Sometimes, some phases of life feel so long like they will never end but they are what they are, ‘phases’.
They are bridges connecting us between one phase of our lives and another.
Those phases even seem more difficult to pass through than the real destination they are connecting us to.
Phases are breakpoints – the point between having your account empty and the time where some new arrives is a phase.
The point between emptiness and sufficiency is a crucial phase.
The point between being sick and receiving your healing is a phase.
But the decisions we make when in these phases can determine what our experiences will be when we arrive at the destination.
Being able to distinguish Camps from Houses is a skill.
The Israelites had camps as they journeyed towards Canaan, but they were not stuck in the camps; they made mistakes, and some died along the way.
One major mistake they made was to bow to some idols – and that affected their experience when they arrived at Cannanland.
God intended for them to serve Him and only Him in Canaan, but some of them were already introduced to idols in their camping phases.
One of the most intense moments of Jesus’ life on earth was the few days before his crucifixion. The days before his crucifixion were a phase he needed to go through victoriously because his decision at that phase determined whether He was going to fulfil His purpose or not.
Thanks be to God, he overcame.
The scripture says that He prayed – such that his sweat was like blood.
Jesus knew that the cross itself was a passing phase to an eternal glory, so He treated it like one.
The strength to go through a phase comes from:
- Recognising the phase as what it is
- Looking at the end of the phase
Concerning Jesus, the scripture says:
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God (Heb. 12:2)
So Jesus was not seeing the cross; he was seeing the joy after the cross, and that strengthened Him.
It is easy for us to feel stuck at whatever phase we are at if that is all we see.
Focusing on the phase drains you. It weakens you and contours your image, so you cannot imagine something different.
It makes you see yourself as what God has not called you to be.
For instance, if you have an injury in your body, when you focus on the injury, all you see is an injured man or woman.
But when you focus on what God has said concerning you, you see a healthy person, and that image of yourself gives you the strength to conquer that phase.
Your seeing determines what you end up seeing.
The first seeing is an overlayed vision, a picture that you superimpose on what the natural optics present – that is why the Scripture says ‘We walk by faith and not by sight’.
When we see long enough, then we end up seeing what we have been seeing.
The entire life of man on earth is a phase, a point of transition between a mortal man and an immortal one.
It is a phase between 2 worlds, a present one and the one to come – the first being just a fragment, a tip of the iceberg,
This is a gentle reminder that whatever phase you are going through, you’ll pass through it.
With your faith in Jesus Christ, you will always win – because He won for you.
You will arrive in the House He prepared for you – this is just a bridge.
You will arrive soon.
If you believe in Jesus, He is always with you.