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WHO ARE WE IN CHRIST?

Our Purpose: God created the heavens and the earth, and all that is therein, and so he created us in his image and entrusted us to care for the Earth. As well as to worship and glorify his Holy name.

So we are made a new creation wholly to serve and to worship his divine holy name. We are a centrepiece of his creation. “Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature (a living soul).” [Genesis 2:7, ESV]

Our purpose is to do good works in Christ as his Ambassadors. “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” [Ephesians 2:10, ESV]

The Scripture reminds us in “Jeremiah chapter 1” who we are also in Christ; our purpose that God had us in mind before we were born. He has good works prepared for us to do, and our lives are significant beyond what we can perceive.

So, here is what Jeremiah affirmed: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” [Jeremiah 1:5, ESV].

With this affirmation, we can trust the Lord God’s purpose for our lives, because his plans are always good for our advantage.

The Lord made the heavens and earth out of nothing, and divinely formed us as part of his plan for us to take control of the Earth.

In Christ, he does not merely clean up our old selves; he has made us a completely new self. This is who we are; we are instructed to serve and worship.

Look at the immeasurable heavens (cosmos) and look at yourself. Small and tiny as we are, the Lord God has entrusted us to take care of everything as caretakers. So that is who we are and our purpose on the earth.

The Psalmist, so overwhelmed with God’s abundant grace, did not hold his thoughts but finally had to ask God this question with follow-ups:

What is man so that the Lord is so attentive to him? And the answer is because:
“I am created a little lower than the angels.” Yes, that is who I am, and so are you. We are very important representatives of God on Earth.

“What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honour. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet,”[Psalm 8:4-6, ESV]

So, our identity in Christ means we are a brand-new creation, deeply loved, fully forgiven, and adopted as children of God. Our importance is not dependent on our past but on God’s grace.

This is who I am.
I am called to declare the Lord’s divine strength, empowerment, and fresh spiritual renewal to serve. 2 Corinthians 5:17 states, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

I am called to be transformed into Christ’s image and follow the example of Christ as his Ambassador to serve Him.

I am a child of God, born by his grace and saved by his grace, to worship and glorify our Lord God.

I am called as a believer in the name of Christ to go and make disciples of as many as I can reach.

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all.” [Matthew 28:19, ESV]

“I am called to trust and obey God because “He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.” [Thessalonians 5:24, ESV]

I am called as a Believer to glorify God in everything I do. “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord. [1 Corinthians 10:31, ESV]

I am called to walk in good works prepared by Him according to his authority over me. I am not to hold back any part of my being in worshipping him.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”[Proverbs 3:5–6, ESV]

Our Lord God promises fresh oil, new anointing, new wisdom, and new empowerment for each day. We must remind ourselves that God has not called us to carry today’s purposes on yesterday’s force.

We are called to a specific assignment to do each day, and so is every one of God’s children; therefore, we must honour our purpose and our call to worship and praise him. Every day is a fresh new oil to activate our spirit for our call.

Since God has a unique call for us, he has completed a good work in us even before the call to worship and glorify him.

“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” [Philippians 1:6, ESV]

We must actively seek to understand and follow God’s purpose for us to honour him, to prove why we are here on this Earth, who we are and the purpose we serve for our Lord God.

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.”[Colossians 3:23]

So, beloved, as you seek to find “who you are in Christ” and your purpose in the body of Christ, take comfort that God has uniquely designed you and endowed you for a purpose.

We are all here on this Earth for a purpose, and your true purpose is in Christ. Everyone is uniquely designed and coded. We have to align ourselves with the divine spirit of the Lord to identify our calling, our gifts and the purpose he has for us.

Therefore, reflect on this write-up and the scriptures referenced and seek God to reveal his explicit purposes for your life.

Seek His wisdom through prayers and study the Word. Keep the Faith and keep Hope alive every time.

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“Anger can trigger hatred, and hatred can trigger Unforgiveness “

“Anger is a very complicated human emotion that spawns an act of protectionism when one feels threatened.” In this blog, I am only looking at anger from a Biblical approach, but not from the complexity of worldview or worldly understanding.

A spiritually mature Christian should be cognizant that anger is an emotional catalyst for unforgiveness.  You are the one with the key to the door; no one can open it but only you. You will need self-control. If you are unable to exercise discipline, you will lose your patience by reacting with fury.

As a Christian, let the scripture from the book of Proverbs, Chapter 29, verse 11 be part of your spiritual walk to break any temptation of Anger. “A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.” [Proverbs 29:11].

Our Christian faith tells us that with God everything is possible. So in this discussion we are not going to mix our belief system in Christ with any genetic component of how and why genetics influences anger.

That biochemical traits, emotional reactivity and originality would be left with the medical professionals to discuss. On the other hand, if you as a Christian have traits of anger, you may seek professional counselling and support it with prayers.

Our Holy Scriptures give us examples and explain that without listening calmly and carefully for clarity, one might act aggressively toward the other, and such a stance or behaviour is not good or wise.

Often, this is where the anger starts because we fail to let calm prevail over our reaction. The book of Proverbs sees such actions differently from overreactions. So the Bible states: “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” [Proverbs 15:1, ESV]. This verse is very clear and carries a lot of wisdom.

Whether in a calm or hot conversation, make sure you hold every misconception to avoid triggering anger. Let wisdom and spiritual maturity prevail. Listen carefully before reacting.

The book of James states, “Know this, my beloved brothers; let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God,” [James 1:19–20, ESV]. Don’t be reactive.

We know that Anger is a human problem. Anger, if unchecked, can cause lasting damage in our lives; it will wreck relationships; it will steal your peace away; it has everlasting emotions, and it will cause Unforgiveness.

All of us have acted in anger one way or another at some time in our past or recently, and often wished we hadn’t. Anger can cause hatred, and hatred triggers unforgiveness. As a Christian, learn from the experience and stop playing the victim.

So, here is the question: Is there a way that really works to solve problems and assert ourselves without being angry? Yes, of course. The Scripture verse below should be apparent to every Christian.

When we look at the book of Proverbs, verse 16:32, we are encouraged that true strength and wisdom are to overcome our anger and feelings without confrontation. “Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city,” [Proverbs 16:32, ESV]

Listen to this. When it comes to family and circle of friends, there are a lot of people that are familiar with our life or know us one way or another. They know us so well that they know precisely which “buttons” to push to make us lose our peace.

There are also another group of people you barely know at all. Others you have never in your wildest dreams met. Yet, the moment your eyes cross, you can feel the tension in your spirit and around you.

They may act rudely to you, and if you lose your temper, it would be egregious. Keep in mind the key to being slow to anger; otherwise, it may be a negative behaviour that ruins your spiritual relationship with the Lord.

These are temptations ready to break your spiritual maturity in Christ. The enemy is at work. The behaviour of the people is a reflection of the hearts of those unfamiliar strangers, but your reaction is a reflection of your own.
“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” [Proverbs 4:23, ESV]

“These people unfortunately do not even know what drives them to do what they do knowingly or unknowingly when they step on toes.” They don’t have the simple etiquette to stop and say sorry. They don’t see any red line. Such awkward encounters could generate arguments and anger.

So here is the thing to look at or to do as a Christian. You don’t have to act spontaneously. Pause a moment and exercise your spiritual maturity, instead of allowing your anger to run your impulsiveness.

Create a cliché in your spirit about anger – that temper and emotions will not win a spiritual battle over you. Keep the door shut no matter which buttons are pressed. At times, you might feel trapped, thinking that because they are being loud or unkind, you have no choice but to react the same.

Nevertheless, don’t make the mistake of winning a fight against them, even if it feels like they are standing right in front of you with fingers pointing directly at you; do not try to unlock the door of anger that you’ve been working so hard to keep shut.

But here is the truth – just because someone is knocking on the door [pressing the anger buttons] doesn’t mean you have to open it. It could be so annoying, but take notice of this Scripture. “Let all bitterness and wrath and ANGER and clamour and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. [Ephesians 4:31, ESV]

When you are attacked, stay quiet to avoid a quarrel. Quarrel promotes Anger, and anger built in you births unforgiveness. You aren’t “losing” by staying quiet; you are ruling your own spirit, and the Scripture says it’s a greater victory than conquering an entire city.

Proverbs 22:24-25 states: “Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man, lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare.”[Proverbs 22:24-25, ESV]

Spiritual maturity is found in the believer who realizes that their peace is a gift from God, and no human being has the authority to take it away without their permission. “As a Christian, you do not have to attend every argument you are invited to.”

Allow peace to rule your heart; do not allow ANGER to overtake your heart. “Peace I leave with you; ‘my peace’ I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” [John 14:27, ESV]

Strengthening your walk involves a daily prayer for “thick skin and a tender heart”—asking the Holy Spirit to be the buffer between someone else’s sharp words and your peace. Do not fall for anger.

When you refuse to “open the door” to anger, you break the cycle of conflict and keep your heart clean. Do not allow an “annoyance” to dictate the atmosphere of your soul. “For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarrelling ceases.” [Proverbs 26:20, ESV]

Let your strength be found in your silence as you grow in your spiritual life henceforth. Yield your “need to defend yourself” to the One who defends you perfectly.

Let’s thank the Lord for providing the grace and restraint we need for self-control in anxious moments. Let us control our anger to avoid quarrels for peace. It is only peace that affects not just our waking hours but also our sleep. 

Our anger, worries and anxiety, when not controlled during an altercation, can also rob us of restful sleep that will, in the long term, turn into Unforgiveness – which is undignified to the Lord. “Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offence.” [Proverbs 19:11].

Let us pray to the Lord to strengthen our spirit with wisdom so that we don’t let unkind words or frustrations pull us out of peace and self-control into anger with people, especially those closest to us.

Believe in the Lord; keep your confidence and trust in the Lord. It is the only way you can control your anxiety for peace to keep the faith and hope alive.

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LET THE MIND BE A CONDUIT OF PEACE – FORGIVENESS. PT 4

Unforgiveness manifests in ways we don’t expect. It manifests as a physical sickness and then, with a sudden “explosion” over small things, or a heavy cloud of exhaustion that we can’t seem to shake. We are filled with anger. But anger is a fire that doesn’t go out just because you’ve closed the door.

First, we can at least recognize that the Bible commands Christians to forgive. Matthew 6:15 – “… but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Caution!

Unforgiveness and anger are two sides of the Coin – but they are the same here. “Unforgiveness is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.” Joyce Meyer.

When we don’t want to forgive because we have so many excuses/thoughts about finding ways to pay back in kind, these lingering thoughts aggravate us more than the one who hurts us. In short, the culprits live in our heads “rent-free” every passing day we hold on to not wanting to forgive.

Ask yourself this question: If I am unforgiving and full of anger, what do I feel? Whether you have an answer or not, you are like a volcano full of lava and on a countdown, ready to erupt at any moment.

When we keep resentment inside us, it doesn’t disappear; it settles into our bones and our spirits, eventually creating hot lava beneath us ready to explode.

What Scripture tells us may seem strange, but the word of God is always true. Hence, the Biblical solution is total forgiveness for those who hurt us. Always remember this truth and fact.

You can’t go against the Lord’s instruction. It doesn’t mean the person is off the hook, but you can’t avenge it as the Lord would. “Vengeance is of the Lord,” says the Lord. So who are you to fight with? Do you want to fight on and hold on to Unforgiveness? God is clear that everyone will give an account of their life.

We are not to seek vengeance for the very reason that God has promised he will seek vengeance. When you forgive, you are not letting the person go free from vengeance.

When you forgive the person that has hurt you, you are just reporting the case to the authority, the Lord who matters in this case and who gets to carry out the vengeance.

In other words, “let it GO, and let God, who is the judge who justifies and doesn’t let go, deal with it.” You can forgive your enemies as the Scripture says, because you know that the final arbiter, our God, will not forgive them.

How often are you forgiven by the Lord? Do you know? This is what the Scripture tells us directly below without mincing words, from what JESUS said about those who do not forgive – “The Unforgiving Servant.”

“And in anger his master delivered him [the unforgiving servant] to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not FORGIVE your brother from your HEART” [Matthew18:34-35, ESV].

Note above that Jesus is reminding us of his abundant grace of forgiveness for us, and continues to do so daily. So if God has forgiven you, and continues to do so, why would you refuse to forgive others?

Refusing to forgive others would place judgment on you because you have already received the gift of grace from Christ and you continue to enjoy it. So why wouldn’t you forgive others and continue to receive the gift of grace already given by Christ?

As Christians, we know that the Scriptures have revealed to us in Christ Jesus how to live a peaceful life with our siblings, families, friends, neighbours, co-workers, and all others in general, including the aforementioned, who have willfully schemed against us or grudgingly hurt others. But do we get it; do we let the hurt GO so we can forgive? No, we don’t.

Letting it GO and forgive. This is the realism of the debate we Christians argue when we want it our way, but not debatable before our Lord Jesus, who sacrificed his blood and died painfully on the Cross for our Father in Heaven to FORGIVE us all our sins, so that we can have Salvation for everlasting life.

The scripture reminds us to be peaceful irrespective of who has hurt us. The devil knows where it hurts, and what to do to attack and cause fracas among God’s elect that will be difficult for those with limited or inadequate spiritual maturity.

We are constantly advised as Christians to release such hurt from our thoughts and let it go and forgive. Not simple, but the gospel truth is that you will never have peace yourself if you don’t let it GO.

So refusing to let the hurt GO is Unforgiveness. Unforgiveness is a demonic spirit. Unforgiveness is satanic. If you don’t forgive yourself, you can never forgive others. So this is where many Christians get caught up in a rock and hard situation if they are not spiritually mature.

The more you keep the hurt, the more the devil plays in your mind with tricks, outlining plans as to how to pay back the one who has hurt you.
Let us look at Isaiah 26:3. It states, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” [ESV]

So here is the thing – “the thing” called Unforgiveness. Without any dictionary definitions from the examples pointed out, unforgiveness occurs when any of the above factors occur in our relationships with others in contempt of the trust we hold for each other, or between others.

Looking into this verse from the Apostle Peter, he reminds all followers of Christ that, whatever the magnitude or complexity of your hurt or betrayal is, direct it and cast it all to the Lord. “Casting all your care upon him; for he cares for you.” [1 Peter 5:7, ESV]. Overthinking will kill your peace. Pray and leave it to God.

If your mind is fixed on Christ Jesus, you shall enjoy perfect peace; in other words, if you fill your mind with the Holy Scriptures, there will be perfect peace in your life, and you will never allow the devil to use your mind as a control center in circumstances like these.
The Apostle Paul encourages us that: “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”[ Romans 12:18, ESV]

That said, we should seek peace to the degree we are capable with prayers, as it is not by our might but by the Spirit of the Lord, trusting the Lord with confidence and faith.
Keep the Faith and keep Hope alive.

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HOW MIGHT IT FEEL TO LOOK AT SOMEONE WHO HAS HURT YOU?

Here’s one way of thinking about forgiveness –the question that arises commonly from the hurtful ones is: how might it feel to look at someone who has hurt you so painfully and would not feel antagonistic? Is this really possible? It is possible, because Scripture proves Christ right.

From the world’s viewpoint, you would be right to be angry, and not tempted to act or feel heavy towards the offender. On the contrary, the Lord through the Scripture tells us to forgive without strings attached. It doesn’t matter how big, how sorrowful, or how mountainous the hurt is.

It all comes down to letting it “GO,” says the Lord. “And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” [Mark 11:25, ESV]

Naturally, from our human instinct, we hold pieces of the scraps that still draw us back into the reminiscence of the past. Some counsellors may tell you to “forgive” but also accentuate that forgiveness does not require immediate reconciliation with the wrongdoer. Oh well, think about Mark 11:25 again.

 Notwithstanding the fact, Scripture tells us to forgive completely. So which report are you going to adhere to? The Lord God, or the many voices in your head? Stick to Scripture because, as a Christian, it is not a choice to hold back any scraps. 

While we should rebuild trust and safe boundaries in the case of sexual abuse, physical abuse, and there are many, many of them, but just a couple to mention, we should not forget that the Lord Jesus went on the Cross to die for all our offences so that we will be saved and welcomed into the Kingdom of his Father.

Saved in this text here also means salvation for us, which includes total forgiveness for the sins of our hurts to others that are forgiven by Christ.

Can you take solace from the story of Joseph without me taking you afar? Have you ever been hurt more than Joseph in your life? Do you remember the story of Joseph in the hands of his own brothers, into slavery – and his journey to Egypt?

If you’re severely hurt by anyone whatsoever, this piece of message gives you the time to sit back, reflect and revisit the scripture to study the story of Joseph. Maybe Joseph is talking to you today if you already know Joseph’s predicament before he became the second most powerful man in the palace of Egypt and the entire nation.

What God can do beyond the hurt. The crowning of Joseph by Pharaoh in the land of Egypt shows us God’s purpose for mankind. “You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command. Only as regards the throne will I be greater than you.” [Genesis 40:41, ESV]. God uses our suffering and weaknesses to refine us and position us. Are you going to let that hurt go?

Joseph’s brothers attempted to murder him by casting him into a pit, sold him into slavery to the Ishmaelites, and ended up in prison in Egypt for more than a decade, but eventually found favour from the Lord. His agony turned into triumph ultimately.

Joseph forgave his brothers upon meeting them, and Joseph’s forgiveness statement is one of the most honest and chilling forgiveness messages recorded in the Bible. “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” [Genesis 50:20, ESV]

So, if you think you cannot forgive for the reason that you’ve been hurt so painfully by a colleague, a sibling(s) of yours, and therefore there is no way you can let it “GO,” remember Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross for you too.  Secondly, keep in mind Joseph and his brothers who sold him into slavery.

The Lord’s faithfulness is with all of his followers at every moment of their suffering and weakness. If you will allow him, he will take on your hurt just as he did for Joseph.  This shows us that no matter our circumstances, God is with us faithfully.

You are your own enemy if you resist extending the olive branch for forgiveness, if you allow unnecessary pride to fill your heart, resisting to forgive one another. 

Whether Joseph was in a pit, a prison, or a palace, God’s presence never left him.

 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” [Romans 8:28, ESV]

Do not get me wrong; it is extremely difficult for many to shake hands, but count it a blessing if you let it “GO” since Christ Jesus tells us to forgive one another and the Scripture buttresses Christ’s statement.

If you love God, you will forgive. We should remember that those who love God are called by him. Are you called by the Lord? Do you want to be? If you are struggling, ask for help from the Holy Spirit and leave it to the Lord to settle the scores.

“Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” [Romans 12:19, ESV]   

We are told several times that as Christians we should overcome the devil with good and not take revenge, but leave it for God’s judgment. Are you? I would. Trust the Lord; keep the Faith and keep Hope alive.

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“For a Christian, forgiving someone who has caused grievous harm is a profound act of obedience that centers on releasing the offender from the liability they owe, rather than seeking revenge.“

FORGIVENESS DOES NOT MEAN HURT IS DISMISSIVE AND ADMISSIBLE

So here is the obsession: A lot of people will say – it’s not easy. Yes, we understand, but our lives are full of associations and family relations that consist of many people with the potential to hurt us in many ways. As Christians, we must be aware of this circumstance because we do not live on our little islands.

We’ve all been hurt by others in countless ways, and in varying degrees. Some of us have been so scarred by what others have done to us that we think no one can ever understand our pain.

But the Lord is present with you – he is the Omnipresence and Omniscience – he knows it all; leave it with him; stay with him, and he will fight for you – he is the Omnipotence. “The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be SILENT.” [Exodus 14:14, ESV]. SILENT in this write-up and context means – forgiveness – let it go.

Others have been so deeply wounded that we can’t even think about what happened without feeling sick to our stomach. It could be anyone outside, within a family, a friend or colleague at work or a member in an organization, a club, or in church you share common goals and faith with. But the Lord says, be silent and let it go.

So, “letting it go” will require fervent prayers to break the unforgiven spirit taking residence. If we brush these hurts aside without prayers, thinking, “I am not a vindictive or overly sensitive person; these things shouldn’t bother me.” No, they do.

They do bother us, because our egos are like magnets. And resentments are attracted to egos; they can’t let it go. We still hang on to the feelings of hurt. But save yourself peace of mind; be obedient to God, and let that hurt go as you continue to pray and fast.

The consequences of failing to forgive or letting it go.

(1) Eventually, it begins to impact you in many ways as you hold onto these lingering feelings. It could be feelings of anger inside of us and sometimes generates bitterness that we perceive as unfairness if we look at it from different angles. We tend to ask why such unfairness happens to good people, or ourselves. Let it go by performing the rituals of forgiveness as Christ stated.

(2) As a Christian, the mind then becomes the battleground at this moment. Do I fight back or prove to others I am offended and hurt? So, ask yourself then, does it warrant doing any of the above? In these circumstances, we should revisit our Bibles and check what the Bible teaches us about forgiveness. Don’t let your mind become a battleground.

So, this is one of the few scriptures Jesus Christ encouraged us to soak into our spirit when we face this kind of indignation. In Matthew 18:21, Peter asked Jesus, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” [Matthew 18:21-22, ESV]

As a Christian, if you cannot approach the hurt with true forgiveness to understand what forgiveness is, you cannot in any way forgive the other person or the group. It cannot be just lip service but by a profound Christian ethos; otherwise, you cannot be sincere in your forgiveness.

In fact, the scripture teaches us that forgiveness is a command; it is not a mere option. It is the only choice for a Christian to show their spiritual maturity. In playing hardball, ask a question or consider how many times our Father in Heaven has forgiven us in our lifetime? Do you know? No. So is it worth it to harden your heart from one or two hurts others have meted out to you?

The Lord God sent his only Son to this world to die for me, and you, for our evil sins that our sins past, present and future are forgiven. Amazing! And so you think someone has stepped on your toes and you are hurt so much that you cannot forgive that person; you cannot forgive that family member of yours; you cannot forgive that sibling of yours; and you cannot forgive that Church member of yours who’s part of the body of Christ, etc?

FORGIVENESS: Beloved, always remember that God has forgiven us more than we have forgiven others. “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” [1 John 4:10, ESV] Remember God’s endless love and forgiveness for you.

You should always put yourself in the honour of the position you are in as a Christ Ambassador, and act as such. If the person who hurt you does not apologize, you can still forgive them. When you do that, you are trusting the Lord with your faith in releasing the burden of the bitterness in you to God, and the Lord will act on your behalf. Let us take a cue from Colossians 3:13. It simply advises us to mirror the Lord’s forgiveness as the Lord did for us.

“In fact, forgiveness is about liberating yourself from an unforgiving spirit and bitterness so that the Lord God can heal your wounds.” If you still have someone you have not yet forgiven, gather the courage of faith and peace to consent to this piece, which will encourage you to let it go immediately. May you keep the Faith and Hope alive.

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What Do You Do When GOD Seems So Distant?

It is so easy to question yourself: why does the Lord God seem so far away from you when everything in your life seems to be spiralling? This is a moment of anxiety, and you are not alone. As a reminder, the good news is that the Lord has an antidote to your anxiety, and the key to overcoming it is fervent, passionate and unwavering faithful prayer.

Take a moment to reflect on Psalm 13. David, in his agony, felt God seemed so distant from him. He cries out to the Lord: “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death.” [Psalm 13:1-3, ESV]

David expresses his heart to God in prayer. He felt lonely and forgotten, filled with sadness at all hours of the day. God listened, and indeed he recovered from his anxiety. So remember that no matter what anxious moments you are facing, prayer is the answer.

Like David, anxious moments are not ordinary times, and it is not ordinary to feel as if you have failed or the Lord has deserted you. Your thoughts may rather turn into emotions and into a never-ending story. In this circumstance, every ill-thought may be feeding every next thought without stopping, because the devil loves it and will want to make sure it never ends but grows bigger and larger. Beloved, are you in these anxious moments right now, or are you an overcomer through Christ’s antidote?

These moments are seasons of spiritual dryness. Nevertheless, your prayer and plea should always be in gratitude from the start and end of your prayer. The key to offering your gratitude to the Lord is that the central point of your struggles or predicaments shifts your perspective, strengthens your trust in the Lord God’s past faithfulness and present care for your life – the Lord takes notice.

So if you are going through a dry season in life momentarily, and you think God seems so distant from you, the book of Philippians has this to tell you: “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” [Philippians 4:6, ESV]

But there’s always an answer from the Lord to these negative thoughts if you can turn to him with confidence, trusting him with faith and hope. As a Christian, spiritual dry seasons, also known as spiritual wilderness, are a developmental aspect of spiritual growth. They are often part of God’s design to deepen your faith, moving you from relying on emotional feelings to building an unwavering, trusting relationship with Him.

Beloved, God’s promises remain unchanged, so don’t dwell on your feelings because they can be deceptive. The Lord is often doing quiet work in your life that you cannot instantly perceive – it may seem that he is too distant, but he is not. So do not say, “What shall I eat?” or “What shall I drink?” or “What shall I wear?” It’s a season, and you can’t change the times and length of the period; it shall pass.

Here is another simple, naive analogy for waiting on God using the principle of a phone call. In this era of communication through business transactions, placing a phone call to an office receptionist is not just a straightforward procedure.

Depending on where the call is placed, it could be answered instantly, placed in a queue, or go to voicemail. In this circumstance, you can do three things – wait in line/queue, drop the call, or leave a message and wait for someone to call you back, right?

So if no one calls back, what do you do? Naturally, the obvious thing you will do is to call back until you get through to someone or the front desk. As you may be familiar, the result of having your need met by that call may not be an instant – that would not necessarily mean it is the end of the call. Many a time it takes multiple calls before someone calls back. Do you give up? No.

So what do you do when you feel God is no longer as close as he used to be? At worst or best, I say minimize the anxiety, stay focused, and call back to the Lord; don’t drop the call.

Similar to the phone call analogy, as a Christian, our communication tool for drawing God’s attention to us is to dial back in to prayer non-stop.

Never quit praying; your prayers will bring the Lord from far away closer to you, but until you minimize the anxiety, you cannot focus on any positive communication with the Lord through prayer.

Many sincere believers experience seasons when prayer feels empty, when Scripture feels quiet, and when God seems strangely absent. For some Christians especially, those seasons can cause confusion, discouragement, and even shamefulness.

This is the period the devil has crawled between you and the Lord God. Nevertheless, you still have hope in the Lord Jesus to count on.

Thus, let us take comfort in the Apostle Paul’s words in Philippians 4:11-13, trusting the Lord with faith and hope. He encourages every believer that “through Christ’s strength, he learned to remain satisfied, peaceful, and steadfast in every situation—whether facing seasons of deep poverty and hunger or periods of great abundance.”

Note that in all of these, the Lord never seemed so far away from Paul; the Lord was close because of his faith and hope in the Lord.

“Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned, in whatever situation I am, to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” [Philippians 4:11-13, ESV].

The verse above is very encouraging, and therefore we should consider taking a lesson from it. In every circumstance, our prayers should be direct and aligned with God’s faithfulness and his promises for a close relationship with him.

If we have a close relationship with the Father, how can he be so far away from us? No, he won’t. So, like Paul, we have to learn in every situation how to build our faith so that we don’t often feel like we have lost who we are before the Lord. God is never at a distance from us.

When we are stuck in the midst of the worries of everyday life and are continuously striving to make ends meet, we should not forget about our close relationship with the Lord.

Our life as Christians becomes a sequence of tasks for us to complete, and so if dissatisfaction sneaks in easily and unnoticed, the devil will make us doubt our faith in the Lord. So it is very important to put guardrails on so that worries do not drown out the faith we have in the Lord.

We know that we have every spiritual blessing, eternal life, and the Lord’s promise of his constant presence. So instead of living in fear of whether the Lord is distant from us or his promises are not being fulfilled in our lives, we can rest in the knowledge that beside him, he provides for us with everything we need, including the strength to bear difficult circumstances. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in heaven.” [Ephesians 1:3, ESV]. That is anxiety-free.

That does not mean we are invincible or immune to pain, so when we face situations that lead us to doubt and wonder why the Lord is or seems so distant or far away from us, let us be reminded to respond in faith.

Let us have the trust and confidence that the Lord is not far from us because he has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in Him. Never give up, minimize anxiety, stay focused, and keep faith and hope alive.

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“NOPE” – GOD IS NEVER SLOW IN HONOURING HIS PROMISES

To me, the answer is “NO.” God is not slow to answer the faithful believers’ prayer requests accordingly. God is never, ever slow in his promises. It may be delayed, but it will be fulfilled whether it’s directed to you as a person, a family or as a nation.

Remember also that: unanswered prayer is not a denial; it’s not a rejection for the child of God, it’s not a rejection for his ambassador, and it’s not a rejection of his friend or servant.

The question is: are you asking for your selfish desires, and how does it differ from the glory of God? This is what James says in such a case: “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” [James 4:3, ESV].
Here are some key takeaways to bear in mind: Our approach makes a difference – how much confidence do you have in believing that you will receive what you’ve asked according to your faith?

To be clear, my fellow Christians, bear in mind that God’s promises are not fractional. You won’t be given half a loaf of bread. He will give you a complete loaf of bread for all seasons. God’s answer to your promise is full and timeless. What is your faith level? This is not a gambling time.

Professed Christians with strong faith and a stronger relationship with Christ may not have difficulties understanding how the Lord God honours his promises. God will not answer anything or fulfill a PROMISE that will send you into wretchedness, pain or suffering. That is a prime key.

It is a fact that the believer who does not misalign their prayer will have the divine answer. So, God will do likewise for all his children who ASK, SEEK, and KNOCK with CONFIDENCE with FAITH without DOUBT.

We should also align our prayers with God’s purpose, but if they differ from that particular promise, it will not be fulfilled accordingly. Let’s see what First John 5 says: “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us” [1 John 5:14-15, ESV]. Emphasis on – “according to his will …”

And so here I begin with a story to encourage you. A look back at Biblical history in Exodus, the people of Israel were enslaved in Egypt under extremely harsh slavery conditions. As they cried out for help, the Lord listened. God picked Moses to lead Israel from Egypt to Canaan.

The Bible tells us that the Lord promised Moses that he would be with him to lead Israel from slavery in Egypt to freedom in the Promised Land of Canaan to settle as a nation. It took Israel 40 years to get through this journey. Forty years was a long time, but the bottom line is the Lord kept his promise, and they eventually made it. Promise kept. Right?

In this case, the question is: “Was God slow in honouring his promise?” Whatever time it took to honour this promise is only known to God under the harsh terrain that Israel went through, the disobedience, the adversaries, and the wars, the Lord did what was right to honour the promise.

You may probably think otherwise, and think about your individual prayer request, but the fact is God handles and honours every case truthfully to his promise with a measure that would not harm you, but to give you eternal peace.

The Lord wants to give you a joyful heart when he honours his promise; it may be slow, but it would not honour a request to crush your spirit dry. Proverbs 17:22 states: “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones”.

In fact, we are told in the Scriptures that when Joshua eventually led the Israelites to conquer the Promised Land, he was so overwhelmed with joy and gratitude. He looked back and assessed what God had done on their journey; he could not help but pour out unreserved praise and worship to the LORD. He spoke to the people of Israel with gratification and told them:
“Not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed” [Joshua 23:14]. Those were the words of Joshua to Israel in his old age.

So I ask you today to ponder on Joshua’s gratitude and encouragement to Israel, and to think about the blessings you’ve had from the Lord. Give him the gratitude.
Without a doubt, God is faithful and deserves to be trusted at all times. As a Christian, never be stunned when tough times arrive; be firm and hold on to your faith, and the Lord will show up to honour his promise. Keep your Faith and keep Hope alive.

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GOD IS NEVER SLOW IN HIS PROMISES *** PART – 1

Nope – The Lord is never too late in honouring any of his promises – our problem is that we don’t and can never understand how the Lord works because we lack patience and are always looking for quick fixes. God’s promises are not quick fixes and are not temporal.

Relatively, the Lord sometimes gives his children an opportunity to trust and have faith in him. Hence, if you are in doubt, take relief from Second Peter Chapter 3: “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”[2 Peter 3:9, ESV]

How much do you know about God’s way of honouring his promises? The Lord God does not work with our time, but instead he operates outside the constraints of time. What we, as Christians, probably think is a long wait is, from God’s standpoint, but a moment.

“God transcends our temporal expectations, viewing redemptive history from an eternal standpoint.”And so with your faith, the Lord will respond to your prayer requests according to his plan for you without any pressure and worry in your life for the long-term. He is the Omniscient, the know-it-all; we are not. We often struggle to discern, though we are supposed to be discerning. And since we can’t discern spiritually, we tend to be frustrated.

Unless we strengthen our walk with the Sovereign Lord by obeying, believing, and trusting that he the Lord, has a better purpose for us than what we are requesting, we shall always stand in opposition to delays. Yet the Lord affirms his promise for us in 2 Timothy that, “If we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself.” [2 Timothy 2:13, ESV]. This is God’s faithfulness and promise to honour his words.

Moreover, how do we strengthen our walk with the Lord? It is simple but not so simple to the immature spiritual Christ follower. Our walk with Christ should involve a daily surrender to what the Lord even says it’s “NO.”

Be at peace, and thank the Lord for his Sovereign protection over you, and over your family, whether it comes in the form of a closed door, or suffering. He will make the best way for you as you trust him with all your heart and with your divine-aligned faith. Listen to the voice of the Lord in the Scriptures below. Very comforting:

“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” [Isaiah 43:19, ESV]

The Lord is always working to honour his promises – “The Lord is faithful in all his words and kind in all his works.” [Psalm 145:13, ESV]

“For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.” [Ecclesiastes 5:4-5, ESV]

Quite often, if people are in the dark concerning God’s timing, they will always question why they have to wait so long for God to answer their request, but God does not operate with our time or watch. And the question is why?

The Lord God’s most common characteristics seem to be his inclination to move at a slow velocity than what people desire – this pace makes the Christian think the Lord is not working. What we cannot understand is that we are people of little faith and cannot discern God’s voice when he speaks. So what we fail to notice is that the moment the Lord hears our prayers, he goes to work.

Often, our request to God’s answer is what matters – His plans always have an eternal purpose for us and for his glory. He is slow because he is perfectly completing your answer, and he does not measure or weigh time. As you need patience in Winter to cross over from January to the Spring season, so should you have patience to wait for your answer from the Lord.

There is this saying that “promises are meant to be broken.” While this might be true for most people, this is certainly not true with God. God does not break his promises. “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” [Numbers 23:19, ESV]

Can you sit in silence and reflect on all the blessings in your life? What would you say as a Christ follower? Do you appreciate them, or still lament over how slow it is, or still doubt when that answer will come?

The Lord is never slow in honouring his promises. Period. “We love God’s Grace, but we don’t like his Watch” – [Cherie Hill]. Why that? Our answer and reason is that we can’t wait because the Lord is too slow.

When we learn how to walk in the will of God, we will learn to see the blessings God has given us and be more grateful for his promises kept. Keep your Faith and Hope alive.

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JESUS HAS OUR STEPS COVERED.

Even if you don’t understand God, rest assured that his plans for you are always good and perfect. As a Christian, you should trust that God’s daily provision and surveillance for every aspect of your life is knitted ahead of time before the commencement of your day and beyond.

My fellow believer, take solace in God for having a plan for your life, as echoed in the book of Jeremiah: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” [Jeremiah 29:11, ESV]

Even though this was written by the Prophet Jeremiah for the Jews in captivity in Babylon at the time, the contents of comfort and promise have not lost their meaning for Christ followers today. This Scripture serves as an encouragement from the Lord that his plans are good for us in the long and short term.

So, as Christians, we can always trust with faith and hope that the Lord God will ultimately fulfill his promise to take us out of the season of destitution, whether it is poverty, healing (health), or inner sorrow.

Therefore, the question is: What season are you in? Are you in a season of waiting for a relationship, a career change, or cash-strapped? In fact, it doesn’t matter to the Lord what season you are in because his word does not change. Whether we walk through fire and waters, irresistible uncertainty, or a painful period, we are never alone because the Lord is with us and he has promises for every situation and season in our lives. We have to take it with faith.

God’s assurance is also clearly affirmed in Matthew that we should ask, and when we do, he will answer us: “Ask and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you.” [Matthew 7:7, ESV] This is a promise that we should express in our prayers in declaring what Christ promised us, and it should be backed by our faith to unlock the keys to receiving what we have been promised.

Now, Jesus Christ has given us his full assurance that anytime we apply the principle of asking, seeking, and knocking, backed by faith, we will surely get answers. In this regard, God will say “Yes” to our requests for the things we are working on now and for the future and those we have tackled but are stagnant and not seeing any results.

Note that you’re not clasping your hands and sitting all day praying to the Lord to hand over other people’s properties and wealth to you. You are making tangible objective efforts, and by doing so, your steps would be covered by the Lord in line with the principle of hard work supported by prayer.

Remember that God’s plans for us are always good and perfect, as long as we believe in them and have faith in his plan without misgiving. As professed Christians, the principle of “asking, seeking, knocking,” and “you shall receive by faith” applies.

What good is it if you “ask, seek, knock” and have no faith in receiving from God? This is a problem. It is a faithless asking as a Christian. So, without trust and with no faith, even just as little as the mustard seed, your action will lose its meaning or power of asking. The same rule even applies in the secular world. Why ask a fellow secularist for help if you doubt he would assist? We Christians can do better in our thoughts and beliefs with discernment.

This is what the Scripture says in James: that if you doubt when you “ask,” you are like a wave of the sea blown by the wind. You are faithless, and you cannot receive anything from the Lord God, regardless of the promise – you are double-minded with unbelief.

“But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.” [James 1:6, ESV]
Faith in the Lord is a serious undertaking – I want you, my dear fellow Christian, to understand this simple principle of God’s promise.

Trust in his promises when the Scripture says so, for example, “This is the day that the Lord has made, and you shall be glad in it.” The Lord is promising and encouraging us that from the rising of the sun in the morning to the setting of the sun in the evening, his promises stand and they are “Yes and Amen.”

What else do you need, or what encouragement do you need as a Christian from the Lord? Here is a little more juice to the Lord’s perfect plans for us in Psalm 32:
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. [Psalm 32:8, ESV].

God’s plans and promises for us are all over in the Scripture. God does not leave his children to figure out life alone. He is always part of the story, ensuring his faithfulness is ingrained in our lives.

The Lord is so loving like a parent who is constantly watching their children to grow in the world and in their surroundings to make sure they have a better life, so they don’t falter, as long as we listen to the voice of our Lord. God speaks to us, and we can hear His voice. “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” [John 10:27, ESV]

Beloved, God’s plan is always good and perfect for his children, and he wishes his children to live from a position of trusting and craving for him rather than living a life of anxiety. The Lord does not bless his children and add sorrow. Accordingly, you should trust in his “No” and “Yes”. And in each case, you should return his action with thanksgiving regardless.

Question?? Are you still missing out on God’s promises? Keep the faith and keep hope alive because God has your steps ordered. You do not need to be frustrated because the Lord will not skip past any of them.

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Rejection is a bitter pill to swallow, and it can frighten us either for a short time, or a very long time or for life; but as followers of Christ, “when even the world rejects you, God offer a permanent acceptance and adoption.”

As a Christian, I have good news for you that the things that habitually form as a foundation for people to reject you do not necessarily disqualify you before God.

So, in brief, below are a few Scriptures to encourage you to remember: You have to be confident, trusting, and have faith and hope in the Lord, knowing that the Lord has not rejected you or denied your request, if only you can hear his voice in the process.

“As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious.” [1 Peter 2:4, ESV].

“The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. [Psalm 118:22, ESV].

“For the Lord will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage.” [Psalm 94:14, ESV].

All too often, we live with a sense that unless we possess certain specific personality traits or qualifications, we fall short in the crowd. Or perhaps we measure ourselves by our family background, our social standing, or a blemish-free past. The result can be discouraging, in fact.

We convince ourselves that, at best, we will be allowed to watch and cheer as the real spiritual leaders with a truly significant work in the body of Christ. Thus, without the proper credentials, we are not the kind of people the Lord can or will use for the Kingdom’s work. Hence, you build a minuscule mindset about yourself, of not being good enough. God cannot use me, God will not answer me. Wrong. He uses and answers all his faithful ones in the body of Christ.

Whatever our strengths and weaknesses, the secret of our usefulness is our availability to our Lord God. Jepthah had been rejected by people but accepted in heaven. The Lord delights to do that. No one is so “worthless” that God cannot use him or her for his glory. Your past may not be as sordid as Jepthah’s nor your gifts so unusual, but the Lord God who used him will use you as you trust him. The Lord answers all his children. No rejection, no denial.

So how do you react when a plan you’ve prayed over and worked hard for suddenly hits a dead end? It’s easy to feel rejected or even abandoned by God when a door you are very sure is opened before you, all of a sudden, is shut in your face. But here is another encouraging word from the Scripture for you to lift your confidence in the Lord.

“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even if they may forget, yet I will not forget you.” [Isaiah 49:15, ESV].

That door shut right before you is not of God; take solace from Isaiah 49:15. The Lord will not allow you to go through something that will bring you suffering perpetually. Give thanks in every situation and behold the Lord, because he has the best of the best for us, but not leftovers or pain.

The Lord hears our request and sees through the storms, the ambush, and the unnecessary load or hurdles waiting behind that door that we cannot see ourselves, but are bent on going through. In such circumstances, the Lord will not go before you and open such a door for you, regardless of how attractive you see it.

We often view a “No” as a sign of failure or a lack of favour, but in reality, a closed door is often one of God’s most merciful acts of protection if we can understand. When we cry for help from the Lord God, he listens and makes sure the right help is offered to us as his children. If we delve into Psalm 34 below deeper, we can understand clearly that the Lord is with us all the time in every step of our lives.

When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken. [Psalm 34:17-20, ESV].

Summarizing Psalm 34 in simple terms, the Lord God hears and delivers his children who put their faith in him and seek to live according to his ways, so those who cry out with confidence and faith are answered accordingly and are rescued from distress and rejection – they are led to the right doors with opportunities.

That said, remember that the Lord will only go before you to open doors that will have no nightmares and suffering for you and will do likewise for all his followers to prevent them from needless pain. Even though you may be praying for a specific issue for a specific answer, it will not happen if it would cause pain, and if it doesn’t go as per your request, remember it’s not a complete rejection. Give thanks and glorify the Lord.

Every so often, the Lord may be speaking to you, but you may not be hearing his voice – simply, you are not discerning well into the series of signs or dreams. The Lord may be redirecting you to something much better, or telling you to wait for the appropriate period of time for a better position or sending you to a different calling that would not only change your life but also the lives of many.

Therefore, let me tell you affirmatively that, as a Christian, a refusal, or a delay in your schedule for the opportunity that you are bent on grabbing by all means is not a denial or the end of your future. God has not forsaken you. He has it all under control, as you exercise self-control.

Do not allow the disappointment of a withdrawn or a rejected application; either it’s a big business proposal, or a job to convince you that you’ve failed.

In everything give thanks. Spiritually mature Christians, who are aligned with the divine Spirit of the Lord, will always give thanks for the doors closed, as well as the doors the Lord opens. When a road is blocked, it is because the Lord has something better for you outside the intended road you are clinging to travel. Discern into your actions; let it go if the spirit is telling you to, and give thanks to the Lord.

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” [Deuteronomy 31:6, ESV].

The Lord God is with us as long as we have the confidence, trust and faith in him, he will be present with us through every season, painful or painless, we will never be alone – just keep the Faith and Hope alive.

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The statement “I shall not be moved” is a declaration of persistent faith, determination, and confidence in God’s protection declared by King David in the book of Psalms.

“I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore, my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.” [Psalm 16:8-9, ESV]

Throughout the Book of Psalms, David expresses his trust and dependence on God. As a Christian, can you also firmly declare that I cannot be moved and I cannot be shaken?
If David had such bold persistence and faith to make this declaration, why not you, why not me? Yes, you can declare if only your faith is aligned with the spirit of the Lord’s promise for us as Christians to make and declare such a bold declaration.

Every professed Christian aims to build their spiritual roots deeply and firmly in the soil to support their spiritual tree. The analogy is not far from a house built on a strong foundation, or on the rock, but not on sand.

For this reason, when the wind and the rain come, your house will not be washed or blown away – and you can boldly declare I cannot be shaken. Why? Because you know that your confidence, trust and faith are in the Lord.
As a Christian, build your house on a rock and on solid ground so that you can declare and speak like David.

Building your house on a rock or sand is about faith, wisdom and obedience, so a Christian with such qualities cannot be shaken, broken or moved.

In Matthew 7, let’s see what Jesus narrated to us in a parable about the “Wise and Foolish Builders.” And so the story goes:

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” [Matthew 7:24-27, ESV].

So here is the question: Which of these two builders can boldly proclaim and declare that the storm is on its way, but I cannot be shaken or moved, because my house will withstand the 100km of wind the storm is bringing in?

With such confidence and faith in the Lord, you can tell it to the world and declare boldly, I trust my Lord, and I will not be shaken when the rain falls, or the wind blows.
This statement is not unilateral but can be boldly declared against all odds, economically and financially; physically and healthily; and in good times and bad times. Just declare them.

We have strong confidence in the Lord God when we know we have his support at our rear and before us. He goes before us to survey and open the right doors and shut the wrong doors for us so that we are not shaken to the contrary.

We can declare we cannot be defeated; we cannot be attacked by any diseases and sicknesses of any type, whether it is spiritual, natural or physically engineered.
In the Lord, we can face life’s challenges knowing that he, the Almighty, is with us; by declaring that the Lord is truly our rock and salvation, and we shall not be moved or shaken.“He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.” [Psalm 62:6, ESV]

We can make these declarations, but they may be ineffective if we don’t strengthen our walk with the Lord in trust, confidence, and in faith with hope. We must engage in a daily practice of seeking his presence without doubting his love, grace, and mercy for our undeserved grace.

So as you prioritize your bond with the Lord above the attraction of the world, you will find that his provision brings a quiet satisfaction and power of the Holy Spirit in your life – a gift of life that money cannot buy. And you can boldly declare, I cannot be shaken and cannot be moved – unmovable always.

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” [1 Corinthians 15:58, ESV].

So you can declare further and say: “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” [Psalm 18:2, ESV], and I cannot be shaken, and I cannot be moved. Keep your Faith and keep Hope alive.

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It is always dutiful as a follower of Christ to glorify the Holy Spirit. The greatest power on Earth is the Holy Spirit, and we as Christians must glorify him in spirit and in truth every moment of our lives. “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth”. [John 4:24, ESV].

If you want to be spiritually developed and victorious in every facet of your life as a Christian, then you need to keep Him in your heart. The Holy Spirit cannot be put in the back seat or deprioritized in your life.

You will need to be in the spiritual flow with Him everywhere. Start right away by growing the Fruit of the Spirit in your spiritual life. How do we firm up the nine-fold fruits of the Fruit of the Spirit?

To run through, here are the nine-fold Fruits of the Spirit – “But the fruit of the Spirit is: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, against such things there is no law.” [Galatians 5:22-23, ESV ].

To bear and grow the Fruit of the Spirit in your life, you have to attach to the stem of the vine – the vine is Christ and also the stem.

Attaching to the stem of the vine allows you to grow spiritually. That attachment is you. The more spiritually you are, the more fruitful your branch grows to bear spiritual fruits from you – thus the Fruits of the Spirit.

At this point, let us remind ourselves that the Fruit of the Spirit is not the Holy Spirit himself. However, the result of the HOLY SPIRIT’S presence within us as believers in Christ Jesus is the divine character traits cultivated in us as Christians.

Jesus reminded us also that without him we cannot do anything; that is why he encouraged his followers to abide in him, using the vine tree as an example.

Here is the scripture reference in the book of John Chapter 15:4 – ”I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” And in verse 8: ”By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be my disciples.”

Abiding is obedience, and when you do, you are watering the Fruit of the Spirit. If you are not abiding, you are not bearing. We bear fruit by abiding and attaching ourselves to the vine – Christ Jesus. In this way, we cultivate the Fruit of the Spirit, watering the character to grow – and the result is the Holy Spirit who resides in us.

And so here is the Gospel truth from the first book of Corinthians, which strengthens us about the Holy Spirit’s residency in us as Christ followers. “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own.” [1 Corinthians 6:19, ESV].

The only way to fulfill the nine fruits of the Fruit of the Spirit is to walk in spirit and in truth to welcome the Holy Spirit’s presence in you – there’s no other better way I can put it.

As Christians, all our efforts are to do what is righteous, holy and good, for these are the works of the Holy Spirit within us. To a large extent, I am greatly persuaded that any effort I make to do right is a sign of the holiness of God’s grace at work in me.

Hence, let us acknowledge that, as Christians, we cannot please the Lord God without continually activating the Holy Spirit within us. It is our spiritual duty as Christians to show forth all the good virtues to bear FRUITS that CHRIST has planted in us to allow the HOLY SPIRIT to reside in us for divine holiness.

Since the Lord God loves us so much, He has given us the power of the Holy Spirit to take residency in our hearts, if we will receive it by Faith and with works.

It is a promise – the Spirit produces fruit, such as love, joy, and peace, representing power over the flesh.

Keep abiding and keep your Faith and Hope alive.

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FAITH INCREASES THROUGH HOPE AS “AN ASSURANCE OF THINGS HOPED” WITH YOUR INTIMACY WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT.

Oftentimes, at the mention of Faith and Hope, the Bible verse that pops up in mind and on our lips as Christians is:
Romans 15:13 – “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in Hope.”

And:
Galatians 5:5 – “But we expect to be made completely Holy because of our Faith in Christ. Through the Holy Spirit, we wait in Hope.”
(In other words: Faith looks through the word to God in Christ; Hope looks through faith beyond the world to glory.)

These verses above and many others empower us to remember that our strength comes from our FAITH, enabling us to tackle challenges with confidence, as in: Isaiah 40:31: “But those who Hope in the Lord will renew their strength.

These scriptures complement our belief as Christians that our Faith increases by thriving in Hope through the Lord, by highlighting that our endurance and our character produce Hope that strengthens our Faith as Christians.

OUR FAITH IS TESTED BY CHALLENGES: So, fellow Christians, we should bear in mind that challenges may come in the lives of the Christian, so when life feels unsteady, and circumstances shift without warning, hang on to the anchor that does not move. This anchor is Jesus Christ.

Sensational circumstances may rise and fall left, right and center, but remember always that Jesus Christ remains powerful and he is your anchor to strap on.
The promises of the Lord God are not breakable; they are not flimsy, but they are fastened to eternal truth.

All his promises are unchangeable; they are “Yes and Amen.” Therefore, when fear tries to pull you off course, rehearse what the Lord has already promised you; his promises are secured. He has never broken any of his promises to us.

The promises of the Lord are blessings for us as a source of encouragement. This is often used to focus on the strength of our Lord God, the ultimate source of hope, the Author and Finisher of our Faith, rather than human efforts. Our walk with Christ encourages us to persevere and build our faith with him.

[2 Corinthians 5:7] – “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” Without faith, hope is just empty wishing; without hope, faith has no goal. Have you checked your faith level? Is it mustard seed faith, a little bigger than mustard seed or greater faith, or perfect faith?

We can’t walk with Christ without his instructions, without believing in him, without trusting in him. So the question is, what is your Faith level, my fellow Christian?

Nevertheless, let us get started here to do our own “reality checks” on our faith as followers of Christ using the few Scripture verses below.

Mark 9:23 – “All things can be done for the one who believes.”
Romans 10:17 – “So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.”
Matthew 17:20 – “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” Accordingly, where do you sit with these Scripture verses?

Romans 15:13 at the start of this write-up enlightens us that we “overflow with Hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” as we trust in God (Faith). The Spirit uses the Word of God to fuel this hope, as Biblical hope is entirely dependent on God’s promises rather than current circumstances.

Hence, as a Christian, let your hope in Christ Jesus steadies your restless thoughts and guards your heart from drifting away from Christ. You are not anchored to troubles, but you are anchored to a faithful Saviour. This is the Lord’s assurance grounded in truth, so receive it and walk with it.

No storm can destroy what God has secured and built. Your anchor holds, not because you grip tightly, but because the Lord is steadfast and convinced. So thank the Lord for being your anchor in every season.

Ask the Lord to keep you steady in faith and hope, before the storm, in the storm, until the storm passes. Keep your Faith and Hope alive; the Lord’s love for you is unbreakable.

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HIS PEACE JUST DOESN’T VISIT

To let peace reign in your heart, you must learn how to let the past go away from your life and start FORGIVING those who have hurt you. Lay them down at the foot of the Cross and think about the sacrificial blood that Jesus shared for the body of Christ.

“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.” [Colossians 3:15] ESV

Often, to be at peace with others, we must remain indifferent to their hurtful actions. If you have never been in this place in your life before, it is easier said than done.

Hence, what would be the rationale of Jesus’ crucifixion on the cross if we can’t forgive others for hurting us? He took the punishment for the sins he did not commit on our behalf, so that you and I shall be saved and have salvation that will lead us to meet and live with the Father in eternity. This was by grace and mercy, the grace we did not deserve because we were sinners.

“But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his.” [Isaiah 53:5]ESV

He came to the world for this purpose and to his own to live with them to fulfill this Divine intervention. Nevertheless, in the world, his own rejected him; they hated him, yet he stood in for us – all the way to the cross to die this horrible death.
His own subsequently nailed him to the Cross and killed him, but on the Cross, he was forgiven – he forgave us on that rugged cross by taking all our filthy sins.

Amazingly, in his pain, he still saved one sinner to his right, a repentant robber who was also facing crucifixion as well, promising the robber that he would be in Paradise with him that night while the Roman soldiers were mocking Jesus on the Cross.

And when the hour came for Jesus to give up the Spirit, he said Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing, and cried out with a loud voice Father, it is finished. A conversation with the Father, signing off that the work he assigned to him in the World to save humanity from sins is completed.

And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” [Luke 23:34] ESV.

Jesus was at peace with the world and submitted to his Father’s will to complete his assignment. Jesus forgave mankind with no regrets, but with love. Jesus forgives all our sins with no strings attached.

So here is the Question: Why is it so difficult to forgive and have peace, rule in your heart? We all have a story to tell and a reason we don’t want to forgive others because of one of the following. For example:
Have been falsely accused,
Have been stepped on,
Have been slandered,
Have had bitter feuds with some family members,
Have had a feud / fight with a friend,
Have had a bitter siblings’ feud,
Have had bitter fights/arguments with colleagues at work, and the list goes on.

The point I am trying to make is: Why has Jesus Christ, the one against whom we’ve sinned, not taken any grudge with us, but went to the Cross and died horribly for us to be cleansed from our sins, to be forgiven us all our sins? Forgiven and paid it all.
And so, why can’t we as mankind forgive our friends, our brothers and sisters? If Christ forgave us all our wicked sins then, now, and forever at the Cross?

Forgiveness: Are you in a hard and rocky situation like this in your life now? Can you not forgive? Are you continually battling this canker? The devil is at work. He’s always in the business of divide and conquer.
My Christian friend, do not fall for the enemy when it comes to forgiveness. The enemy is crushing everything in your life, building an “unforgiven spirit” in your heart. Take heed now and forgive all those who have hurt you.

“For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” [Matthew 6:14-15]ESV

Sensing the danger through your spirit or in physical, take your faith to the next level by aligning your prayer with the Divine spirit through His Holiness, and break away from the unforgiving spirit. Have faith and trust in the Lord to take charge, to speak the Word, and declare the blood of Jesus over the circumstances to pray out the unforgiven spirit that has taken residence in your heart.

As Christians with faith, when we plead the blood of Jesus, demons flee, and darkness runs. His blood is more powerful than any force in the universe that comes against us. Unforgiveness is a demonic spirit for certain. We should not allow the enemy to control the peace in our hearts. Break the spirit by speaking to it with faith and hope that it shall be well.

Question: Do you have faith in the words you speak? Examine what’s ruling your heart and exercise that faith now. Is it unforgiveness, fear, worry, or unrest? Or is it the peace of God? His peace doesn’t just visit— it stays, it rules, if only you will let him.
Keep your Faith and Hope alive.

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REST ASSURED, YOU HAVE ALL THE SECURITY

As a Christian, your protection is held securely by the Lord Jesus, the Alpha and the Omega. In Christ, you have divine protection while walking in God’s will, often in the face of dangers – his anchor will hold you.
“For he shall give his angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways.”
[Psalm 91:11]KJV

Beloved, thank the Lord for his strength and support for you. Keep your eyes fixed on him, trust him at all times, most especially in hard times. And with your Faith in him, expect that your security is assured, because of his faithfulness and promise.

God has given the Angels charge over us to protect us in the same way the Angels encircled Elisha and his servant from the Syrian army and protected them in time of need. In that same way, the Angels are surrounding his faithful ones and protecting them the same way today as at then. We have to continue to abide in him, trust and align our divine spirit to his Holiness, as the children of God.

It doesn’t matter what storms are surrounding you now or would in future. Even if you are in the midst of a crowd, you are anchored under the cover of the Lord. In that frenzied moment, you could be that one man or woman alone among them, remaining completely calm because of your faith. So, through your deep-rooted faith in Christ, your word of wisdom or prayer will not anchor you alone but will be supportive and comforting to all.

As we choose to make God our refuge and our dwelling place, he will command His angels to watch over us and surround us with this divine protection. God is our refuge and strength, and we should not by any means lose sight of this promise. He is our protection, and he has commanded angels to come to our assistance every time. Do you believe that? Oh, yes, I do. Trust in him and strengthen your faith in him, and I promise you that you will not be disappointed.

You may ask why the all-powerful God needs Angels to protect his children.
Here is why – Yes, God is more than powerful enough to function without Angels, but he chooses to use them to uphold his will for mankind and beyond. He chooses to use them to declare to the world what his will is, but more importantly, he uses them to protect us from the evil one and his evil plots against his children daily.

A clear example of Angels used for our protection can be established in the second chapter of the book of Kings as the basis for my topic from Psalm 91:11 at the start of this write-up, “… he shall give his angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways”, meaning what? He will protect his children in every way without hesitation to win the battle for them.

It is very clear that the children of the Lord are often being sought for destruction by the devil and his cohorts, but God never forsakes us and has all the protection and resources his children need at every time. Hence, we as the children of God have to be “eye openers,” very shrewd, and be discerning in the spirit because our battle is not physical but spiritual.

That said, we must take comfort that, whether it is war or in personal storms of any kind, grieving and lamentation, the Lord is always anchoring us in his care by giving “his angels charge over us.”

To take courage and increase our faith, let us avail ourselves of the testimony of Prophet Elisha and his servant at the time when the king of Syria was at the throat of the people of Israel. The Syrian army could come anytime, kill, ransack and loot everything now and then without any notice or Israel being aware.

Then came Prophet Elisha, so powerful and could prophesy everything about Israel, present and future and the attacks from Syria. The Syrians then grew weary of Elisha, who was leaking every move of their invasion against Israel, rendering them failures. So the attention was drawn to eliminating Elisha.

Elisha knew that the Syrian king had sent soldiers to surround the city to kill and eliminate him. So Elisha and his servant woke up in the morning, seeing hundreds of chariots and horses of soldiers surrounding them.
Elisha, on his part, was not afraid because he knew how the story will end. God has sent his Angels over the mountain full of horses and chariots of fire, all around him and the servant.

And so, this is how the Scripture narrative revealed what happened, to the panicky servant’s surprise, through the divine power of God.
He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed and said, “O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. [2 Kings 6:16-17]ESV

Here Are the 3 Takeaways:
1) The servant saw only the physical danger, while Elisha saw the spiritual reality
of God’s protection over them. The servant’s faith had grown weary with fear.
2) Despite how devastating our circumstances appear, God’s invisible presence
is stronger than any adversary.
3) As believers, we have to trust the Lord and align our spirit with His Divine
Holiness to discern beyond circumstances with faith in God’s power.

As a Christian, you have all the help and protection you need, so do not fear but rather be aware of what you have and strengthen your faith.
We never would have known Christ’s love if Christ had not died for us. We could neither have seen the Fathers’ affection and faithfulness towards us. His asking, trust in me, have confidence and faith with hope in him.

And if you do, rest assured you are always secured because “he shall give his angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways.” Keep the Faith and always keep Hope alive.

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REFRAME THE NARRATIVE

Don’t play the victim mentality for sympathy. It will either keep you retrogressively in life or in cycles of stagnation. Instead, take stock. Examine your past challenges as opportunities for growth, and move completely from a victim mentality to building your own authority, identity, and independence through faith in Christ Jesus.

[Psalm 34:15] – “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” This verse is a promise that God is near, not so far away, during times of deep sorrow, grief, and emotional pain. The verse offers comfort, assurance, and divine intervention for those struggling with hopelessness – victimhood per se in this subject.

Beloved, here is the encouragement for us. To defeat such narratives, I will entreat you to refrain from your inward-looking shadow and light up your God-created image in your personality.

So how do you do that, you may ask? Start reframing your personal narrative through the lens of the scripture, and shifting from a perspective of victimhood to one of divine purpose. View life’s challenges as part of a larger story that was written by only our Lord God, but not man. Once you are in recognition of this Biblical ethos, lay the victimization narrative under the foot of the cross for Christ.

To strengthen your mindset, you will have to align yourself with the divine spirit of the Lord by renewing your mind, as Romans 12:2 states: You need to ‘Trust in the Lord as the author of your life,’ and find hope in his promises that will transform your pain into God’s purpose for your life. You certainly will achieve a great makeover of your life if you trust in the Lord with confidence, faith and hope in him.

Looking at Proverbs 3:5-6, we realize that it is the primary Scripture verse for encouragement, highlighting God’s plan over human reason for trusting God’s direction over our life: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths”. If we submit to God’s plan over our own understanding, our narratives will change the narrators’ stories through prayers and our faith in Christ.

Believers, if the Lord has broken the barrier of victimhood, you should accept and acknowledge past experiences as lessons, and don’t let them hold you imprisoned. You can never move forward to empower yourself for any success, spiritually and in any facet of life, be it business or social, by holding on to the past or past pain.

See, the devil would want you not to move on to renew your mind to narrate your positive story. The devil is well aware that spot is difficult to let go – it is the “spirit of unforgiving.” But you have the power through Christ Jesus to overcome it, and that power tool is only through fervent prayer by aligning it with the divine power of the Living God.

So with prayer and perseverance, you will change your outward and inner expression to match God’s created personality, asking the Lord to guard and direct your mind. Pray that you can discern and identify the source of self-focused and self-defeating thoughts to replace your negatives or self-defeating mindset, and always trust the Lord that your declarations are recognized, so you can rest in peace with a renewed mind.

As a Christian, you have to act to align yourself with the Lord to embrace the present, not the past, as it is clearly stated above. The Lord’s presence in your life will help you to make choices that lead to desired outcomes. Your present is your focal point toward your future success, not your past realities – discern deeper in the spirit and take greater control over decisions and actions that will empower you to success in God’s glory.

Beloved, I wish you therefore to take note of Ephesians 1:11 that, “God works all things after the counsel of his will.” Consequently, trust in the Lord with faith and hope, and shift from a victim mindset to a survivor mindset; focus on your strengths and the opportunities ahead rather than deficits or the past.

This means that your life, all of it, has been worked out according to the counsel of God’s will, and as long as our confidence, our faith, and hope are in him, the mentality of victimhood will never have a place in God’s people. Keep the Faith and Hope alive.

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Abiding in the Lord means having FAITH in him.

“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” [John 15:4- 5]ESV

To simply state it: Abiding in the Lord means having FAITH in him and depending on him alone. When you depend on the Lord, you believe in him, you have confidence and trust in him, and accordingly, your faith and hope are in him. With that in mind, you have to act and operate within these parameters for your going out and your coming in, but not idling.

So, the question is – are you struggling to see fruit in your life? Are you questioning yourself why? How is your confidence, trust and dependency in the Lord according to John 15:4-5 above? Are you sitting idle without taking the physical steps to bring your faith into reality? Take the step of faith, walk the talk, do the talk; the Lord goes before you always if you abide. You will get the result if you act.

Whatever it is, I encourage you to prayerfully ask the Lord to reveal the type of fruit in your life as a Christian. If you know you have not yet put your faith fully in Christ, then you must commence now. The Lord God wants a relationship with his children, and you can begin your relationship with him immediately. And remember, you cannot abide by the orange stem if you want to bear mango fruits.

The more we know Jesus, the more we love the Word, and the more we allow it into our spirit, the more our FAITH grow, and so the stronger we are firmly attached to the vine.

Faith in Christ in Christianity is everything. “It is an active trust and reliance on God and Jesus Christ, going beyond sheer intellectual belief to a confident commitment that shapes one’s life and actions.” It is rooted in God’s revealed character and promises for mankind.

In simple terms: It’s not just knowing God is good; it’s living like God is good and trustworthy, even when circumstances are hard, because you believe his promises are true.

Abide in him with trust. Your security is assured in Christ if your faith level is as little as a mustard seed. The verse below is an example of faithful levels that we can consistently build. The bigger our faith level, the greater we can move mountains, but not a mountain. In the Book of Matthew, chapter seventeen, Jesus taught and encouraged his disciples about the levels of faith using the mustard seed. This tells us that the greater our faith, the greater the result.

Jesus said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20 [ESV]

The faith of the child of God is the most powerful and “most potent of all securities” as a Christian, so the faith you have determines the kind of Christian you are and your confidence level. You’ve all the help and protection you need, so do not fear, be aware of what you have and use them by abiding in the Lord confidently and trusting in him.

If you trust the Lord and have confidence and faith in him, abide in him and bear fruit. And here is the thing: there shall not be any vulnerability, you shall be fully covered, and the Lord will offer a shelter no storm can violate.
“He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.” [Psalm 91:4]

Faithful ones, your faith is held securely by the Lord Jesus, the Alpha and Omega. Thank Him for His strength and his example. Keep your eyes fixed on Him, especially in hard times. He is the only one to turn to abide with confidence, trust, faith and hope in him.

Once we abide in the Lord, he bears fruit in our lives. This glorifies him and blesses us and those around us. The threats of the day can never touch us. The fears of all the chaos around us cannot come any closer. So you and I can dwell under his wings as we abide by the vine. He will watch over us day and night.

Father, today I am committing my Faith unto you for whatever I do because I have every trust and confidence in you. So may you set me up in the plans you have for me and establish the work of my hands and my life as I abide in you. So Lord, I declare Proverbs 16:3, and Psalm 90:17 for every blessed day of my being. Beloved, keep your Faith and Hope alive in Christ.
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God is not bound by time. God is already present in our future — preparing the way for you and me, scheduling and directing every unknown situation to clear the way, for us now and for our strength for our tomorrow.

“It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” DEUTERONOMY 31:8
So here’s the truth to steady your heart: God doesn’t wait for you to enter the unknown—HE GOES BEFORE YOU.

Before hitting your feet on the floor every morning, he has already walked our paths ahead and marked them with surveillance. So I am here to remind you and encourage you that we are never alone, as long as we keep trusting, and keep the Faith, and Hope in him, he will always walk ahead to clear all the obstacles for us. Every meeting, every task, every challenge, every discouragement has already passed under his sovereign watch.

Our Lord God is proactive, but not a reactive God. He has already had all things covered for our good. He is not a “figuring things out” God. Man will say, give me a minute or two or some time to figure it out, and will keep you informed – but our God is the Author, the Creator, the Artist, the Air of this universe and all that is therein. He is already standing in for our tomorrow and future.

As faithful ones of God, we should not doubt and veer off from our Lord, but rather we should continue to trust him, the only One that matters and the One who holds our future, rather than figuring it out ourselves to know the future itself. He has already overcome the world for us.

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” [John 16:33]

The Lord God who has brought you this far is already at work on your case and mine. Let us be grateful and pray that our confidence rise in Christ, but not in our understanding and strength, but in the faithfulness of the only One who matters and leads you and me.

When in doubt at any point in time, or down, remember that the same God who holds you and who carries you through every sunrise to sunset is always at work. He who knows it all – the Omniscience, and he who is present at every step you take – the Omnipresence and he who fights your fight and battles for you, he is the mighty one, the Omnipotence – he is your Captain and General. He is your Warrior, the Lord your God. “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still” [Exodus 14:14]

1. He does not fail and has never lost a battle.
2. He does not forget, and his hands are not short that he cannot save.
3. He goes before us in every battle and stays beside us to victory.
4. Don’t give up at every level, and when you seem to be out of touch, revisit this writing to encourage yourself to rejuvenate your faith.

So remember that starting today with this assurance of hope, you are not going to forge your own way of doing things but will follow the Lord who never missteps.

The focal point is to trust in God’s goodness and faithfulness when the future is unclear and keep your Faith and Hope alive.

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Christian’s Life With The Lord Must Be Aligned With: Trust, Faith, and Hope.

As Christians, Faith in the Lord is our foundation, and we should not be shy to present ourselves as such. We must constantly seek him and rely upon him. We must not be ashamed or afraid to exercise our beliefs and faith in our everyday lives. – Trust
Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him,”- Faith

The Lord God is our advocate, and we should be fearless. So if we do all these and believe in him, then he will answer us according to our needs. Our needs are numerous, and if we trust him, he will fulfill his promises to us by rewarding us the more we seek him. – Hope

So these three (3) things, we must adhere to, to align our Christian life with the Lord – Trust – Faith – Hope.

Hebrews 11:1-3. “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”
In tough times, it is complicated and easier said than done to wrap your head around such phrases like “the conviction of things you have not seen,” but believe that you will get the answers with genuine communication with the Lord. – Prayer
Trust me, you are not alone. You just have to trust, obey, and rest assured that the Lord is right on the bat for you.

Trust the Lord and believe his promises. Trust in the Word, Have Faith that the Lord will answer, Hope that you will receive what you envision.
Likewise, Hope is Trust in the Lord, with Faith deep-rooted in the spiritual anchor of the Lord.

If we as Christians have the clear understanding of these three (3) beliefs anchored in our souls, the consequential effects that will be significant, or important in our lives as Christians will have major impacts in our spiritual and physical lives happening as a direct effect of our Trust, Faith, and Hope in the Lord Jesus in shaping our future state of our walk with him.

Consequently, the result of receiving what you Hope for is through great Faith. If you doubt, you will not receive. What use is it, if you ask, and you are skeptical of receiving what you ask for? James 1:6 “But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.”

Let me ask a simple question? How often do you check to see that a chair is in good condition before you sit on it when you enter an office? And how often do you check a chair’s condition when you enter into an office, and you are welcomed by your host asking you, “Can you have a seat?

Without a doubt, you act with all your faith without thinking; you drop into the chair like a bag of sand. Why do you act with no hesitation but act with trust? Why? Is it because you physically see the object? Think about it. Hence, what are trust, faith, and hope to you as a Christian? What is your faith level?
Ephesians 2:8-10 states that, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast.”

Belovers, let us receive God’s grace and promises with a strong bond. So as we build stronger relations, we henceforth establish our trust; increase our faith and our hope. Furthermore, as long as we can trust in the Lord and have faith that the Lord can do, we can also hope for what’s coming in the future. In the affirmative, we will build our faith stronger, and we will build a perfect faith.
So below are a few key takeaways:

Trust relates to the relationship between the Lord and us as Christians.

Faith believes “he can.”

Hope focuses on what’s coming in the future and how the Lord, based on our faith and experience, will act.

For greater faith, we must practice: Patience / Endurance, Resolve, and Resolute.

Endurance, Resolve and Resolute: These three concepts are foundational to a life built in Jesus Christ.

Faith (or Belief): This is the foundational trust and confident reliance on the character, power, and promises of God.
It is not a mere mental ascent but an active trust that leads to obedience and action. Hebrews 11:1 states that it is “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

Faith is essential for salvation (Ephesians 2:8) and for pleasing God (Hebrews 11:6). It is rooted in the reality of the crucifixion of Christ on the cross, Jesus Christ’s resurrection as he prophesied before he went to the Cross.
Hope: In the biblical framework, hope is not idealism or self-delusion but an exciting expectation of the future good that God has promised.

As Christians, hope is a spiritual anchor for our souls without wavering. It provides endurance and perseverance during trials. It is anchored in God’s faithfulness to fulfill God’s word. Hope is our provision for inspiration to sustain us as Christians through difficulties because we know that what is envisioned will end in the glory of God.

Take Note: Faith is our foundation as Christ Followers, hence Trust in the Lord, -Keep the Faith and keep Hope alive.

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Every so often, the days can be so gloomy, life can be tough, and you only see the road getting narrower and narrower. Situations might be continually changing around you, but not for the better. You wake up every day to face huge battles. Such battles are beyond your comprehension. It may include one or multiple of these:

1. A protracted illness
2. Financial and economic hardships
3. Loss of job or career, or can’t find employment
4. Going through a bitter divorce or in a hard marriage
5. Time to marry – you’ve been craving for Mr./Miss Right – but no sign
6. Death in the family – loss of a child as a parent or loss of a spouse

The struggles seem to be protracted for far too long, and they still linger with no end in sight. So you ask yourself and ask God, Oh Lord, what is going on in my life?

While any one of the examples above is so concerning, there’s not one that can equal the death of a family member so close, a spouse or child. “The death and loss of a child are frequently called the ultimate tragedy, and nothing can be more devastating.” Without faith and hope in God, stages of grief, and other issues, “make parental and spouse bereavement particularly difficult to resolve.”

Take Stock around you, and hold firm to your Faith and do not be separated from the love of God.
Hold on and don’t give up – for the Lord is with you. Your faith and hope in the Lord is being put to the test. Psalm 120:1: “In my distress I cried to the Lord, and He heard me.”

As it is written in Romans 6:36-39 – “For your sake we face death all day long;
We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present, nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Always keep in mind that in the center of all these, you still have so much to be thankful for. Take a look around you – outside of the box you are in now and take stock to see God’s unfailing love for you. For this reason, and even in the midst of it all, we still have so much to be grateful for in this life.

We Must Be Praiseworthy
We must also note that communication with God through prayer shouldn’t be only about requesting what we want; we must be thankful to the Lord for all the things we are praying for, as if he has already given them to us. These prayers must be backed by genuine faith that we have already been answered. 
From the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus encouraged us in Matthew 7:7 that with persistent prayer, you should: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”

Jesus encourages us to have faith that we will receive what we ask for.  When we pray, we must trust that God will answer us. Without that trust, it’s meaningless to pray for something you are not sure of receiving. You may find this odd. However, God expects us to do it. This is what is called Faith and Hope in God.

God is Always Trustworthy. Bring Your Needs to Him (Sorrow, Happiness)
God is infinitely more trustworthy than any human. God is dependable and has never lied. Correspondingly, the Lord God expects you to have faith in Him and expect the result. Whatever peril you are facing, don’t give up; you can pray like David when his own inner circle stood against him. He was straight to the point and strong in his prayers. You can always trust in the Lord God to save you.

The Lord God is Always Our Refuge. Lord God, you are my refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. I will not fear when “earthquakes” come and the “mountains” crumble into the sea. The Lord of Heaven’s Armies are here with me. You are my fortress. I will be still, and know that You are God.
When you find yourself that you’re in despair and feel that God is too far away from you in such a troubling situation or trials, let the words of Psalm 46 resonate in your heart. “Hold fast to the truths that God is your refuge, your strength, and present help.”

You Always Have an Ally
“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)
Trust in the Lord, have Faith and believe what you hope for.
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WAITING FOR RESULTS IS NEVER EASY

The word “waiting” captures a key aspect of shared human experience irrespective of your belief. That enduring patience and waiting are universal arguments connecting Christians and the Secularists across generations.

It suggests a cycle where the act of waiting is a common, perhaps even necessary, part of the human condition, one that those who are gone before us also experienced.

The worldview of “waiting” does not conform to Christian ethos of “waiting.” They don’t believe that old truism that good things come to those who wait in the Lord. They rather believe that good things come to those who want something so bad and that they can’t wait. They put the wagon before the horse unfortunately missing the divine principle.

So they “believe in themselves” and do everything in their physical power without what the Bible teaches us as Christians. So here is what we do as Christians that they don’t understand or aware of it.

As Christians we firstly believe in effective results with prayers through the divine power of the Lord, and secondly we take the action – making the move much stronger towards what we have prayed to effect divinely.

The professed Christian does not put the wagon before the horse. Hence when the Christian quotes Isaiah chapter 40 in waiting, it does not mean he/she is folding his/her arms drinking coffee on the porch and gazing into the clouds waiting for action or manna. It does not make the Christian lazy as long as he/she is going for the action to effect a positive result.

Here is the “Positive Kicker”: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. ISAIAH 40:31 (KJV)
So in defense of the Christian to the world – these are some of the takeaways for our scriptural ethos to all faithful Believers:

Waiting is never easy and everybody knows that. It can feel like being stuck, overlooked, or falling behind while others move forward. But God sees the waiting differently. In His kingdom, waiting is not wasting time or doing nothing, but it’s preparing and becoming. Start it with – Prayer – Act to effect the result – and continue to pray for the results from your action.

David waited for many years and went through the toughest battles of his life before he was enthroned as the king after being anointed by Saul. In the waiting David did not sit idle but went about doing what he does even though the monarchy was his.

Joseph in his case waited with no sign of success. He continued to trust and have faith in the Lord and endured hardships before he became ruler of Egypt.

Beloved, God is always doing something very crucial in the quiet seasons. He renews your strength—not just to survive, but to soar when we act. You may feel like you’re crawling, but in His time, he will help you fly. Continue walking in His presence and don’t skip a process, no matter how difficult the road may be. God’s presence is with you! Pray-Act- and receive the effective Result.

In everything give thanks to the Lord and stay tuned in to his voice and direction.
Thank the Lord with praise and with all your heart in preparing you to wait with faith despite the endurance.

Trust him and don’t believe that it’s your wisdom or self action that can give you the result. In your waiting the Lord is making you strong and getting you ready for other very important things for the next season while you’re still in the waiting of things you aren’t even aware – but this one must pass first.

Don’t you stop to thank him even at your lowest point when your legs could not even support the load any further. Be direct with humility and ask the Lord – Oh God increase my FAITH by replenishing my weary heart. And when you ask – believe it – take action and trust the Lord that your action brings effective result.
Trust the Lord with Faith and Hope that you will be answered by your Faith.

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THERE IS A TIME FOR EVERY SEASON

Romans 8:28, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

From this verse [ Romans 8:28 ] we realize there is a necessity to have faith in the Lord without doubt. The commitment is made by God and the precondition to receive is your love for God and your faith. This is a must for everyday in every season. This is not unconditional but a conditional to walk in the Lord – Faith and hope.

You have to have faith and hope that the Lord who is your father in heaven is ready to answer you, if you can trust and believe it with your faith in him.  

 Let’s put it this way that as a true child of God your grocery list of needs are always before him and pre-approved as long as they align with your needs to glorify him.

Accordingly, to trust in the Lord with all our heart, we must wholly rely upon his promises, wisdom, power, and love to help us in every circumstance.

These promises are not frivolous, and informal promises such as men make. God promises and commitments are rock-solid. They are yes and Amen and unquestionable.

He pledges and fulfils. He is not a man that promises and not acts. He does not take his word back. What God has promised he will without a doubt fulfill it.

Numbers 23:19: – “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?“ This is God’s unchanging faithfulness. He always keeps his promises and acts on his word.

This Bible verse above should encourage and remind you when you seem to wonder why your prayers are still. Mind you the Lord hears the voice of all his children in Christ.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 says: “There is a time for everything, and a time for every purpose under heaven.”

The wait does not imply there won’t be an answer to your prayers. Your faith may be at test or you may be not packaging your prayers to align what you need. Don’t you give up. Trust and have faith in the Lord and hope that your prayers will be answered.

So my dear beloved, I declare a simple message of hope for the struggling ones: enjoy life by fearing the Lord even when you cannot comprehend his works and ways. You are not alone because as a child of God you stand out as a conqueror with your leap of faith and hope.

Sometimes life is full of different seasons, and things can change: your season is just arriving. Keep your prayers up. Have FAITH in Christ and keep your HOPE active.

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Ecclesiastes 3:11 – “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.“

Watch and pray to keep Faith and Hope alive if it’s not your season or time. Sometimes, life just doesn’t make sense. You know you’ve done everything but your prayers are just hitting the ceiling or the brick wall and not going anywhere – no answers. The doors of opportunities are being shut before you just as you are about to enter. You are going through a storm and no sight for the storm to stop. You are going through a season, except that no one can find out the work that the Lord is doing in your life from the beginning to the end.

Or you are on the other hand going through a plague. You are prone with disease or some illness but no cure after all. Your hope is running down and has forgotten that Job was plagued with all kinds of sores and illnesses. Job plagued with poverty by losing all his wealth through these testing moments but came out with victory because of his strong conviction, faith and hope in the Lord.

Or you are going through a marriage crisis. You have tried everything but the center cannot hold. The trajectory that you’re on seems blurry at best. You try to figure it out, but the more you lean on your understanding, the heavier everything feels. Everything is collapsing right before you. It is not a beautiful time.
It’s in moments such like these that God is calling you that child – have faith and hope in me and do not be discouraged because I am with you.

Bear in mind that even when your eyes can’t see it, God’s heart is still for you. He’s not asking you to pretend everything is all right. He’s always inviting you to lean on him instead of prioritizing your need to understand.
Here trusting the Lord does not mean your plan and your need is align with Gods’ plan. He is the only one who holds the plan that is good to carry you through it.

Hence, watch and pray, strengthen your Faith. You don’t need all the answers when you’re anchored in the Lord. God never changes. He is faithful even when nothing makes sense so do not lean on your own understanding to cut corners.

Proverbs 3:5-6 advises that, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

So, here are some takeaways for your knowledge, understanding and firm foundation for your trust, faith and hope in the Lord.
The Bible tells us to “trust in the Lord.” This means we have to fully rely on God’s wisdom instead of our own, acknowledging Him in all our actions, and having complete confidence in his guidance and character.

It involves surrendering control of our life to God, with the promise that he will direct our path and make it straight.
TRUST in the LORD, have FAITH and HOPE

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“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” 2 CORINTHIANS 5:7 [KJV]

To obey the Lord’s calling you are obliged to act positively to understand the call. Faith doesn’t wait for clearness or explanation. You have to step up to the plate because the Lord is calling on you.  When God calls, he walks with you all the way through the assignment.

The book of Hebrews Chapter 11 is known as the “faith chapter.”  It tells us that “faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen.” [Hebrews 11:1]. Faith is not “seeing is believing.” But it is first “believing” and then “seeing.” If you don’t get this in your spirit and act, you will miss the target.

You don’t wait in anticipation to make judgment for you to obey God’s instruction or command. The Bible tells us that there were men and women of faith that obeyed God’s command and they did exactly so. They were blessed from their generation to-date.

So, let us look at the comprehension of faith through the lenses of Hebrews Chapter 11:6 which states that, “without faith it is impossible to please God.” The verse is not saying that it’s hard to please God without faith. It is rather saying it’s impossible. If we don’t have strong commitment and the desire to live as people of faith, we will be passengers in the bus which we are supposed to drive ourselves.

The things we wish (Hope) for begins with the conception of Faith. Another way to put it is that without Faith it is impossible to please God, and therefore your wishes (Hope) are also impossible to achieve.

As stated above, the Scripture cites many examples of men and women of faith from an array of background. They were all different from various places, but they all had one thing in common, that is they were true men and women of faith.

Consequently, we can learn from these men and women of faith by educating ourselves how these faithful ones built their divine faith in the Lord to press forward Gods’ plan for mankind.

Many of these men and women of faith developed their faith through hard times or to some extent. Through it all, the Lord God shaped them, and sharpened them into dependable and honest men and women of faith.

In brief, Faith is proven when you move. Take the step of faith, trust the Lord to accomplish what your hope is (wish) and God will meet you with strength, provision, and direction.

If Abraham had refused to answer the Lords call, the nations of the world would have been different – that is without the Abrahamic covenant for the world. 

In Genesis Chapter 15:6, we learn that Abraham was the first person said to be made righteous by his faith. When God said to him to move, Abraham moved with faith from the land of his birth to an unknown land. And when God promised to give him a son in his old age, Abraham took Him at His Word, no question asked.

A reminder: If Noah had waited for the rain to fall, he never would’ve built the ark.

If Peter had waited for calm waters, he never would’ve walked.

Mark had a rough start, but God shaped him into a truthful and honorable man of faith.

Deborah, the Judge stepped into a position held by men before Israel even had judges.

Queen Esther stepped up with faith and courage to save Israel- God was ready to move and Esther eventually decided to move with him with faith.

Mary, the mother of Jesus was young when God chose her to carry the baby that would save the world. Mary witnessed the crucifixion of Christ but her faith carried her through the horror.

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SELF CONTROL – A FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT: There is a wise saying by an old man that says, “If a Christian marries a child of the devil, he is going to have a lot of trouble with his father-in-law.” Seems like humor but that’s the truth. It is a proven fact over the years, but several times in this age, young people have overlooked and doubted the saying. The problem is no patience and lack of self control.

SAMSON LIKE – ATTITUDE – INDISCIPLINE IS WEAKLING: Hence many years later many contemplate over their actions and realize that “the pain of discipline weighs ounces, while the pain of regret weighs loads of tons” regrettably. Such indiscipline often leads to inaction and bad choices in life in the areas of education, career, and relationships. Other times it may affect the health of individuals. The emphasis here is the lack of patience and uncontrollable indiscipline. Proverbs 13:18: “Whoever disregards discipline comes to poverty and shame”.

SO WHAT ARE THE TAKEAWAYS: As a Christian sometimes painful regret can also serve as a powerful inspiration? Nonetheless, there is nothing too late if you realize your mistakes and return to the Lord with regrets and with deep repentance. He is always ready to receive you in your suffering. Concede your past indiscipline and the resulting regret can inspire you to make disciplined choices in the present circumstances to avoid future suffering and work towards a better life. The Christian has an assurance. You are strong and have strength in the Lord to overcome your weakness. 2 Corinthians 12:9, states, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

SHOW ME YOUR FRIEND: Remember the saying —“show me your friend and I will show you your character.” You become like those with whom you associate. We have read, heard, or seen that strong and powerful people in positions have fallen through bad association and indiscipline. “Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals” (1 Corinthians 15:33, ESV). Note in Proverbs: Companion of fools shall perish together.

WISDOM TRUTH: Hence from whatever angle you look at it, such acts, and association with lack of self-control are like these old sayings that obviously prove a point: “He who lies down with the dogs will rise up with fleas.” And “as the flour miller leaves some tiny sediment of flour, and on all those whom he brushes against on his way home, so do all our associates leave a deposit of their personalities upon our lives.” Proverbs 25:28: “Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control”.

Let us be self-restraint in all our relations. No rush, but be patient, and exercise self-control in choosing. Wait and listen to the voice of the Lord.
The Lord is always ready with his arms open and stretched to welcome you as long as you are back to seek him. Be encouraged, and exercise your FAITH for there is HOPE

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT BUILDING WALLS?

“In this day and age, walls can be viewed with negative nuances, but the truth of the matter is, building walls is for many reasons, spiritually and physically. In the Christian belief, walls symbolize divine protection spiritually for a faithful life and physically as boundaries for a peaceful environment on Earth for God’s people.  

Physical boundaries are not a new norm in the world when we look back into history, and they have always aligned with Biblical beliefs of the faithful and secularists alike.

“Overall, walls in the Bible carry rich and varied meanings, from literal structures of defence to powerful symbols of spiritual truths. They reflect the human need for security, the reality of division, and the hope of divine protection and unity.”

In Revelation 21:12,” the New Jerusalem is described as having a great and high wall with twelve gates, symbolizing the perfect and eternal security of God’s redeemed people.”  [Bible Hub]

One of the most popular walls, physically and divinely rebuilt from Biblical history, was the wall of Jerusalem by Nehemiah. It is recorded that, after the Babylonian exile, Nehemiah was moved by God to return to Jerusalem and oversee the rebuilding of the city’s walls, which had been destroyed. 

The book of Nehemiah 2:17 says: “Then I said to them, ‘You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, so that we will no longer be a disgrace,” and the walls were built for the security and peace of the people.

Nonetheless, to some, walls can be seen as a source of imprisonment and division. They are often called things we need to break down and overcome.

However, when we look at walls in the Bible, they are also seen as structures that protect, provide security, and represent a place of peace and shelter, forming a sense of belonging. In the Old Testament, physical walls were built to serve as a deterrent vital for a city’s survival against intruders or enemies.

In the Christian life, walls are not only a physical deterrent but also a spiritual defence against attacks from the devil. So as spiritual walls of salvation and security are built through Christ, our physical life must be protected by aligning it with what the Bible say.

Critics, on the other hand, misinterpret Ezekiel 13:10, using it as an excuse to support and justify their argument for tearing down the physical structure of walls, whereas this is a spiritual statement warning false teachers and prophets-“wall” as a metaphor to say.

Exekiel 13:10-12 states: “Precisely because they have misled my people, saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace, and because, when the people build a wall, these prophets smear it with whitewash, say to those who smear it with whitewash that it shall fall! There will be a deluge of rain, and you, O great hailstones, will fall, and stormy winds break out. And when the wall falls, will it not be said to you, ‘Where is the coating with which you smeared it?”

“In Acts 23, Paul stands before the Sanhedrin and is struck on the order of the high priest Ananias. In response, Paul exclaims, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me according to the law. Yet, you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck” (Acts 23:3). Here, Paul uses the term to denounce the hypocrisy of the religious leaders who outwardly uphold the law but inwardly act unjustly.

“Paul’s rebuke highlights the theme of God’s wrath against those who maintain an outward appearance of righteousness while engaging in unrighteous actions. The whitewashed wall serves as a metaphor for the superficial piety that God condemns, emphasizing the importance of genuine faith and integrity.” Stand firm in your FAITH and HOPE for your blessings. Trust the Lord, keep your Faith and Hope alive!

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