Back in 2017, I was at a crossroads. I didn’t know which way was God’s will. At that time, I had just joined University. I loved God and I really wanted to walk in His will.
The course I had taken was not the one I intended to take. In fact, it had never crossed my mind that I would ever venture into that field. In case you are curious, the course was Economics and Finance.
As a good child of God, I asked God if it was His will for me to do it. While praying, I got a conviction that God had intended for me to do that course.
However, I hated it and it was so hard. I wanted to either change it or quit school all together. Despite having a conviction and a word from God through one of the sisters I was fellowshipping with, I decided to quit.
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I left school after my first year and started learning about blogging. For the next three years, I learned writing and blogging. I created blogs and taught several people how to create blogs too.
Then in 2020, my blogging career began soaring. My blog gained popularity and the future seemed great except for one thing; the more my blog grew, the more anxious I became.
The anxiety I was experiencing pushed me to ask God why I had become so. God was silent.
Then in late July of 2020, I got to the breaking point. I had become so anxious that I could no longer work on my blog.
That is when I took off a week from my work to seek God. During the prayer and fasting of that week, God spoke to me.
He instructed me to start writing about His word. It was a huge blow to me. I had to give up what I had struggled to build for six months. But I had one motivation; at least my anxiety was over.
Since then, God began teaching me about His will. And recently, He revealed to me a mystery about Babylon.
Babylon
Babylon was a strong kingdom during the Old Testament times. In the dream of King Nebuchadnezzar where he saw a big statue, Babylon was the golden head.
God even acknowledged Nebuchadnezzar as the king of kings. I believe Babylon was the greatest kingdom in human history.
When the Israelites did evil in the eyes of God, He sent Babylon to attack them. They carried off the leaders and wise men from Israel. Among them were Daniel, Shadrack, Meshach, Abednego and Prophet Ezekiel.
Daniel and his three friends were so disturbed by the fact that they would have to conform to the Babylonian way of living. They made up their minds to refuse the Babylonian lifestyle at the expense of their lives.
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On the other hand, Ezekiel expected to serve Jehovah as a prophet in Israel but he finds himself in Babylon. Despite being in Babylon, the Lord appeared to him in His majesty and commissions him.
Daniel and his three friends got promoted in Babylon and God used them to do exploits. Despite their fear that they would never serve their God because they had been taken into exile, God makes a way for them and they serve Him.
Not only did they serve their God but also they got promotions in the foreign kingdom.
Revelation
The world we live in is represented by Babylon. When Adam and Eve sinned, we were taken into exile. Though God loves us, He has allowed us to suffer in exile for a period of time. (We know that Jesus will come to take us home someday).
In this world, just as in Babylon, there are foreign gods and wicked lifestyles. But then God wants us to be like Daniel and his three friends who chose not to defile themselves by the Babylonian lifestyle.
That is why in 1st John 2:15 the Bible asks us not to love the world or anything in the world. But just as Daniel was promoted in Babylon, God wants us to take positions of leadership in this world.
The key thing to learn here is that it is God who is to cause us to be promoted. Some believers are busy seeking promotions as they see fit yet God has different plans.
In the case of Ezekiel, he served God but he was never promoted into any position of leadership like Daniel and his friends. His life was full of pain and many weird instructions from God.
At one time God kills his wife and asks him not to mourn her! Ezekiel obeys.
When we talk about God’s will, it is not only the good things like in the case of Daniel and his friends but also the pain of Ezekiel. In the end, the good and the not so good experiences are what will bring salvation.
Back to My Story
The Lord instructed me to go back to school. The instruction really disturbed me but then He reminded me of the exile in Babylon.
School is a Babylonian system. Certainly, we are not being taught how to love God in school but rather how to serve in Babylon. Yet just like Daniel and his friends, God intends to cause us to shine even in this foreign kingdom.
God instructed the Israelites in exile to settle down, plant vineyards and eat what they produce. That is the same case for us. Though we are not of this world, God has instructed us to settle down, work and eat what we get.
The key thing He requires from us is that we do not bow down to the idols of this world; we are not to love money, houses, cars or the delicacies of this world.
He wants us to live remembering that one day we shall return to our land where we shall have rest.
Take Note
Since we are in exile and though God is with us, life is not a straight line. Daniel was thrown in the lion’s den and crossed paths with the king on several occasions. There were so many twists and turns.
Yet in all that, God expects us to hold strongly to our faith. Remember also the story of Joseph; though he became a prime minister in Egypt, it was not without trouble.
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Therefore, anytime you go through trials, remember that you are in exile and it is okay provided you don’t bow down to the gods of this world.
God has promised that He will never leave us nor forsake us. Just as He came through for the Bible legends in foreign lands, so He will come through for us.
If God’s will for you is to be like Ezekiel, accept it. There can only be one Joseph as the prime minister at a time. The rest have to spend time in prison for wrongs they never did until their appointed time.
For some, God intends them to be like Paul. He lived a big part of his life arguing in court and never enjoyed marriage yet he still loved God.
Let each one of us take up his cross and follow Jesus. In the end, we are assured of a reward if we do not give up.
God bless you!