“Issachar is one tough donkey crouching between the corrals; when he saw how good the place was, how pleasant the country, he gave up is freedom and went to work as a slave”.
Genesis 49:14-15 MSG.
Slavery in a nutshell is as old as mankind itself, meaning, it has been in existence since from the world goes; therefore it will take the ageless GOD to put an end to it.
Slavery in a simple terms means being held captive by a higher power stronger than oneself. That is why our LORD JESUS CHRIST taught us the skill on how to hold the captivity captive.
“When a strong man armed to the teeth,
Stand guard in his front yard, his property is safe and sound.
But when a stronger man comes along with superior weapons?
The he’s beaten at his own game, the arsenal that gave him such confidence
hauled off, and his precious possessions plundered”.
Luke11:21-22.MSG.
When we talk of slavery; it could also mean our desire, or unholy ambitions for filthy lucre, that is;evil gains of this world, but at the same time; it could be surrendering the freedom of today; as in, bearing the pain of today for the gain and ultimate freedom of tomorrow, as in the case of Issachar who GOD granted rest, and the whole race of Israel, because of the sacrifice of one man; who all the Christian believers found worthy to reckon with today.
“And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the time, to know what Israel ought to do; the head of them were two hundred and all their brethren were at theircommandment”.
Chronicles 12: 32 KJV.
This is a good scenario, but another case happened when Moses led Israelites out of Egypt and they encountered a trivial problem of shortage of food and water; they suddenly forgot their long awaited freedom after 430 years of slavery, and wished they could go back to Egypt to re-submit themselves to their former task masters; which is what most believers are already doing because of the tough economic situation. The Good news is “All is well”. GOD that showed up to rescue the Israelites is still very much alive, all he need from us is a leader, not necessary a leader, I mean a volunteer with a leading heart who will intercede like Moses did.
The Israelites mumbled and grumbled, saying in their hearts; "Can GOD make a way in the wilderness, can he set a table in the desert, can he give us meat on our meals, can he give us water" were the question on their minds and God proved His Almightiness; because a leader prayed.
“Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the holy one of Israel”.
Psalms 78:41. KJV.
He Prayed, and GOD did answered promptly, therefore;
“If there is a man to pray, there is a GOD to answer; this is not just a common saying, but Gospel truth.
“Man did eat Angels’ food: he sent them meat to the full. He caused an east wind to blow in the heavens: and by his power he brought in the south wind. He rained flesh also upon them as dust, and feathered fowls like as the sand of sea: and he let it fall in the midst of their camp, round about their habitations. So they did eat, and were well filled; for he gave them their own desire;”
Psalm 78:25-29 KJV.
Cheer up; GOD who hath called us; even him is able to keep that which is committed to his care, and GOD, even our GOD is able to keep us from falling; that’s why he said through our LORD JESUS CHRIST;
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto thee: for the morrow shall take carefor the things of itself. Sufficient into the day is the evil thereof”.
Mathew 6:33-34 KJV.
We youths are not helping matters at all. We are sons and daughters of The King of kings; yet some of us are operating like slaves; we settle for less, and we are son of the Lion of Judah, yet we act and behaved like dogs; distracted by bones and crumbs we receive from unbelievers; the shocking news is "If GOD does not help you, no body can help you".
"And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, there cried a woman unto him, saying, Help, my Lord, O king. And he said, If the Lord do not help thee, whence shall I help thee? out of the barnfloor, or out of the winepress?"
2 Kings 6:26-27 KJV.
That's why GOD promised us riches of the gentiles and GOD promised us bigger package than all that we are receiving.
“I will declare the decree; the lord hath said into me, thou art my son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession”.
PSALMS 2:7,8.
We received, and gladly accept those things we used to say GOD forbid to; years back, and when the world asked why we changed our minds now? We say; “That was then, now I know better!” No, you don’t know better, what you are doing is; you are compromising, because I wouldn’t want to use the word backsliding, because it’s a bigger one.
As youths, we need to bear our yokes now that we are young, and we should not forget our creator.
“ Remember now thy creator in the day of thy youth, while the evil day come not, nor the year draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; while the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the cloud return after the rains”.
Ecclesiastes 12:1-2 KJV.
That was what the wisest king advised us, and in the previous chapter he said;
“Be generous: invest in acts of charity. Charity yield high returns. Don’t hoard your goods; spread them around, be a blessing to others. This could be your last night. When the clouds are full of water, it rains, when the wind blows down a tree, it lies where it falls. Don’t sit there watching the wind. Do your own work, don’t stare at the clouds, get on with your life, just as you’ll never understand the mystery of life forming in a pregnant woman, so you’ll never understand the mystery at work in all that God does”.
ECCLESTIATES 11:1,2.
When we read this place, what come to our mind is the aspect of giving only, but is goes beyond that, it also talks about investing your time and energy into something productive- productive ventures, be a multi- tasking person because you don’t know which will be profitable, that's because the hand of the diligence shall be richly blessed, but he that is eager to get rich shall not go unpunished. He also teaches us on wise spending when he said, there will be abundance (oil and milk) in the vat (purse) of the wise, but the foolish ones spend it all.
That is to say you shouldn’t spend all that you earned; we should learn to save for the raining days; most of us are guilty of this, including me; until GOD took control. May GOD help us as we yield ourselves to GOD, because all we are is because of him, for his yoke is light and His burden is easy and all we have belong to him, and we shall find rest for our Souls. Matthew 11:28,29.
Shalom!!!
AGBEJULE ABOSEDE OYEFOLUKE
JESUS BABY
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