Life Happens But Beauty Is Given For Ashes In Christ

My book titled "it's a journey" is a product of several experiences based on the word and very deep thoughts. I have had several experiences that often left me very confused but the one sure thing for me, even in those confused times, is the word of God. Certainly, the word of God, is a sure anchor. There is no doubt in my mind that He truly goes through the valley of the shadow of death with me. Every experience has been different and revealed to me a different aspect of the nature and name of God drawing me closer to Him. Now I can say with certainty, again because of experience, that He is the God that will never leave nor forsake you. Indeed the more one knows Him, the closer one is drawn to Him.

Hebrews 6: 18 & 19a "So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls."

The thing though is if you want a close walk with Him, you can not go round those experiences through which the multifaceted God reveals Himself in a more personal way. To desire and seek to know Him is one thing but the challenge through which He may elect to reveal Himself is something else. For He often chooses to reveal Himself through an experience. I see a lot of believers cry out to God to reveal Himself though never wanting to go through any difficulty so how then will He reveal His fullness to you? For too long we have deluded ourselves concerning what it is to walk with God. This has led many astray. We have been deceived into thinking that believers will never face difficulties in life but Daniel was in the lion's den, the three Hebrew boys were thrown into fire and even Jesus went to the cross. Life happens to all.

Mathew 5: 45 "In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike."

Indeed Jesus suffered a lot before he got to the cross and that is God Himself on earth. If Our lives as believers is modeled after His then these challenges are definitely a part of the life we have been called to; but as it was with Him, victory is certain for us. The truth is things do happen in life but it is so much easier when you have the giver and controller of life with you as you 'go through.' Over time, I have realized that God obviously takes our lives much more seriously than we do. Hence He allows the process that builds and strengthens us that we may attain unto the greatness that He has called us to. Sadly, we see too many believers drawing back because of these temporary difficulties/pain. One sees the joy of many turn to bitterness so that they are clothe with

garments of heaviness and also those who found a way round that 'tough Christianity' who have forgotten that the road is narrow that leads to heaven - our ultimate destination.

As I struggle with my own walk with God, my heart yearns for everyone that is drawing or has drawn back. It is time to draw strength to return to God. His hands are always stretched out to receive anyone who turns to Him. People ask me often what inspired my writing the book 'its's a journey'; my answer is this - it is seeing people who genuinely love God turn away from Him because life happened and they didn't think it could or should happen to them so they are disappointed in God whom they then feel is either too slow in resolving the matter or not interested when He is indeed working to resolve it permanently and in the best way possible. I wrote the book also to let you see that it's not happening in just your life and that it is happening doesn't make you bad. Furthermore, it is to help endure whilst it last taking advantage of all God has provided to help you through this tough time. Information makes a difference.

In this book, I took the liberty of sharing the things I learnt from the word of God as I went through each experience everyone forming a pattern that when put together is my life. Interesting, there are yet many more patterns forming. The book is simple despite the hard truths that are shared in it because it is based on the word of God which is so simple that not many wise people are interested in it and intellectuals  often find it foolish but that is how God has elected to reveal Himself. You can order this book online from Konga.com. Direct link for the book is www.konga.com\products\it's-a-journey-papercover. You can also get copies from Patabah bookshop, shop B16 Adeniran Ogunsanya shopping Complex, Surulere; MercyPlace Parish, blue Island Lekki or God's Favourite House, House 27b Ikota Estate, Behind Mega Chicken, Lekki.

 

He Fills Our Mouth With Laughter

As I write, my heart is filled with appreciation for God. So much has happened and through it all God has been faithful. Indeed I am unable to find words that accurately describe the way I feel so I shall just use the ones we often use, 'thank God.' Not only has He brought me through a harrowing experience, He did it with a song of praise and filled my mouth with laughter for He blessed us mightily at the Woman Cry Out Prayer conference which just held this past Saturday. If you were not there, please bear with those of us that were there even if our stories bore you. God was mighty in our midst and moved greatly in our lives. We are very expectant and know that the testimonies shall definitely abound.

Job 8: 21 "He will once again fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy."

Isaiah 61: 3 "To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory."

So, I fell down a few months ago and that was the beginning of a major change in my life. I had multiple cracks on my tibia and then the painful journey to recovery started but I thank God that it is all over. Let me assure you today, whatever difficulty or pain you are currently facing will come to an end. It is not usual for a child of God to remain in pain forever; we have a God who fills our mouth with laughter, heals us and gives us joy for mourning. At some point in the painful experience with my leg all I could see was pain but one thing kept me and it was the thought that there is always a morning for every believer going through a difficult time. The hope that with God, morning shall surely come; and It has come. Truly hope never disappoints us.

Job 8: 20 “But look, God will not reject a person of integrity, nor will he lend a hand to the wicked."

In the period of pain it seemed like I would not be able to attend the Woman Cry Out Prayer Conference. Of course,I knew that God would do what He needed to do with or without me but I also had a deep knowing that He wanted me to be there. I had decided that I wasn't going to struggle to be there because I had to follow the doctor's instructions. Funny, even the doctor was surprised at my rate of recovery. He was so surprised, he was confused and insisted over and over again that he would rather go by the books despite what the X-ray revealed because he was afraid it was too fast and something might go wrong. Little did he know that God, in a manner of speaking, sets a timer for the period of our challenges and no experience would last a day longer than it was meant to.

Genesis 21: 1& 2 "The Lord kept his word and did for Sarah exactly what he had promised. She became pregnant, and she gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age. This happened at just the time God had said it would."

God was working with His set time. It didn't happen suddenly, it was a process but a process that was moving faster than it should have according to human wisdom. It had to align with God's will. So God worked all things together for my good. I was tremendously blessed at the Prayer Conference. With regard to God being present at a meeting, this was the best for me. God moved mightily to bless us. I thank God for Bidemi Mark Mordi who ministered the word with accuracy and under unction. As my people say 'God come there o.' It was not because of anything we did right "na favor." Please come to the next one which will hold early next year. Keep in touch by going to our website www.womancryout.org. We shall upload pictures from this conference shortly as well as excerpts from the sermons.

Tune off! He Is a Liar And Is Incapable of Telling Any Truth!

Sometimes we worry too much about what the enemy says to us. Interestingly, when you look back long after, you wonder why it mattered to you because you realize that all he said did not make sense though in that bad time, his words sounded true and one is inclined to believe his untruth even above the word of God. Sadly, we sometimes go on to make quick decisions based on these untruths which was the devil's plan from the beginning. What he does is trouble us so much that we, in making the wrong decisions ourselves, then take ourselves of the right path and into trouble.

Nehemiah 4: 1, 2a & 3KJV  "But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews. And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? ... Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall."

The same way he mocked the Jews using Sanballat and Tobiah, is the way he is mocking you you right now. Whether he speaks through someone or in your mind, he wants to mock you and you must shut him out. If you are in a situation like this right now, please do not let him lure you any further away from God. Stop listening to him and know beyond a shadow of doubt that he is liar and has never told any truth. Just as it is impossible for God to lie, it is impossible for him to tell the truth. Even when he appears to be aligned with truth, there is a hidden lie in whatever he says. It is unfortunate that he comes at our low moments using the situation against us. Satan has no sympathies no matter how sweet his suggestions sound.

Genesis 3: 4 & 5KJV "And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil."

Hard as this may be for us, it is time to begin to believe our God again. I have to tell you though that sometimes I am afraid because my head tells me that God is too slow and at other times I wish He would show me everything in the future just so that I will be more comfortable with challenges I am faced with where I am at; but I have learnt to accept that He has elected not to walk with me in that way even if He does that with you. So I must learn to walk with Him in the way He has elected to walk with me for He is God and He moves in different ways. It is His prerogative how He elects to walk with each child of His and no one knows the factors that guide His decision. This is one of those things that reveal His sovereignty.

So please do not feel bad because speaks to one in his dreams and another has word of knowledge or any other gift which you don't; what is important is that you hear His voice when He speaks and you follow Him. The extent of what He reveals to you is His prerogative. Don't let that bother you. Just focus on HIm. Whatever He does not reveal to you, you don't need to know to defeat the devil where you are at. We have to encourage ourselves to shut out the devil, strengthening ourselves against him. Just like he did with Samson, using Delilah, his plan is to wear you and I out with words so that he can attack and destroy us in our weak moments.

Judges 16: 16kJV "And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death"

Stop The Blame Game!!!

Why do we often feel the need to blame someone for our predicament? We even blame others for challenges we face which are consequences of our own errors. It just must be somebody's fault and of course that person is not you. When we even manage to admit we may have done wrong, it has to have been provoked by some other person's wrong. Please, we must wake up to truth; it is time to take responsibility for our lives. Stop looking for someone to blame for your mistakes. Everybody makes mistakes so it does not make you any less a person.

John 9: 2 “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?”

I shudder to think how much lose we suffer as believers in trying to pass the buck. While we are busy trying to blame someone else for our mistakes and challenges, we lose time in resolving the problem. Sometimes, even when the problem appears to have been resolved, it reoccurs; because buck passing may make it impossible to get to appropriate root cause which would lead to an inappropriate solution. Furthermore, in passing the buck, you are giving another person greater say in your life than they ought to have. You are suggesting that you are waiting on them to resolve your issue: what if they refuse to do anything about it, will it remain unresolved? It is your life.

John 5: 6 & 7 "When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?” “I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.”

The truth is, discovering the culprit in a situation is only important to the extent that it helps resolve the problem. If it does not facilitate the resolution of the problem, then it becomes unimportant. When there is a problem, we need to focus on resolving it. Very often, after we have wasted all that time blaming someone else, we then find the problem is ours like Joshua and the children of Israel found out, after blaming God, that it was their fault they initially lost the battle with Ai. A good thing he did not argue with God but immediately took responsibility. Our Saviour unto whom we call is not interested in whose fault it is, He comes for the resolution of issues and is working out good for us even in that situation.

I believe satan likes us to play this blame game so that we lose time, which is to his advantage. It gives him time to make the problem more complex and difficult to resolve. Passing the buck is something children enjoy doing but as adult believers we must mature unto greatness. It is empowering to own responsibility for your life. If you keep passing the buck, you are giving room to other people to control your life. Jesus is Lord over your life which suggests that He has ultimate control over your life. That same Jesus is able to cause all things to work for our good. So stop wasting time looking for who to blame; the sooner it is fixed, the sooner you can move on.