My Father Works… So I Work

The reality is that worldwide, life is not as easy as it used to be and those in my Country will admit that it has not been this bad in a long time. So many businesses are crashing, people are losing their jobs and young people are finding it even more difficult to get jobs now. Unfortunately, some are failing, not necessarily because the times are bad, but by their own doing (actions or inactions); these people will not change who they are or anything they do to cause an improvement in their lives. I admit, albeit sorrowfully, that some of these are believers. They also don’t want to fail alone so they ensure that they “go down” pulling at least one other person with them and it is usually by their counsel or whining. They just hate to “go down” alone and would very often take innocent people along with them. These believers never see that they are the problems of themselves so that whatever they are going through is always someone else’s fault and when they can’t find anyone to blame, then it is God’s fault. They often are convinced that other people have some ungodly secrets to their success which they have kept to themselves. They refuse to accept the fact that though God is the source of blessing, we have to partner with Him to be successful.

 

Deuteronomy 8: 18 “Remember the Lord your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful.”

The thing about God is that He has done and spoken all He would ever do or say, for us to succeed; yet He also equips us with the power we need to not only work but be fruitful at it.  He has done it all but we have a part to play which we must play to enjoy good success but these believers prefer to wait for God; they seem to think He would create the money and then throw it all down from heaven or send someone to them, whose job it is to ensure that he provides for all their comfort. They are mentally and physically lazy and would rather live in yesterday or tomorrow but never today. It is truly sad to note that this correctly describes some believers. The ones who live in "yesterday" are those who keep talking about how successful they were yet they are not making any reasonable effort to get out of where they have fallen to and go forward whilst the ones that live in tomorrow are those who dream about what would happen when they make money but do nothing to make the money and claim to trust God for it. They always say “they are waiting on God” but God is waiting on them. It is true that there are people who work hard and don't succeed but thanks be to God that this is not the position with spirit filled and led believers. God blesses the work of our hands.

Deuteronomy 30: 9 “The Lord your God will then make you successful in everything you do.”
Psalm 1: 1a &2 - 3 “Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked …but they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted by the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.”

According to the scriptures, there is a doing required to prosper. How then does one prosper the way of God doing nothing? Also we can’t blame anyone if we fail consistently especially not God. It is wiser to spend that time we spend on the blame game, trying to figure out the path God has created to bring us out of that bad situation instead. God does not need our background to lift us up because He can take a beggar from the trash and cause him to sit with princes. That is why He is God. He knows that we don't choose your family so He ensures that we have the right to and provides all we need to succeed despite our families so that won’t be our hindrance if we know who we are and do what we should. It is not enough to desire success or to pray consistently and continuously for it; or even go from church to church seeking the “anointing” to be successful. We just need to be ready to do whatever we are required to do when God makes a way. We must do it and do it well which takes work. You can’t want to do it in the most convenient way and yet enjoy all the benefits. Jesus worked and obviously God works.

John 5: 17 “But Jesus replied, My Father is always working, and so am I.”

John 2: 4 “But his mother told the servants, ‘do whatever he tells you.”

The more troubling believers are those who think they will move forward by hanging around 'the boys' so they build their lives around “these boys” and get nothing or get a little for a while and then it stops forever. They spend all their time hanging around “the boys” and have little or no time left for hanging around God. They don't realize that 'the boys' have become their God instead of Jehovah the Most High God. Unfortunately, the boys are mere mortals whom you have chosen to look up to with a view to getting them to meet your needs. The truth is, they will fail at one point or the other and then you dislike the person for something they cannot give; the arm of flesh is bound to fail if you rely on it. If we can rely on a man forever and he truly provides well for us through our life time then he is either a super- man or God. With all the best intentions in the world, no man will be able to meet all of anyone’s needs. If however, one relies on God, He will send a man who will not fail because it is God working through the man to meet your need. It is tough yet easy; but we must trust the God we claim we love.

Cain & Abel – Life’s Lessons

Only recently I realized that there is a lot more wisdom than I thought hidden away in the story of Cain and Abel. Who would have thought a brother would kill his brother so easily and remain unrepentant? The story also reveals the extent of God’s love for man. God’s love for us is truly immeasurable; it is so much that even when Cain had disobeyed Him, God whose nature makes disobedience intolerable to Him because it is sin, still went on to talk to Cain giving Him an opportunity to make good His wrong but Cain would not. God even knowing that Cain was sulking ignored all his bad behavior to provide him with the help he needed to come to repentance revealing His longsuffering nature. God endures so long with man, that we take Him for granted and deceive ourselves that sin has no consequence. 

Romans 6: 23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Unfortunately, great as His love is for us, He would not accept us without repentance. God is definitely not interested in our wrong, neither does He desire to build a case around it; but He is interested in us making right our wrongs. His entire discussion with Cain was about making right his wrong. He was reminding him that He still had an opportunity to make things right and all his wrong would be forgotten. God does not use emotional blackmail either. He did not try to lure Cain into doing what He wanted but let Cain make the decision which is the same way He deals with us. He never forces anyone to repentance. It is always our decision. The devil tries to lure us working on our emotions but it is not so with God. God gave us a brain and wants us to use it so He works with truth which He puts before us that we may then make the right decision. Decisions made on His truth are enduring for they will stand the test of time because they are based on God’s truth which is unchanging reality.  

Hebrews 12: 5b – 6 “My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when he corrects you. For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.”

Another lesson is that a bad attitude can ruin a life. When Cain was corrected, if he had a good attitude and was humble, he would have accepted correction and his life would have ended differently. His bad attitude finally made him bitter and envious of his brother; for such is the power of bitterness and envy to ruin the life of a person. The envious or bitter person begins to feel and act like all their life's problems is caused by the person they envy. They tell themselves that if that person did not exist they won't have challenges which is all not true. They forget that God made different paths to success for each person and that their own very negative emotion is what hinders them from going forward. The ill feeling makes them wish that the person they envy does not exist and unfortunately, like Cain, some actually go out of their way to ensure the person ceases to exist and then find that their problem remains unresolved.

John 12: 24 “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels – a plentiful harvest of new lives.”

The falling to the ground and death of seed speaks of humility. The seed falls and is buried in earth, hidden from all eyes and in that dirt, it begins to increase and to expand until its expansion can no longer be hidden. You don't need to announce your blessings; when it can no longer be hidden, it will be seen. If you have to tell them for them to see it, then you are moving ahead of your time. Pride finally led Cain to kill Abel rewriting his own destiny; he became a fugitive. His attitude was so bad that even when he realized that in the course of wandering on earth he might be killed, he did not repent; instead he lamented to God who then put a mark on him so that no one would kill him so he could wander – what a terrible destiny. He ended up worse than Abel whom he thought he had shut out of his life forever so that he could no longer be compared with him but till this very day Abel is still remembered and worse still, he is still described as the better brother. It is best to deal with ourselves. In dealing with ourselves, we give God room to make the changes that will facilitate our going forward into God's plan for our lives. Destroying some other person, whether physically or with the words would not bring the much needed change we need to go forward. It sometimes takes dying to one’s self to enter into one’s fullness.

The Best Place To Be - Where God Is

Pain does not look worse than when it is in the eyes of a mother who believes that she and her husband have ruined the life of their daughter by a decision they thought was wonderful at the time they made it. It is a decision that any other Nigerian parent who was financially comfortable would make concerning their child's education but she is so sad today because it appears to have boomeranged and she feels even worse because they did not involve God in making the decision though they are believers, they just did what other parents did and they did it with all the best intention in the world. I definitely think she was being too hard on herself but such is the bane of parents who do not know who they are as a result of which they do what every other parent is doing. Unfortunately, the consequences may be grievous both to the children and the parents who will as of a must, feel the pain of their children. The time has come for believers to prove that Jesus is truly Lord in our lives as we make Him a part of every decision we make with the awareness that He made each person different and to fulfil a different purpose.

 

Romans 12: 2 “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of the world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think”

 

Making Him a part of our decision making is not just noting His opinion but actually giving consideration to it; we must give consideration to it such that it becomes a major deciding factor for what we finally elect to do. There is no doubt that we do not exist in a vacuum so that one would always note what is going on around us and the truth is they are not all bad. Sometimes some of the things happening are great things we can also learn from but we must take advantage of the great privilege we enjoy as children of the most High God who have the right to tap into the wisdom of God. This is a privilege that the world would not readily have and so it is understandable that they often feel the need to do what others are doing. God made us all differently and uses all of our differences for His purpose and if we would turn to Him to guide us as we make these decisions that can steer the course of our lives, then we would truly blossom as the people that He ordained for us to be. We can only truly be the blessing that we were made to be, when we are who we have been made to be.

Romans 12: 4 – 6 “Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. In His grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well.”

Just being who God made one to be goes a long way to determining whether or not one will fulfill destiny or live a fulfilled life. To a large extent, it could also affect the lives of those you make decisions for. It is indeed, very liberating to discover and be that person that God made you to be. That is true success. Some people even insist that it is the sure way to make a lot of money because you will then do what makes you happy. The power to live a fulfilled life is therefore, something God puts in your hands; if you choose not to exercise it, it will be your fault.  The reality is that we can also not be that person until we make God a major player in our decision making. This is not as complicated as it may sound. Making Him a major player in our decision making is being fully guided by His word wherein His mind is revealed.

Romans 12: 3b “Don’t think you are better than who you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves by the faith God has given us.

The challenge though is the fact that His word remains a mystery to everyone that is not saved so that they do not understand it and one cannot be guided by what they do not understand. Meanwhile, they seem to make most of the decisions in this world we live in so that all around us are expressions of their decisions which one can easily get attracted to. However, as believers we are allowed to understand the wisdom of God and empowered to yield to it. The word of God has transforming power and is able to shape and re-shape anyone that yields to it. A believer that allows God to be revealed in and through them will be shocked at who they become which is actually who you were born to be. Salvation gives us the right to fully unfold. It is a journey, this walk with Christ; a journey that transforms one as they build on their relationship with Christ. It is our journey to fulfilment of purpose. Many of us live a lie. We are not who God made us to be which makes us susceptible to the constantly changing life the unbelievers live. This is not who we are. God is looking for a people through whom He will display His manifold wisdom.

Which Jesus Have You Received?

I have heard that Jesus is a common name amongst the Jews. So anyone could choose that name and yet not be Jesus Christ the Son of God who alone is the “The anointed one.”  Only He has the power and authority to save man and for which reason He came down to earth to ultimately lay down His life after living an exemplary life for us to follow. He is whom we have to receive to receive the power to become sons of God. Jesus could not have been more straightforward in His speech. He clearly declared that He is the way the truth and the life and if anyone wants to go to the Father, it had to be through Him. He declared that there is no other way but Him. There is however, a problem in the church today. The Jesus that is often preached from our pulpits appears to be different from He that is revealed in the Bible as the Son Of God so that the Christ a lot of people receive is not the Christ of God. This seems to be the root of major confusion amongst believers today – unfortunately, we have not all receive the same Jesus. So when we talk about God or Christ, we seem to be talking about very different personalities; not even almost describing our many-sided God that we worship. This is one of the reasons the body of Christ is right now so disunited and disjointed that nothing inside us connects us anymore. We have no tie in the Spirit that connects us and we hardly ever agree on anything not even matters of the faith we profess of the God we received and worship.

 

1 Corinthians 8: 6 “But for us, there is one God, the Father, by whom all things were created, and for whom we live. And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things were created, and through whom we live.”

I do know for certain that God made us all very different and I believe very much that all the differences add to make life more beautiful. I can imagine how boring life would be if we were all the same; this is one of the things people have against the Amish people. They don't only strive to keep their faith but it would sometimes appear like they want everyone to look, act and think alike which isn’t right and this is the reason, we must work to ensure that everyone leans on the leading of the Holy Spirit who knows best the mind of God concerning each individual and is equipped to help us give full expression to who we are. So God made us different and we must respect all our differences and ensure that we allow people express themselves albeit within the confines or limits of the word of God so that only God working in them, will perfect them making them even more beautiful than they ever imagined. The one unchanging personality in life, is God; so that every believer has something in common with every other believer and that is our faith. We have the same God who never changes so that from person to person, there is something common to all believers and that is the beauty of Christian fellowship.

Hebrews 13: 7 – 8 “Remember your leaders who taught you the word of God. Think of all the good that has come from their lives, and follow the example of their faith. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

Our truth as believers should be the same even where the expression of it is different. It is sad that we now have variations of The Truth. Jesus now seems different one believer to the other and that is not true. This is not only affecting the impact of Christianity today, it is affecting generations coming after us and we are almost giving them a strange God. Our perception of God is so colored by our selfishness that God is almost taking on the nature of man. Also, our senses have been so dulled that we can hardly even perceive Him right. The truth is, we are unable to. The God we now describe is like any one of us and that is not true; our God is not a man. In our usual self-absorbed way, every believer makes up their mind who they want God to be and insist that He is that. Then they resist any effort to make them understand the God revealed in the scriptures. We insist on our perception of Him, not caring whether it is right or wrong as long as it makes worshipping God more convenient for us and we worship the strange God we create. We obviously have a major problem.

Luke 21: 34 – 36 “Watch out! D Don’t let your hearts be dulled by carousing and drunkenness, and by the worries of this life. Don’t let that day catch you unaware, like a trap. For that day will come upon everyone living on the earth. Keep alert at all times. And pray that you might be strong enough to escape these coming horrors and stand before the Son of Man.”

This confusion is giving satan room in our midst. This is not about different denominations; it is about having different descriptions for a God who describes Himself very simply in the bible and reveals Himself, to everyone who receives Him. If we have therefore embraced Him who presents Himself to us so simply, why then do we struggle with understanding Him? The reality is that we more and more are interpreting God from hearts and the Christ/God we now preach is based on our interpretation; unfortunately that is the God people that hear us then are drawn to. No wonder our God appears to be getting less powerful from generation to generation as the world gets crazier and crazier. There is a need to examine one’s heart from time to time to ensure that one is worshipping the God revealed in the scriptures and has not been lured away from Him? It is time to seek God with all our hearts again otherwise the true faith will become extinct. We cannot afford to do all we do for our children and then jeopardize their destiny and where they end up after life on earth. We cannot ourselves start well and then end up in the wrong place. We must finish this Christian race well.

Pity – Parties – Another Growing Way of Celebrating Self

I honestly struggle with believers who love to have pity – parties and yet cannot stand people they consider vain. In my opinion, they are just “different sides of the same coin” since they both celebrate self. I understand people who don't have Christ as Lord in their lives loving such parties but not believers. Pity parties are celebrations of the flesh; you literally have a big “all out thing or shindig” for the flesh deliberately submerging your spirit then you come out of it hoping to feel better. It is a lie of the devil. You only feel better because you decide that you have had enough and not because the party made you feel better but you can make that decision without the pity-party. Before you start telling me how mean and uncaring I am, the reason I can be so categorical is that I have been down that road myself; so please do not waste your time or energy judging me. It won't change my opinion, which may indeed be wrong; you are entitled to yours. Interestingly, it does not move the hand of the very compassionate God. Of course He is touched by our tears and pain but such parties do not replace our prayers neither do they make God do for us, what He won’t ordinarily do. He went through everything Himself as a man and yet did not fall prey to the flesh.

Hebrews 4: 15 “This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.”

Self-pity, I have discovered, is rooted in selfishness; Pity-parties are those ones where you feel sorry for yourself enough to wallow in pity, more or less celebrating your sad feeling or the flesh. Very often, people who love to have these pities think they catch attention by having them because their unseen desire is to cause everything else to stop and all attention drawn to them until they at least get what they want but they pretend like it is a result of sincere inner sorrow or pain and that it will make them feel better. How does anyone honestly believe that they will suddenly appear high up because they spiraled downward? This is a lie of the devil which believers must stop buying.  These pity-party believers act like they are victims when in truth, the people they manipulate with these parties are the victims. The party was always meant to trap someone who truly becomes their prey while they make unwittingly make themselves predators. This is craftiness, and the fact that you are not aware that it is, does not the change the fact of what it is and believe me, you can’t go forward living like that because craftiness does not permanently lift up any; if it appears to, it can only be short lived. People are bound to get tired of your pity parties and eventually begin to get angry with you as they begin to feel used.

Job 5: 12 – 13 “He frustrates the plans of schemers so the work of their hands will not succeed. He traps the wise in their own cleverness so their cunning schemes are thwarted.”

The truth is at the end of the day, the person having the pity- party has been deceived by the enemy into yielding themselves to Him. Whenever the flesh is in control, the devil is given free rein to manipulate one and accomplish His purpose in their life. These parties are very crippling; not only are they time-wasting activities, in that state one is unable to make good decisions so that every or most decision/decisions made in that state will mostly help to ruin one instead. Some have been known to cut or even do worse harm to themselves in the course of such pity parties. God is clearly not in it; He is not in anything that glorifies the flesh which said flesh contradicts the Spirit of God and will not encourage anything godly or move anyone nearer God. Indeed pity- parties are not only selfish but are the hallmark of brats who believe that life is about them and their feeling must not be ignored by any so they do anything to catch attention. Some are so used to it, they don’t even realize anymore that it is selfishness. Please do not encourage people you love to continue in it and that includes our children. To do so is in truth, not an expression of love.

Hebrews 12: 12 “So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong.”

1 Corinthians 10: 13 “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”

It is time to grow up as believers and putting an end to pity-parties is a decision one has to make themselves. Don’t listen to people who tell you it is okay. Believers who encourage believers to have pity-parties are often needy people themselves who want you to always return to them when you are having one of such parties so they feel needed. Do not be deceived. We all go through bad times, no doubt, but you will never see “the way of escape God has made for you in that state.” If you think you can't stop because, as many of us would like to say -  "that is who I am" just to excuse our refusal to make necessary and maybe painful changes in our lives, let me assure you that you can indeed stop and you don’t need to pay for therapy to stop. The day you see how ugly it is and its true impact on your life, you will seek help from the Holy Ghost to stop. It’s a lie of the devil that tells you that you have lived too long like that and can’t change anymore. Please allow the change because you are short changing yourself. It is better for people to do things for you because they choose to and not because you manipulated them emotionally. Finally these parties kill your faith, how can you then please God?

SELFISHNESS – ANOTHER GENTLE DESTROYER

My pastor, Seye Kosoko, has always said that selfishness is one of the very biggest challenges of believers today but I never really gave it much thought until recently and now agree completely. It indeed is one of the biggest challenges facing today’s believers, at least in my own environment where the question is often “what is in it for me.” That used to be the language of the unbeliever but is now the attitude and mindset of the believers. At least the unbelievers say it upfront but the believers pretend not to think it but have it at the back of their minds and are guided by it. We all now have our own agenda which overrides every other thing including God’s desire in committing assignments to us. I think our level of selfishness must be reducing the devil’s stress level because a selfish person will eventually self-destruct, if they don't stop themselves, and destroy other people as well; and they will achieve all this evil without meaning to cause harm. They were only “looking out for themselves” and didn't realize the extent of damage that selfishness can cause. The truth is, selfishness, simple as it sounds, will cause people to finally end up in hell. It is a very subtle way of exalting one's self above all others, including God. God demands to be loved above all else. Until we learn to love God above all others including ourselves, I don't think we can ever be true believers assured of heaven. 

 

Mathew 22: 37 – 40 “Jesus replied, “You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

 

 

I found several different interpretations for the word "selfish" in the dictionary but the ones I liked the most are "Concerned chiefly or excessively with oneself, and having little regard for others or showing or arising from an excessive concern with oneself and a lack of concern for others." The truth is we should love ourselves otherwise we won’t be able to love others whom God has asked us to love as ourselves; but we must then truly love others as ourselves and love God above even ourselves. We can't submit to God if we don't love Him enough to do so which would mean loving Him above ourselves. Abraham must have loved God above himself to give up that which meant the most to Him in life. Our love for ourselves must become secondary when it comes against our love for God; hence the believers of old could give themselves to be burnt for Christ. They only had one agenda, God’s agenda. God expects us to love Him enough to loose ourselves and lives only to find it all again totally complete in Him. This releases us from selfishness. When life is ultimately about us and what makes us happy or is convenient for us notwithstanding the consequence of our action on others then we are of all people most selfish.

 

Colossians 2: 10 “So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.”

 

Self never ceases to desire to be loved above all else. Our flesh/self, desires to be noticed and to be in control of things at all times. It can only lure one toward selfishness. Selfishness operates subtly sometimes and at other times, boldly; but whichever way it chooses to operate, self is self. The fact that one selfish person appears gentle does not change the fact of them being selfish. People have several different arguments for being selfish but no excuse is good enough reason to self-destruct. Some people think they are not selfish because they have learnt to manage themselves less aggressively but you lie to yourself. You are most likely worse than the serpent, you have learnt to deal wisely which in truth is being crafty. For some others, they actually self-deceive because they feel like they are so nice and helpful to others but you always have a selfish purpose hidden in your heart for all that goodness. If for example, you give just because you want to receive, you are selfish. If you make sacrifices with the ultimate goal of getting your secret desire, it is selfishness and wickedness. Sometimes it is best to let people know upfront the price for the kindness you show them so they can decide whether or not it is a price they want to pay. At least be fair. Whether the fact of your selfish agenda is revealed or hidden, please deal with it and that will take confronting yourself because no one may want to tell you and it is not their job to do so. They do not owe it to you. If they do, appreciate them.

 

Mark 10: 21 “Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

                              

Selfishness will make it difficult to give up all even for God so God is consistently trying to help us deal with it. The rich young man in the scripture above discovered he was selfish only after his discuss with Christ. God says those who love Him will obey His instructions/commands. I found that to be true because I realize that when one truly loves, their desire is to please the one they love. You don't need rules and regulations to please someone you sincerely love, you just become sensitive to them and their needs and instinctively work to please them and it is pleasurable to you to do so. No wonder God says in this new dispensation, His laws will be written in our hearts and His Spirit will teach us all things. In other words, His words are enclosed in our love for Him which fills our hearts. The truth is there is no loving God without yielding to Him and it is to the extent that one loves Him that one submits to Him. No matter how much one desires to be yielded to God, at the point where your love runs out, the things of God then begin to recede in our hearts when compared to the things we love and desire to do personally. When the love for God runs out, the love for self takes over which then opens a door to use by satan. 

The Vision Is Not Halted By Challenges; It Is For An Appointed Time

In the past week, for some very strange reasons, I had course to visit and counsel with people from different strata of society going through one thing or the other. Some very wealth, others were wealthy and some others are just on their way to being wealthy. Each experience humbled me and left me wondering, being the thinker that I am, why God would make expose me to their experiences at this point especially so soon after we had a program in church where God moved mightily. I wish I didn’t think so much but I do; I think things over and over again often trying to figure it all out and see if there is some wisdom to be gleaned from each experience. So, each story has gone through my mind repeatedly as I struggle to understand life on another level and the issues that are thrown at us. The one thing I can say for certain is that everyone encounters issues in life and no one can be sheltered from those issues. Much as we may desire to shelter all our loved ones from the issues of life, they will encounter life so it’s best to prepare them. Not doing so is like sending someone out without an umbrella or raincoat when you know for certain that it will rain heavily.

Mark 4: 35 “When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ’Silence! Be still!’ Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm.”

It can be very tough when life deals with one in the course of their journey to fulfilling destiny but that must never stop anyone from fulfilling destiny and neither is it meant to. Though it may indeed slow one down, it is not meant to stop us and should not cause us to seek alternative ways to fulfilling that God given destiny. When an elderly person easily though unintentionally communicates intense pain as he talks about relationships and how friends took advantage of him to the extent that they ruined his life, one is compelled to think about life more deeply. Indeed, the only comfort at such times is the fact that there is a healer in whose name the righteous also find shelter and His name is Jesus. Otherwise how does a very elderly man whose lost so much think about restoration especially when his loss was accompanied by a huge chunk of his life? He doesn’t know it but a part of him died with the pain. I honestly maybe better at commiserating with people who lost someone dear, painful as that is; than with people who though living seem to have a lost a huge chunk of their lives  along with their loss and are suffering in their old age. How does one explain to younger people that it does not have to end badly if we take counsel from Jesus? Life can leave one totally confused and feeling very daft and unintelligent.

1 Corinthians 10: 12 “If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall.”

Proverb 27: 1 “Don’t brag about tomorrow, since you don’t know what the day will bring.”

It is easy to assume people go through challenges because of some wrong they did, which is possible, but it is not always so. The truth is life just happens; indeed sometimes the worst people seem to have the best experiences and the determining factor for how one’s life is impacted would be their response to each challenge. I can say for certain that when we respond to life in the flesh, we provide very weak solutions to serious and compelling issues. Those solutions nice as they may seem do not resolve these issues for forever. They are like temporary fillers for challenges that are meant to alter the course of one's life permanently. I would like to suggest that at such times it is best to call out to Jesus immediately. He speaks to storms and they respond but He must be called in. His presence in our lives never prevents the storm that must come but stills it when we call on Him. Very often, we try to deal in the way we know best but there is only one way to respond – Jesus. Flesh never has the solution that stills the storms much as we may like to think otherwise. I am not by any means suggesting that one's flesh may not react; I am only saying that despite that reaction, you need to call out to Jesus. He alone has the solution and when His solution is put forward, it carries power that stills the storm.

Psalms 75: 7 “It is God alone who judges; He decides who will rise and who will fall.”

Habakkuk 2: 3 “For the vision is yet for an appointed time and it hastens to the end (fulfilment); it will not deceive or disappoint. Though it tarry, wait (earnestly) for it, because it will surely come; it will not be behindhand on its appointed day.”

 It is said that time does not wait for anyone and that may be true ordinarily, but we know that God caused it to wait for the children of Israel when they needed to win a battle; we serve that same God and if He did it before, I believe He can do it again. In truth, we do not have time to waste; I can't believe that we already are in the sixth month of this year and it is not going to slow down neither is God taking out all the challenges from life but be assured that God is still working to ensure that you fulfill your destiny. Life seems tougher now than ever before but God is fully in control and He is committed to ensuring that you accomplish all that which is written concerning you. He has not promised a smooth ride and never said it is going to be easy but our eyes must be on Jesus all the time as we are encouraged by the saints that cheer us on.