January 18, 2020 · 4:45 pm

NOT JUST FOR PRUNING SAKE

I have always wondered why some babies make their first appearance on earth with strange haircuts. Some sections are fully cultivated and resplendent, while others are completely bare or designed with sparse vegetation. In most cases, there is usually no clear pattern to the hairstyle. However, after a few years, you’ll struggle to recognize what was once an unattractive ‘real estate’. The transformation starts immediately after the first haircut and continues to be perfected with more haircuts. I can only imagine what those heads would look like if they were allowed to just develop like that.

My childhood days were before the days of electric clippers, when all sorts of contraptions ranging from scissors, manual clippers and blade-and-comb were used to plough the hair. If you didn’t experience these things, you don’t know what you missed.

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These haircuts can be likened to the pruning of trees to make them more fruitful and desirable. The hair strands that are removed from the heads by haircuts are not exactly useless or dead strands, but their removal is essential for the required transformation. That’s the same thing with pruning. When you prune, you are not necessarily removing dead branches, but living branches that need to make way for the perfection of the tree. If these trees are not pruned, they will never reach their full potential. If the trees had sensory nervous systems, I guess pruning would be like surgery without anaesthesia…not a very pleasant experience.

There is more to Christianity than going to church and being very active in the church. There is definitely more to our relationship with God than just being good people and living chaste lives. And there is more to our walk with God than being consistent with our daily Bible study and prayers. Whatever level we get to, however deep our relationship with our Heavenly Father gets, there will always be more. We are called to live supernatural lives, doing the very same things that Jesus did while He was on the earth as summarized in Acts 10:38:

And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.    Acts 10:38 (NLT)

That ‘more’ does not come with business as usual. It comes with continuous pruning. That’s why Jesus said:

“I am the true Vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that continues to bear fruit, He [repeatedly] prunes, so that it will bear more fruit [even richer and finer fruit].”  John 15:1-2 (AMP)

The branches that need to be pruned are not necessarily bad or offensive things, they include nice things that just need to be dropped if we have to get to the level that God wants us to get to at every point in time. They are mostly things that compete with the sacrifices of time and other resources that should be devoted to God or other forms of personal and spiritual development. If we do not drop these things, we will always be at the milk level and not able to graduate to solid spiritual food and bones, like Paul said to the Corinthians:

“I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready…” 1Corinthians 3:2 (NLT)

The things to be pruned are different for everyone so; there’s no one size that fits all. Part of the work we need to do is to be on that continuous journey of self-examination to know what we need to drop at every point in time. When we discover these things, we then need to take the responsibility for pruning them off and by the way, this pruning is not for pastors or church workers only, it is for every Christian, because…

These signs will accompany those who have BELIEVED: in My name, they will cast out demons, they will speak in new tongues;  they will pick up serpents, and if they drink anything deadly, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will get well.” Mark 16: 17 – 18 (AMP)

If we are believers then we really do not have any excuse but to keep pruning and flourishing. That’s what we have been called to and it is a lifelong call. We must never become satisfied and complacent. We must keep pushing till the very end

12 I admit that I haven’t yet acquired the absolute fullness that I’m pursuing, but I run with passion into His abundance so that I may reach the purpose that Jesus Christ has called me to fulfill and wants me to discover. 13 I don’t depend on my own strength to accomplish this; however I do have one compelling focus: I forget all of the past as I fasten my heart to the future instead. 14 I run straight for the divine invitation of reaching the heavenly goal and gaining the victory-prize through the anointing of Jesus. 15 So let all who are fully mature have this same passion, and if anyone is not yet gripped by these desires, God will reveal it to them. Philippians 3:12 – 15 (TPT)

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December 24, 2019 · 9:01 am

THROUGH THE STORM

Some of my closest friendships bonds till date are those formed in my secondary school days. We were few and tight, everybody knew everybody. Many years after, we still relieve the experiences and fond memories that we shared in those days. A lot of the character traits that have helped us stay above board many years down the line were instilled into us in those days by our wonderful teachers and a Principal like no other. In its first year of establishment, students in three different grades were introduced at the same time. My set was the lowest of the three. We experienced a lot of hardship in those early days because of non-existent basic infrastructure. Hurricane lanterns were essential commodities because we needed them for illumination in the night. The term ‘midnight candle’ was very real to us. To get potable water, we all had to take turns at the only hand pump in the school…that was really an experience because sometimes you could exert a lot of energy in pumping the water and you will be blessed with only a few drops of water. Even though we faced all these hardships and more, we always looked forward to returning to school at the end of each school holiday period. During those days, the experience was unmatched by any other and the people we were with made everything all the more worth the while.

When there’s a greater cause, the temporary pain and struggles are greatly diminished and become insignificant in the scheme of things – we only need to keep our eyes on that ‘greater cause’. The road to where we are headed may be filled with bumps, potholes and dark patches, but we can always count on the grace of God to abound in our weakest moments. His promises are sure and steadfast. He said:

  “When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.” Isaiah 43:2 (NLT)

Remembering these unfailing promises as well as past victories will help us keep our heads above the storms when they come. We brave the storms with joy just like Habakkuk testified.

“Fig trees may no longer bloom, or vineyards produce grapes; olive trees may be fruitless, and harvest time a failure; sheep pens may be empty, and cattle stalls vacant but I will still celebrate because the LORD God is my Savior.” Habakkuk 3:17-18 (CEV)

                      Image result for ship in the storm"

When we are in the middle of those stormy days, it’s difficult to steady our ship, the gust often obscures our vision and makes it hard for us to see far enough and we can’t perceive what God is doing. In those times, these lines of the song – Way Maker by Sinach – are very instructive:

“Even when I don’t see it, You’re working                                                                                 Even when I don’t feel it, You’re working                                                                                      You never stop, You never stop working”

We will work hard, we will do everything that we need to do, we will pray hard and we will wait with joy. This ties in nicely with a piece I wrote in the past: WHILE WAITING…

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March 3, 2019 · 11:10 pm

INFORM YOUR FEARS

During a thrilling team building trip with my colleagues, one of the activities I had to complete was a zip wire ride, set up between two trees. I eagerly donned the gear for the ride, with my steel toe boots, helmet, hand gloves, body harness and a safety line all in place. My confidence was overflowing. I had seen people do it on TV and imagined that it would be easy. Also, some of my colleagues had also gone ahead of me on the activity and appeared to enjoy the ride.

When I got to the launch pad on top one of the trees, my confidence level dropped below zero. Palpable fear had a firm grip on me. I couldn’t take the ‘step of faith’ to leave the pad. I practically had to be coerced to continue the ride as I seriously considered aborting the launch.

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So, what was I afraid of? The fact is that I had NOTHING to be afraid of. My brain just chose to be temporarily ignorant of the fact that I had several lines of defence with my safety gear and ultimately, the body harness and safety line would keep me safely suspended in the air if anything went wrong. My fear was completely unfounded. If only I had stepped back to reason around the circumstances, I would have realized that there was indeed no need to fear and calmed myself down. Well, I eventually managed to get off the launch pad and completed the ride safely as expected.

Fear resulting from ignorance is what Elisha’s servant experienced in 2 Kings 6:15 until his eyes were opened and he saw the hordes of horses and chariots of fire that were at their service. With this realization, he ‘informed’ his fears and went about his business with the courage and boldness of a lion. No evil could befall them, despite the number of enemies that surrounded them. We know how the story ends.

Fear resulting from ignorance made 10 out of 12 spies see themselves as grasshoppers compared to the giants in the promised land. They ultimately did not set foot in the promised land. Joshua and Caleb experienced the same giants, acknowledged that there were giants in the land but they ‘informed’ the fear of giants with the knowledge of God’s ability and obtained their inheritance in the land flowing with milk and honey.

On the flip side, Daniel and the three Hebrew boys had some level of knowledge that completely annihilated ignorance. They had no modicum of fear no matter the fire that they faced or the danger of the lions’ den, because they knew God. They knew what God could do. They knew that God would never leave them nor forsake them. They knew that God had good thoughts and plans for them, to give them an expected end. They knew that God would deliver them from the many afflictions that they had to face. They knew the God in whom they believed and were persuaded that he could keep whatever was committed to Him. They knew more than what they had been told about God. They knew God for themselves. They way John knew Jesus and boldly declared:

We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. 1 John 1:1 [NLT]

With this type of knowledge, there is no way fear can result from ignorance, because we will always have superior knowledge with which we can inform our fears. Situations will always arise that will test this resolve, but we can rest assured that God has not changed and He will not change. We will be in desperate situations if our knowledge bank is empty and there is nothing with which we can inform our fears.

Daniel and his friends didn’t just stumble upon the knowledge of God and we will not stumble upon this knowledge either. It takes diligent, consistent study and our aim should be to ‘Study to show ourselves approved unto God…rightly dividing the Word of truth’ 2 Tim 2:15. The way a house is built from its foundation one brick at a time, that’s the way we will develop the knowledge of God (precept upon precept, line upon line) with which we can inform all fears and stand our ground victoriously. Unfortunately, if we cannot inform our fears, our fears will inform us and rule our lives. It should not be so, because “ the Word is near us, it is in our mouths and in our hearts…” Romans 10:8

Photo credit nutreaunnino.com

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December 15, 2018 · 5:59 pm

FAITH AND CONFIDENCE

Growing up, I had so much faith in my father. I believed he was a superman and that he could actually slay a lion with his bare hands just like Samson. I never had any reason to doubt whatever he told me. I just took his word for it. If he ever told me he could fly, I’m sure I would have believed him. I’m almost certain that most people had the same kind of blind faith in their parents – that’s just the way kids are – ‘doubt’ is not part of their lexicon and they don’t rationalize things the way adults do.

I recently read two Bible passages that reminded me of the pedestal on which I placed my dad as a child.

So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me Acts 27:25

Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”  Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. Romans 4:18 – 21

Paul was sure that he got a message from God and he was confident that it would happen just as he had been told. Based on his experience with God, there could not have been any other outcome. The weather and the waves were indicating something else but that didn’t matter to Paul. He was sure of the source of the message. If God said it, it was done.

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When Abraham and Sarah were told that they were going to have a child, there was no reason for them to believe that it was possible apart from the fact that the message was from God. Naturally, all hope was lost. In those days, if there were professors of ‘Conception technology’, they would have told Abraham to wake up from dreamland. But because God said, it, Abraham believed it and it happened just as he was told.

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For Paul and Abraham to have unwavering faith in God, they were sure that the words of assurance and promises were from God and they knew God’s character of not being capable of failure. Because of deep relationship, they could tell the difference between God’s word and their subtle imaginations or wishes. They were God’s sheep and there’s no way they would have followed the voice of strangers.

Consistent, unbroken fellowship with God is key in knowing what God is saying at every point. The ‘saying’ could come while reading through scriptures, listening to messages, worshipping God in music or in many other ways. In whatever form it comes, the constant factor is RELATIONSHIP.

Whatever the cost, we must keep the fire of this RELATIONSHIP on, for therein lies our SALVATION and the foundation of our FAITH.

 

Photocredit: www.childrens-ministry-deals.com, www.psychologytoday.com

 

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May 29, 2018 · 6:26 pm

I BROUGHT MY OWN SHOES

I recently attended an event that was organized to welcome the new member of the leadership team of a company. The event also doubled as a farewell ceremony for the departing leader. The accolades were not in short supply because the outgoing leader was an exceptional leader on every front. He was the type of leader that Jim Collins described as a Level 5 leader in his book; Good to Great. Many were sad to see him go, but he had to go.

Several people were invited to make speeches as the evening wore on, most speakers focused on the outgoing leader, with a few making remarks that alluded to the new member of the team that he had very big shoes to fill. Almost everyone seemed to agree with that point of view because the impressions on the hearts and minds of people were deep.

When it was time for the incoming leader to make his commencement speech, he made a very remarkable statement. He said “I am not going to try to fill Mr X’s shoes because I brought my own shoes”. So, he already told everyone that he was not made from the same mould. His style was going to be different and he did not suggest that he was going to lower the standards. He was just different and he was going to be himself.

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It’s good to have people we look up to, especially people that have gone ahead of us successfully. But we must never aspire to be them. We should rather aspire to become the best version of ourselves that God made us to be. We will stand on the shoulders of those people, learn from their mistakes and glean from their wisdom. We will place our hands in their hands and allow them to lead us. We will plant our footsteps in their footprints if needed. We will draw out deep things from the depths of their hearts. We will be humble around them, no matter what we become. We will preserve their good reputation while building ours. In all this, WE WILL NOT BE THEM because we will bring our own shoes!

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March 15, 2018 · 3:12 pm

I WANT THAT…

SALAD! Now that’s something I really really longed for when I was much younger. Unfortunately, the closest I ever got to it then was hearing about it from my primary school classmates. It was never part of our meal plan because it was a luxury back then and it just wasn’t one of the things my parents could be bothered about.

The fact is that I actually never knew what it looked or tasted like, but I seriously wanted it, simply because I knew some of my classmates were enjoying it regularly. Another fact is that though I never had salad, I never lacked food to eat and my parents did the very best they could within their means.

Fast forward to the day I finally had the opportunity to fall on vegetable salad, I could not understand why I actually thought I was missing something. There was no light bulb moment and there were no drum rolls in my ears. At the heart of the craving was the fact that someone else had it and I felt I should have it too.

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The feeling or craving that I had in those early days is similar to the feeling we have as adults when we want something we feel we should have, especially when our contemporaries are enjoying the very same things. It could be anything ranging from position, car, real estate, job, network, children and spouse to clothes and holidays.  When we don’t have it, we feel as if we are missing something great. When we eventually get it, buyer’s remorse sets in.

This feeling is a very good breeding ground for ingratitude and envy. We unconsciously become blind-sided by those things that we don’t have. We fail to enjoy the moment and thank God for where we are and for the things that we have. The promises of God fade from our vision and begin to appear unreal. Promises such as:

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope”. Jer 29:11 (NLT)

“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Matt 6: 31-32 (NLT)

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:28 (NLT)

Jesus knew that the days of such feelings will come, so we already have this warning in Luke 12:15

Speaking to the people, he went on, “Take care! Protect yourself against the least bit of greed. Life is not defined by what you have, even when you have a lot.” (MSG)

Paul also lent his voice in his letter to Timothy

 Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth.  After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. 1Tim 6: 6 -7 (NLT)

What is it that I don’t have right now that I desire to have? Instead of dwelling on those things, I can choose to take a step back and instead think of the things that I have and give God praise for them. If we Meditate on the love and sovereign power of the ALL SUFFICIENT GOD, this will help us magnify God instead of the challenges and the peace of God that passes all understanding will flood our hearts.

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March 9, 2018 · 9:37 pm

WHO HAS YOUR EARS?

Growing up, we often had some artistes and magicians set up makeshift stages on busy street corners to show off their skills and make some quick buck. Crowds of spectators easily formed around those acts the way ants are drawn to sugar. Such crowds had a way of bringing together the good, the bad and the ugly.

My mum told me never to mingle with such crowds and I obeyed for a while, until one of those days, when the pull of the crowd was more than my resolve. I could not resist the temptation of catching just a glimpse of the performance. I really can’t remember what the show was about on that day, but one thing I will never forget about that day is that my wrist watch ‘disappeared’ from my hand on that spot. Obviously, the guy that took it from me was a professional as I was oblivious of the fact that the ownership of my watch had changed until I got home and couldn’t find it on my wrist. Needless to say that I never went near any of such crowds again…thereafter, heeding my mum’s counsel became something very vital to me.

That was the way that I lost my first wrist watch. As a matter of fact, many victories and failures we experience in life depend on who we listen to and what we do with the counsel we receive from different sources. In a way, it could be viewed as a matter of life and death because lives have been made or destroyed based on different types of counsel.

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The dethronement of Vashti as Xerxes’ queen was a product of the counsel that the king received from Memucan. If any other person other than Memucan had spoken up on that day, the outcome might have been different.

 Memucan answered the king and his nobles, “Queen Vashti has wronged not only the king but also every noble and citizen throughout your empire. Women everywhere will begin to despise their husbands when they learn that Queen Vashti has refused to appear before the king. Before this day is out, the wives of all the king’s nobles throughout Persia and Media will hear what the queen did and will start treating their husbands the same way. There will be no end to their contempt and anger. Esther 1: 16 – 18 (NLT)

Esther’s ascension to the throne was in part because she listened to all that the king’s eunuch told her. She did not trivialize Hegai’s advice.

Esther was the daughter of Abihail, who was Mordecai’s uncle. When it was Esther’s turn to go to the king, she accepted the advice of Hegai, the eunuch in charge of the harem. She asked for nothing except what he suggested, and she was admired by everyone who saw her. Esther 2:15 (NLT)

After the death of King Solomon, his son Rehobaom lost 10 of the 12 tribes of Israel because of wrong counsel.

But Rehoboam rejected the advice of the older men and instead asked the opinion of the young men who had grown up with him and were now his advisers. 1Kings 12:8 (NLT)

David destroyed the Ammonites in a needless war because their king listened to wrong counsel from his commanders,

Some time after this, King Nahash[a] of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun became king.  David said, “I am going to show loyalty to Hanun just as his father, Nahash, was always loyal to me.” So David sent ambassadors to express sympathy to Hanun about his father’s death. But when David’s ambassadors arrived in the land of Ammon, the Ammonite commanders said to Hanun, their master, “Do you really think these men are coming here to honor your father? No! David has sent them to spy out the city so they can come in and conquer it!”  So Hanun seized David’s ambassadors and shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their robes at the buttocks, and sent them back to David in shame. 2 Samuel 10: 1 – 4

If you take stock in retrospect, I’m sure you’ll have your own tales of wise and unwise counsel, wise counsel heeded and otherwise. Most times, we are in total control of who we listen to and what we do with whatever advice we receive. So, we can choose who we give our ears to. Words are like seeds sown into our hearts through our ears, we can’t just afford to give all manner of people unfettered access to plant different things in our hearts. On the flip side, we need to make every effort to ensure that our paths are lined with wise counsel.

As we prudently seek out wise counsel and shut out destructive advice, we can be sure of one source of wisdom that never fails – the WORD!

My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity. Proverbs 3: 1 – 2

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January 14, 2018 · 8:21 pm

ADAM’S APPLE

For some reason, I grew up believing that Adam was not at home when Eve ate the forbidden fruit; he was probably at work or just taking a routine walk around the garden. The version of the story that was in my mind was that Eve was alone when she was conned and convinced by the serpent to take that bite that changed everything. She took the fruit, enjoyed the first bite and then kept the remaining portion to be shared with Adam on his return. When Adam came home, he took a bite and behold, their eyes were suddenly opened…and we know how the story develops from there.

You can imagine how shocked I was when I realized that I was wrong:

The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. Genesis 3:6 (NLT)

So, Adam was standing there, practically watching his beloved wife going off on the wrong trail and he could not intervene and correct her. Remember that he had earlier on described her as “This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken from ‘man.’” (Gen 2: 23), yet that extravagant display of affection did not translate to any modicum of correction.

Why is it that Adam could not correct Eve? I don’t know the answer, but I know that the answer will be similar to the reason why Sapphira could not challenge Ananias when he suggested that they should keep some of the money from the sale of their property to themselves and tell the apostles that they brought 100%:

But there was a certain man named Ananias who, with his wife, Sapphira, sold some property.  He brought part of the money to the apostles, claiming it was the full amount. With his wife’s consent, he kept the rest. Acts 5: 1-2 (NLT)

One of the best things that can happen to us is to have friends or associates that can tell us every shade of truth that we need to hear at every point in time, especially when we are going off track. We need such people, not willing accomplices that always want to make us look good and feel good. If we don’t have such associates, one of the probable reasons is that we may not have handled past corrections or criticisms well and they are now scared of offending us. It’s also possible that we have created a shield of defence around ourselves that sends a message to people that we are irreproachable and beyond correction.

We need to make every effort to surround ourselves with people that will bluntly refuse to be willing accomplices; people that will not be clapping for us as we’re going off track at full throttle. We need people that can look us in the face and tell us the plain truth, no matter how we feel. We can consciously create the environment that will make that happen. It’s all in our hands.

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January 4, 2018 · 10:19 am

HORSE BLINDERS

I once watched a very hilarious video of a race for babies that were expected to crawl to their mums at the end of the race track. Expectedly, the babies just wanted to have fun and did everything but remain in their race tracks. Some of them even turned around and went the wrong way, driven by where they felt they would get more excitement. If anyone of them made it to the end of the race track, it would be a miracle 😊.

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That’s just so similar to putting a horse on the race track without Blinders and expecting the horse to finish the race. Horses have peripheral vision and are able to see things happening beside them and to some extent behind them. As a result of this, they are easily distracted or spooked. It’s so easy for them to run off course unless they are made to remain focussed. That’s where the blinders come in. The blinders are carefully crafted to shut out every distraction for the horses, leaving enough space for them to be able to only look forward.

Horse blinder

We just got off the mark for 2018 and we have a long race track ahead of us – There’s no limit to what we can achieve in this year! The extent to which we will achieve our set goals depends greatly on our ability to remain focussed on staying on the race track and consistently moving in the right direction. Distractions will never be in short supply, we will have to develop our own blinders that will help us to remain focussed on the finishing line. It is a definitive conscious choice that we have to make.

No one sets goals with plans to fail in hitting the target. However, we easily get distracted and side-tracked by so many other little things and ultimately set ourselves up for spectacular failure. In 1 Kings 20: 39 – 40, a man was given a simple unambiguous task of guarding a man, but he got busy with other nice things, failed at the primary task.

As the king passed by, the prophet called out to him, “Sir, I was in the thick of battle, and suddenly a man brought me a prisoner. He said, ‘Guard this man; if for any reason he gets away, you will either die or pay a fine of seventy-five pounds[c] of silver!’  But while I was busy doing something else, the prisoner disappeared!” “Well, it’s your own fault,” the king replied. “You have brought the judgment on yourself.” (1Kings 20: 39-40)

If we will successfully hit our 2018 targets, we cannot afford get ourselves occupied doing this and that. Prioritization and focus will remain key to the goals we have set for ourselves this year. Without this, goal setting for 2018 will just end up being another tick in the box – it does not have to be so and the power is in our hands to make it not to be so. Let’s make this an unforgettable year. God’s grace abounds for us.

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August 3, 2017 · 9:10 pm

WHILE WAITING…

I got up pretty early, packed my bags and set out for the airport. The traffic could be unpredictable sometimes, so I did not want to risk getting stuck in traffic and making it late to the airport. On that day however, the road was unusually free and I got to the airport before check-in time and the check-in counter was not going to open a minute before the set time. I had some waiting to do.

The check-in was smooth and uneventful. While waiting for the boarding time, I got myself occupied by reading a book – Start With Why by Simon Sinek. In my head, I had calculated when I was going to get home and how I was going to spend the rest of the day. As the boarding time approached, I heard the dreaded announcement. The weather at our destination was bad and we would not take off as scheduled. I had more waiting to do.

Waiting is not exactly my forte and soon enough I got tired of reading my book and tried starting a conversation with a fellow passenger. A few other passengers facing the same dilemma with me were ‘gisting’, a few were sleeping and others were just there. I ended up pacing about the waiting area till the boarding announcement was made and away we flew.

This airport waiting experience was transient, lasting only a few hours and I was glad for that. However, in reality we often get to wait much longer for the things that life presents to us. These ‘presents’ come in various forms like waiting for that dream job, waiting for a spouse, waiting to have a child after marriage, waiting for a promotion, waiting for a clear direction and waiting for that big break after years of faithful sowing.

While waiting as Christians, we have some sure words of promise in the Bible such as:

…All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it. 1 Corinthians 10:13 (MSG)

When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. Isaiah 43:2 (NLT)

“Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you! Isaiah 49:15 (NLT)

We often find ourselves tempted to think that God has not been fair to us, because in our own estimation, we have done everything that we ought to do and there is no rational explanation to our predicament.

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If we yield to the temptation and follow that thought trail, we often end up with depression and many questions in our hearts for God. The more we think and dwell on the issues, the bigger they begin to appear and the promises of God begin to diminish in our minds.

Joseph had no rational explanation for being in prison in a foreign land,…… we know how the story ends. Job could also not explain the terrible loss and pain he had to go through, but in the end, God came through for him. We will not always be able to explain why God allows somethings to come our way, but one thing is sure: He will neither leave us nor forsake us in the midst of those things.

I won’t claim to be an expert in knowing the best posture to take while waiting, but one thing I know that works is holding tenaciously and stubbornly to God’s word concerning whatever it is that we are waiting for. Meditate on it day and night until we have it permanently ingrained in our minds and it becomes indelible in spite of what the circumstances say.

While waiting, we can also draw strength from the little victories that God has given us in the past. Keep them fresh on our minds and know that the One who came through for us in the past is still the same and that He will still come through this time. His calendar may be different from ours, but He will come through.

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While waiting, we also need to continue steadfastly and consistently in prayers. God will always show up and make all things beautiful because failure is not part of His attributes. He is faithful and never changes. He KNOWS that we are waiting and His eyes are on us. Most of all, His grace is sufficient for us while waiting.

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