Blunders and Bridges

Blunders and Bridges

I know many of you have found yourselves in a place of hurting. If not in the recent past, at some point in your life.

And in these places I am beginning to understand what the Holy Spirit is doing in me and what I believe He is trying to do in all of us.

I don’t think you can’t know who you are in God until you know who God is in you.

The bible teaches us that God is love, He is the awesome giver…well just look at how love is described in the book of Corinthians and you will see the reflection of the divine.

Love is patient, kind, I’m sure you follow me.

This God whom we serve is neither divisive nor destruction, nor can He be.

James 1:17-18

17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.

On the other hand we read and are taught by this same Word, that the enemy comes into our situations, he presents himself only to kill, to steal and to destroy.

Our enemy is neither omnipresent, nor is he omnipotent…he cannot discern the thoughts of redeemed people unless they reveal them to him.

He is not infallible, he makes mistakes….he throws fiery darts and darts don’t always hit the target. How many times have you played darts and hit the bull’s eye every single time? Okay, okay, maybe I'm in the minority, but it is rarely the case.

In his attempt to overthrow God in your life, he often slips up and makes a mistake.

These are the things I call the “enemies' blunders”, but I can see how God always uses these blunders in the life of the redeemed person to bridge them into something bigger and better.

They are used as a bridge to an even greater divine purpose.

In Moses' account of creation, amidst the garden, the serpent deceived the woman and ultimately brought man to rebellion and sin…however this deceptive strategy resulted in the plan of redemption!!! That's the up side isn't it?

What a tragic mistake the enemy made when he had Joseph’s brothers turn against him and throw him in a pit…and sold into slavery. I personally like this one.

From the pit…to the second in command to Pharaoh and ultimately being responsible for the preservation of a nation. After that huge blunder, things only went up from there for Joseph. Yeah so his beautiful prized coat was stolen and his identity was even taken, no one could ever take the great dreamer and ruler out of Joseph.

Let me stop here and say, some of you may feel you have lost your identity in God. Maybe you quit going to church, or there are questions you can't answer, or so much has happened you feel like a lost soul. Listen, no one can take away who you are. God made you, and only He knows who you really are, and He will manifest it if you remain faithful. He will find you when it's time, even if you're in a foreign land, figuratively, or literally!

What a mistake the enemy made when he had the crowd to stone Stephen…because standing in the shadows holding everyone’s cloaks, was the man who was adamantly persecuting the Christians. He would soon become the great Apostle Paul…who wrote much of the New Testament.

There are so many biblical accounts of blunders that led to a place of great significance.

When Jesus laid down His life on that fateful day when He was crucified, and the darkness covered the sun, God turned his face, and I’m sure the enemy forces were laughing. They really thought that this event on Golgotha was their pinnacle of success. But Paul wrote that had the rulers of this age, who were influenced by evil, known the end result of their mistake, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory.

By making the mistake of crucifying our Lord, the enemy put it within Jesus’ power to make a public spectacle of him and even conquer death hell and the grave.

In your own life how many times can you see how the enemy has struck at you only to have you come back even stronger in that area?

I can attest to the fact that many times the area that I am struggling in, once I have finally overcome, and sometimes even before I have overcome, is the area that God brings those who have needs into my life. When Jesus was being tempted in the wilderness by His enemy, those once He overcame them, He was reinforced in those areas and they became as solid as steel. In other words, the next time He was tempted by His ego to either go against God's Word, or Worship something other than His Father, or to allow Himself to be tempted by something, He would remember the wilderness experience, He would remember how He looked the enemy square in the eyes and said, His piece.

I hope we can all say that we have had times when we have been able to look our enemy in the eye and said "NO!" Or been able to overcome when the sadness of a loss or a hurt even unto death comes over us. I know I can, I know what grief feels like, I've seen it in almost physical shape just standing in front of me trying to keep me from moving. But today, I decided I will not allow it to stop me. I have the power to knock it down. And then when it comes again, I will say, "Hey remember what I did to you last time?" "Well, get ready cause here I come!" ...If you could hear me I would sing it for you, but you can't...well anyway, you get the point.

One more scripture to nail this down for you;

Dan 7:21-22

21 "I was watching; and the same horn was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them,

22 "until the Ancient of Days came, and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom.

This man Daniel had a vision, taken into captivity by the Babylonians while just a teenager, he became an advisor to the government and became a prophetic dreamer.

Daniel saw in his visions how the enemy was released to make war with God’s saints for a limited time, but that when the ancient of days came in, finally, then the time came for the saints to possess the Kingdom.

You see again, the enemy blunders by thinking he can defeat anyone belonging to a God that controls everything because He is the all in all, He is everything! Let that hit you for a moment!

I love Daniel’s description of God, the Ancient of Days...

Dan 7:9-14

9 "I watched till thrones were put in place, and the Ancient of Days was seated; his garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, its wheels a burning fire;

10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him. A thousand thousands ministered to Him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The court was seated, and the books were opened.

11 "I watched then because of the sound of the pompous words which the horn was speaking; I watched till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed and given to the burning flame.

12 "As for the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away, yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.

13 "I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him.

14 Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed.

See, what the enemy forgets is that this all knowing, all ruling God does not forget and he specializes in taking those things intended to cause defeat, broken lives, ruined circumstances and decay and He turns them into His victory.

It's real easy in our culture which has the all the tabloids and TV shows which concentrate on every move celebrities and political figures make, focusing on their blunders, even laying in wait for them to make a mistake for the entertainment value. It's easy for us to judge people by their blunders, but God often uses people because of their blunders.

Well, that's enough for now, but I'm not done, next time I’ll go a little further into blunders being turned into bridges, I don't think I even got to the good stuff. This is my first closing....ha, ha, ha!

I'm excited to be writing again and feel this is the time to reconnect with you by revisiting some of the messages that ministered to you the most.

I’m here to tell you to lift up your eyes and your countenance, joy always comes in the morning. And It’s never too late to see that joy coming over the hill. God is in control!

Until next time,

Roma and Pastor, when you need one!