I’m reading a book which is set during the 100 years or so before the birth of Christ. It is set in Egypt and Rome and during the period when Cleopatra ruled Egypt. It is historical fiction but very well written and I can visualise a lot of what is happening. Chava is a Jewish girl who grows up spending most of her time with young Cleopatra as a companion. After Caesar invades Alexandria and Cleopatra has his child, Chava falls out of favour and Cleopatra has her and her father (who used to be tutor to the royal children) imprisoned and eventually sold as slaves. Chava had refused to worship the Greek Gods in the temples in Alexandria and ends up in Rome working on a farm. (This is how far I’ve read and it’s about half way through the book.
Now I know that circumstances can change very quickly and nobody is guaranteed the lifestyle they have at present but can you imagine being relatively wealthy and then the next thing you are in a stinky prison and a year later you are being paraded before slave traders?
We are so quick to look at people who seem to have everything and say. “What about me, Lord? Why do I have to struggle and turn over each cent? What did that guy do right and what did I do wrong? How come my life is always a struggle?”
Now to give a little perspective, Chava believed that God had told her when she was quite young that she would be a blessing to Cleopatra when she was queen and that she would be with her on her happiest day as well as her last day. This made Chava believe that she would always be close to Cleopatra. When she is in prison and eventually sold as a slave she starts to question God’s words to her. She couldn’t fathom how that would happen in her present state and she began to doubt God’s words to her.
We do that too. We look at the promises in the Bible, we hold onto a prophetic word, we remember what God has told us personally, but it seems like it’s never going to happen. Our circumstances just get worse instead of better and we want to give up instead of persevere.
Isaiah 40:31, But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
Romans 12:12, rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer;
Galatians 6:9, And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
James 1:12, Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
There is always the temptation to stop believing the promises of God. Just because things aren’t happening the way we want them to and in our time frame does not mean they aren’t going to happen. And even if they don’t happen, should we turn our backs on God? Should we decide that we know better and we can do things on our own? Some people might, but I know that God loves me and that He has a plan. The plan might not follow the route I thought it would and it might not even be the plan I thought it would be, but He definitely has a plan that is way better that any plan I could ever make.
If the things you had planned for your life aren’t exactly going as you thought they would, I have this advice for you: Get happy, and start praising God because He has something so awesome waiting for you that you can’t even start to imagine it, and if you stop trusting now, you aren’t ever going to know what it is.
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