Are You Faithful In Obscurity

There is one thing that is still a mystery to me, one thing that I wish I could successfully decode, comprehend, apply in my life, and teach others to do the same. Every day I search the Bible, I am on high alert for anything that would point me to the answer to this mystery. I have heard a lot of sermons on it, but I am yet to be utterly convinced.

Some by Sin Rise

I have often wondered why people who don't really care about God do extremely well in life, while most Christians don't. Literally, it really seems like the unbelievers have the upper hand, while believers dutifully fast and pray to work in the establishments of unbelievers. One of the fundamental things I always hear is that there is “the Person of Jesus Christ”, and then, “the Principles of Jesus Christ”. Granted, a principle well applied has its rewards, but what I find very troubling is that, some by sin rise.

Here in America, sin is highly exalted and glorified, and by sin, many become extremely wealthy and even celebrities. My lifelong goal is to be a teacher of "Applied Word of God", because I believe His Word has all the answers. But there is a monstrous disconnect between theology or an awesome sermon or teaching, and its practical applicability to day-to-day life for the good of the common man. I have come out of many wonderful sermons or teachings completely wowed by what I heard, but how to apply what I heard in my life always present an overwhelming challenge of its unimaginable proportions.

I am still seeking answers, but in the meantime, I have resolved to approach it this way:

I believe that every person created by God is both a finished product of creation and a work in progress. I have come to understand that the outcome of anyone's life can never surprise God, because He knows the beginning from the end and the end from the beginning.

God made life to be very simple. You are either on the right or on the left. At any given point in your life, you are either on the RIGHT PATH or the WRONG PATH, either with GOOD or EVIL. Either way, your creator knows your end. Much like what God said to Jeremiah - Before I put thee in thy mother's womb, I knew thee...

We all existed with Him long before we were ever born, and He commissioned us on a mission and purpose before sending us to the womb. To that mission and purpose, we all agreed, and to a large extent, we appended our signatures onto the pages of the volume of the books of eternity, ratifying the contract.

Let me break it down a bit...Liken God to a Master Architect and Designer and you are the builder. Your corporate mission and purpose are to build a magnificent edifice fit for your Master. God draws up a building plan, with accurate dimensions, materials, budget and supplies. He reviews with you, the 3-D presentation of what the proposed finished product would look like, and it’s all very beautiful - you concur, and are enthusiastic to get to work. Meanwhile, in different pages of that master building plan, are drawings depicting construction phases, littered with construction dirt and debris, very unsightly messes, and outright ugly building site. But as you flip the pages, you notice that the messes and debris get fewer and fewer, and the site cleaner and cleaner as the completion of the building nears. Until eventually, all the mess is gone and the site is beautiful to behold with breathtaking landscaped gardens and all, adorning the whole exterior, and standing right in the middle is that magnificent edifice as was originally envisioned, in its majesty and glory, a finished masterpiece of the Almighty God.

Prior to God handing the plans over to you and sending you to your mother's womb, He cautions you that if you deviate from the master plan or blueprint, the beautiful edifice may never come to be. However, as long as you dutifully correct your construction errors; intentionally align your efforts with the master plan, and carefully reconstruct any mistake to its inevitable success by appropriating the provisions and resources for the project wisely; the completion may be delayed but you will still finish successfully. But if you deviate completely from the plan and build according to your own wisdom and pleasure, you and your construction mess will be gathered and burned and your site assigned to another.

Just before sending you to the womb, God does one more thing. He assigns you a Project Manager and Project Supervisor to ensure that they keep you on track, help you with any difficulty understanding the master plan, and give you

accurate interpretations of the seemingly complicated scope, requirements, and dimensions. God introduces you to His Word as your Project Supervisor and His Holy Spirit as your Project Manager. As long as you trust and follow the guidance, directions and convictions of the Project Manager, the Word will made flesh in you, and you will be empowered to handle the construction debris and mess you encounter as you go through the phases of construction process.

Your Project Manager ensures that you understand the project scope, requirements, dependencies and deliverables for the different phases or stages of the building project as you build the edifice. Your Project Manager also helps with assembling a team of people with different skills and expertise to help you with specific tasks at different stages of the construction. There are clear dependencies and deliverables for each phase or stage that you must complete successfully before moving on to the next phase or stage. This is an error control measure, a vital key for quality control and assurance. For instance, the survey and clearing of the construction site are necessary deliverables before breaking ground for the foundation - a dependency of the deliverable. Truly, God equips each one of us with everything we need to have a very beautiful and successful end, but the caveat is, YOU MUST STICK TO THE MASTER PLAN, FOLLOW THE GUIDE AND TRUST & OBEY YOUR PROJECT MANAGER. Little wonder the Bible says in Ecclesiastes 9:11 that, “ I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all.”

We all know what an unattractive job constrution site preparation is. Frankly, it is a job no one would take if not for passion and the financial incentive. As mundane and unattractive as it may seem, yet no building standing today in any part of the world, no matter how expensive or beautiful, would have seen the light of the day if the construction site was not first prepared, cleared and all the necessary civil engineering work completed prior to anything else being done. First things first no matter how mundane it may seem. For who hath despised the day of small things? Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand.” (Zechariah 4:10). Your beginnings will seem humble, so prosperous will your future be. (Job 8:7).

Recall David the Shepherd Boy. He was relegated to the pasture to care for the Sheep, an inglorious job of no gratitude. He essentially lost his significance in his family and was literally forgotten by his very own, yet he remained humble and faithful. He was written off, yet all his focus and mission were aligned to the master plan, and he shunned all else and remained humble and faithful in obscurity UNTIL Prophet Samuel showed up. When God rejected all the sons of Jesse for Kingship and Samuel asked, are there any more sons born to Jesse, only then was David remembered. It really doesn’t matter who has written you off, who may have forgotten you, or how lowly your present situation maybe, as long as you align yourself with God and stick to the master plan, a day will come when everyone will keep standing until you arrive for your kingly anointing.

For me, the most important thing I must do is to ensure that I am perfectly aligned with God and I absolutely stick to the master plan. In the master plan I have all the provisions and resources I need to have a very successful and happy ending.

Stay Uplifted in Christ and Live Cheerfully.

From the Desk of Pastor Nicholas Obodo