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It is not the same thing to have faith to live a situation than having faith to come out of it. Many have concluded that it is God’s will to be in bad situations, and they have faith to withstand it but not to come out of it.

John 16:33 I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

If you need peace, you have to go to the source, and the source is the Lord Jesus. I was praying for healing for a person’s life and the person who was with them looked afflicted and in that moment the Holy Spirit told me that she was thinking that God couldn’t heal the other person. So, I said, “Look, what you are thinking, did God speak that to you or the Devil? You can’t pray for a family member and at the same time listen to God’s voice telling you to stop praying because that relative s going to die. That kind of thought is never given by God. God gives us thoughts of good and of peace; God’s voice tells you “Have peace, trust, everything is going to be OK; I am in control, you have been healed through me.” Read your Bible so you can recognize God’s voice.

We will always be afflicted in this world, either because we are doing well or because we are doing evil. I don’t like criticizing anyone, but let’s look at an example in Britney Spears. They are declaring her mentally ill. For a woman to lose custody of her children it means that she is doing really badly. In many opportunities she was told that she was a bad example to the youth, and her answer was that it was not her problem, that if parents didn’t want their children watching her they should turn the TV off. Because she didn’t want to go through the affliction of correcting her problems and do the good thing, now she has the affliction of not having done it. You choose the struggle of doing, exercise or the struggle of having high blood pressure, the struggle of quitting alcohol or the struggle of becoming and alcoholic. Since I was young, I understood that it is better to be afflicted because of doing right than being afflicted because of doing wrong. You have to do what’s right, and be smart about it. The Bible says in Psalms 34:19 And Luke 2:7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn.

Jesus was born to Mary, and he was her first born, not the only one. Jesus’ birth has been misinterpreted. People say that he was born in a manger, and that’s not the case. He was laid down on a manger, which is something completely different than being born in it. Mary wrapped Jesus in clothes and placed him on the manger. Mary was not the type of woman who would say “so that this child learns humility, I am going to give birth in a barn and put him in a manger.”

If you had been Mary, Jesus’ mother, you know that your son was conceived by the Holy Spirit, which you are going to have him Jesus because he is going to save the world of its sins, and that he is going to rein the Universe, would you place him on a manger? The angel didn’t tell Mary to place him on a manger; she put him there because there was no other place for them. The hotels were booked. There are circumstances in the life of Jesus himself that are not because of God’s perfect will. It wasn’t the will of the Father for him to be born on a manger; there are things that are circumstantial and you should understand that there are things you go through and are not dependant on you and may have been caused by other people, not you. A company goes bankruptcy, and they tell you they can’t continue hiring your services. It’s not your fault and it’s not God’s fault. You have to distinguish between God’s will and the Devil’s will. Jesus was born in a manger because there was no place for him, just like many times there is no place for you at a management position that you thought you were going to get because of the master’s degree you have. Perhaps you were rejected by your family; you were not the favorite child.

There are many circumstances in our life where we find ourselves in a place where neither you nor the people who love you intended you to be Jesus wasn’t placed on a manger when he was born because that was Mary’s will, but she didn’t have a choice. God is not going to choose a mother whose first intention is to place her baby on a manger, what kind of mother would that be? I simply believe that Mary and Joseph realized they didn’t have another choice. When the situations you live are “circumstantial” you have to understand three things: The first on is to have the humility to accept it and live it and say, “if this is what I have to live and I will live it.” The second thing is that you have to understand that it is not because of anyone’s good will but it is a circumstance. Third, you have to be clear about having the humility to live this circumstance, but you also have to have the faith to come out of it.

It’s not the same thing to have faith to live a situation than having faith to come out of it. Many have concluded that it is God’s will to take everything bad that they live, and they have filled up with faith to handle the circumstances but lack the faith to come out of them.

There are things that Jesus lived not to be an example; otherwise all women should be virgins when they give birth. There are things that are circumstantial for him, for you, for me. What you are living right now is a circumstance, but not the good, nice and perfect will for your life. Be humble to live it, but believe God to come out of it.

There are times where no place has been found for you. Many colleagues visit me and look at all we have, and they say that they want to buy a property and start building, but I tell them that they are manger times. Casa de Dios has gone through manger times. We used to meet at a house, and we were fifty or sixty people. We started with three families, and then we moved to the Radisson Hotel, and after that we moved to the Business Chamber. There were no classes for the children, but there was a manger. It was the basement, and in the basement, the parking lot, that’s where the children met. After that we moved to La Bodeguita, and there was no place with roof for the children, just dirt. There were no walls, and on the dirt we would place blankets; there was no roof, and that’s where the classes were taught. We knew how to get through the times of manger, and I said, “Lord if this is what we need to live with my people, we will have the humility and the character to do so, but I do not believe that you want me here. Give us a property so we can build a temple.” Whatever you are living, whether it is in your family, in your economy, you have to understand that it not your Heavenly Father’s will who sent his Son to die for you. He has better things for you, and you have to believe it with all your heart. God is the God of heaven and earth; he wants to bless you on earth because the earth is also his, and we are to inherit it.

Luke 2:40 And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.

There is a natural cycle in life. We grow up, we get married, and we have children and form a family. It is a natural process even though there may be circumstances provoked by third parties. There are also circumstances that we are going to provoke. While Jesus was growing up (natural process) he strengthened, took care of his body, took care of his health because the older we get the more sensitive our health becomes. Jesus strengthened because life requires all types of strength (mental, spiritual, physical) to live it. There is a stage in life where in order to see God’s will fulfilled in our lives, we need to do something, acquire wisdom and strength and then God’s grace will be with us. God’s grace goes with those who recognize the stage of life they are in and work hard to make the best out of it, and then God tells you, “I will walk wherever you want.” That is exactly what he told Joshua. “Take heart and be brave, and I will be with you.” there are things in life that will take place because of others, and other things that are happening because of what you’ve done – you fix those. You will have growth, but it has to be you who gets filled up with wisdom and strength to live; a good life takes discipline. Jesus was disciplined; he was getting ready to save humanity.

Hebrews 12:1-2 therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfected of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Was it God’s will or Mary’s will or Jesus’ will at the manger? He was laid there because of the circumstances, but God’s will for his son was for him to be at his right; the manger was the road. His right was his destiny. You have to distinguish between the road and destiny. There are things you’re going through that are not your destiny, just the road. Joseph believed that the dream God had given him was to come and rule, even after he was sold as a slave, left at a well, thrown in jail. I am sure he said, “This is not my destiny; this is just the road, and I am not going to get tired until I get there; I am going to run with patience the race ahead of me.” Jesus knew that the cross was through where he was going to go but not the place where he was going to stay. The Father knew that his son understood his will and that he was not going to stay dead; he resurrected him, sat him at his right side, and said, “This is my will; I want you sitting here.” God’s will for your life is not what you are living right now; it’s what you are looking to get some day.

Habakkuk 3:17-19 Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.

Even though you are lacking everything; you have to rejoice in Him. This scripture is used when you are lacking something. However, this scripture wasn’t first used when they were lacking something but when they had. He said, “even if everything is missing.” The rule is not that there won’t be anything; there rule is that there will be something. God’s rule for his children is that they will always have. When there was nothing, the prophet knew that it was a circumstance and said, “These are not the heights of God’s will, only the road to the heights that God has for my life.”

He who climes Everest must distinguish between the road and the destiny. These people don’t get tired. It’s a team of people who carries the entire luggage during a long time, as they consume what they are carrying, but the objective is that when they reach the top, they get there without anything because they have to get rid of all the weight that hinders them from climbing. There are things in life that don’t allow you to climb to the destiny God has; get rid of them; get rid of habits, vices, and ways of talking, ways of treating others. Don’t stay halfway; don’t be fooled, that is not the peek – it’s only the road. You can’t say halfway Everest “I reached the summit” And you can’t comfort yourself saying, “This is enough.” You didn’t start climbing thinking that you were going to go only halfway; you started believing you could reach the summit.

Many of the things you go through are not your destiny. You are on the way, and you should understand it. You have to say, “Lord, it’s ok for me to be in a manger; I am not going to stop praising you. I don’t care that the fig tree doesn’t bear fruit. I don’t care, but I want you to know that I don’t believe this is your will for my life. I believe in you for bigger and better things.”

Pastor: Cash Luna - www.CashLuna.org