Standing In the Way of God :: By Nathele Graham
Our God is full of wonders. He created all things in order to provide for the well-being of all humanity. The “anthropic principle” acknowledges that all conditions are perfect for life to exist on earth. If the earth was a little closer to or further from the sun, it would be too hot or too cold. If there was too much rain, snow, or wind, plants couldn’t grow for food. If there was too little oxygen, we couldn’t survive. Christians know where this balance came from.
“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth“ (Genesis 1:1).
I take comfort in the fact that God is in the details of life and He put beauty all around for us to enjoy. He did this without a committee or a planning commission. Of course, God is triune…three in one. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All three are unique but function in perfect unity.
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shall love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up” (Deuteronomy 6:4-7).
Too many parents have forgotten to teach their children the truth of Scripture. In so doing, we stand in the way of God. He is the Creator and the Rule-Maker. His ways need to be sovereign in our lives. If we don’t honor Him, we stand in the way of His will for us.
We are His ultimate creation, and He loves us with a perfect love that we cannot find anywhere but in Christ. When Jesus walked this earth, He showed us what love is. He was not prideful, although He was perfect and could have felt superior to people. He could have acted as if He was above everybody, but He humbled Himself. His only anger was toward the religious leaders who had corrupted God’s truth into a way to puff themselves up and get rich at the expense of the common people.
Anger is a sin and has no place in a Christian’s way of life. If you display anger, how does that represent a Christ-like attitude? How does that show His love? All it does is reflect that you think you are above other people and are able to judge and condemn them. Jesus told us not to judge others or else we will be judged.
“Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven” (Luke 6:37).
If you judge others, you are standing in the way of God. You put yourself in God’s place. The difference is you are not God but are a sinner just like those you are judging. How can others find His love and forgiveness if you represent Him as judgmental and condemning? Don’t stand in the way of God as others who are judgmental and misrepresent our Lord.
When we first come to Jesus, we don’t have a lot of knowledge about how we should act. We are forgiven of all sin, but we need to learn to turn from sin. We need to be disciples. Sadly, most churches lack discipleship classes. You can find discipleship in Scripture. Peter, John, and the others had a lot to learn. They were closer to Jesus than anyone else but still needed lots of discipleship.
“Then said Jesus unto his disciples, ‘If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works” (Matthew 16:24-27).
We are saved by our faith, but our works will earn us crowns at the Bema seat judgment. A person who chooses to follow Christ has to learn to deny their own sin nature. It’s not easy, but anger and pride will never show Christ’s love. Those first disciples had a lot to learn, but because they were willing to truly follow Jesus, they have shown many of us a better way to live humbly and a way to live eternally. Study Scripture, and learn. Apply it to your life and find joy through Jesus. One of those tricks for learning JOY in life is Jesus first, Yourself last, and Others in between. Don’t allow your own selfishness to stand in the way of sharing the Gospel.
The first disciples had a lot to learn. They were a rough bunch, but Jesus saw their potential and patiently taught them. They were common men who were fishermen, tax collectors, and such. None of them were schooled in religion. Christianity isn’t a religion; it’s a way of life. That life has to be learned because it doesn’t come naturally to most people. As Jesus said to the disciples, we must deny self, take up our cross, and follow Him.
The Apostle Paul had a lot to learn. He did more to hinder Christianity than most people. The persecution he imposed was horrific. Still, there’s a good lesson for us. Don’t think anybody is unreachable for Christ. When Paul was on his way to Damascus to arrest Christians, he met Jesus. His life was completely changed.
“And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round him a light from heaven; And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutes thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord: And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutes: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks” (Acts 9:3-5).
What if a self-righteous Christian had been there and mocked the situation or had a fit of anger toward Paul? As it was, God led obedient and humble people to help Paul to become a true Christian leader. He faced opposition, and fellow Christians were afraid of him, but Jesus changed Paul from a vicious man into a humble but fearless servant. These Christians who helped Paul could have stood in the way of the plan Jesus had for Paul, but they set aside their own self-centered feelings and showed Christian love to him.
It’s up to all of us to apply Scripture to our lives. If we live for Christ, then we will not stand in His way. You may be the one whom the Holy Spirit has chosen to witness to someone and share the Gospel. If you choose to let your pride get in the way, you may never achieve all that God has planned for your life. You have a choice. You can hinder God’s work, or you can be a catalyst for His glory.
John and his brother James must have been a challenge. Jesus called them “Boanerges.” What does that mean? “And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is The sons of thunder” (Mark 3:17). They were fishermen and more than likely a bit on the rough side. We can get a glimpse into their nature during an event that happened in Samaria.
Messengers had been sent to a village telling them Jesus was coming and to be ready. The Samaritans refused to welcome Him. This set James and John into anger, and they wanted vengeance. “And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?” (Luke 9:54). They were allowing their pride and anger to stand in the way of God’s love and forgiveness. “But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. And they went to another village” (Luke 9:55-56).
The disciples had a lot to learn, and so do we. Their action would have stood in the way of God’s greater plan. The fire might have made the disciples feel prideful and self-important because of what they did, but they would not have shown God’s love.
Peter also showed his very human feelings when he tried to stand in the way of Jesus going to Jerusalem. Peter was very outspoken. He has been described as “Ready, fire, aim Peter” because if a thought came into his head, he would say it rather than think first. I love Peter. When Jesus asked His disciples what people said about Him, they all had various answers. Not very different than today when we see others saying all religions are the same. Then, Jesus made it personal. “And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ“ (Mark 8:29).
Peter spoke the truth, but he didn’t truly understand what that meant. After that, Jesus began to teach them about the near future. He had to go to Jerusalem. “And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again” (Mark 8:31). It was Peter who tried to stand in His way. “And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him. But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men” (Mark 8:32-33).
Peter was looking at things from a human point of view. He knew Jesus was the Christ but tried to stand in the way of His ultimate reason for entering His creation. “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). That abundant life would only come through His death, burial, and resurrection. That would only happen in Jerusalem. Peter tried to stand in the way of God’s plan. Peter’s love for Christ was “on again, off again” because when Jesus was arrested, it was Peter who denied knowing Him.
So many of us are just like Peter. We quietly pray and tell God what He should do, but when accused openly of knowing Christ, we deny Him, either by words or actions. Peter ultimately totally surrendered to Christ and became a strong leader of those early Christians in Jerusalem. No, he was not a pope but a Christian leader who spoke openly to others about Christ.
Are you standing in the way of God? He has great plans for you, but if your actions and words deny Him, you cannot do the works He wants you to accomplish for Him. He loves you, and He loves those who annoy you. Don’t stand in His way.
God bless you all.
Nathele Graham
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“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee” (Psalm 122:6).
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