At The Precipice Of Despair

© Polina Kuznetsova | Dreamstime.com

Do you by your words put your listeners or readers at the precipice of despair?

Does the complexity of your life's situation put you at the brink of hopelessness?

The first time I met this man, who I will hereafter refer to as the Old Prophet,  if my hope was not anchored on the  solid rock of ages, he would have dashed it into a million pieces. His words heaved heavy loads of hopelessness and discouragement, which fell like bricks on my heart. I went home and wept bitterly before the Lord. I wrote about this experience in Praise That Breaks The Yoke.

Two year and two months later, I met him again. He was relentless in his quest to create a picture of a hopeless situation. He thought it was my right to be fully informed. He described the complexity of the situation and called them a constellation of risks. He was so explicit and graphic in presenting the picture that if it were not for the peace of God guarding my heart, it would have melted in fear. In the audacity of arrogance he displayed, he wanted my approval for his position.

He saw no hope. He offered no hope. He stripped all hope away.

I wondered what he wanted of me, to jump off the cliff or resign myself to fate?

A Yoruba adage says, one death cannot kill the same person twice! 

I was not going to let it happen again. Something welled up in my heart against him and there was a strong nudging in my spirit to resist him. I knew I had to take charge of the situation. The tone of my voice changed. I felt like I grew taller in my spirit and he was no longer looming over me. I refused to cower before him. God gave me the grace and the strength to challenge him.

I knew at that instant that we were not wrestling against flesh and blood in this matter but against spiritual wickedness in high places. I refused to be pushed over the edge into the pit of despair and fear. "Raise a clarion call" rang aloud and clear in my spirit and I knew what we had to do.

My Heart Is Fixed

After the Old Prophet left us, my husband thanked God for the peace with which He garrisoned our hearts against agitating fears. Our hearts were at peace trusting in the Lord and we were not moved. It was pure joy to stumble on Ps. 108: 1-6 later that night as I flipped through the Bible in search of something to read.

O God, my heart is fixed - steadfast in the confidence of faith. Therefore, I will praise and make melody. I am God's beloved. He will answer  and deliver me. 

(Ps. 57:7, 108:1,6 paraphrased)

I was glad that I knew experientially and beforehand that I will see the goodness of God in the land of the living. It was great to have this awesome promise.

Perchance, you are in a deep and complex situation where the problems are multidimensional and there seems to be no solution in sight. You are overwhelmed by many afflictions and pressed down by loads of care. Your heart is aching. You pine and long for a resolution, for a change in the situation. "When, O Lord?" has become your fervent and ardent cry.

When hopelessness rear its ugly head. Don't give up on hope. Don't give up on God. He will not abandon you. He will never leave you alone in the midst of your trials.

At such times, at the precipice of despair, we need a Friend. We must be very sure our anchor holds on a solid rock and our hearts are fixed on confident assurance that we have a Saviour Who can move the mountain.

Mountains may shake, earth may quake, and storms may swirl furiously, cling to hope. Let your heart be fixed. Let your heart be steadfast and confident. When your faith is established in the Lord and your heart is stayed on God, only then will you be able to sing and praise God in anticipation of what God will do irrespective of the situation. This brings hope. But if only in this world we have a hope, we will be of all men most miserable.

If by the abounding grace of God we are able to maintain a composed frame of mind in the midst of the crisis, we have an even greater reason to be full of praise and thanks. Though the change we long for may seem long in coming but if we pay attention, we will see His mighty hand holding us up. For this again, we can be thankful.

For we know that our God is awesome. He can move the mountain. He is worthy of praise.

While preparing this post, I remembered the card I wrote and pasted on my wardrobe door five years ago. I placed it in the line of my vision when I used to sit at the edge of the bed on my hands. It was Ps. 108:1. I placed it there to remind myself that my heart must remain fixed, steadfast and confident in the Lord despite the billows roaring around me.

The Power of Words

The following day, I met some other members of the Old Prophet's team. When they came in, they sat down. They did not stand over me. They presented the same information, even as graphic as the Old Prophet did. But with each challenge, they offered a possible solution. They offered no guarantee, but they gave hope. They were committed to finding a way around each obstacle facing us to the best of their ability.

Same information. Different presentation. Different attitude. Different result. When they left, they did not leave me in despair. They left me with assurance.

How is your word affecting the lives of people around you? Are your words full of life, hope and encouragement? Or are you manipulating, sowing seeds of discouragement and stripping away hope with your words?

If you cannot give a glimmer of hope, you should not extinguish whatever hope the person had left. Our words should not leave people in despair and without a hope.

I re-committed myself from that day to be an encourager at every instance as the Lord gives me the grace. I will be careful never to allow my words strip anyone of hope. Even when I have to present hard truths or facts, I will do my best to find a way to present it with an assurance of a way out. There will be times when we will be duty-bound to present a grim picture but we must not do so in a way that will put the receiver of that information at the precipice of despair.

This can be as subtle as the comments we make on issues concerning our nations, our families, our workplace (bosses), our churches, etc. The degree of hopelessness that is sometimes transmitted by comments made on the social media can be heartbreaking. Let us be mindful not to extinguish hope with our words but to ignite hope.

Dear friend, if today you find yourself at the brink of despair, hold on, cling to hope, don't give up. God will surely come through for you. Let your heart be fixed trusting in His unfailing love for you.

Have you been at the precipice of despair? How did you come away from there? Share your story in the comment box below and encourage someone today.

I share with you Awesome by Pastor Charles Jenkins.

In Need Of Nothing

He put a new song in my mouth to sing.

That was what happened to me a few days ago. During my time of praise and worship, I found myself singing a new song - the words were forming and I had music to go with it. I paused in my worship and recorded the song as I have learnt from experience that I may not be able to recall the song again.

You are God all alone

You are God on Your own

You are all sufficient in Yourself

You did not need me to praise You

Yet You created me for Your pleasure

I am honoured Lord,

that You chose to share Yourself with me

You were not hungry for company

You are complete in Yourself

You are perfect in Your glory

But You chose to confer Your glory on me

I am honoured Lord

That You chose to share Yourself with me

I was overwhelmed the previous night when I read The Solitariness of God in the book -  The Attributes of God written by A.W. Pink. It was profound to note that "God is solitary in His majesty, unique in His excellency, peerless in His perfections. He sustains all, but Himself independent of all. He gives to all but is enriched by none."

"God was under no constraint, no obligation, no necessity to create. That He chose to do so was purely a sovereign act on His part, caused by nothing outside Himself, determined by nothing but His mere good pleasure" - A.W. Pink.

As golden beams of sunlight piercing the dark blue twilight sky announces the arrival of a new day, the brilliance of this truth illuminated my heart, and it dawned on me— God is not in need of anything I can bring. He is all sufficient in Himself.

"God is sufficient unto Himself.

He requires nothing outside Himself to exist or to be happy"

- Michael J. Cummings.

The more I meditated on this truth, the more I was awed at the magnanimity of God. He chose to create me simply to manifest His nature of love. He chose to bestow manifold gifts and blessings on me simply to display His exceedingly generous and liberal nature.

We were chosen in advance before the foundation of the world, according to the plan of Him Who works everything in conformity with the purpose of His will. We were created according to the good pleasure of His will. God chose us for His praise and glory out of His free will (Eph. 1: 5, 11).

He stooped down to share Himself with us. He condescended to confer His glory on us.

Meditating on the self-sufficiency of God has to lead to shift in our attitude—we are not doing God a favour serving Him or giving towards His work. God is the One Who gave us gifts, so giving them back to Him would be like bringing sand to the beach. Therefore, it should be an act of worship to serve Him with the gifts and talents He has graciously bestowed on us. It should be considered a honour and a privilege to bring back to God out of the overflowing blessings He richly and daily pour into our lives. His mercies are new every morning.

I can not but give to God cheerfully.

I can not but serve Him to the best of my ability

What does this mean for us?

Knowing that God in His infinite wisdom and love stoop down to share Himself with us is humbling. It is overwhelming. It calls for a worshipful response. I can say with David, "what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You care for him?" (Ps 8:4). And with Job, "what is people, that You should make so much of us, that You should think of us so often?" (Job 7:17).

We are not serving a needy God or a God Who lacks something He needs us to fulfil. He is perfect and complete all by Himself. We are serving a God Who has chosen to put His glory on display in our lives. This revelation took my worship and adoration of God to another level.

An excellent spirit has to be seen in us as we use our talents and gifts to serve God and the people around us. We can not be lazy servants or shoddy workers or people who hide our talents in the ground. We represent God Who is vast and glorious yet He chose to confer such honour on us as to call us His own. This must be reflected in the way we discharge our duties and in the way we use the gifts and talents He blessed us with.

"God doth not need, either man's work or his own gift…"

- John Milton

God judges a man on whether they labour for Him to the best of their ability. John Milton expressed this in his Sonnet XIV - On His Blindness. He declared that not one talent will lodge with him useless in his grave, he was becoming blind when he wrote this poem. His greatest works were written after he became blind.

It is my earnest desire and prayer that we find, develop and use every talent and gift that God has graciously endowed us with, for His glory and for His honour. So that not one talent will lodge with us useless when our work here on earth is done.

Now, I have a better appreciation and a deeper understanding of the message expressed in William McDowell's song - You are God Alone.

It is uplifting for me to know that the God I serve is in need of nothing. But He is sufficient for all my needs. Without Him, I am imperfect, always lacking in something. In Him, I am made complete.

What does it mean to you to know that God is all-sufficient in Himself? Share with us in the comment box below.

I share with you the song - You are God Alone

Right Where You Are

I have always loved to write.

I scribbled stuff here and there when I was a teenager. I wrote scientific reports, speeches and presentations as a professional. I wrote notes of events happening in my life. I kept a journal. My friends encouraged me to write my story into a book. I started without a clear direction of how to present it.

Turning Point

In all of these, I did not see writing as a gift.  Until two years ago, in response to my desperate cry, God opened my eyes to see the gift He blessed me with and revealed to me how to use it creatively for His glory. I wrote about this in Sitting On a Gold Mine. Click to read.

That was when I became a full-time writer and I took definite steps to hone my craft. I started to write articles, essays, short stories and fiction novels to convey the truth of God's word—to enrich lives and inspire hope.

After three months of writing, in June 2011, I began to share a weekly Enriching Lives. Inspiring Hope. Newsletter by email with friends and family members. And in November of the same year, it evolved into this blog.

That mailing list has grown incredibly. The page views on the blog grew exponentially especially in the last three months. I could never travel to the 80+ countries from where visitors come to the blog. The reach of the message is gone beyond my wildest imagination like the silver branching of a lightning bolt flashing in the sky.

A couple of friends drew my attention to the chain of reaction which is taking the message to the uttermost parts of the world. Another writer led an appreciation of creative writing as a gift from God. I sat back and reflected on my small beginning. I marveled at God's faithfulness to do exceedingly more abundantly that I could ever ask, think or imagine.

My wildest imagination paled at God's ability to do limitless possibilities.

Home-bound, I write from the corner of my broken glass-styled dining table top, and right where I am, from my little corner, God is doing amazing things with the gift He blessed me with, in such a way that not even I could share in His glory

In that corner, I spent many hours writing, researching and studying. In between, I glance out through the window into the sky with a twiggy dry tree standing in my line of vision. I watched this tree changed with the  changing seasons, yet reflecting God's unchanging faithfulness in keeping me through my seasons.

It can be lonely alone at this little corner but it gives me utmost joy to know what God is doing with message He gives me the grace to write from here.

In your little way, in the little corner where you are, God can boast about you when you give back to Him to use for His own glory and honor what He has given to you. You can make a difference of eternal value right where you are.

Something in Your Hands

There is something in your hands that you can give to the world around you which will make the message of the cross come alive in their lives. You always have something to give. God has not left you empty handed.

I once read the story of a woman in a Chicken Soup Stories for the Soul^©. Unemployed, she was filled with self-pity, despite being jobless she searched for ways to give. Feeling worthless because she thought she had nothing to give, she glanced out of her window at her garden and found flowers blooming. She ran into the garden, picked, arranged and shared them with her neighbors  One of them turned out to be a desperate woman, with an alcoholic husband, a diabetic mother and two children she could hardly support. The flower delivery evolved into praying together for each other, until despair gave way to hope, until she found a job and the alcoholic husband quit drinking.

The boy with the five loads of bread and 2 pieces of fish was willing to share what he had. God multiplied it exponentially, it fed 5000 men, women and children not counted and there were leftovers (Luke 9:13-17). Talk about superabundant multiplication.

The widow at Zarephath gave all she had left - a handful of flour and a little oil to make bread for Elijah, and her jug of oil never failed until God gave rains back to the land (1Kings 17: 11-16).

What these witnesses and many others like them did, still stand as a memorial and a testimony today, encouraging us that we always have something in our hands to give, which God can multiply beyond our wildest imagination, and with rippling effect.

Who would have thought the gift of a bunch of flowers would have such a rippling effect? There is always something in your hands to give - your skills, talents, gifts, time, money, to name a few, and you can be creative with it.

Something You Can Do

There is something you can do right now, right where you are, which can impact lives for eternal significance, not by the magnitude of what you are doing but by the intensity of love, commitment and passion underlying it. There is something you can contribute that will advance the gospel of salvation.

Do the good you know to do. Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it. Whoever knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin (James 4:17). Cotton Mather noted "that the ability to do good in any case imposes an obligation to do it."

You can deliberately seek opportunities to do good to people around you if you pay attention to them and to their needs.

It may be the way you respond in time of great adversity and affliction that will speak volumes about your relationship with God, and show Him as the source of your hope and confidence. When you patiently endure persecution, you show forth a God-given inner strength and peace that many will long and ask for.

Be Persistent, Consistent and Diligent

We must be faithful and diligent to identify and passionately pursue the assignment God has for us. For most of us, the impact of our assignment may not be visible or quantifiable now, and it need not be.

My husband shared the story of someone who sowed some seeds in her garden, nurtured, watered and tended the plant. It grew over her fence but appeared not to be blossoming. All she seem to see was the green plant but she kept at it until her neighbor exclaimed at the beauty of the plant—it was blooming on the other side of the fence.

God is able to make the seed you sow into people's lives to blossom in a way you could never have imagine. Don’t give up even when you don’t see results.

A Gift And A Blessing

Creative writing is both a gift and a blessing to me. I am amazed at the way God is using this gift to open doors to me and to bless me. It does even much more:

• It holds me accountable —I am compelled to practice what I preach.
• I am motivated to stay connected to the source of power and inspiration. I frequently have to ask the Holy Spirit for inspiration when I share a message.
• Often, I go back to read again previous posts and I receive encouragement when most needed. I get a fresh revelation and insight at that moment that it is sometimes difficult to believe that I wrote the piece.

Everyone has a calling and a God-given assignment. It may be to your family, community or to the nations. Whatever your assignment may be—right where you are, in the workplace, marketplace, school, via internet or social media—you can impact the world.

What perfect example we have in Jesus. There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friend. But while we were yet sinners, Jesus came and died for us. In the short time Jesus spent walking here on earth, He left an indelible mark on the lives of everyone who came in contact with Him!

Let this Easter be reminder of the precious gift of life Jesus died to purchase for us, let us be encouraged to reach out with this message of love from where we are. I pray that this will be a special time of celebrating God's miracle of life and amazing love for you and your loved ones. Happy Easter.

Intimate and Unbroken Fellowship

This week's post is coming later than usual. I apologize. It has been a challenging week. This is a two-fold message. The first part is a preview of a post coming soon.  

The second part is a rewrite of an article I wrote in June 2011 and shared by email with couples on my mailing list then. I found the article while I was looking back to where I started from.

It is two years since I started writing actively.

A series of events these past couple of weeks ignited an appreciation of how God blesses us with gifts to be used for His honor and glory. As I reflected on how far God has brought me in this journey — writing to Enrich Lives and to Inspire Hope,  I considered my small beginnings, I could not but give thanks to God Who does not despise small beginnings.

I appreciate God for the gift of writing and what God has chosen to do with it in my life and in the lives of those He brought my way. My heart overflows with gratitude for the many helpers He brought my way in the process. I will put a hold on this for now until I bring you "Right Where You Are."

I was extremely blessed in the course of meditating and researching on a topic I was writing on a couple of years ago, that is, “The Promise (gift) of His Abiding Presence." It was about dwelling in God's presence, and having an intimate and unbroken fellowship with Him, our Saviour Jesus Christ and the Holy  Spirit.

Whilst reflecting on this subject, it was clear to me that God also designed and desired that couples should have an intimate and unbroken fellowship with one another and together with Him.

Building an intimate relationship requires closeness — dwelling in each other’s presence. Closeness deepens emotional intimacy, which is a God-given desire in every woman. I can attest to the deep longing of every woman for a deep emotional intimacy. Sometimes, this may be challenging for many reasons including distance especially for couples who have to live apart. But even in such circumstances, couples can still creatively maintain a degree of closeness that keeps their relationship vital and their fellowship unbroken.

In the series I ran last month — Couples Or Co-Tenants, we can infer that it is possible for one to be lonely in marriage even though you live together. So being physically together or sharing same space, though an essential ingredient, does not guarantee close and intimate relationship.

It is what you do together, how you share time and space in fellowship with one another, that ensures a deep and intimate relationship.

© Duccio | Dreamstime.com

Growing close together like an ivy beautifully entwined around a tree amplifies the degree of intimacy we ought to seek in our marriage. It is at this intimate proximity, when all the fences are down, we identify and lovingly close up the cracks in our relationship.

Jim Mueller wrote in Incredible Intimacy: “Over the last several years, our marriage has evolved into a deeper partnership, with increased trust, confidence and security. Our communications and conflict resolution skills have improved. We selflessly serve each other, always looking for creative ways to express our love and foster romance.”

Take note of these key phrases:

• Our marriage has evolved into a deeper partnership
• Increased trust, confidence and security
• Our communication and conflict resolution skills have improved
• We selflessly serve each other
• Always looking for creative ways to express our love and foster romance

Sit back for a moment and ponder a little bit on these facets of your relationship with your spouse. How have you fared? Can you identify one or two areas where you can improve and do better? I hope this will motivate you to take your fellowship with your spouse to a deeper and more intimate level.

The more you dwell in God's presence, the more you will desire that the life of God flow through you into your marriage, the more you will desire the purpose of God fulfilled in your marriage. The more of the life of God flowing into you from an intimate fellowship with God, the more you will submit to His leading to honor Him in your marriage as in every other sphere of your life.

I honestly do not believe that it is possible to have an intimate and unbroken fellowship with God and it will not reflect in a desire for a deeper and more intimate fellowship with our spouse. I urge you to check the temperature of your fellowship with God and of your relationship with your spouse, and challenge you to seek after an intimate and unbroken fellowship.

Today, I want to encourage you to have a yearning for a deep, intimate and unbroken fellowship that will keep your relationship vital and vibrant. Don't settle into the rot of stale monotony in your marriage. Be determined to do all in your power by the help of the Holy Spirit to create an atmosphere that will improve your closeness to your spouse.

Ultimately, the closer you and your spouse draw to God, the closer you are drawn to each other. The closest thing to heaven on earth, after your fellowship with God, is a rich and vibrant relationship with your spouse to the extent that both of you can jointly sing: "Your Presence is Heaven to me." 

What can couples do to improve how they share time and space together? Share your thoughts in the comments box below.

I share with you Your Presence is Heaven To Me by Israel Houghton.

A Legacy of Good Testimony

This week, Christians in Geneva celebrated the life and legacy of a man whose life touched the lives of countless number of people across many continents.

I knew of Pastor Philip K. I never met him but his life and testimony touched me beyond words. He was the founding Pastor of one of the churches here in Geneva. He was baptised in the Holy Spirit at the age of 10 years. We learnt that he led members of his family up to the 3^rd generation to Christ. His influence was not limited to his family alone, many people from different countries testified, at the memorial and funeral services held in his honour, of how he touched their lives. He had a passion for souls, he wanted to take the gospel to the Philippines and for many years he asked God to make a way for him. God did.

Pastor Philip K. went home to be with the Lord after a victorious crusade in the Philippines on February 27^th, 2013 at the age of 68 years.

In his quiet simplicity and humility, he created opportunities for others and invested in the lives of numerous people. Many were deeply moved by his testimony, which left us pondering on whether we are majoring on what is really important as Christians. What really matters the most to God is that we seize every opportunity to make the message of the cross known to all and to fulfil His purpose in our lives.

As I pondered on this, I remembered the story of a well-loved Christian woman, a disciple, who lived in Joppa. Her name was Dorcas. She fell sick and she died (Acts 9: 36-43).

While she was alive, she had a great testimony. Her life touched the lives of people in the  town where she lived, using the skills God blessed her with. She was wholly devoted to the good and charitable works she was constantly doing. She fed and clothed the widows and the poor. To the extent that ALL the widows brought out the tunics and shirts she made with her hands for them.

Such was the impact she had on the people in her town that they sent for Peter—"Please come at once!" They had an expectation. He came. He prayed. And he presented her to them alive.

I noted some commonality in the lives of the two people I shared here - Pastor Philip K. and Dorcas. They were disciples of Christ.

Who is a disciple?

A disciple is

• a follower and a student of a mentor, teacher or other figure (Wikipedia).
• One who embraces and assists in spreading the teaching of another, in this instance, Jesus (Freeonlinedictionary.com)
• One who accepts and assists in spreading the doctrines of another - Jesus. (Merriam-Webster)

Disciples work with their hands and walk with their feet for the good of others and for the glory and honour of God's name.

These two personalities embraced the gospel of Christ, but they did not hold it to themselves alone, they assisted in spreading the message of the cross as far as God gave them influence.

They lived out their faith by touching lives, investing in lives and impacting lives in their sphere of influence.

It starts with us bearing fruits that are consistent with genuine repentance and having a conduct that is worthy of a changed heart - Luke 3:8.

As Christians, we must bear fruits that will make Christianity attractive to everyone we come in contact with.

If you have the pulpit, use it very well to bring souls to God and to build lives in the faith. But quite honestly and in the words of my sista, Bidemi, in her book Sistapower— "gone are the days when you need a pulpit within the four walls of a church to impact lives…"

Each of us in every place God has put us and has given us influence can impact lives and touch them for good. We have been called to show forth the excellency of the word of truth where we are and by the way we live our lives.

Paul charged Titus to be an example by doing good works of every kind. In everything we do, like him, we are also charged to reflect the integrity, sincerity and seriousness of our faith - Titus 2:7.

It is not about us seeking to do good for own vain glory, it is for the life of God to overflow through us to touch and impart the lives of others. That is why living a life that makes a difference to the lives of other people is dependent on how much of the life of God is in us.

It is not about leaving our imprint on the lives of others but we seek to let the image of God be engraved on their hearts.

Every moment of each day, we all are writing a legacy — with our words and with our actions — so why don't we make it a legacy that will endure?

What are we teaching others by the way we live our lives? What story is our life telling others by the way we handle and face life's challenges? What we are doing now that will impact lives beyond now?

Pastor Philip K. touched lives in all the places where God gave him influence. Dorcas touched the lives of the widows and the poor around her. They both left a lasting legacy. Is your life touching and impacting the lives of those God brings along your way for good?

Ultimately, what we do now will continue to bear testimonies about us even after we leave this world. I want mine to be a lasting legacy of a good testimony—a life lived to touch lives for good and for the glory of God. 

Be assured that God can use you to do amazing things of eternal significance for His own glory where you are right now.

In what tangible ways can we impact and invest in lives of people right now where we are? Share with us in the comment box below and encourage others.