I have always held that our lives are meant to fulfill God’s good purposes rather than our own selfish whims and caprices. God’s choicest saints throughout history were those who chose to align themselves with God’s plan irrespective of the cost to their own dreams.

Abraham, as we all know, was one “cool” guy just minding his business. One fine day, God bellowed out of His glorious heavens requiring one thing: “leave your country and kindred and go to a place I will show you.” Now, that is plain ridiculous. He was simply asking Abraham to leave the known, the familiar, his plans, his aspirations, the girl he was going to marry, etc and literally go around aimlessly. Now God too, how can He ask any sensible old man to do this? Can you imagine how unsettling it was for Abraham to have obeyed? He did none the less and it was “credited to him as righteousness.”

Noah was sitting around trying to be a normal person, living and going through life. Lickety-split the Lord bellowed again and this time it was “go and build an ark.” Now, building the ark wasn’t as ridiculous as the fact that he had to tell the people rain was coming and God would sweep everything away with a flood. It took a gruellingly long time and here he was building this ark. Why wouldn’t God leave Him be?? He obeyed.

Paul was busy “serving God” by killing the supposed fake guys till on Damascus road, the Lord struck him down. He had a dream and a driving force and thought he was serving God until he met the true God who literally changed the course of his life and altered all that he stood for and believed in. And when God called, he obeyed.

Friends, I can continue with David, with Saul, with Joseph, with Jeremiah, with Isaiah, with Ezekiel, with Hosea and many others but I believe the message is poignantly clear: God requires us to leave everything at the door and come willing to be sent anywhere, to do anything provided he has sent us to do it.

Many of us think God’s plan for our lives should fit in between our brilliant ideas of a beach-front house, a pool, the comforts of life and a bank account flowing with cash. We’re so pre-occupied with ourselves that we forget He has called us to a life of self-denial.

There are dreams, ideas and beliefs that we hold that are preventing us from reaching out to God and being usable by Him. In 1956, when Jim Eliiot, Nate Saint, Young & their peers stepped out to minister to the Aenomenani tribe with the word of God, little did they know they would literally be laying down their lives! Because they did, the very same people were reached later for the Lord.
Adoniram Judson, that brilliant man who gave up everything and translated the Bible into Burnamese will be fondly remembered by anyone in Myanmar who picks up a Bible. Nearly 6 million people trace their salvation back to that one man who left all and gave all at his Master’s call. Do you think for a moment that as you ride around comfortably in your Rolls Royce in comfort you would for a moment enjoy the same kind of glory and praise from our Father in heaven as this man?

Amy Carmichael is quoted as saying that as she stepped out into ministry “My life, on the human side, was broken, and it never was mended again. But He has been enough.” God has become a band-aid for our pain rather than the source of our strength to obey Him and live for Him. I absolutely love what the saintly Oswald Chambers said: If God can accomplish His purposes in this world through a broken heart, then why not thank Him for breaking yours?”

Friends, I have said without reservation, that our pursuit of wealth and comfort has become the evil that is causing many to wander from the faith and to be pierced with many grieves. Our goal is no longer rest and comfort in eternity but rest and comfort here. Friends, rest on this side of eternity should NEVER be our goal. Rest should be a part of our spiritual disciplines but not the end of it. Christ clearly calls us to lay up treasures for ourselves in heaven where moth and rust do not destroy. Where are you laying up your treasures?

And so today you and I have to search our hearts again. Our desires to travel abroad, to tour the world, to win awards, to be esteemed by men, to earn multiple advanced degrees, to buy a bigger house, a bigger car, to marry, to procreate, to do this and that, and that and some more must all be scrutinized. Are these truly God-motivated and God-praising our we’re beginning on that path to pursuing wealth and ambition which will cause us to be lost and pierced with many grieves. We cannot sow our entire lives into building our careers and reputations and suddenly expect to reap a bounty in heaven.

God is calling us back to lay everything on the altar and to throw caution to the wind and follow where He leads. He is looking for people who will build arks when they have never seen rain. People who will trust His ability to take them through fire when they have never seen or heard Him do it before. People who will trust His ability to kill giants with stones and above all people who will trust His will and provision no matter how much it breaks their own lives. His choice is those who are willing to be lost just so He can be found. And so the question is “is your all on the altar?”

Oct 14, 2009
0923GMT

Dear Sid,

Today would have been your 35th birthday and I'm sure we would have exchanged an email or a phone call depending on your location....but now, you're with the Church Triumphant and we're still part of the Church Militant until God's appointed time for a reunion. :) It's been about a year and a half since you were called to be with the Lord and we thank God for sustaining your family and friends thus far. We visited your mum in March this year and there was so much to learn from how your parents have handled issues related to your leaving earth. They are living out their Christian faith in admirable ways. They are a living testament of God's Grace, forgiveness, peace, and the fact that our beliefs inform our behaviour. They are being a source of comfort and encouragement to many, through the experiences of their own scars and aches. Your blog is still active, and that thrills me because it's almost always open on my devices. Howbeit, i don't how long the site would remain active so i resorted to creating a mini-journal named 'Nii Sai' in my Penzu journal for you. There, I have kept some of your blog entries. Today, what I added to that stack (a few minutes ago) is your entry titled 'Kabiosi - The God Who cannot be questioned'.
It's an interesting title to your memory. It is as though you knew we would have questions for God regarding the way He allowed you to exit earth.

"It seemed true in my own experience that God could not be questioned. Job did attempt to question Him but with little success.
As I reflected on the goings-on of my own life and the many times I was tempted to ask questions particularly the question “why,” I stopped to mock myself for such silly, petulant behavior. All my struggles, the “unique” circumstances that sometimes overwhelmed me and triggered questions about God’s love and His good intentions toward me began to fizzle away." - Nii Sai

Truly, God's love, methods and ways cannot be questioned. We miss you and sometimes wonder what you would have been up to by now, and what God would have accomplished through you by now...but the days for every individual are already penned by the Creator and we thank Him for giving us a friend like you.

"If I believe Him to be God and have thusly committed my way to Him living as much as He enables in a way that honours Him, why would I question His ways? He invites me to question His word and He is more than willing to help me understand. But if I questioned gravity would He change it just for me? Trust is what He requires.
The most difficult time is when you have no idea whether God is near or far. It is that phase when you are no longer certain whether He is really for you because He seems so against you. It is that time when tragedy and misfortune after misfortune and tragedy confront you that you despair of life. It is that time in life when the truth has cost you so much you wonder whether it is worth it. It is that time when you’ve given up on God and deliberately chosen a life of sin to spite Him but somewhere deep within, even amidst your deepest questions, you still long for and yearn for Him.
I know not what tragedies confront you, what doubts assail you and what has clouded your vision of God and His majesty and grandeur. Today when you sing that song remember that He is still in control and like He asked Job “…where were you…” " - Nii Sai

Till we meet again, I choose to place my trust, hope and confidence in the God Who cannot be questioned. The God you loved and served. The God Who uses your writings, poetic works and ultimately your entire span of life to speak to me and to many others. The Grand Weaver, Who alone tells our story the way He knits it out.

Kabiosi.

Selah.

In Christ,
Juliet.