As I write this article, I once again realise that God has a Master Plan and that I am so honoured to be part of His Plan. As a daughter of the Most High, it is my desire to honour God as my Father and Jesus Christ as my Saviour, by living out His will in every area of my life.
Jesus too, understood His role in God’s Master Plan. Let us read Luke 9:22 – 23: “And He said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” Then He said to them all: “Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow Me.””
When I unpacked these two verses, I realised that if it was not for Jesus’s death and resurrection, I would not have eternal life. The Word does not say, the Son of Man should suffer, but must suffer. There was no room for maybe or perhaps and this means that it was in God’s plan to save us from eternal death.
The Word says: “The Son of Man must suffer many things…” Jesus went through life and only at a certain point, was He handed over to be crucified. It did not happen earlier and neither later, for it had to happen at an appointed time, for God’s Word to be fulfilled. In our own lives, we go through many challenges and hardships, for some, more than others. It is however important to remember that sometimes people go through difficulties, because of the wrong choices they have made. But many times, we go through hardships, as part of God’s purpose and plan to be fulfilled. Just, as it was for Jesus, it is not nice having to go through sufferings, but when we understand our role in God’s Master Plan, we must choose to not give up, but to run the race till the end.
The Word says: “…and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law…” I have often thought about how the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law could have been so “blind” as not to see that Scripture was being fulfilled. Then again, if they had seen it, Jesus would not have been crucified, overcame death and thereby giving us eternal life, through His resurrection. Just as Jesus was rejected, so are we, as the children of God. The world rejects us because we follow Jesus. They are still blinded, not seeing the truth. Rejection is never nice and often leave scars. However, we as the children of God, must remember that we are no longer of this world. Yes, we are in the world, serving Christ, but we are no longer of the world. Therefore, we don’t agree with the things of the world and the moment we stand up against the wrong in the world, people automatically reject us. What is important, is to keep the latter in mind and therefore, not to take it personally, keeping the focus to run the race, therefore executing God’s Plan.
The Word says: “…and He must be killed…” Jesus had to die and rise again, hence overcoming death, so that Scripture could be fulfilled and thus giving those who choose Him as their Personal Saviour, salvation, forgiveness of sin and eternal life. It costs something, it cost God to allow His son to be crucified and it cost Jesus His life. By following Christ, it also comes at a sacrifice of your life. For some it literally cost them their lives, being executed for following Jesus Christ. For others, it means losing their life in the sense of not living the life like they used to. Perhaps, it means losing friends and sometimes even family, who choose to follow the ways of the world. We often hear of people from other religions, having an encounter with Jesus and then they choose to follow Him, only to be rejected by their own families. Their family feels betrayed and would rather kill the converted member, rather than accept their choice to follow Jesus. I have often wondered, if Christianity and Jesus were not real to such people, why then are they threatened by it, to the degree that they would reject or even kill a loved one? The point I want to make is that, to follow Jesus, comes at a cost, sometimes your life.
The Word says: “and on the third day be raised to life.” Here is the reward; although Jesus had to suffer, be rejected and killed, He knew that He would rise on the third day. We too, need to know that although we face persecution, false accusations, executions and rejection from the people of the world, there is a reward. Christ set us free and we are free indeed (John 8:36). To be free does not mean that we will have no challenges. On the contrary, Jesus did say that He is sending us out like sheep among wolves (Matthew 10:16). He however, also says to us in 1 Corinthians 10:13: “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”
The Word says: “Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow Me.” Choosing to follow Jesus, means to die to yourself. Not your way, His way. Not your will, His will. Jesus says that it will involve taking up our cross daily. He never said it would be easy, but He did confirm that our reward is eternal (John 3:16).
We already know that God has a Master Plan and sometimes the role we need to fulfil is not pleasant. However, if we are serious about our relationship with Jesus Christ, we also need to be serious about executing God’s Master Plan. If you are not sure what exactly your role entails, take it one day at a time, seeking God in prayer and in His Word. The Holy Spirit will direct you in the way to go. When it is hard, and everything seems impossible, continue to stand firm in your faith (Proverbs 3:5), not losing confidence in Christ (Hebrews 10:35) and listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit.
To execute something, according to the online dictionary, means:
“put (a plan, order, or course of action) into effect.” “Synonyms: carry out, accomplish, perform, implement, effect, bring off, bring about, achieve, carry off, carry through, complete, enact, enforce, put into effect, put into practice, do, discharge, prosecute, engineer, administer, attain, realize, fulfil”
Dear reader, reading the above definition, it will take effort and sacrifice to put into effect what God has planned for us. I don’t know about you, but I am ready to execute the plan God has for me. Yes, satan give us a tough time and make life difficult to live, but that is proof that God’s plan scares satan, otherwise he would not go to such great lengths to bring down the children of God. Let us know one thing for sure. God is real and so is His Master Plan and satan knows it very well. He can’t stop God’s plan, so he daily tries to make our lives miserable.
Yes, it is hard to stand for Jesus, being rejected by the world. Yes, sometimes we stumble, fall and even get a little despondent, BUT let us not give up! Let us continue to EXECUTE God’s Plan, taking it one day at a time.
Love in Christ, Princess K