We need each other…

Granted, relationships are hard to maintain. People are bound to say and do things that get to us. But never allow yourself to believe that it’s better for you to isolate yourself from people, especially those that God has given you.

Isolation is an a trick of the enemy

There are times that l have found myself crying myself to sleep, stressing over things and never asking for help. Feeling alone yet l have such great people around me but l had believed a lie that l am better off alone.

The devil seeks to isolate you so that he can attack you and no one will be there to help you.

We have to pray for the ability to discern when the devil is at work in our relationships and in our minds. The devil is a liar he will whisper lies to you, that you are alone, that no one understands and there by putting a distance between you and your family, your friends and even your church brethren.

“A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated,

but two can stand back-to-back and conquer.

Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.”

Ecclesiastes‬ ‭4:12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I have come to realise that the devil is busy, he seeks to isolate the hearts of children from their mothers, sisters from their brothers, husbands from their wives .

You find yourself suffering in silence yet you are surrounded by family and friends. People getting depressed, suicide rates are heart breaking, mostly because people won’t talk to each other.

If you’re feeling alone right now l want to encourage you that “God is with you”,

And if you’re overwhelmed and needing help find someone to help you.

In which relationships are you sensing a wage of distance? Do you find yourself constantly isolating yourself?

When you know the truth, you will recognise the lie.

I pray that this empowers you to fight for your relationships.

Much love 💖

Shalom

Beauty for ashes

My dearly beloved broken crayons still colour .

Your History doesn’t determine your destiny .

The current situation in your life doesn’t dictate your future.

Your pain serves as fuel for your testimony and your destiny.

Your mourning, your despair, your shame has qualified you to receive beauty, blessings and a double portion of honour.

God is in the habit of making the most out of the worst situation. Bringing out the best in us through the challenges we face.

To all who mourn in Israel,

1️⃣he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, 2️⃣a joyous blessing instead of mourning, 3️⃣festive praise instead of despair.

In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory.” Isaiah‬ ‭61:3‬ ‭

Have you experienced shame?

“Instead of shame and dishonor, you will enjoy a double share of honor. You will possess a double portion of prosperity in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours.” Isaiah‬ ‭61:7‬ ‭

God is so good 🙏, Every situation in your life that you thought would be the end of you, He uses it to make you a hundred times better .

There is beauty waiting for you on the other side, Hold on!

I hope you’re encouraged

Much love 💕

Shalom

Is what you do, who you are?

Isn’t it great that God calls us by name? Whilst we seek identity from what we have, what we do, our relationship status, we have a God who has an identity for us that is not based on what we do, but on who He is !🙌🏻

Before any human title we may acquire , it’s important that we know that we are children of God. He is our creator, we are His creation, He is the potter and we are the clay .

“So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” Genesis‬ ‭1:27‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Growing up as a teen l tried to gain identity by what l did and by my possession. See having being so insecure, l thought that l had to obtain love from God by my performance.

That was far from the truth!, Nothing in this world has power to define who you are in God. He loved us before we even loved Him, He validated and approved of my existence before l was even born! Nothing that l could do can separate me from His love.

You can become so consumed with what you do so much that you forget who you are. It may be that you are a mother, a father, or have a high status in the community, it may be that you do something in the house of God. Whatever it is you are first and foremost “God’s own”.

Even if you fail at what you do, you will still be a child of God.Even when you lose what you have, God still says that you are His!

This truth, changed my life. I pray that it encourages you!

Much love 💖

Shalom

Embracing the unpredictability of life..

Discomfort, disappointment , disruption, pain are part of life, so is comfort, celebration, love, joy and success. To go through life only expecting the good leaves room for nasty setbacks when things don’t go as planned.

I have decided to give up the notion of comfort and embrace the unpredictability of life .

I realised that when God says fear not He promises to be with us not take us away from the circumstances but to walk through them with us.

“When you pass through the waters,I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.”Isaiah‬ ‭43:2‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

 

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua‬ ‭1:9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Yea, though I walk through the valleyof the shadow of death, I will fear no evil;For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” Psalms‬ ‭23:4‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Dear friends there will be valleys, there will be mountains, we may pass through waters, and may have to walk through fiery circumstances , but God is with us. At times your life may need to be disrupted so that there may be progress.

The challenge is in staying calm in the fire, staying alive, to keep praying and praising when everything is against you. Stay in the fight!

I used to get affected so much by circumstances. Functioning through storms of life has been a real struggle.

However life has taught me that not all things will go as planned. Whatever the situation l must keep on keeping on.

 

So my goal this year is to never stop , regardless of whatever comes my way. However painful the challenge, the heart break, the discomfort will find me ready and prepared. I have stopped too many times, and that has not kept disruptions from coming my way.

So what am l saying today?, As my Pastor would put it “Hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

Embrace the unpredictability of life.

I hope you are encouraged

Much love 💖

Shalom

We have been gifted

Merry Christmas dear reader!

I’m excited, we have been gifted, we have been given a gift that is greater than anything we could ever imagine. A gift that will last for eternal ages. The gift is Jesus Christ,

Wonderful Counselor

Mighty God

Everlasting Father

Prince of peace

Jesus is the reason for the season!

For this reason we rejoice, our Lord has come!

“The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith,

Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”

John‬ ‭1:29‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Let us therefore prepare Him room !

With every gift we make a conscious decision to receive. I pray that we may receive this gift,

The gift “Jesus Christ ”

Much Love 💖

Merry Christmas

Shalom

What crisis demands …

So l looked up the definition for crisis, it is “defined as a time of intense difficulty, hardship or even adversity”. After having been through a whirlwind of a year.

Let’s face it no one really wants to be in a crisis but life doesn’t give us the luxury of that choice. Things can take a turn at any given time and as children of God it’s best that “we know what crisis demands.”

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” I Peter‬ ‭5:8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Job is one of many in the Bible who experienced great difficulty :

  • The attack of his character
  • The attack of his protection
  • The attack of his family
  • The attack of his possession
  • The attack of his health

As l was reading through the book of Job, l wanted to learn how he reacted to such times of crisis. I for one am not a fan of problems and l tend to react the wrong way.😩 Doing what crisis demands

1️⃣Cry out to God ,the temptation is to complain, be anxious, be troubled and give up. But Job prayed.

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;”. Philippians‬ ‭4:6‬

Which ever the case refuse to let the situation cause you to lose faith in God..

2️⃣ Worship God, when crisis befell Job he bowed down and worshiped God.

“Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped.”Job‬ ‭1:20‬ ‭NKJV‬‬Crisis demands that we keep giving God glory

3️⃣ Hold on to your integrity , your beliefs. People will question your beliefs when difficulty strikes, they will question your God. It’s important that we hold on to God and to his ways in crisis.

“Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!” But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?”In all this Job did not sin with his lips.” Job‬ ‭2:9-10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

4️⃣Trusting God in such times is crucial. Knowing that we may not understand but He does. Leaning not on our understanding, {Proverbs 3:5-6}. Job keeps this trust in God.

5️⃣Acknowledge that God is God. Most of the times when we get into a crisis we try to figure things out, we may even utter words that offend God.

“You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.” Job‬ ‭42:3‬

Job Repented, acknowledging that he had spoken of things he didn’t understand. Repentance brought restoration .

🔴“And the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys.” JOB‬ ‭42:12‬ ‭

Stay strong God will restore you. Do what crisis demands hold on.

Whatever the crisis God is with you.

Much love

Shalom❤️

Peace stealers..

There is nothing that l admire more in a child of God than a peaceful spirit, just a calm lover of God. There are too many miserable christians out there. There is need for constant seeking peace , peace with God, peace with ourselves and peace with others.

I must admit that at times l too allow myself to lose peace over the smallest things. As long as you don’t confront issues in your life that frustrate you those things will always have a hold on you.

As for me l recognised that there are constant culprits , that steal my peace. Having to wait a long time for something is one of them, not seeing progress also gets to me and sometimes l allow words and attitudes of people towards me to take away my peace.

On reading 👇🏾ISAIAH 26:3) there are three key areas that l needed to work on, hopefully you will learn from them too🙂

The number one peace stealer is

1️⃣Losing focus, Hence focusing on circumstances, feelings, people rather than focusing on God. I am reminded of how Peter began to sink when He took His eyes off Jesus.

“But when he saw [the effects of] the wind, he was frightened, and he began to sink, and he cried out, “Lord, save me!” ‭‭. MATTHEW‬ ‭14:30‬ ‭

Lesson, Keep your mind on God, on what He wants you to do, on who He says you are.

3️⃣ Wavering in your trust in God Whenever l start to waver in my confidence and trust in God, l lose my peace. When l start relying on my own understanding of things l lose peace.

Trusting in God means that you rely in Him, whatever may come your way you know you have someone to run to. Knowing confidently that God is a refuge and He will never let you down.

💥How to maintain peace

✅Stay focused on God rather than your circumstances, Put it into practice and let it be a habit.

✅Never compare yourself, invest in knowing the value that you bring, your uniqueness, fight insecurity.

✅Lean not on your understanding, Train your heart, mind and soul to trust in God. Remember the faithfulness of God, you are alive today because of his grace and faithfulness to you.

What are some of your peace stealers?

God promises perfect and constant peace to those who keep their minds focused on Him.

Much love ♥️

Shalom