To God’s Chosen in the Upstate, A word of encouragement and testimony in the Lord,
It was about midnight when my phone buzzed. A word of the Lord delivered by my Brother Samson. Turns out, neither one of us could sleep. Sure enough, straight bars from Jesus’s right-hand man, Peter:
Late Night Snacking with the Lord
The Word:
“For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.” - 1 Peter 2:19-21
Keeping it 300 with My Brother
I wish I had this verse a few days ago when I was breaking down some divine wisdom with my brother, Chris. My brother Chris’s spirit was grieved deeply by his haters (haters love to hate). The pain was so deep that the only comparison that made sense to him was Judas to Jesus. The silver lining was that through his own persecution, he was brought closer to Christ.
As grateful as I was for his growth, I had to know more (spill that tea brother). Who, and why would anyone persecute my brother like this? It was with this inquiry that “it got real”. You see, my brother Chris has always had a thing for a particular type of car. His whole life, he knew he would have this car, and when the funds became available, he knew exactly what he was going to do - step up his pull-up game.
Sidenote - Not having a car in this day and age is a major inconvenience, especially in a place like the upstate that doesn’t have a strong public transit system. The cherry on top is that most women will exclude you from the dating pool just for not having a car, so the urgency to have a car in this part of the world is high for a brother.
The Crossroads
As soon as Chris figured out what “he” wanted, God appeared to invite him to submit to “His” will. To take that money and put it to God’s divine purposes instead of buying a car. WHO HASN’T BEEN HERE? If you haven’t, you’re not living a life where the Spirit of Christ is at war with your fleshly desires, and I would invite everyone reading to invite Christ into that battle immediately. My brother Chris was at the same crossroads many of us are contemplating at this very moment (whether to serve God or yourself). “Sometimes” when we follow our passions and dreams, they align with what God is calling us to do. Obedience “sometimes” is not the kind of “report card” your heavenly Father is going to be pleased with.
The suffering kicked in as soon as he took possession of the car. Constant repairs, gas guzzling, and worst yet, the haters! Cops would pull him over and harass him because of the type of car it was. His closest friends would clown his ride to his face. He said, in spite of all that, he, like Christ, continued to show love to his haters. I had to keep it real with my brother Chris. I said:
When Keeping It Real Goes “Right”
“Brotha, you ain’t suffering for Christ…You’re suffering for Chrysler!”. All the suffering he experienced, although REAL SUFFERING, was a consequence of not submitting to the Lord. There is no reward or salvation in suffering for anything other than Christ.
Alternatively, suffering for sharing the Truth of God, for keeping it real with your own people, is for the Glory of God. Having to fight against spiritual wickedness so that the Goodness of God can be shared with His children is a fight worth fighting, and I pray for my brothers silently fighting those battles for the Kingdom.
Lastly, I pray that we stop chasing the things we think we need and do what the real children of God do in times of need. We don’t need more hustling; we need more praying, more love, more patience, more God in all things.
In Christ’s Name Who Died for Our Sins and Who Sits at the Right Hand of the Father, Amen
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