We Need the Crown and Not the Cross by Tebogo Victor Aphane - HTML preview

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We go before God and we ask Him a tree and He then gives us a seed, we then get so furious that He didn’t give us a tree but a seed.

Forgetting that in every seed there is a tree and in every tree there is a seed.

Why because we have fixed our eyes on the fruits not the roots. So we go around with a seed and continue praying for the tree while we have a tree already, we just have to plant it and water it. We pray for the crown and God gives us the cross we then go away.

Today people have lot of knowledge I must say thanks to Google and other information sources and we grateful for that. However the problem with that is; people then suffers with wisdom, because knowledge and wisdom are two different things. Knowledge can be taught and learnt but wisdom comes through trial and tribulation.

The truth is each and every one of us has to face the cross in his or her life. It can be a cross of your marriage in problems, school, spiritually, relationships and so on. But at some point in our lives we have to face the cross, but you see the problem is we don’t want the cross in other words we don’t want to go through the cross but we want to have the crown. Good marriage, great relationship and so on. It’s more like we want the tree and not the seed and we want the fruits not the roots.

It’s like we saying,” I don’t want to write a test but I want to go to the next grade.” The purpose of a test is not for you to fail but to apply what you have learned. And have you realized when you writing a test your teacher are there but they are not allowed to say a thing or even remind you about what they taught in last week’s class?

Same with God just because He is quite when you going through some trials and tribulation that doesn’t mean He is not with you. He said in His word,” so do not fear, for I am with you…” Isaiah 41:10 NIV. And also have you notice teachers will never test you on questions that are not in lined with your syllabus? If you writing physical science then it would be unfair to add a theology question, it would be something like; question 1, “states newton’s first law?” and you like Yeh...Yeh… I know this one and question 2, “what are the arguments for Sola Ecclesia (the Roman Catholic view of authority in the Church?”

So is my God He never test us behind what we can handle (1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV). But however, the Devil can make us to confuse the will of God with our bad choices. E.g. you decides to go to Francine’s party and you decide to drink the whole bottle of vidka…is it vidka or vodka? Oooh yes! Vodka and you then decides to walk yourself home despite your condition. There you are, walking in a zig zag movement as a pedestrian and before you know it, you in a hospital surrounded by doctors. We sorry to let you know, “you won’t be able to walk again…” now the question is, was it the will of God for you to be in that wheel chair or was it the choice you made?

In old and new testaments, the words translated “test” means “to prove by trial.” Therefore, when God tests His children, His purpose is to prove that our faith is real. Not that God needs to prove it to Himself since He knows all things, but He is proving to us that our faith is real, that we are truly His children, and no trial will overcome our faith.

The testing or trials we undergo comes in various ways. Becoming a Christian will often require us to move out of our comfort zones and into the unknown. Perseverance in testing results in spiritual maturity and completeness. This is why James wrote, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds” (James 1:2 NKJV).

When we experience the storms of life, we should be like a tree that digs its roots ever more deeply for greater grip in the earth. We must “dig our roots” more deeply into God’s word and cling to His promises so we can weather whatever storms comes against us.

While on the other hand the Devil tempts us to distract us from passing the test by giving us an opportunity to cheat.

Now let us not be obsessed with the tree and the fruit that we refuse to take the seed. Plant the seed and water it every day and eventually it will grow and become a tree that you wanted from God and enjoy the fruits, rather than looking for a tree already.

Whatever you going through today in your life is your cross, endure to it and maintain the integrity of God like Job and at the end you will get the crown.

When you feel like you want to pass out, do one thing which is; don’t pass out you are near.