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Hi there
My name is Danielle
and I am an Ambassador
for the UCB Church Programme
I wanted to share with you a treasure
from God's Word
This is something we've been talking about here at UCB
holding on to the treasures that we find in the Bible
So what I want to talk about is
from a season of my life
where I was really struggling with waiting on God
Waiting on God in fulfilling the purpose for my life
I didn't really understand what it was
that God was asking me to do
And so in this season
I found this scripture
And I remember it clear as day
One day I was reading through Luke's Gospel
and it was Luke 2
and it talks about how Jesus
was speaking with his teachers in the temple
and he went missing
We all know this
But there's this little nugget right at the very bottom
in verse 52
And it says
Jesus grew in wisdom
and in stature and in favour with both God and man
And what God spoke to me about was that
Danielle, if my son had to grow in wisdom
and in favour and in stature with me
and with the people around him
then you have to do the same
Because sometimes we want the call
but the gifts and call of God are irrevocable
God can't take back what he's given us
but our character has to match our call
God has to work with us
work with our character
Sometimes that means laying down pride
Jesus had to submit to his earthly parents
Jesus had to submit to the rulers around him
his teachers
he had to learn the scriptures
the Torah
He had to grow in physical gifts
We know that he was a carpenter
and although we don't know
from that point he was 12 years old
the next time we read
he was 30
at the wedding in Cana
We don't know what happened
This is known as the missing years
But in that time
I like to think that Jesus was developing
because he sanctified every single part of the human life
just by being fully God and fully man
So even things like
going to work every day
Jesus sanctified that for us
Jesus sanctified grieving
when you lose a parent
as he lost Joseph
Jesus sanctified everything
and through this obedience
he was fully God
fully man
submitting to his call
where he was
when he was on pause
before he was released into his ministry
He grew in wisdom and in favour with both
God and man
And when that time comes
just as Jesus did
the favour of God opens doors that you could
never open on your own
No matter how privileged you are
how qualified you are
how intelligent you are
nothing can open a door like the favour of God
And so I resigned myself to know that the
pause was on purpose and that if I was waiting
there was a reason for the wait
And so I learned how to submit to God
I learned how to submit my flesh to God
My decisions to God
and also to be ok with not knowing what exactly
it was he wanted me to do and focus on developing
intimacy with him and finding out who I was in him
until he revealed his greater purpose
And it's in that place of identify and intimacy
with him
that he reveals to you what he has for you
And you run together like the Song of Songs
that we draw away with God
and then from that place
we hurry together with him into whatever it
is that he has set aside for us before the
foundations of the world
So I hope that is maybe encouraging
if you're in a place of waiting
don't give up
Know that you're growing in wisdom
in favour
and in stature with God and man
And if Jesus did it
you're in good company
So be blessed
and maybe we'll see you again soon