Pali kuyesedwa kosalekeza m'moyo wa chikhulupiriro. Kuyankha kwathu pakuyesedwa kumaumba chikhulupiriro chathu, monga momwe kutuluka kwa Israeli kwa zaka makumi anayi kukuwonetsera. Kuyesedwa kwa chipululu kwa mibadwo iwiri kunatulutsa mayankho osiyanasiyana kuchokera kwa aliyense. Chipululucho chinali manda a mmodzi, malo ophunzirirapo winayo. “Khulupirirani” ndi “kulunjika,” mawu aang’ono aŵiri, akufotokoza kusiyana pakati pa kugonjetsedwa kwa mbadwo umodzi ndi chipambano cha ana awo m’kutenga Dziko Lolonjezedwa. Mbadwo woyamba unasiya cholowa chawo cha Dziko Lolonjezedwa, kuthawa anthu amene anali kuchita mantha. Chipululu cha Sinai chinali malo omalizira a mbadwo umenewo. Ana awo adawoloka Yordani patapita zaka makumi atatu ndi zisanu ndi zinayi ndipo adatenga dzikolo molimbana ndi zovutazo ndi zolepheretsa zochepa chabe.

M'badwo woyamba udawona zozizwitsa zazikulu kuposa zina. Anaona dzanja lamphamvu la Mulungu lowalanditsa ku ukapolo wa Aigupto; Nyanja Yofiira inagawanika kuti apulumuke ndipo kenako anawononga gulu lankhondo la Farao lomwe linali kuwatsatira. Mulungu anawachitira zozizwitsa, komabe iwo ankadziona ngati ozunzidwa. M’chaka chimodzi, ataphimbidwa ndi mphamvu ya Mulungu, iwo anali atamasulidwa ku ukapolo, kupatsidwa chilamulo pa Sinai ndipo anali pafupi kuloŵa m’Dziko Lolonjezedwa la mpumulo. M’malo mwake, anapereka cholowa chawo. + Anachita mantha ndi anthu amphamvu a m’dzikolo, mizinda yokhala ndi mipanda yolimba kwambiri, + ndi zimphona zimene zinali kukhalamo. Cholinga chawo chinali pa iwo eni ndipo motero anali ndi mantha.

Paulo analemba za iwo kuti: “Onse anabatizidwa mwa Mose, mumtambo ndi m’nyanja; ; matupi awo anamwazikana m’chipululu” (1 Akorinto 10:1-5) Chotchinga chawo chinali chakuti asakhulupirire Mulungu; anadalira maganizo awo. Poika maganizo awo pa nyonga zawo ndi zofooka zawo, iwo anali odzikonda ndi odzikonda monga momwe anadziŵira kuti anali anthu a Mulungu. Chitsanzo chawo chinalembedwa monga chenjezo kwa ife.

Ndimakumbukira zimene zinandichitikira zaka zambiri zapitazo pamene ndinali pulofesa pa yunivesite yaikulu yofufuza kafukufuku. Okwatirana achichepere Achikristu anayambitsa tchalitchi cha m’sitolo kumeneko. Jim, m'busa wachinyamatayo, anali, monga adavomereza poyera, "jock". Kuwona mtima kwake ndi zokumana nazo zaumwini ndi Mulungu zomwe amagawana Lamlungu lililonse zidakopa ophunzira. Chiphunzitso chake cha Baibulo chinagogomezera kuchita Mawu. Anavomereza kuti sanali waluntha. Chiphunzitso chake chinali cholunjika pa mitima yawo osati pa mitu yawo. Zinali zosiyana kwambiri kwa iwo ndi chiphunzitso chaluntha kwambiri chomwe amakumana nacho mkati mwa sabata. Iye ankaika maganizo ake onse pa Mulungu ndipo ankadalira kwambiri utumiki wake. Mpingo unakula mosalekeza kwa miyezi itatu yoyambirira.

Tchalitchicho chinakana pamene anaika maganizo ake kwa iyemwini ndi zimene ankasowa. Kuphunzitsa Lamlungu kunayamba kuthera nthawi yambiri pa nkhani zovuta za chiphunzitso. Kugogomezera kunachotsedwa pakuchita mawu ndi kuwamvetsetsa. Cholinga chake chinakhala mutu osati mtima. Iye anali kuchita mofanana ndi aphunzitsi awo aku yunivesite kuposa poyamba. Kuika maganizo ake pa kugonjetsa kufooka kwake kwa maphunziro kunaika maganizo ake pa iyemwini. Iye ankadziwa kuti sangadzidalire, koma anapitirizabe kuyesetsa kutero. M’miyezi isanu ndi umodzi yotsatira tchalitchicho chinatsika pang’onopang’ono ndipo kenako chinatha.

Chikhulupiriro ndi kudalira kosaneneka mwa Mulungu, kudalira kuti salota kuti sadzayima nafe. "Kodi ukukhulupirira kuti ndikhoza kuchita izi?" Ambuye wathu amandifunsa ine funso ili mokhazikika. Cholinga chake ndi chakuti ndiyandikira kwa Iye tsiku ndi tsiku. Cholinga chake ndi chakuti ndidalira Iye ndi mphamvu yake tsopano. Mulungu akufuna kuti tikhale otetezeka mwa Iye kotero kuti pamavuto aliwonse timakhala otsimikiza; “Mulungu . . . watipatsa ife Mzimu monga chosungira, wotsimikizira zimene zirinkudza. Chifukwa chake tiri olimbika mtima nthawi zonse” (2 Cor. 5.5, 6).

Zaka makumi atatu mphambu zisanu ndi zinayi kuchokera pamene mbadwo woyamba unalephera kulanda dzikolo, ana awo anaima m’malire a dziko lomwelo, kuyang’anizana ndi zimphona zomwezo. Ambiri a iwo anali asanabadwe pamene Mulungu analekanitsa Nyanja Yofiira ndi kuchita zozizwitsa zake zazikulu. Nawonso anali ataona mphamvu ya Mulungu paulendo wawo, ngakhale kuti inali yochepa kwambiri poyerekeza ndi m’badwo wakale. Koma ankadziwanso chilango chomvera cha m’chipululu, n’kumaika maganizo a Yehova pa zinthu zonse ndiponso kukhala ndi chidaliro mwa iye yekha. Kwa iwo Mose anati: “Limbani, mulimbike mtima, musamawopa, kapena kuchita nawo mantha; pakuti Yehova Mulungu wanu ndiye amene amuka nanu; . Podalira Mulungu, analanda dzikolo.

Nyimbo ina yakale imanena motere:

Popeza maso anga anayang'ana pa Yesu, ndinasiya kuona zonse, Ndinamanga masomphenya a mzimu wanga Kuyang'ana opachikidwa.

Chinsinsi cha chidaliro cha Mkristu ndicho kulunjika pa Yesu. Mosasamala kanthu kuti tipambana kapena kuluza gulu linalake la nkhondo, chidaliro chokhazikika mwa Iye, m’mayesero aliwonse amene tingakumane nawo, chidzakulitsa chikhulupiriro chathu.

There is continual testing in the life of faith. Our response to testing shapes our faith, as Israel's forty-years exodus illustrates. The wilderness testing of two generations produced different responses from each. The wilderness was a graveyard for one, a training ground for the other. "Trust" and "focus," two little words, express the difference between the defeat of one generation and the victory of their children in taking the Promised Land. The first generation gave up their inheritance of the Promised Land, fleeing from its dreaded inhabitants. The wilderness of Sinai was that generation's final resting-place. Their children crossed Jordan thirty-nine years later and took the land in a whirlwind campaign against the odds with only a few setbacks.

The first generation had seen greater miracles than had the next. They experienced the mighty hand of God's deliverance from Egyptian bondage; the Red Sea parted for their escape and then destroyed Pharaoh's pursuing army. God showered them with miracles, yet they thought of themselves as victims. In one year, covered by God's power, they had been freed from bondage, given the law at Sinai and were on the verge of entering into the Promised Land of rest. Instead, they surrendered their inheritance. They dreaded the strong people of the land, the fortified cities and the giants who lived there. Their focus was on themselves and so they were fearful.

Paul wrote of them, "They all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food and ... they drank from the spiritual Rock, Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert" (1 Corinthians 10:1-5). Their roadblock was that they would not trust God; they relied on their own thinking. Concentrating on their own strengths and weaknesses, they were self -centered and self -referenced even as they knew they were God's people. Their example was written as a warning to us.

I am reminded of an experience of many years ago when I was a professor at a major research university. A young Christian couple began a storefront church there. Jim, the young pastor, had been, as he openly acknowledged, a "jock". His sincerity and the personal experiences with God that he shared each Sunday attracted the student population. His Bible teaching emphasized doing the Word. He admitted to not being an intellectual. His teaching was aimed at their hearts rather than at their heads. It was a sharp contrast for them to the highly intellectual teaching they faced during the week. He was focused on God and confident in his ministry. The church grew steadily for the first 3 months.

The church declined when he shifted his attention to himself and on what he lacked. Sunday teaching moved towards spending most of the time on complex doctrinal issues. The emphasis transferred from doing the word to understanding it. His target became the head rather than the heart. He was acting more like their university professors than he had before. Concentration on overcoming his academic weakness placed his focus on himself. He knew he could not trust in himself, but he kept on trying to do so. During the next six months the church steadily declined and then came to an end.

Faith is unutterable trust in God, trust that never dreams that He will not stand by us. "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" Our Lord puts that question to me steadily. His purpose is that I draw closer to Him daily. His goal is that I depend on Him and His power now. God wants us to be so secure in Him that in any crisis we are confident; "God…has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. Therefore, we are always confident" (2 Cor. 5.5, 6).

Thirty-nine years after the first generation's failure to take the land, their children stood on the borders of the same land, facing the same giants. Most of them had not been born when God parted the Red Sea and did his greatest miracles. They too had seen the power of God in their journey, though somewhat less dramatically than the previous generation. But they also knew the obedient discipline of the wilderness, keeping God in focus and having confidence in him alone. To them Moses said, "Be strong and of good courage, do not fear or be in dread of them: for it is the Lord your God who goes with you; he will not fail you or forsake you" (Deuteronomy 31:6). Confidently centered on God, they took the land.

An old hymn puts it this way:

Since my eyes were fixed on Jesus,
I've lost sight of all beside,
So enchained my spirit's vision
Looking at the crucified.

The key to a Christian's confidence is focusing on Jesus. Regardless of whether we win or lose a particular set of battles, steadfast confidence in Him, in every test we come up against, will develop our faith.

© CDMI - Free Bible Students