Are They Saying Things About You? You Are Bigger Than them!

I understand how frustrating it can be when people say things that are not true about you and behind you. It is really bad because you are not given a chance to contest the accuracy of the story or even offer an explanation for what could have happened. Even worse is when this story/lie then begins to make the rounds. It just generally feels better when one has is not allowed to speak or at least make a case for one's self. Sadly, sometimes the story even travels further than the originator ever imagined that it would go. Unfortunately, these lies burn like uncontrolled fire. Liars light such painful fires with their tongues; so painful even God is hurt because it eventually impacts on kingdom/body of Christ.

James 3: 6 "And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself."

These things are so painful that one's first reaction may be to justify one's self or confront the storytellers in anyway one deems fit and often in the presence of others so that the liars can be ashamed but those are not always the best responses. If one must go forward in life and attain to the great heights God ordained for His children, there will always be people in the course of their journey who would enjoy spreading lies about them and you can't always stop to respond to them. You don't have the time or energy to expend on such people. Such people hate/dislike you and cannot understand why you should be blessed; meanwhile, they don't know what it cost you to be you and may never know because God may hide it from them. But believers must accept the reality that there will always be people telling stories, lies, hoping to ruin and pull us down and we must never succumb.

Proverbs 26: 28 "A lying tongue hates its victims, and flattering words cause ruin."

Such people will always exist; they are people that have yielded themselves to the devil who is working hard, through them, to cut short our destinies but will not succeed if we refuse to let him. They don't know it but they are murderers and plunderers, attempting to destroy people, carrying on as if it is a normal way of life. Sadly, believers who engage in these activities are increasing daily and if we don't learn to ignore their lies, its negative impact on the body of Christ will become phenomenal. At the end of the day, it is the body of Christ that suffers the most because the gifts, prophets, apostles, pastors, teachers and evangelists, sent for the edification and building of the body, are frustrated out of their call by these liars.

Proverbs 25: 18 "Telling lies about others is as harmful as hitting them with an ax, wounding them with a sword, or shooting them with a sharp arrow."

For everyone who has slowed down because of lies told and hurtful things that have been said about you, it is time to rise up again. These are not things that ought to determine the cause of our lives for we have been exhorted by Paul the Apostle to endure hardship. Remember that satan is the father of all liars so that he is behind it all; if you succumb, his will is being established in your life taking you out of your God ordained path. Since you don't have control over anyone's mouth, you can't control what they say but you can control your own response to what they say and do. God sees what they are doing and will respond to them at the appropriate time and appropriately too so it is best that you focus on Him.

Proverbs 19: 9 "A false witness will not go unpunished, and a liar will be destroyed."

He Can't Always Make Sense To Us: For He Is God

Just this past Sunday, during our Sunday school class in church, somebody asked a question that seemed to suggest that God is not often fair and someone else rushed to God's defense almost immediately, trying so hard to explain God and His ways. The truth is God is always just and righteous. I don't know about fairness particularly as men count fairness because I have found that man's interpretation of what is fair is very subjective. My point today though, is that we must realize that there are still things we can never fully explain about God and His ways. The bible says His ways are unsearchable. If you can explain everything God does, then you are God and the truth is you, you are not God.

If you are one of those people who take delight in questioning God's every act, you will end up a very miserable and frustrated person because some things He does will never make sense to us. They are a product of the thinking of a God whose thoughts are so far from ours. So far the bible says, as the heavens are from the earth. We can only know and understand the thoughts that are revealed to us through the Holy Spirit. No wonder God sometimes appears not to make sense but that is because our minds are too small to comprehend the magnitude of His thinking. Have you ever experienced a delay whilst waiting on God to bring His word to pass in your life and you have done all you know to do and yet, no answer? Interestingly, this is when everyone tries to explain why God has not answered but sometimes they speak in ignorance feeling the need to explain a God who does not need anyone to explain Him.

Isaiah 55: 8 & 9“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts."

I was thinking about Elizabeth and Zacharias who had no children until they were very old. In fact, they had been praying for years before they finally heard from God. Even the bible describes them as old by the time the angel showed up to announce that their prayers had been answered. I know that God must have had a purpose in keeping them waiting but I wish I understood it. I have heard people say it was because they were going to give birth to John the Baptist but I find that funny because who says they could not have had other children before John? There was no prophecy that said John would be the first or only child of his parents. I must admit though that I thank God for this story because it encourages me. It tells me that you could be pleasing God and yet your entire life may not go as you would prefer for it to. It also tells me that at the end of the day those that trust in The Lord shall not be put to shame.

Isaiah 50: 7 "Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore, I have set my face like a stone, determined to do his will. And I know that I will not be put to shame."

If anyone was confused about the way God perceived this couple, the fact that God entrusted John, the forerunner of Jesus, into their hands should tell us that He regarded them highly. John was so special that as the angel told them about him, he also gave clear instructions as to how he should be brought up and what he should be called. Clearly, Zacharias and Elizabeth were also highly favored for them to have been chosen by God to parent John but God's favor tested them. His favor takes us through paths we sometimes do not understand; paths that cause other men to wonder what is going on in our lives and make people wonder if God is truly for you when indeed He is. Thank God for these two who did not stop praying. Don't let anyone deceive you, God does not get angry because you prayed about it more than once. You have to keep asking until you get it or the Holy Spirit tells you to stop.

Luke 1: 18-20 "Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.” Then the angel said, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to bring you this good news! But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.”

Let me close by observing that I find it amazing that when the angel worried about Zacharias possible unbelief, all he did was shut his mouth. I wondered why he did not leave him in a coma because then his mind would be completely inactive so his faith would not be negatively impacted. would not even have cause doubt so that unbelief would not ruin his miracle. I dare to suggest that the words we speak from a doubting heart can impact our miracles greatly so it was necessary to make him dumb. God sent Gabriel all the way down to earth to tell Zacharias that it was time for the manifestation of answer to His prayer and even told him about the child indicating that heaven was ready with the miracle but just so that Zacharias would not ruin it, his mouth had to be shut. One may have thought, if heaven was so ready to answer would the words of Zacharias have stopped the manifestation, obviously it could have if he had to be stopped from talking. Please watch those words.

Please Don't Change Your Race; It's Part Of A Bigger Picture

I only have one biological sister but God has been gracious in giving me other sisters who are very special and uniquely crafted by Him; sisters fully equipped with talent, grace and strength to fulfill their individual purpose. Some are younger than I am and others are older but a few are just as old as I am. Of course some are closer to me than others so maybe I have grown to know and like them a little more but one thing is certain, I have found that my relationship with every one of them is different yet very special to me. Do I sound like they are many? That is not true, they are just a few; and like me, they are not perfect but they are my sisters.

One of these sisters is Bola Esssien Nelson who did all she could to ensure that I start blogging and still encourages me even today to go on. This blog is inspired by an article she posted on her blog a few days ago where she said something about ensuring that you are running your race on your track. What I like about the article the most is the fact that she says if you find you are on the wrong track, you can always make a u-turn. My prayer for anyone that may be on the wrong track is that God will open your eyes to see and give you the grace to be humble enough to accept the fact that you are making a mistake so that you can then make the required u-turn.

Galatians 5: 7 & 8 "You were running the race so well. Who has held you back from following the truth? It certainly isn’t God, for he is the one who called you to freedom."

It is so easy to get on the wrong track and run another person's race. Sometimes, it happens even unconsciously and before you know it, you are far gone. Sometimes, one is just moving with the crowd or friends and then they loose their identity and get confused as to who they are and what they should be doing. Sometimes it is even the problem of your counsellor who wants you to be just like him/her forgetting that if you turn out exactly like them, there is a huge possibility that you will end up on their track running their race. How sad it must make God to watch us leave our track. When I think about my sister friends, I thank God that they are not like me or like each other because their uniqueness makes each relationship very useful to me so that not one of them can replace the other.

Psalm 139: 13 & 14 "You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it."

God made us all to fulfill a purpose. We are all part of a body and each one very important. Whenever we leave our roles, we cease to function and become less useful. What is worse is that you are so ill fitted for where you are that you start feeling very insecure and become a problem to every body because of your insecurities. Interestingly, you also become jealous of other people including the one whose race you are attempting to run. What you fail to realize is that even if the person left that track to you, you would still not be fit for it because it is not yours. I shudder to think that some believers may end up in hell because they were envious of another whose race they think they should be the one running.

2 Timothy 2: 5 "And athletes cannot win the prize unless they follow the rules."

These things are given by God and we must realize that. Fighting with and trying to pull down another believer will not move you forward. You may look like you are succeeding in the immediate but God will not be silent forever so that you will loose shamefully in the long run. I have seen it happen over and over again so I know for certain that God steps into such matters to do justice because He is a just God. Let me be the first to admit that sometimes I have very negative thoughts/feelings toward people and I am inclined to thinking that this happens to the best of us from time to time, but we must learn to turn such emotions to God seeking His help. Let me assure you that our Helper, the Holy Spirit, also helps in dealing with such emotions.

Proverbs 16: 25 "There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death."

If you are reading this blog and a voice deep down is saying to you that you are one of such people who have become bitter against someone else whose race you are trying desperately to run, please stop now and ask God for help. The truth about life is that if they tell you the full story of what it cost them to remain on their track which you find so attractive, the track may become very unattractive to you. It is time to make that u-turn you have been needing to make. It is nothing to be ashamed of. What is shameful is that you are in somebody else's track. Everybody is wandering what you are doing there and of course you are miserable, bitter and frustrated, so please make that required u-turn now. You are special to God who crafted you wonderfully and fearfully that you may fulfill your purpose.