thing I’m learning (pardon all my learnings), is that what you do with what you know, is more important than what you know. You get? Let me say it again. What you do with what you know, is more important than what you know. So, I began thinking, what do I do with this little knowledge that I have gotten? How does it help me?
It wasn’t long before I saw how it applied to me. God knew me before I existed. I was carefully crafted, placed in my family, not by coincidence but by God’s divine plan. God told Jeremiah, '“Before I formed you, I knew you…” His plan goes beyond me. When Abraham was born, I’m sure Terah didn’t know that his son was going to be the father of many nations. But God knew. So why do I think I can excel and live my life outside of my Creator, outside of the one who saw me and knew me before I existed? Wouldn’t it be better to live a surrendered life, trusting that he has it all planned out and that I am not here by my own power?
It gets better.
So the prophecies have been fulfilled. Christ has come to earth. He lived for what the average person will call a “short” time. And then he dies. I’m sure the critic of those days would have asked why the one who was supposed to give us eternal life was hanging — dead — on a cross.
If only they knew. That was just the beginning.
Now, to me. To us. One job loss and we think that’s the end. One heartbreak and we won’t drink water for three days. Something small happens, and we lose our faith. But Christ died — The Life died. He rose after 3 days. In case you don’t know why Him dying was a big deal: His death and resurrection brought so much more than we could have hoped for. It gave us access to the Father.
All I’m saying is this: All things work together for good. I don’t have the power to change God’s plan by what I do. His plan must prevail. So even when I go through something strenuous and it feels like it’s the end, I must have the consciousness and faith that God is not one to go back on what he has said about me. What has he said? What did I hear him say?
Before I formed you, I knew you, and ordained you…
What has he said about you? Trust him to weave your life, through the good and bad days.