The Warrior

Everyday, the enemy seeks to harm us. He seeks to bring us to our knees to a place of shame and disgrace. The devil and assailant comes in form of terror taking the shape of a lion seeking whom to devour. 1Pet 5:8. A lot of people die with their dreams perhaps because they did not try anything thereby not coming in contact with “dream builders” and “helpers”.

The enemy is after your dream. The enemy knows that dream will bring you before great people, so to cut you short of your inheritance of Favour, he seeks to destroy you thereby breaking your dream.

But as God’s children, shouldn’t we always remember what Scripture says in 2 Chron 20: 15? The battle belongs to me says The Lord…. This means you will have to face the enemy but God will be fighting for you. Isn’t it wonderful to know God is fighting for you?

GIANTS

Life has it’s UPs and DOWNs, bringing giants along our path and with out notice makes us have an unpleasant stop along our journey. Sometimes darkness stays longer than day, the pain won’t go, sickness all around, and nothing to hold on to. Situations get more frightening as you watch things get really bad. Sometimes your life is filled with fear, anxiety, and set backs.

If that’s you, then let me encourage you to stay strong and move on. Even giants fall and for every Goliath there is a stone.

We all can learn from the story of Joshua, Caleb and the 10 spies in Numbers 13 – 14 sent to explore the land of Cannan. Ten of the men were so discouraged because they saw giants, but Joshua and Caleb saw defeated soldiers. Ten saw insurmountable forces while two saw victory. What are you seeing in your situation? What are you seeing in your hurt? What are you seeing in the crises? Do you think God can help you? Do you see the pain as an opportunity to let go and let God? Can you say like Joshua and Caleb “we have God”? We also remember the story of David and Goliath in 1 Sam 17. When David faced Goliath, he never called him a giant. For David, it was just another opportunity for God to show His power.

We see one thing common between Joshua, Caleb and David; they didn’t brag about the enemy’s power and his ability. They did not magnify the obstacle. They rather bragged about the power of God, the might of His hands and expressed their confidence in Him.

Whatever giant life throws at you, I encourage you to go out with confidence in God. Your giant won’t match your “God- strength”.

May the favour of the Lord rest upon you and keep the giant from trampling over you. Amen

Seventeen years

A World News Daily Report this week told the amazing story of a coal miner in the western China province of Xinjiang who was found alive after being trapped in his mine in 1997 by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake. Cheung Wai, 59, was the only survivor of the tunnel collapse that took the lives of close to 80 of his co-workers. Cheung was saved by a ventilation duct connected the tunnel to the open air and by eating rats, an emergency store of rice and water, and a large amount of moss.

Cheung spent nearly a year of his captivity giving a proper burial to the other miners who were killed. Upon his rescue from the mine last week, Cheung was taken to a local hospital where his condition will be evaluated in the coming weeks.

So what do you think of Cheung’s story of survival? His story reminds me of the woman with an issue of blood in Mark 5: 25-34, who was helpless for twelve years, it also brings to mind the story of the man stuck by the pool of Bethesda for thirty-eight years in John 5. For seventeen years Cheung was lost. For seventeen years he was forgotten. For seventeen all hope was lost. For seventeen years, he cried. For seventeen years he wept, he waited and prayed and God came through for him and He was saved. The scripture in Ps 126:1, writes, when The Lord delivered Zion from bondage, it seemed like a dream. Like a dream He will deliver you.

What are you going through? What are you facing right now in life? Do you think all hope is lost? You may think that God has forgotten about you. You may think you have come to the end of your journey, with dreams broken and vision shattered. You may think life will never work out for you. Ah! Don’t panic. Don’t panic. It is just a test and you are about to pass the rest. It might take ten years or even twenty years, but God will honour His word. He says in Is 49:15, can a mother forget her baby…. I can never forget you. I will come for you. In the fire I will come for you. In the water I will come for you. Going through the pain of sickness, you may think I have forgotten about you, but it is impossible. I can never leave nor forsake you. ( Deu 31:6). I am with you always.

Keep believing. Keep working and never grow weary of trying and just like Cheung, God will help you. He will deliver you. He will save you. Amen

Even a Whale

I read this beautiful story about a whale and had to post it on my blog. The discovery in this story will amaze you.

A female humpback whale had become entangled in a spider web of crab traps and lines. She was weighted down by hundreds of pounds of traps that caused her to struggle to stay afloat. She also had hundreds of yards of line rope wrapped around her body, her tail, her torso, a line tugging in her mouth.

This is her story of giving gratitude.

A fisherman spotted her just east of the Faralon Islands San Francisco, USA (outside the Golden Gate) and radioed for help. Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived and seeing that she was so badly off, the only way to save her was to dive in and untangle her… a very dangerous proposition because one slap of the tail could kill a rescuer.

They worked for hours with curved knives and eventually freed her.

Now it gets interesting.

When she was free, the divers say she swam in what seemed like joyous circles. She then came back to each and every diver, one at a time, nudged them, and pushed gently, thanking them. Some said it was the most incredibly beautiful experience of their lives.

The guy who cut the rope out of her mouth says her eye was following him the whole time, and he will never be the same.

Like the Whale, life can put you in a situation and corner, where all your effort and plans fail. But in those moments of great trial and intense struggle, don’t forget God’s beautiful promise in Ps 20: 2.

May you be so fortunate I pray to be surrounded by people who will help you get through bad days and dark times, people who will help untangled from the things that are binding you, people who will bring you out of the pit not to sell you, but to save you, helping you stopping you move forward and achieving your goals. Amen.

One more thing; life owes you nothing. So, when people help you, when friends support you, when family stay by you, always be grateful, first to God, (Ex 33:19) and secondly to them because helping and supporting you was a choice, one out of two. (Luke 10: 25 – 37).

The Wings

An article in National Geographic several years ago provided an interesting picture of God’s wings.

After a forest fire in Yellowstone National Park, forest rangers began their trek up a mountain to assess the inferno’s damage. One ranger found a bird literally petrified in ashes, perched statuesquely on the ground at the base of a tree. Somewhat sickened by the eerie sight, he knocked over the bird with a stick. When he gently struck it, three tiny chicks scurried from under their dead mother’s wings. The loving mother, keenly aware of impending disaster, had carried her offspring to the base of the tree and had gathered them under her wings, instinctively knowing that the toxic smoke would rise. She could have flown to safety but had refused to abandon her babies. Then the blaze had arrived and the heat had scorched her small body, the mother had remained steadfast. Because she had been willing to die, those under the cover of her wings would live.

When I read this story, I realized the depth of the love God has for man and how He willingly had His son killed that we might live. I realized we were saved by grace through blood. (Eph 2: 8-9).

In life, we all go through hard times and bitter days and sometimes, we just think the end has come, unknown to us that God still continues our story on the next page, and despite what we have to experience, somehow, we still stand talk and firm. Let us know He has a wall of protection around us, and through life, we live and grow through periods of hurt and pain.

Ps 91:4, put this so well when scripture writes “He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge.” We all are alive today, because in the fire, God stretched out His wings to hide us, to shield and cover us. You now understand why the sickness didn’t kill you, why the accident didn’t make you lose your mind, why the heartbreak didn’t make you suicidal.

God still has a plan for you, and the hurt and you being shielded was just a part of the plan.