“For You will light my lamp; the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness. For by You I can run against a troop, by my God I can leap over a wall”. Psalms 18:28-29
Welcome back! We are still on our series on Broken Vessels. It is important to get ourselves soaked with what the Word says about this subject, so as to glean from the timeless counsel of God as it pertains to us, in this season. In our days and times, the eyes of God have not ceased to search around for men and women that are broken and battered but willing to drop all their past track records of failures, so as to embrace the new life God will give them. In every generation, the words of the Psalmist never seem to fade out when He said in Psalms 51:17 that “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart – these, O God, You will not despise”. The greatness of God’s power and ability to turn nothing to something becomes available to any man that fulfills the condition in the verse above. Here is one truth the devil will never make struggling believers realize, as it has the power to bring light to their path. Are you broken? Are you tired? Have you failed in this journey of faith more times than you can count? Your help is here! Journey with me as we take a look at God’s beautiful plan for the broken earthen (human) vessels from generation to generation. Get ready for the fire experience!
Until every man journeys to the point where he starts to see the gaps and frailties that will overwhelm his life without the help of God, the man will never come near to the full maximization of his destiny.
Man was intentionally made from dust for a reason. God in His unsearchable wisdom ensured the raw material for the creation of the physical human body of man was dust, so as to communicate weakness and frailty. God was patient with the creation of man for a reason. It is important for us to note that before the creation of man, God already made a name for Himself through the magnificent creatures He had created earlier. Talk about the heavenly beings, the Sons of God, the living creatures and battalions of beauties beyond this realm we will get to see when we get to heaven. Yet, He didn’t make any of all these in His own image or after His likeness. Man was intentionally created to carry the fullness of the nature of God. But before man would live to make a name for himself, God crafted man out of dust, to communicate how impossible it is for man to live to the fullness of his potentials without relying on the strength of the Almighty God. Therefore, until every man journeys to the point where he starts to see the gaps and frailties that will overwhelm his life without the help of God, the man will never come near to the full maximization of his destiny. Know this, today and know peace!
No matter how high you climb in the cadre of success or achievements, either in service unto God or in life, if there are still matters that were swept under the carpet without being carefully dealt with, it is only a matter of time before that hidden part will later disrupt what you have built for many years!
In the journey of believers on earth, while keeping to obedience to God, holy living, serving God and living for eternal things, there can come a time when for some reasons, we start to live below the expectations and investments of God for our lives. For some, it begins gradually with little disobedience here and there, and then neglecting the consecrations and the very ordinances that brought them to the heights they have reached in God. For others, it moves from bad to worse until it becomes glaring that their existence is already a failed attempt to meeting the requirements of God for life and ministry. You start to wonder if you are the same person that started out with God with so much passion and hunger for His Kingdom, but for some reasons, you cannot articulate how the journey became blurry and you slipped out of grace.
God knows exactly how to fix the broken pieces of our lives together as long as we are ready to submit to Him and cry for help.
There are many root causes of these shocking failures in the lives of believers or men that work in God’s vineyard. King Solomon, in the book of Song of Solomon 2:15 described it this way: “catch us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes”. Some believers failed to pay attention to uncontrolled anger, lies, jealousy, pride, lack of forgiveness, and many more, while they were growing up in God. They allowed these “little foxes” to grow with them without catching and sending them out of the vineyard of their hearts while serving God. After some years, it is only proper for these foxes to grow into full grown wild beasts that will not only destroy all that we have built in God but also sow seeds of discord in the heart of other believers around us. Every fallen giant of today was a shining champion yesterday that failed to pay attention to the little foxes. No matter how high you climb in the cadre of success or achievements, either in service unto God or in life, if there are still matters that were swept under the carpet without being carefully swept away and dealt with, it is only a matter of time, that hidden part will come back later to disrupt what you have built for many years!
When God is the driver of your life’s vehicle, you can never end in failure
Nevertheless, despite these contaminations and major setbacks that led to the big downfall, we have an established promise from the creator of us all that, all is not lost concerning your life! That downfall is not the end of your life. At that point of failure, God’s mighty saving hand is waiting to receive whoever is willing to humbly come back to the place of making. There is a school in the spirit, a spiritual workhouse where God mends broken vessels and prepares them for greater use in His sacred service. Remember He is the maker of all, He definitely knows exactly how to fix the broken pieces of our lives together as long as we are ready to submit to Him and cry for help.
At the point when man is in his weakest position, the strength of God is still very available to lift him and make him stand taller than other men on earth.
The Bible is filled with stories of broken vessels that approached the potter’s house for mending. God still mends lives! There are believers like Moses that thought they could do God’s work with their physical strength, physical means and human wisdom and still arrive with God’s desired result. This can never yield positive result! Moses tried it and failed. There are other believers like Jonah that left where God placed them and refused to deliver the divine message given to them because of their selfish and personal reasons. No matter which category you fall into, God’s hands is stretched towards you today, calling you back to the place of making, telling you it is possible to try again, provided you are willing to allow Him take your hands and lead. When God is the driver of your life’s vehicle, you can never end in failure. King David testified to this fact in one his psalms, “For by You I can run against a troop, by my God I can leap over a wall”. Psalms 18:29. You will agree with me that it is humanly impossible for one man to run against a troop of soldiers! With which strength? Yet, energized by the strength of Yahweh, David did the impossible. A man killed hundreds of soldiers, that is the kind of headline that fills the news- when a broken vessel releases himself to be used by God.
Until we return to God in brokenness so He can light our lamp and enlighten our darkness, our lives will continue to fall short of all that God desires for us to become and express to our world on His behalf.
In addition, there were men and women who thought it was possible for them to break limitations and new grounds just by their human strength, but they were embarrassed by the failures that decorated their attempts. On the other hand, there are also men that had access to wisdom and when they realized how impossible it would be for them to succeed without the help of God, they engaged the most High God and He showed up for them in no small way. Hannah was a lady that learnt this ageless lesson the hard way. Living in a polygamous marriage and yet without a child of her own for some years. The Bible was clear to point out that her rival, Peninnah who already had children of her own constantly provoked her and made her miserable, due to her childlessness. A point came when Hannah couldn’t take it any longer, she poured out her heart to God, at Shiloh, in the presence of Eli the Priest, concerning her childlessness and vowed to return the son back to God. The Lord was quick to grant her request as she gave birth to Samuel earnestly. Then Hannah revealed to us in her song of thanksgiving one important lesson she learnt through the dealing: “…for by strength no man shall prevail”. 1 Samuel 2:9b. At the point when man is in his weakest position, the strength of God is still very available to lift him and make him stand taller than other men on earth. The best of human strength cannot last you in your journey of life. You need divine help!
The day you embrace God’s will for your life, you start to live.
Finally, in our focus passage, David exclaimed that “For You will light my lamp, the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness”. Here is the honest submission of a man God Himself called the man after His heart, in the Bible. David made us realize that without God, it is impossible for a man’s lamp to be lighted. “To be lighted” here means to discover the true reason for one’s existence. What is the use of a lamp when it is not lighted? It is useless! Until we return to God in brokenness so He can light our lamp and enlighten our darkness, our lives will continue to fall short of all that God desires for us to become and express to our world on His behalf. Indeed, only men that are totally dependent on God, that see Him as their magnificent obsession and the object of their desire will be able to fully maximize their potentials on earth. The day you embrace His will for your life, you start to live. Have you been blessed? Anticipate the next episode as we start to unveil Biblical heroes that were broken vessels and yet became Champions for God, in their generation. Thanks for visiting the fire place!