What Picture Are You Painting?

MEMORIZE: “Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:” (2 Cor. 3:2).

READ: Genesis 26:12-14

God is not a loser, whichever way you look at it. When He uses an honorable vessel, He gains and His kingdom is positively impacted. When He uses a dishonorable vessel, or vessels that have turned from honor to dishonor like Ananias and Sapphira, He still does not lose. God's judgment on such unreliable vessels becomes a lesson and strong warning to others, thereby strengthening their hands and commitment.

In other words, all things good or bad, work to God's advantage. If you are connected with God and you follow Him every step of the way, He will cause all things—good and bad—to equally work in your favor (Rom. 8:28). Why? He is in charge of every situation. He knows everything, sees every actor in the play, knows their thoughts and the next move they will make long before they take a step.

This season, the Lord will cause every event to work in your favor. God uses honorable vessels to make a statement or prove a point. He used Joseph to prove to all and sundry that He is a faithful God, and that whatever He says must come to pass (Gen. 37:5-11; 50:15-21). Do you know that if you can hold on to His Word long enough, God will use you to tell His faithfulness? Does your life declare God's faithfulness?

If you look at the lives of some believers, you would never want to serve their God. Their laziness, prayerlessness, stinginess and disobedience have hindered God's hands from moving on their behalf, thereby painting their God as powerless. Are you painting God negatively? Sometimes, God may use someone to prove that in spite of adverse circumstances, His power never fails. For instance, in Genesis 26:12-14, He asked Isaac to sow in time of famine and he reaped a harvest that made him move from being a nobody to the wealthiest man around.

Imagine a stranger becoming richer than the nation he sojourned in. In fact, he became so rich they envied him and asked him to leave. If you follow divine principles, you will always get heavenly results, adverse conditions notwithstanding. Your life paints a picture of God to the world. What picture of God are you painting?

Pastor A Akenroye

Louisville KY