A poem about weed

I will wait for you

Relationships, specifically courtship and marriage have always been of interest to me. However i'm not going to express  my view here today, but instead share the view of someone else. I pray this video gives those out there who are currently under pressure to marry and may inadvertently settling for less than God's best - to wait. God is never late. He makes everything beautiful in its time.

Ps 150:6 "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord"

We see in (Acts 16: 16-36) from the experience of Paul and Silas that Praise is one of the greatest tools used in defeating the enemy. Their joyful singing didn’t go unnoticed as the prisoners themselves began to listen. But more importantly, their worship reached the ears of the father who delighted in their sacrifice of thanksgiving and delighted in their praise. As a result, one prison guard and his entire family were saved that night with the gift of salvation and eternal life. Praise is a powerful weapon, many times in the Old testament, when Gods people would go into battle, they would send out the ‘Worshippers’ first. That is because praise precedes victory, which is why the enemy loves to silence the tongue of a worshipper.

What is praise?

Praise is more than just singing songs; it is a ‘heart attitude’. It’s not uncommon for praise in ones heart to prompt singing, but it can also manifest in many different ways such as our words and actions like telling others about the things God does. And it’s a whole lot more than lip service. This is not to say that the effect of ‘singing’ is in anyway reduced. I once read that ‘God created music and the composer only arranges it’. God is a great lover of music. Ps 100:2 urges us to ‘serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing’. In many instances, music is a natural expression of one’s joy and can also add meaning to a message by affecting the hearer through emotions. I remember a few years ago, on the day of my brothers graduation, I was waiting in a room with a friend who began to sing praises to God. A few seconds into the song, the stone faced receptionist began to smile. It really touched me because we had all been in that room for at least 30mins before he began to sing, and all through that time, the receptionist had been frowning and irritable. Heartfelt praise is a very beautiful thing.

Sacrifice of praise 

‘Sacrifice means to give up or offer something of value we would rather hold on to’. As humans, we find ourselves ‘being thankful’ in good times. When life is good, praise and thanksgiving flow freely from ones heart, then comes darker times and praise doesn’t flow as easily. However as Christians, these are the times when we need to praise God the most. Praise helps us focus on what God is going to do in our life, rather than keep focusing on the not so good happening in one’s life.....This is our sacrifice of praise. You may not feel like praising the Lord at every given instant of the day, but enough sin has probably been committed to require an burnt offering for atonement every instant of the day, but Good in his infinite mercy has rendered a burnt offering unnecessary. A few questions to think about;

How often each day do you praise him?

How often each day do you prise him when you don’t feel like?

How often each day do you praise him for dying on the cross for you?

So I urge you my brothers and sisters, as you go through your day, take time to acknowledge God. Remember to put him first and continually offer him praise. As praise goes up, his blessings, peace, joy and strength come down and overtake every area of your life. Also remember God wants our all, if we live in love and obedience to him, our songs- the fruit of our lips- will be a pleasing sacrifice of praise.

Pride

Most dictionaries define Pride as ‘an arrogant or disdainful conduct or treatment; haughtiness’. And human understanding of what the word represents is not too far from this. Pride is often linked to a sufficiency in self; an ‘i can do it’, ‘i am better than’ attitude. So imagine my surprise when a dear friend of mine spoke to me about pride a few days ago. I had always looked at pride as ‘self-righteousness’, which i look upon as a sin which God hates as it’s a hindrance to seeking him. In my wildest dreams i never thought of myself as one who fell into this category, neither did i think it applied to the situation he was counselling me about. But i took his advice and prayed.

Bingo!!!! Now i see it. I have found that the best way to actually tackle this issue of pride is to break it down to examine what it implies, once we see pride as ‘self-orientation’ which is contrary to the character of God, it becomes much clearer, and we can see ‘inverted pride’ for what it really is.

It is easy to recognise the 'big prides' (as stated above), however ‘inverted pride’ is a hidden pride that has to do with self condemnation and perceived inadequacies. This kind of pride is disguised as the virtue of humility, but brothers and sisters it is soooooo far from that. Using myself as an example, mine was looking at my motivation for doing certain things instead of looking at what God had accomplished using me......’pride is giving ourselves credit for something God has accomplished’ even if it’s by removing him from the equation and giving ourselves negative credit. By feeling bad about my ‘not so selfless’ reason for doing something good, i removed God from the equation and completely disregarded what he had used me to accomplish. In my mind i was being humble by downplaying what i had done, but this is a lie from the devil, most times to deceive us, to lead us to despair which might gradually draw us away from God as we continue to feel inadequate.

I guess the lesson here is, the devil is a liar (no big surprise there), we are not perfect by any means, but we are all gifted in our own special ways. Anything satan tries to use for evil, God can turn and use for good when we commit totally to him. We all need to remember that the devil will try to find ways to destroy the good we try to do, be it by questioning our motivation for doing it, or by letting us believe it’s not good enough. But remember, it is not by our power nor our might Jehovah is the author and finisher of all things.

Scripture refs

John 5:44

Psalm 10:4

1cor 4:7

The Good Shepherd

Many, if not all of us can recite Psalm 23 by heart. But how many of us have ever actually sat down to carefully examine what the words actually mean? I know the good book is filled with loads of promises from God, but what i find quite amazing is that a lot of them are found   in the single chapter of Psalm 23.

The Lord is my Shepherd.......Gods promise of care.

I believe this first verse calls us to immediately put ourselves into the care of Jesus Christ. We see in Isa 40:11, He promises to feed His flock like a shepherd, but nothing beats Jhn10:11; The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.

I shall not want.......Gods promise of provision.

A popular story that comes to mind is that of Abraham and Isaac, when Abraham answered Isaacs question regarding the lamb for the sacrifice by saying ‘my son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering’. I find it very reassuring to know that God sees our needs and provides for them. Having said all this. It’s important to note that this doesn’t mean the world is your oyster, that you receive each and everything you desire. It simply means that you will lack nothing that is necessary for your best interest. A very popular passage that illustrates this promise is Philippians 4:19; And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. 

He makes me to lie down in green pastures....God’s promise of rest.

Simply put, i think this means fully trusting that Jesus has done all the work of salvation for us. We’re to rest in his saving grace. This is what Jesus means when he urges us in Matt11:28, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest”. It means the end of all your fleshly striving, all your human efforts to obtain peace. And it means relying totally on Jesus’ work for you.

He leads me beside the still waters....Gods promise of peace.

God promises we will find the much yearned for peace of heart and mind we long for as ‘’He leads us beside the still waters’’. He, the shepherd, knows all about our need for peace and provides the peace we need for fulfilling His will for our lives. (Further reading Jhn14:27)

He restores my soul.....Gods promise of restoration and healing.

Life is hard! No one is a stranger to its downs, pains and hurts. Unfortunately, many people stay down when they fall, they remain broken and crushed in spirit. But the good news is that we have a shepherd- The good Shepherd- to walk with us along life’s way. Armed with the promise of healing restoration, we can all walk through life with the help of the Lord, we can handle its challenges and heart aches.

He leads me in the path of righteousness.......Gods promise of guidance.

Its true that we live in a time were the world seems to honour those who can go with its flow, those willing to compromise and bend to its will and ways. But we are the righteous saints of a righteous God. And He makes sure we walk in His straight paths of righteousness. And He is faithful to tell us in His word exactly what those paths are. He clearly spells out what He considers right and wrong and for those so called ‘grey areas’, he reveals the truth to those who diligently seek it. Christs example we follow and that its to Gods glory when we obey.

Though I walk through the valley ......you are with me.......Gods promise of presence. One of my fav bible verses is Matt28:20; I am with you always, even to the end of the age. So keep walking. Do not pause. Do not falter, for God is with you.

I will fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me......Gods promise of Comfort.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies, You anoint my head with oil, My cup runs over.....Gods promise of protection. (Further reading Ps7:1, Ps 31:15)

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me, all the days of my life.....Gods promise of Hope This to me speaks of moving from experience to faith. You dwell in the presence of the Lord, under His protection, your every need satisfied. Believe that every moment of your future will be filled with Gods richest blessings too. Surely!!!

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.....Gods promise of a home.

God has called us to prepare for our journey back home.

It may get harder and harder to get up, but get up you must

She hated wearing her glasses, but today, that was the only way she could hide the fact that she had been crying for the past 2 days. What hadn’t she tried? She’d prayed, she’d read her bible searching for a word. Something! Anything!

Going through the events of the past day in her mind, she really wondered where she’d gone wrong and what she could have done differently. She was the kind of person who found meaning in everything, a hopeless (albeit closet) romantic. With their wedding anniversary coming up in a week, and the regular misunderstandings they’d been having for the past month, she’d decided to give him something she thought he’d appreciate.

For a while now, he’d been complaining about her inability to express what she was feeling concerning certain things. It was no secret between them that this was extremely difficult for her to do. She’d been hurt so many times over the years that she’d survived by bottling things up inside. She wouldn’t know what to do, our how to function with her emotions floating around the place and she’d often told him she didn’t like telling him things because she didn’t want him to feel bad about something that may have happened between them. But as the tears she desperately tried to stop kept pouring out, she remembered what he’d said- how he’d told her she to tell him anyway, that the truth might hurt, but the truth was still the truth. Sitting with the wet tissue in her hand, she replayed in her head the podcast that had finally given her the courage to do it - the one that told her that her husband was a ‘safe place’ that she should be able to tell him anything.

She was totally and utterly confused. And worse, she was afraid and could still feel his anger as she replayed the conversation in her head. She just didn’t understand what happened. This was a man who had told her times without number that he often got frustrated because he didn’t know what she was feeling; they’d had numerous arguments because of it. And the first time she had tried to share her feelings with him; he had exploded in her face. She felt like she was left holding a bleeding heart after the doctor had told her not to go elsewhere that he would fix it, but had abandoned her when she had gone to him.

She got on her knees again. Maybe one more prayer would take this pain away. She flipped open the bible again. Maybe she would find that one verse that would bring the comfort she so desperately needed. At some point, she realised it was past time for them to pray. She checked her phone. No missed call. He hadn’t called her.

As she dialled her husband’s number she wondered if it’d be wise to attempt to share with him how his reaction had made her feel. She decided against it. She just couldn’t risk it. Instead she made small talk with him before they prayed. She asked him what she could have done differently to prevent what had happened the previous day. She could tell he was irritated at how low her voice was when she said her ‘amens’. But she blamed it on network issues. She wouldn’t let him know that she couldn’t speak louder so it wouldn’t be evident to him that she’d been crying while he prayed. She cried herself to sleep that night, not because it made her feel better, but because she had nothing else to do. She just didn’t know what to do with the flood of emotions she was drowning in. She’d never felt so alone in her life. There was no one she could tell of her secret pain. She was alone.

                                             

***

She woke up the next morning with tears on her pillow and realised she’d been crying in her sleep. But as she got out of bed, she knew something had changed when she heard the still small voice whisper ‘old things have passed away and all things have become new’. Making her way to the shower, the tears that had been her companion in the last few days threatened to pour out again, she was surprised when she heard herself say, ‘Ore, enough with the tears. You will not cry today. Your weeping endured last night, this morning claim your joy’. She was not convinced. She thought of her wedding anniversary only a few days away, the custom made card she’d ordered for her husband.....it’s words. And then a voice she clearly recognised as the Holy Spirit said to her “child, have you learnt nothing? A second does not define your life; neither do these last few days define your marriage. If you will take anything from Me, take this- Love is patient, Love is kind It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”

***

As she waited for her husband at the arrivals gate, she wondered if he realised how hurt she still was by what had happened the past few day, she was tempted to let him see her red swollen eyes. But instead, she put on her glasses and threw her arms around her husband and told him how much she’d missed him. Because that’s just what you do. These misunderstandings may get harder to recover from, but she knew she just had to get up- every time.

***

1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever!”

There was a time when i thought love was a ‘feeling. I’d always known that there was a difference between loving someone and being in love with someone, but i’d always thought they were 2 different types of feelings/emotions. However, now that I have a better understanding, I know love is not a feeling, it’s something you do, (yeah, yeah, yeah I know I stole errr I mean borrowed that line from a song).

So what is love?

As children of God, we are called to love others in the way we see modelled by God and his son. But is this really possible when most of us don’t even understand what love it?! I once read a book that defined love as ‘the sacrifice of self....not necessarily an emotion, or feeling loving towards a person, but an act of self sacrifice.

• Love involves effort, not merely emotion

• Love demands action, not just feeling

• Love is something we do, not something we only feel or say

Love is action 

In 1John 3:18 we are told not to love in word or in tongue, but in deed and truth....meaning love is something we do, not just the words we say.

Love reaches out to the ‘Unlovable’

Luke 6:32; ‘But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them’. This again I feel illustrates the fact that love is just not a feeling but a choice we make, a choice to love those who aren’t nice to us or those who treat us badly, even when we don’t feel like. It should be remembered that God’s love is never deserved- it simply is, so to love as God loves is not to choose to show love only to those who are nice to us, or love us back the way we want.

Love expects nothing in return

We are told in Luke6:35 to do good to others without expecting to get anything back. Love is not selfish, so to love as God loves is to love with no expectation of reward for that love.

God helps us

It’s all well and good that we are asked to show this enormous amount of love to everyone every time, even when we are so angry we can’t tell the difference between night and day. What we need to realise is that we have all the help and support we need in God. I know it’s easy for people to say this, but we need to remember we cannot create love, it is a gift from God as we are told in Rom5:5, and only His grace gives us the strength to keep getting up, to keep loving.

Prov 22:29 "Do you see a person who is diligent in his work?He will serve kings."

***Morning*** 

As Bidemi hurriedly tried to get dressed, she thought this was definitely one of the 'Spirit is willing but flesh is weak type moments'. She cringed remembering the all nighter she had just pulled at the office. It wasn't the fact that she knew that after only 3 hrs sleep, the day would be a tough one, what pained her was the fact that she wouldn't be able to have a proper 'quiet time' that morning and to her, that was the reason why her day would not be as good as it could be.
 

Almost tripping as she opened the door to leave the house, she whispered to herself 'note to self, do not try to wear your shoes while running'. Getting into the car, she shook her head as that annoying thought tried to creep in again, the one about her sucking it all up as she should be used to it by now.....in the past, she could handle the late nights, low pay and unfavourable working conditions, but as time passed, the worse it got and now it seemed to be affecting her spiritual life in a major way. Ever since Sister Olethea had told her that if she was too busy for God, she was more busy than He intended for her to be, she had tried to spend every free moment she had in His presence, and boooooyyyyyy it wasn't easy. 

***Afternoon*** 

She was off her seat even before she put the final full stop at the end of the report. She didn't want to be late for the meeting. But as she got to the car park, she wasn't surprised  to see that neither Mara or Rachel were there. So she popped in her earphones and passed the time by listening to the message she had attempted to listen to during the drive down to the office that morning. 

That was 30mins ago, now as she sipped her water slowly, she wished she hadn't decided to wait for them. No! Actually she wished see hadn't agreed to this meeting in the first place. She couldn't lie. She was tempted...technically it wasn't anything illegal and the benefits....ooooh the benefits. She shook her head, trying to rid herself of those thoughts. That was when she heard the whispering. 

Mara: See i told you we should have asked Ruby. Bidemi will now start giving us some holier than thou reasons, as if we are not all Christians. 

Rachel: Calm down ha! Lets hear her out first. 

*Rachel looks at Bidemi* 

Rachel: So as I was saying, it's a win- win for us all. WWF gets its fee income, while we get our bit on the side by providing the extra services to Roxy and not to forget, more favourable work hours, best of all it's not illegal. Oh and there's the possibility of employment with Roxy Ltd once the assignment is complete. Actually it's more than a possibility, it's a virtual certainty. 

Bidemi: Hmmm I'm flattered that you guys thought of me and it does all sound very appealing. But... 

 *Mara elbows Rachel* 

 Mara: Ehen shebi I told you. Madam holier than thou 

*Bidemi ignoring the comment* 

Bidemi: But, I don't think I'll be comfortable doing it. It just all sounds very unethical to me.

Oooooh how it pained her to say those words, but she knew it was the right thing to do. This was not how her break through would come. She may have grown to dislike her job at WWF, but she was no cheat and she refused to do business on the side with their clients, at the company's expense. 

That was the last she heard from Mara and Rachel. They had gotten Ruby on board and she heard that the 3 of them were living it up at Roxy Ltd. The 3 months consulting assignment had been extended to 5 months. Lucky them. Nothing had changed for her at WWF, thankfully it hadn't gotten worse either, because she really felt she was stretched to her limit already. These were the thoughts that were going through her mind when Mr Kwaliti's PA asked her to come to his office for an urgent meeting. 

***

As Mr Kwaliti introduced her to Mr Ngozi Obidike, a top Exec from WWWF's regional head office, she couldn't help but wonder what sort of parents would name their son Ngozi. 

Mr Obidike: Back in the day I had a friend called Bidemi, is yours short for Abidemi....or is it Olabidemi? 

Bidemi: No Sir, its Olubidemi 

Mr Obidike: Hmmmm,interesting. So you are a child born to wait on God. 

*Bidemi smiles* 

Mr Kwaliti: I was just telling Mr Obidike here that you are one Of the best employees we've got. Head office have a small project that they'd like us to execute, it's going to be a one man job. Since neither Mara, Rachel or Ruby are here........ 

Even though the thought going through her head was, 'chooooi! Maybe I should have gone with them Mara, cos this is really one chance!'. 

Instead she said.... 

Bidemi: That's no problem sir. 

***

2 months later. As she waited patiently to be called in by Mr Obidike's PA to present her report, she was going over in her head the speech she'd give her boss on her return to the office. She definitely needed time off. She had been running on empty for a while now and wasn't willing to break down before she did anything about it.

PA: He is ready for you Miss Badmos 

 *** 

She realised she had been sitting in the car for close to 30mins, but she wouldn't drive. She knew she couldn't spend the whole day there praising God for this miracle, but she didn't want to risk not having the time later on. She had gone to Mr Obidike's office with the intention of presenting her report; instead he had presented her with a job offer straight from heaven! 

 *** 

Upon returning to the WWF branch office 4 weeks later, to complete some papers with HR, she was surprised to see Mara, Rachel and Ruby back at their desks. 

Bidemi: Ahan, what happened? Thought you guys would have resumed work at Roxy by now. 

Ruby: Don't mind those silly people oh. Can you imagine they only extended the assignment because they wanted us to train the people they intended to employ for the position? Gosh! Only for them to show us the door once the project was complete. 

 *** 

 Prov 22: 29 'Do you see a man who is diligent in his work? He will stand before kings. He will not stand before mere men.' 

Be reminded of Joseph as well as the parable of the talents. Sometimes when we are going through seemingly difficult job related experiences, we should remember that we are working for God and not man. As unfavourable as the circumstances might be, let us do the job to the best of our ability, by not cutting corners or not being less productive than we know we can be. Even if we think people cannot see, God sees all and believe He is faithful and just. 

Exodus 14:13b 'Do not be afraid. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today'

Be anxious for nothing...

Today, Otiti was happy. She refused to remember when her mother had died 12years ago and her father had sent her and her elder sister Evih, to live with his sister and mother. She refused to remember trekking miles to school in worn out shoes and torn uniforms because her aunt never let them see a penny of the money her father sent. She refused to remember sleepless nights of soaking her feet in cold water so she could catch up on the school work that hours of working at her aunts' shop after school had made her miss. She refused to remember neither when her uncle had raped her at age 10 nor when her elder sister's boyfriend had raped her 3 years after that. No, today she was happy, looking down at the letter detailing the full scholarship she had been granted to study abroad, she pushed memories of her sad childhood away from her mind. So she got down on her knees to thank her heavenly father..No! Today and forever would be happy days.  



 ***



In her second year a very good friend of hers begun to convince her that boys weren't as evil as she thought. In fact, to prove her point she introduced Otiti to a very nice young man who liked her so much that no sex within the relationship was acceptable to him. But as she sat in that court room, frozen in shock after receiving a 2year jail sentence for assault, she forgot all about 'that'! happy day. How could she be sent to jail for 'assaulting' a man who had raped her?! Where was the justice?! But of cos no one believed she had been raped. It's considered consensual when you are in a relationship with this person. 


                         


Her lawyer couldn't look her in the eye as she screamed at him while being dragged away by the officers  




Otiti: 'but you promised it would be ok'  




Lawyer: silence 

***

But that was 5 years ago. Somehow she believed God had seen her through years of begging for her father's forgiveness for the shame and embarrassment her conviction had caused, and working odd jobs to support herself. She was done with school and was waiting to start an internship with a prominent investment bank. Things were looking up.......that was until the company went into administration the day she was to resume work.  

Now, she was 24 and unemployed, tired of living from hand to mouth and at the insistence of her elder sister, moved back home.  

The move to Nigeria had proven to be better than expected. The allowance the internship she had managed to secure gave her was barely enough to get her by every month, but somehow she managed.  

But now that internship was coming to an end, and even though it was regular practice to be offered a full time position on completion, she had her doubts as she was sure the head of her unit didn't like her. But now as she absent mindedly clapped her hands to the song the choir was singing, she pushed all her worries out of her mind and comforted herself with Prov 21: 1('The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.').  

She dared to believe God had finally delivered her from the storm, in the few months she had been back, by the grace of God, through her sister she had been blessed with a good man, after all that men had done to her she never believed she could trust again but she had personalized Prov 3:5-6 a long time ago and learnt to lean on her own understanding but follow the Lords direction, Pro 20:24 (Man's goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way?)  

So as she walked out of the church building, a half smile on her face she felt a bit apprehensive as her fiancé Osaze had sounded a bit 'funny' when he had asked her to come over.  

***

She sat speechless, tears trailing down her face as she looked from her sister Evih to Osaze and back again to Evih, neither of them looking at her.  

Otiti: I don't...I don't understand  

Evih: What is there not to understand? Is anything i've said a lie? I mean, think about it, how can a harlot such as yourself, having seduced our uncle and my ex boyfriend plan to wear white on your wedding day?! I mean it's simply unheard of!!!!  

Otiti looked at Osaze, but he still would not look at her. He still was not saying a word. Smiling, Evih continued.  

Evih: Look Otiti, you can't expect to come back to this country, steal Osaze from me and expect me to keep quiet. He has to know the kind of person he is planning to marry.  

At that moment, Otiti got up. She didn't know where she would go nor what she would do. Her world that seemed close to perfect 2 hours ago was beginning to crumble. How could her sister who knew her every trial and pain, be doing this to her?! Thoughts that God had abandoned her began to fill her mind, so she began to recite 1Cor 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.) over and over in her head as she walked slowly towards the door. 

Then Osaze finally spoke.  

Osaze: Otiti please sit down. I called you here today so you could hear the accusations your sister has leveled against you, and understand why I never want you to return to her house ever again.  

*Silence*  

Evih: errrr.hmmmm.buuu.... 

Osaze: Evih please leave my house. I'm shocked that you have harbored such thoughts for your own sister all this time she was living with you. I can't even begin to think were you got the thought that there was ever an "us" for Otiti to steal me away from. 

Shaking his head, Osaze walked over to Otiti, took her hands and hugged her.  

Osaze: Otiti you are mine. God had given you to me to cover and protect you. Never doubt my love and commitment to you (*smiling*), it helped that you had told me about your past before your sister tried to poison my mind. Thank you for taking that leap of faith with me. 

Otiti: (*sighing*) No.thank you. 

***

Ok so today's story is a bit on the lengthy side, but I didn't want to summarize so that you could get a feel for what Otiti went through. What is it that you think you have been through that is so bad that you have given up on God concluding that He has forgotten you!  

Isa 49:15-16 Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.  

As children of God, we cannot afford to be sometimes, maybe worshippers. We shouldn't sing Him praises only when the enemy has been defeated and grumble and complain when God doesn't do what we want, when we want it. That's what the Israelites did. After 430years in Egypt, the Lord arrived to keep His promise to them. To pull them out, but mere days after crossing the red sea they forgot all He had done, and went back to their grumbling. 

We must learn to trust God at all times. If He has promised something (and He has promised us so much), He will come through. Do you dare call God a liar? You may not say the words, but sometimes your actions do. 

Phil 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say, Rejoice. 

The fact that you are alive today, reading this yourself, breathing without medical aid, you have or will eat soon, all the demons and evil spirits walking about have not harmed a single hair on your head..e.t.c are enough reasons to glorify God. Who are we? What have we done that we feel we deserve more? It is all by His grace. So please the next time you think God has abandoned you, that you are earning N2.4 mil per annum and feel you should be earning N5.4, remember you need to be breathing in order to enjoy the pay rise. 

The Holy Spirit is a gentleman

Dotun had been frustrated for....... hmmm well longer than he could remember. He was 35, had been working for close to 10years, but had nothing to show for it. Pressure from his parents to marry wasn't helping matters either! 

***

So one bright and early morning, while questioning God as to the purpose of His life and why God still allowed him to breathe, he stumbled on 

Matt 11:28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.'' 
                                             

                                             and  

Ish 30:21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

So that day, he poured out his heart to God, committing his all into the Lords hands asking Him for direction and promising to follow that direction. 

***

3 days later Dotun got calls from 3 different companies who wanted to discuss several vacancies they had, with him. The discussions went well and Dotun was presented with 3 very good offers; some better than others. 

***

The time came to make his decision, and even though Prov 3: 5-7 (Trust in the lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the lord and shun evil.) lay heavy on his mind, he selected the job with the most lucrative package. 

Soon after he resumed work, he met Tope at a networking event organised by his company and months after while carrying out professional services for one of the companies that had made him a job offer, he met Tamara.

Although they were bought God fearing women, with equaly strong relationships with God, Tope was not what you'd call beautiful, but there was something about her that captivated Dotun. Before long they were in a semi-serious relationship on the road to marriage, well in Dotun's mind anyway. He was pleased, afterall all things work out for those who serve the Lord. Now Tamara on the other hand was breath taking, both inside and out, a fact sadly......she seemed unaware of. After herself and Dotun became good friends, he would constantly tease her, amused by how uncomfortable compliments made her. 

The friendship between Dotun and Tamara was such that she was the one Dotun spoke to about his relationship with Tope and ultimately confided in when Tope left him. He just couldn't understand why, as it all seemed to have been falling into place. To make a bad situation worse, he was to be made redundant from his new place of work!

Tamara tried her best to be there for her friend, encouraged him in the word of God, and urged him to go back to God to find out where he had gotten it all wrong, where he had missed his way, and what he should do now. 

So one night Dotun had a dream, and in that dream he had taken up employment in Tamara's firm, married Tamara and they lived happily ever after.

That was when he knew..... he remembered the prompting of the Holy Spirit with regards to deciding which job to pick, as well as the unsettling feeling he had while with Tope and the constant peace he felt with Tamara. 

So he called Tamara, asked her to meet him for lunch as he had something to discuss with her. Instead, she invited him over to her place, offering to make them lunch. He smiled a sad smile on hearing that, he wasn't even sure if Tope knew how to cook! He shook his head at his own stupidity, recalling all the things he had put up with, with Tope and how now he could clearly see God offering it all to him on the platter of Gold that was Tamara! 

***

With Tamara putting away the last traces of the lavish 3 course meal they had just had, and Dotun psyching himself up to tell her what was on his mind, they both said in unison..... 

Tamara: I'm engaged!  

Dotun: I think you are my wife! 

 Silence.... 

 Even more silence...... 

Tamara: 'why would you say that?' 

Dotun narrated his story.

Tamara: 'I've waited for you to say that for soo long. When you told me you intended to marry Tope I gave up waiting. Thinking I'd heard God wrong. But He told me you weren't ready, and that He would find me another. Now I'm engaged.....to my other' 

Dotun: *still speechless* 

So my story is a bit simplistic, but I think it touched on the 2 main human motivators. Greed and emotions. Dotun forgot God when it was time to make his decisions, greed led him to select the wrong job and his emotions the wrong spouse. 

The nature of the human heart is to wonder, in our time of need and distress, we make all sorts of promises to God, but when He comes through we often don't hold up our end of the bargain. 

Psalm 42:1,2 'As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God .My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?'

We long for the Lord, ask Him to come, to lead and direct us forgetting (or maybe not just caring) that when He does come, we have to open up to Him. 

Rev 3:20 'Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. ' 

The Holy Spirit is a gentleman, He won't force Himself on anyone. It's a lot more than asking Him to come, when He comes we have open up to him AND then have to let Him do what He has to do. Afterall when you have a leaky pipe, you call the plumber, invite him into your house, lead him to the pipe and let him do his work!!! 

We are all interwoven into God's purpose, if you don't want to fulfil the purpose for your life thus working towards the fulfilment of the greater purpose.......you just might be replaced. 

Not everyone gets a second chance. Tamara waited on the Lord and he rewarded her. Dotun went the way of greed and emotions and lost out on a great job and on Tamara. 

It was more than whether Tope could cook or not, but that God knew Dotun's destination. Dotun had an idea where he wanted to go, an idea God would perfect. Comparing Tamara and Tope, Tamara's journey and destination was compatible with Dotuns. But for some reason he can't explain his emotions drove him to pick Tope. 

Emotions urge you to do things, and do them now! Wisdom says wait on the Lord.

Just see how God works, if Dotun had selected 'Gods choice', he would have met Tamara earlier than he did and not have to have gone threw what he did with Tope. Even then God still made a way for him to meet Tamara, but he turned away from taking it all to God! 

In the bible king Saul, Ananias and Sapphira are few examples of those not given second chances. Don't be caught unaware, don't wait for a second chance that may never come. Make the right decision NOW! God and His ways will never lead you astray. 

I encourage you to surrender yourself, emotions, desires, decisions to God daily.