God will get you there...

         While searching for some inspiration to share today, I came across an interview with Dante Bowe on the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN). I had heard something of his testimony just some days earlier, that he was homeless at one point in his life. Now I finally got to hear his interview.
         He is a gospel singer and has sung with Bethel Music, Maverick City Music and Elevation Worship. He called himself a “sneaky singer” because growing up, no one knew that he could sing. He was so nervous about his voice that he would sing out loud when his parents were not at home or hum to himself in the shower. Now, years later, his accomplishments include Grammy Award nominations in both the Christian and Gospel arenas. 
          However, his present season has taken some time to come to fruition. He remembers the prophecies over his life and the times when he wondered when it would all happen. He grew up with parents who at one point were drug dealers. Fortunately, they stopped when he was sixteen and his mom even gave her heart to the Lord. He was also molested as a child and had to deal with the trauma of that. Yet, he acknowledges that God helped him to deal with the challenges brought on by the abuse. As if that were not enough, he was homeless about three years ago but, on moving to Colombus, was able to stay in a trailer rented by his pastor. During that season, he wrote a lot of songs but he also battled with depression as he wondered when he would get his breakthrough with his music. This breakthrough finally came through his album, Circles.
         As I listened to his story, I was touched by the various trials and battles he went through. I was especially touched by the times he wondered when the prophecies over his life would come to pass, when things would finally turn around for him. His uncertainty, I think, is one which many of us face. We wonder when that turnaround will come, when that breakthrough will finally take place, when our hopes, dreams, prophetic words spoken over our lives will finally come to pass. The season of waiting can be so difficult and many times we may give up and simply choose to become cynical and settle for less than God’s best for us.
Jesus had to wait a pretty long time - thirty years to be exact - before he finally began His ministry. He too, like us, had to go through his season of invisibility, a season of pruning, a season of development, while He waited for His season of ministry to begin. The waiting is never easy and for some, it is usually the time when we give up and so miss what God has in store for us.
          But I also look at the challenges, the hurt, the pain Dante faced during this season. It wasn’t just the wait but the things he faced that may have caused him to doubt and wonder if the good things his grandparents and others spoke over him would ever come to pass. I think we all go through seasons like this. They are painful, they are seasons when we wonder if the good spoken over and into us would ever become a reality. For some of us, it seems like one bad thing after another is coming our way and the temptation to give up hope becomes real.
          There is nothing about Dante’s past life that could have indicated his success now. I look back at the disciples Jesus chose. Take Peter, James and John, for example. They were lowly fishermen. There was nothing about their simple lives that could have indicated that God was going to choose them and do great things in and through them - but He did. And the key thing is God did it! They couldn’t make themselves great on their own, God had to do it. Dante could not make those prophecies come true on his own, God had to do it, because that’s what I hear when I listen to his testimony ... God did it! In spite of all the trauma, discouragement, bad breaks, God was the One who came through for him and made him the success he is today.
         God wants to do the same for you and me. In spite of what we have already been through and are even going through, God is going to be the One to do great things in and through us. We can’t do it ourselves. Our negative circumstances already seem to have disqualified us anyway. God is going to get us to where we need to be. He did it for the disciples, he did it for Dante and he will do it for you and for me.
         If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as Lord and Saviour I invite you to do so now. Your life may be in turmoil, with one negative thing after another coming your way. You may even feel as if you are going to be stuck in a place where no good will ever come your way. But there is hope and that hope can only be found in Christ. The journey may seem long, the battles may be fierce, but God will get you through and get you to where you need to be.

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