Posts in category: The Shepherd’s Blog

As we continue to talk about God’s promises and how He fulfills them, we must also pay attention to some promises that require some action from us.  Those promises usually hinge on God’s desire for us to have a relationship with Him.  “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be open.” – Matthew 7:7-8.  Here God promises that whenever we ask things of Him, He will respond to us by giving them. Of course, we must also remember the warning in the Bible that says we must always ask with the right motive. “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” God will always fulfill His promises when our motives are pure, and He is the sole judge of that.  In Jeremiah 33:3 we also read, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” God wants us to pray, and without ceasing. He wants us to ask for things we need, but He also wants us to just call unto Him and fellowship with Him so that He can reveal more of himself to us.

All through the Bible we get the idea that God wants us to pray. God is pleased when we initiate a conversation with Him.  Many times, Christians behave in the same way that children behave.  Right after our conversion we cannot seem to get enough of God.  We seem to take all our issues to Him, and I must add that He graciously listens to all of them.  However, as we continue to grow and get accustomed to the blessings and great benevolence of God, we seem to relax and kind of step down in our relationship with the Lord.  When I think about my children, it seems like they do exactly the same.  When they were younger it is almost always “Daddy can I have this?” or “Daddy can I have that?”.  If not asking for what they can get, they were asking “Daddy what is this?” or “Daddy what is that?”  Now fast forward to their teenage years when they only want to speak to teenagers like themselves.  The only time they remember to talk to me is when they need something.  However, I don’t want that, I really would like to have conversations with them.  In fact, if only they can have meaningful conversations with me, they may not need to ask for many things that they do because I would have known that they have such a need and they too would have understood my heart much more than they currently do.  The same holds true for our God almighty. 

Our God desires communion with us, He wants to know us, and He wants us to know him. No human activity draws us more deeply into the heart of God than prayer and there is no better way to learn about prayer than by praying.   God wants us to pray, not only when we want something, but every time.  However, praying is not always easy. We struggle to find the time to pray. Sometimes we are not sure exactly how to pray and what to pray for, except in situations when we are in great need.   Clearly, God wants us to pray, therefore when Christ’s disciples asked Him to teach them to pray, He gave them and us, the model prayer which teaches us to pray.  This is our model for prayer, and it can be done in any order and at any time.  It is about communing with God.  We can do it with words, we can do it in songs, and we can do it in worship.  The main thing is to commune with God.

When we pray, we must do it in total submission and trust that He answers, but His answers to our prayers will be what is best for us, His beloved children.  “For all the promises of God in Him are yea, and in Him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.” – 2 Corinthians 1:20 (KJV)

So, I urge each of us, as we seek to live in God’s promises, to always remember that His promises are sure and steadfast. Let us learn to develop a relationship with Him through our conversations with Him. Remember that the idea is to commune with Him, so put aside all weights and all other things that get in the way of a great communication with the Lord. Open your hearts and pour them all out to Him.  Remember that while our experience of prayer may be easy or difficult, we must know that in praise, songs, or prayer, we will always meet God and His promises for us shall also be fulfilled.

In my last piece, I drew attention to God’s truth, that we are His Masterpiece.  How do we become God’s Masterpiece?  We become His Masterpiece when He creates us anew in Christ Jesus.  So, the moment we accept Jesus Christ into our lives we become God’s Masterpiece, well, presumably.  The truth however is that becoming God’s masterpiece is one thing, continuing to live as God’s masterpiece is another.  The idea is that once we find Jesus Christ, we are no longer who we used to be.  “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” – 2 Corinthians 5:17.  Essentially, once we are in Christ, we have become God’s Masterpiece, except something causes us to backslide. 

The same process that leads us to Christ is what will keep us in Him.  We must confess Him daily, that is, our faith must remain; we must be obedient to His word, that is, we are guided daily by His word; and we must live our life in such a way that the Lord is pleased.  “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord” – Ephesians 5:8-11.  We must live life in such a way that His glory always shows forth in us.  We must live a fruitful life of the Spirit.  Our lives before Christ is likened to darkness.  I become a masterpiece because I now live a life of light in Christ.  The old has gone away and the new is here. To remain a masterpiece, I must continue to live a life of light in Christ.  The dark things I used to do must give way for the light of God. “All the bad, bad things I used to do, I do them no more; it’s a great change since I met God”.  All the bad, bad thing things we used to do must give way to the goodness, righteousness, and truth of God for us to remain God’s masterpiece.

Some of the methods God uses to relieve us of the darkness of our past life and prepare for the glorious life of a masterpiece, are weeding and pruning.  These are terms that we normally use with planting and growing.  To live life as God’s masterpiece, certain things need to be planted in us and they must not only grow, they must also bear fruit. The fruiting stage of the plant is when it is grown and becomes productive.  For a plant to grow to the point of being fruitful it must be nurtured.  One way of nurturing plants to make sure that the plant bears good fruit is to remove weeds.  This way the nutrients will be enough for the tree to bear great fruits – Mark 4:18-19.  The weeds are always in the way and they also share in the source of nutrition.  We must pray against the weeds of our lives.   Let us pray against the things that take our time but are not gainful.  Let us pray against the things that just get in the way of focusing on the Lord.  They are weeds, they need to go, let us uproot them with prayer.  Note that weeds grow naturally but what is planted must be cultivated.  The dark deeds of our past must be weeded continuously. They tend to return on their own.  Only nurturing will help the goodness, righteousness, and truth of God to grow in our lives.  So, pray that all entangling things will be removed from your life so you can stay focused and bear fruits spiritually, materially, and physically.

Pruning is the other way to make sure that the plant grows and bears fruit.  Many of our attitudes are not acceptable to the Lord. So, we must be pruned.  We must remove the dead branches of our lives so that the living branches can get more nutrients to bear good fruits. God Himself prunes us so that we can bear more fruit. “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener” – John 15:2 (NIV). There are things we do that are not necessarily sinful but are not helpful either.  So, we must pray that the Lord will prune us and remove all unproductive and bad parts of our lifestyle so that we can be productive for Him.

To continue living the life of God’s masterpiece, we must pray that we will remain grounded in Him. A branch cannot bear fruit unless it remains attached to the vine – John 15:4. We must remain grounded and not allow the glittering things of life to sweep us away from the protective arm of God.  An unattached branch is dead, and a dead branch cannot bear fruit.  We are children of love; we are children of light.  Stay grounded in His words, stay grounded in His truth, stay grounded in His love, and stay grounded in His light.  Only then can we have the slightest chance of being fruitful which is a prerequisite for one who lives as God’s Masterpiece.  May we always remain God’s masterpiece, the apples of His eyes, in Jesus’ name.

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago” – Ephesians 2:10.  Wow!  This is one of those statements from the word of God that always makes me go, wow! If the Bible did not say it, I am not sure how much of it I would have believed that I am God’s masterpiece. 

When I was young, I could not have believed this even if I had seen it in the word of God.  Back then, I was this wobbly young lad who tended to drop everything and break everything.  I could not stand up to any of my contemporaries, so I cried about every little thing and many of my siblings found this quite annoying.  The thing about all of that was I knew it myself that I was an irritation.  So there was no doubt that I did not feel like a masterpiece then, and I certainly did not look like a masterpiece, but God’s Word says I am not only a masterpiece, but I am, in fact, God’s masterpiece. 

I am God’s masterpiece, which means I am God’s jewel, God’s workmanship.  Being God’s masterpiece means I am intentionally created by God.  The creator of every masterpiece has a lot of intentionality behind the work created.  This means I am special. The Word of God says “for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well” – Psalms 139:14. It is so good to know that I am not only special, but that the Lord also thinks I am special. How I wished I had come across this word of God at that time!  It would have helped my confidence which was lacking a lot in those days just because I felt I was not up to par.

This reminds me of the story about the seven-cow bride.  In a small indigenous town in Africa the custom is for prospective grooms to pay a bride price, or dowry, in cows.  Often, the most beautiful girls attract the highest number of cows and, usually, the dowry for the most beautiful girls range between four or five cows.  Young girls in the town will often joke about how many cows they believe their suitors will offer.  There was a young lady in the town who was so plain that no one thought she could attract more than one cow.  However, a young man was attracted to the character of this young lady and decided to ask for her hand in marriage.  The suitor had heard of how other girls had made fun of the young lady and how many cows she might get.  The young man decided to do what no other person had done and offered the parents of her bride seven cows.  The parents were happy, and the bride was elated.  Now this girl had the singular honor of having received the highest number of cows from her suitor.  She moved to her husband’s house and as the day passed, everyone started noticing a new bounce in the step of this new wife.  Her dress started appearing more beautiful.  When she walked, she walked so elegantly. In no time she became so glamorous that she was the talk of the town.  People were taken aback by the transformation.  A friend of the groom who visited them asked him why he offered seven cows for a plain bride and he said, he just wanted to have a seven-cow bride and because of his love for his wife he believed she is a seven-cow bride.  He added that it is evident she has risen to the level of her bride price. 

My brothers and sisters, we must live up to the value our creator placed on us.  We are God’s masterpiece created anew in Christ Jesus.  This means our rebirth; our faith has improved our value in the eye of the Lord.  I found the Lord and I found my worth.  I found, to my content, that I am God’s masterpiece.  God loves his creation.  If for some reason you still had thoughts like I had before I met the Lord, I implore you to take a moment and meditate on His words.  Listen to the truth of God’s words.  You have been fearfully and wonderfully made.  The word says “He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago” – Ephesians 2:10b.  Do not let “untruths” take over your mind.  When we know who and how special we are, we can begin to walk in our purpose. When God looks at us, all He sees is beauty and greatness.  We are His priceless work of art with divine potential to do things within His good plans that are unique, special, and designed to give us an expected end. Glory!

Circumstances of life can turn otherwise strong individuals into weaklings.  Whenever we are in the valley of our situation, things we have learned to do so well before become seemingly impossible tasks. It is however at this time of weakness that our faith calls us to remain fruitful.  This is a struggle.  How do we maintain fruitfulness in our weakest moments?  How do we maintain fruitfulness when we are on the verge of losing all our strength?  We must remember however that while we may be weak God is always strong.  So, we must trust in the strength of God to go through the valley of our lives. We need God’s grace to remain fruitful when we are dealing with the tough times of our lives.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). God will use the times we spend in the valley and the times we spend on the mountain top to fulfill His purpose in our lives.  He is the same God whether we are on the mountain or we are in the valley.  His grace is always sufficient. His grace can turn our weakness around and turn it to strength.

My brothers and sisters, every time the Lord looks at us, He sees great potential. He sees great potential to fulfill the purpose He has set before us.  He wants us to look at ourselves and see this great potential even in our weakness.  We may feel like Gideon, that we are the least of the least, or below ordinary. The lesson we learn from Gideon’s life is that ordinary people and ordinary means are used to accomplish extraordinary things.  When you read the whole story in Judges Chapters 6 and 7, you will read about what Gideon was able to accomplish with some trumpets and jars and a few faithful men.  Our God is a master at using the unlikely to achieve the impossible.  He is an expert at turning the ordinary into the extraordinary.  Samson in his lowest moments, without his eyes and his hair, was still able to pull down the pillars of the temple to overcome his enemies (Judges 16:30). Time and time again in scripture, we see God’s power manifested in lives of people who on the outside may not look that impressive, but on the inside, have submitted and surrendered their lives completely to God. When we are weak, we have no choice but to surrender to God completely, and like they say, “one with God is majority”.  When in our weakness or difficult times we leave everything to God, He can turn our weakness into great strength.

Look at the disciples, most were just simple fishermen, not wealthy, not educated, not very influential until Jesus got a hold of them and those uneducated fishermen turned the Roman World around within a period of 30 years.  What is the situation you are dealing with?  Are you dealing with a debilitating illness?  God can turn that around and turn it into a strength.  Are you struggling at your job? God can turn it into strength.  Did you lose your job? God can turn it into strength.  Remember He is poised to use everything as it concerns you for your good.  So, it does not matter what our situation or circumstances are.  God will accomplish whatever He has purposed in His heart to do. 

Don’t ever lose hope and do not ever count yourself out.  Apostle Paul struggled with his circumstances, what he referred to as a “messenger of Satan” that was tormenting Him.  ^“Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:8-9).  What about you? His grace is sufficient for you. God wants us to depend on Him completely.  The life of Gideon is a good example for all who desire to be used of God despite their circumstances.  Do not let your circumstances hold you back.  Look unto the Lord.  Seek His face. Pray for grace.  Once you have already answered His call, it does not matter how weak you are because God is in the business of justifying those whom He called, and those whom He justified, He also glorifies. When He calls, He alone gives the grace to be fruitful.

We read in the Bible about the men of Ephraim who turned back on the day of battle even though they were armed with bows (Psalms 78:9).  This is akin to giving up when things get tough even though we are well equipped to overcome.  A great irony, considering that these are descendants of Ephraim, a name that means “God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction” (Genesis 41:52).  It is quite easy to give up when things get tough.  But like the saying goes, when the going gets tough, the tough must get going.  As people of God who trust in His power and grace, we should keep on keeping on no matter what is thrown at us. Proverbs 24:10 tells us if we faint in the day of adversity our strength is small.

I know it is quite difficult to keep going when we face tough issues.  In fact, there are some problems that come up in a man’s life that is so debilitating one cannot even think of moving on. When we look at the Bible, we find many inspiring stories of people who overcome their difficulties.  Many of them not only overcome their difficulties, but also managed to bear fruit in the process. These kinds of stories are not limited to the Bible.  In our world now there are folks whose difficulties are not in doubt to all who know them, but even in their adversities they are bearing fruits. 

One great example of a man who continues to deal with his adversities but continues to live in God’s purpose for him was a man whose story I came across several years ago.  His name is Nick Vujijic, a man who was born without arms and legs.  At present, he is the President of an international non-profit organization. He is also an author and the owner of his own motivational speaking company.  Nick takes the gospel of Jesus Christ all over the world and has reached over 733 million people.  His story is a humbling one for those of us who have all our limbs complete.  Each time I read some news about Nick, it is difficult not to reflect over my own life and the many times I have had to grumble over some simple things that were not going my way.  His life is an inspiration and a lesson on how to keep moving without regard to whatever circumstances we find ourselves in.

Whenever we dwell too much on our circumstances, its effect is to hold us back.  It becomes too easy for us to find excuses why we cannot function where God wants us.  Worrying, as the Bible calls it, leads us into discouragement and discouragement has the tendency to disable us.  Even when we are in the lowest of valleys, we must not allow discouragement to fester in our lives. Discouragement is one of the greatest arsenals that the devil uses against us so that we will not walk in God’s purpose for us.  “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).  God has a plan for each and every one of us.  What the devil wants to do is kill our hope and make us feel hopeless and helpless.  When we have no hope, the future becomes bleak.  When we have no hope, our lives come to a screeching halt.  But the Lord says His plans are to give us hope and a future.  We should not allow the devil to have a foothold in our lives.  This is why it is important even in our valley times, we keep making the effort to move on.  We must continue making the effort to bear fruit without regard to our difficulties. 

My brothers and sisters, we will face different kinds of difficult times in this world.  Sometimes our health will not be the best.  Other times our jobs or finances will take a hit.  Many other times we may struggle with relationship issues.  There are other times when we lose people very dear to us to the cold hands of death.  These are the issues the devil likes to use to take that proverbial foothold in our lives.  In these times we must keep our hope alive.  It is hope that connects us to our future.  With hope we have the strength to keep going. Hope keeps our spirit going just like oxygen will keep our body going. 

In our difficult times, let us stay hopeful; we must not despair and we must not give up.  The almighty God is with us and He has plans for each of us.  We must continue to make the effort to be fruitful in the knowledge that God Almighty is with us and He will make a way where there is no way.

These days, because of the uncertainty that pervades everywhere, simple questions like “how are you?” can elicit different kinds of responses, many of them quite interesting.  As people of faith many of us are used to answering that question by saying “the Lord is in control”.  One can however see through the demeanor and manner of response that we are not sure.  I read about a guy who was asked that simple question and the response was “I am in hell”.  I know many of us have been there before.  We have been in situations where when it rains, it pours.  We have been in situations where it looks like issues always come in series, one after the other. We have been in situations where we think we are in hell.  I personally have been in situations where it looked like I get kicked when I am down just to have another situation pick me back up to be kicked down to the ground again.  In such situations it is quite easy to believe that you are in hell.  The truth though is that no matter how serious or difficult our situation might be, it is absolutely nothing compared to hell.

I read about a lady who had some tough situations going on all at the same time. Imagine having your house foreclosed on, two days after you are diagnosed with cancer, while finding out your oldest son just died in a car accident. Talk about being kicked while you are down! I have been there a few times.  I remember that it was the same day that we were rejoicing that my late wife, Iyabo, had just passed her first year of nursing school that we found out she had cancer.  Talk about feeling like you are in hell. At some time in 1987, I was supposed to leave the USA for Nigeria finally, but my trip got delayed because the Nigerian Embassy delayed the processing of my passport.  Well, I made the trip the following week, only to get home to find that my mother, whom I had not seen in a while, had gone to be with the Lord a few hours before I got home. You see, in the journey of life we are going to have problems. We are going to have ups and downs. During these times we must be able to hold on to the one thing that can get us through, our faith. 

We read about the three men in the Bible (Daniel Chapters 1 through 3) who were tossed into a fiery furnace for standing up for what they believed in. Although the fire was made seven times hotter than its original temperature, these three men stood in the fire, held on to their faith and were not consumed. In fact, when they walked out of the furnace they didn’t even smell like smoke.  These three men were overcomers because of their faith.  They overcame the fiery fire because of what they believed in.  The same with you and I, we are overcomers.  No matter how bad our situation looks or feels like right now, we are still here and because we are still living, we can overcome.

In order to overcome we must learn to endure. Remember that God has a plan for us (Jeremiah 29:11) and even in our most difficult situations, God is busy working out His plans for us.  It does not matter what you are going through; it does not matter how close you are to your breaking point; or how much pressure is building up in your situation. Please remember that it cannot overcome you as long as you stand firm on your faith.  Even to the point of death, we are overcomers.  The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:57 that God has given us victory over death.  We should never let our life situations consume us. We must remember that like the night, our difficulties are accompanied by darkness, but if we endure long enough the dawn of a new day will come with a bright light.

There is one thing we should be aware of.  Many times, when we are kicked down by our circumstances, and we get up again through our prayers and the prayers of the faithful, we should pay very serious attention to how we proceed from then on.  There are many of us who immediately go back to our old ways of life.  Many of us do not even choose to learn a lesson in what we just went through.  It is like life is good.  We immediately forget that we overcame by the blood of the lamb and by the word of our testimonies – Rev 12:11. A crucial part of our testimony is to live honest and holy lives.  Many of us seem to forget this.  The key word our Lord Jesus Christ spoke to the woman taken in adultery was to “go and sin no more” – John 8:11. Remember, we are overcomers, we have overcome by the blood of the lamb, but when we overcome, we need to go, and sin no more.

We all have a story to tell and our stories are our testimonies.  So, everyone has a testimony.  May I ask then, what is your story?  It does not have to be a story of adversity to be a testimony. Sometimes the way we live gives a testimony even without uttering a word.  It gives a testimony about the God we serve; it gives a testimony about our faith.  For example, what would people say about us if an occasion arises where they must do so? Whatever they say is the testimony we passed along without being mindful of it. So, we all have a testimony. The question is whether it is a good one or a bad one.

Our Christian life should be a life of growth and not stagnation. We should not just try to hold our grounds or maintain altitude as Christians; we should always strive to gain grounds or altitude.  Our testimonies can point to the direction of our walk with Christ.  Has it been a progressive journey or has it been a retrogressive one?  For example, every time we identify ourselves as Christians, we are making ourselves accountable, even when it is said to a nonbeliever. When in the workplace, one announces “I am a Christian,” a yardstick is being established by which we will be evaluated, and I can bet they will be watching, and they will be evaluating.  The interesting thing is, they will be evaluating God too, because they will be thinking, so that is how a Christian acts. That is how a Christian treats his wife. That is how a Christian treats her husband. I get it. That is how a Christian raises their child. That is how a Christian does so and so.  They are watching us. And nothing is worse than getting our behavior corrected in the light of our own faith by a nonbeliever, especially when they are right.  Have you ever done something inconsistent and your non-Christian friend said, “I thought you were a Christian.” Our lives and the way we live them are testimonies.

On one of my trips to South Korea, I met a guy from Indonesia.  The first time I met him in the dining area at our lodging place, I just felt a little uneasy about him.  So, I kind of stayed out of his way. As it happened on my last day there, this guy was the only one in the dining area having breakfast.  He beckoned to me to sit with him.  I did reluctantly.  Our conversation started nicely when I told him I was Nigerian living in the USA. He talked and raved about how developed nations take developing nations for granted. He talked about the need to teach them lessons that they will never forget.  At a point, I thought he was trying to recruit me into Al Qaeda or something like it.  Then out of the blues came the question, are you a Moslem?  Within the few seconds that it took me to answer the question, all kind of thoughts raced through my mind. Is he the only one?  Will they kidnap me? etc. Then I said yes, I am a Christian.  You can just feel how deep his heart sank on the realization that all this time he had been running his mouth to the wrong person.  Then he asked me whether I thought he was crazy telling me all he had told me.  I said as a Christian I do not judge; I leave that to the Lord.  When I left him, I felt very good inside that I acquitted myself very well as a creditable Christian. I felt the awesome power of God.  At the back of my mind though it was a feeling of ‘phew, that was so close!’

Our testimony is not only about how we live, but also about our life experiences; what we have seen, heard and felt. Every time we come forward to talk about how God has intervened in our lives, more people will realize that God is for real, miracles do happen, and prayer works. Testimony is also an everyday occurrence.  There may be a special day at Church for testimonies on Sundays, but we must let the life we live be a testimony of God’s grace and power every day of our lives.

One of the greatest testimonies that was ever given, was from a powerful pagan emperor who came to know that the God of Israel was indeed God over all. King Nebuchadnezzar gave a powerful testimony when he said: “It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me.” (Daniel 4:2).  The Bible also says, “Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done” (1 Chronicles 16:8).  Testimonies should be our pleasure.  May we always have one in Jesus’ name.

We have all heard it said many times, especially in seasons of difficulties, that we should trust God.  Trust God, they say, and He will come through for you.  There is no doubt that we need to trust God otherwise we will fall into that pit of ceaseless worrying.  For me as a person, I have long understood the fact that I have no alternative but to trust God.  When we go through some life events, we tend to learn how limited our abilities are.  We find out quick enough that only God can do all things. So, you learn to put all your hopes in Him and trust Him to come through for you completely.  However, I also know that this is not something that comes easy.  It is not in our nature to trust God completely.  We always believe that we have the power to turn things around by ourselves or feel like there is someone somewhere who can change our situations effortlessly.  Many times, this leads to great disappointments.  The reason why we find it very difficult is because we have not really prepared ourselves to trust the Lord.

Many circumstances of life leave us depressed, hurt, vulnerable, overwhelmed and helpless.  We know we must trust God, but even at that we find it difficult.  We cannot just begin to trust God at the edge of our circumstances.  We must prepare ourselves.  The Word of God says “Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken” – Psalm 62:5-6 (NIV).  This is a profound statement by the Psalmist who obviously has a relationship with God.  There is no way one can make statements like these except there is already a relationship with God. So, in talking about being prepared to trust God, it means before the circumstances come, we must endeavor to establish a trusting relationship with God.  

Establishing a trusting relationship with God begins with knowing God.  It is not knowing about God, but knowing God. To know God is to feed daily upon His Word.  This is how God reveals Himself to us.  This is how we begin to know God for who He really is.  This is how we begin to see God as the God of the Bible, the supreme, sovereign, sensitive, kind, merciful, powerful, and gracious God.  Feeding upon God’s Word is how His Word becomes planted and finds root in our hearts such that during times of struggle, we can draw from the assurance that His Word gives.  His Word is soothing and gives peace to the soul amid the chaos of our circumstances.  We must meditate on God’s Word to know His promises and hold on to them. To know the promises of God is to remove any doubt about the events of our lives.  To know God’s promises for us is to minimize emotional or negative responses to any problems that may come our way.  To know God’s promises for us is to trust Him completely.

In order to trust God at the edge of our circumstances, we must have studied and meditated on His Word in Romans 8:28 that says: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”  Knowing that no matter what we face in life, God is working in all these things for our good has a calming and comforting effect on our souls. To trust God, is to know that He is always at work and His work is always for our Good.  It does not matter what our circumstances are, God is at work and He is using that present circumstance plus all the other ones to work for our good.

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” – Matthew 11:28 (NKJV).  Here Jesus Christ is asking us to rest all our hope and faith in Him.  This is a direct invitation from our Lord Jesus Christ to trust Him.  He asks that we should come with all our issues and He will give us rest.  He is asking us to draw close to Him. He is asking us for a relationship.  Why don’t you heed His invitation today, because tomorrow may be too late?  Draw close to God and learn more of the truths in His Word so we can learn to trust Him even more.  Brothers and sisters, I am inviting you today to make it a habit to meditate on God’s Word and trust in the assurance that God will do what He says He will do.  He is not man that He will lie.

We have been going through the book, “Loving God With all Your Mind” by Elizabeth George in our Bible Class.  In a recent Class we dealt with the Chapter that teaches us to become faith-oriented in all our actions. The author teaches us that to become faith-oriented we must in all circumstances cling to the Word of God and the promises in them.  We must remember what the Word of God says, pray the truth of the Word, and pray that we may remain faith-oriented while we trust that God will take care of the rest. Afterall, His Word says that “in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” – Romans 8:28.  In essence, being faith-oriented requires us to wholly trust in the Lord.  It requires that even as we pray for deliverance or relief from whatever our circumstances may be, we must have the future in view that God will do whatever He says He will do.  And if everything works together for the good of those who love the Lord, whatever, I am going through must work for my good.  That is why we sing the song, “I can see everything turning around for my good”.  It is God’s Word and it must be fulfilled.

In his book, “Future Grace”, John Piper alludes to the future orientation of faith when he explained that faith is profoundly and pervasively future-oriented because inside a present experience of faith, the heart is picturing a future.  He then added that “when faith is in fullest operation, it pictures a future with a God who is so powerful and so loving and so wise and so satisfying that this future-picturing faith, experiences assurance now.”  This is to say that for those who are faith-oriented, the end point of the faith we are experiencing in the present is in the future when the Word or Promise of God is fulfilled. This future orientation of faith, which is based on the Word of God, leads to many reactions from faithful Christians. After all, Hebrews 11:1 says, “faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” In being faith-oriented, we have an assurance that what we experience now will change and work for our good in the future. 

So, a faith-oriented Christian, who is ill declares in faith, “I am healed in Jesus’ name.”  Another one declares “I am not ill because I am healed in Jesus’ name.”  Both are expressing their faith and stating what they believe will happen in the future.  However, in stating the faith we must be careful not to look like we are denying the obvious. Like one of our Pastor’s said, “if you are not sick, why are you in the hospital?” Being faith-oriented does not mean we must deny the reality of our experience.  Being faith oriented means we know what the reality is, but we pray and confess the truth of God’s Promise into our lives, trusting that God will always fulfill His Promise.

Elizabeth George says, “Sometimes what God has given you may look and feel like a stone or a snake. But your heart and mind must believe and trust that your heavenly Father, our good God, is working those things out for your good and according to His good purpose.”  Our faith orientation must always cause us to have the end in sight.  If I am presently experiencing some bondage, my faith orientation will cause me to go to God in prayer seeking deliverance and at the same time believe that my deliverance is already perfected.  John Piper calls it the “substantiation” of the future.  Faith realizes the future.  “When faith pictures the future which God promises, it experiences, as it were, a present “substantiation” of the future.” What we expect to happen in the future as a result of our faith experience is present in our present experience of faith.   

It was being faith-oriented that caused Mary and Martha to send a message to our Lord, Jesus Christ, that their brother, Lazarus, was sick.  They believed that if He was there, their brother would be healed.  It was being faith-oriented that led Martha to tell Jesus Christ that “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” – John 11:21-22.  Observe that Martha acknowledged the situation but still expressed her solid faith in Jesus as the Son of God.  That body was raised in faith and the name of God was glorified even more.

I am guessing that age is beginning to catch up with me, as standing for a long time without some support is becoming more difficult.  The first time my mind went there, my first reaction was oh my God, I am getting old.  You know old folks are always looking for something to lean on.  Some of them use walking sticks and for some others they need way more than a walking stick because their physical bodies are giving way to old age.  Sometimes their energies are low and many times their joints cannot hold up anymore because of old age diseases like rheumatism or rheumatoid arthritis.  Looking for support is however not limited to old folks.  Activities like running or other physical activities can cause able-bodied folks to get so wearied that they look for support or something to lean on.  Leaning is how our bodies regain strength because it helps take the stress off our own weak extremities and transfers them on to an object that is more able to take the stress.  Leaning gives relief and helps us to regain strength.  It serves as an anchor for our ailing body.

In a similar manner, our souls are many times incapable of carrying the weight and burden of sins, afflictions, trials, and temptations.   Whenever we are brought to our knees by our sins, burdens and afflictions, our souls also need support.  The word of God and the promises it contains offers us eternal security and stability to help us stand firm when the wind of life blows in an adverse manner.  One of the most assuring promises of God in the Bible is found in Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, whohave been called according to his purpose.”  In this scripture we are told God is working for the good of those who love Him in all things.  Thinking about this word here is enough to keep me from falling when I think about my sins.  This is enough to give me strength when I think about my circumstances. His word in Matthew 11:28 says “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”  Jesus is asking us to hold on to Him and at the same time to hold on to His promise.  His promise is that He will give us rest whenever we are tired.  His promise is to keep us standing whenever we are falling. 

Are you not tired of trying to lean on your own wisdom and understanding when you are at crossroads? Jesus is asking us to come to Him no matter the issue we are facing.  He is asking us to come to Him no matter how wearied we are. He is saying to you and me, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matt. 11:30); “Cast all of your burdens on Me” (1 Peter 5:7).  The Psalmist also asks you to “Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you” (Psalm 55:22).  We must learn to lean on the promises of God for therein lies our sufficiency and joy in life. His promises lift us up, His promises prop us up and make us stable, His promises keep us going.  Whenever our souls are downcast within us, it is time to reach for His promises.  Just like food is nourishment for our body, so also are the promises of God nourishment for our souls.  Just like a post will keep our weak body from falling, the promise of God is a strong tower that keeps our soul from being downcast.

We must however know what His promises for us are and understand them.  You can only lean on a support you know is there and that you know can hold you.  Many times, we misinterpret God’s promises in the Bible.  In order to fully understand the promises of God in His words we must study His words diligently and meditate on them. We must also understand that the reason God gives us His promises is to help us better live our lives according to His perfect will for us and to trust Him completely. The fact of God’s promise does not make God bend to our will.  We must know that all God’s promises are ‘Yes’ and ‘Amen’, because we worship a God who keeps His promises; and knowing that we worship a God who keeps His promises is a source of deep joy and an anchor for our souls.  Finally, even as we lean on His promises, we must understand that this does not imply a promise of certainty in our circumstances, but that we are promised certainty in the God of our circumstances. And that, brothers and sisters, is the anchor for our souls.