Daring to do the Will of God

From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” - Matthew 16:21-23

At one time during the earthly ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ, Peter, thinking he wanted the best for Jesus tried to stop Him from doing the will of the Father. But Jesus did not allow Peter's emotion to stop Him from this road of destiny; Peter's emotional display could not shift the focus of Jesus. That is why it is not unusual that your family members are usually the ones the devil will want to use to talk you out of God's will. Most times, they do this out of their genuine concern for you. They usually pity you when they hear you are a pastor or working full time in the ministry. They will give you every reason why you must not obey the call of God. Beloved, you are admonished not to allow anybody or anything to dissuade you from doing the will of God.

In Acts 21:11-14, God did not reveal the suffering Paul was about to experience because God did not want Paul to go, but it was to prepare Paul's mind ahead. Note it that it is not every time that God delivers us from trouble; sometimes, He allows us to go through some challenges to toughen us and so that we may learn from it.

Moses would not have been adequately prepared to lead the Israelites through the wilderness if he had not left the comfort of the palace of Pharaoh. But it was because Moses himself worked with Jethro for 40 years in the wilderness as a shepherd; that was what toughened him as he led the Israelites. Moses never complained about the harsh weather and the conditions he encountered as they journeyed to the land of promise because he was already made tough by the things he went through while he was working for Jethro as a shepherd in the wilderness.

So, regardless of what you are going through, see it as a way of preparing you ahead to make you an encourager or a teacher to others someday.