Living Beyond Lockdown – Week 1
This week we explored how whenever God gives us a promise, it requires preparation to possess it, and how the season of preparation involves pressure.
Jesus himself experienced the pressure (temptation) of defining His worth by performance, possessions, and popularity, when he spent 40 days in the desert before starting the three years of his world-changing public ministry.
In the middle of the pressure he remained steadfast and focused… but he was the perfect sacrifice without sin.
We are not.
We’re sinners, and that means our responses to the pressures in this season will be different. Life’s pressures don’t make the man, they reveal him, and we don’t always like what we see in ourselves.
In the light of this, let’s remember the promise of Gods salvation from our sin accomplished by the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
This season also reveals what we believe about God.
“In crisis times, you really find out if you really believe the theology that you say you do.” – Dr Sam Chand
As 2020 started, many of us were making resolutions around success in relationships, influence and financial increase. We were trusting God for blessing and dreaming about what our future would look like.
Then all our plans came crashing down with corona … and our first reaction may have been something along the lines of: “But God you promised to bless me, so why is this happening?”
This period is one of the greatest opportunities in our lives for developing a deeper devotion to God and a more mature faith.
Sometimes it takes faith just to say “amen” to Gods promises because of the pressures in our present world. It is very human for us to become overwhelmed and frustrated at this time, but in this season our arguments with God need to become
“amens” in agreement with His word.
“The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” – Luke 17:5
Today is not about naming and claiming—it’s about acknowledging the weakness of our humanity revealed in the middle of our present pressures, and then choosing to trust Gods promises over and above our feelings.
As Jesus finished his 40 days in a season of pressure, scripture tells us he came out of the desert in the power of the Holy Spirit. Power will be released in your personal growth as you persevere through the pressures during this season of preparation.
Reflection questions
- What questions have you been asking God in this season?
- In this season, in which areas of your personal life have you struggled with doubt? (Let’s remember God is not preparing His promises for us, that’s already done through Jesus. He’s preparing us for the promises.)
- How may God be preparing you personally in your growth through the pressures you’re facing in this season
- Which promises in God’s word do you need to courageously declare an
“amen” over in your life during this season?
For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. – 2 Corinthians 1:20
