I recently got to watch Inside Out 2, the sequel to Pixar’s 2015 major ‘emotion’ picture (a tag line that the marketing team should get a raise for) which took the world by storm. I must say, this story moved me in ways beyond words. In this article I would be spoiling some details
Pixar: House of Feelings
Pixar has always excelled at making compelling stories out of the most unexpected characters, giving them arcs that are relatable to us in diverse ways. With each story and character arc, Pixar has succeeded in connecting with the hearts of viewers of all ages. With Inside Out, they took it up a notch. After giving toys feelings (Toy Story), giving vehicles feelings (Cars), giving rats feelings (Ratatouille), giving fishes feelings (Finding Nemo) and even giving monsters feelings (Monsters Inc.), Pixar actually gave feelings feelings! Inside Out is the story of a young girl names Riley Anderson, and of how her feelings played a role in the transitions of her growth through a life changing experience. With characters such as Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust and Anger residing within her mind, Inside Out took us through the rollercoaster of emotions she went through and taught a valid lesson for all: sadness is an important indicator that we need support, and it should not be shut down.
With Inside Out 2, Riley is becoming a teenager, and her feelings are about to get even weirder. Growing up to be a kind and exceptional young lady, her sense of self has been based on her core goodness, which is echoed in her words, “I am a good person.” But with puberty, new emotions develop that challenge her sense of self. Anxiety, Envy, Embarrassment and Ennui (with little cameos by Nostalgia) take up Riley’s headspace, as she tries to become like others she admires. The original five emotions (Joy and the gang) are literally bottled up and are set on an adventure to recover the Riley they know and love.
What got to Me
At the climax of the movie, Anxiety has made a mess of Riley’s life. At this stage Riley has lost her sense of self and her primary motivation is to get other people to like her. I could identify with this so much because, even beyond my teenage years, the desire to be affirmed and accepted has been a primary motivator for me and many of us for a long time. With Anxiety at her wits end, Riley realizes that, truly, she is not good enough. This pushes her into a panic attack.
When we realize that our attempts to align with the world’s perspectives and opinions will never truly succeed, if our goal has been to meet their standards, we would feel less than you ought to be. Many young people have found themselves here.
But this is where the emotions surprised me. Anxiety finally admits to Joy, “We don’t get to decide who Riley is.” And Joy realizes it too. All this time she had been trying to return Riley to her usual self by discarding any bad or painful memories, but now she allows Riley to learn from her mistakes those memories. Riley then gains something that is a valuable factor for everyone’s growth: self-awareness. Yes, she hasn’t been a good friend. Yes, she has messed up. Yes, she is not good enough. Yes, she wants to be at her best, but never measures up. But in that moment, Joy hugs her (it’s hard to describe this if you have not seen the movie), and the other emotions join in.
Awareness of our strengths and weaknesses primes us to be in the best position to receive the help we need and, best of all, to show grace to ourselves.
The makers of this movie did a really good job of illustrating the value of self-awareness in our growth, whether we be adolescents or adults.
My first key takeaway was that our emotions are only ‘indicators’ of how we feel. They should not be ‘directors’ of our actions, or determinants of our identities. Our feelings are not permanent. Know what is true and stick to it, no matter how your feelings go.
Also, awareness of our strengths and weaknesses primes us to be in the best position to receive the help we need and, best of all, to show grace to ourselves. The earlier we learn this, the better we would be. This is underlined at the end when Riley is asked if she made it into a team (something she had always desired), but while she wants to be on the team she is more open to the possibility of trying again if she fails. This time, she sees herself as more than her achievements or failures, and she can master them for her growth.
One of the biggest contradictions many believers face is reconciling our acclaimed righteousness with the failures and weaknesses we find in ourselves occasionally. Sometimes it feels hard to acknowledge them, and sometimes we may even feel they disqualify us before God and the people in our lives. But our weaknesses are reminders that we need the Savior, and He is always ready to help us.
Our worth is not in other’s perception of ourselves, but in our Creator’s. He sees us at our best and at our worst, and He loves us still.
And so also should we.
You are not your failures or your successes. You are you. It is the true you that can grow.
Thank you for reading. Have you ever experienced an event that made you more self aware? Please share with us. It might encourage someone.
I’ve got so many Questions
many things I can’t deduce
Everyone thinks they’ve got the answers
And it makes me think, “What’s the use?
Must I believe everything they say,
Accepting what they say is true?
What if they’re wrong?
What do You think I should do?”
Maybe someday I’ll get the answers
to the questions that fill my mind
May not be now, or even tomorrow
Or after ten more years are left behind
Maybe I’ll get to ask You these questions
on the Day We finally meet
Maybe by then, my quest for understanding
will finally be complete.
Or maybe…
Maybe…
Maybe by then I would be overtaken
By your Awesomeness and Beauty
the Questions may just fade away
into mere inconsequentiality
Compared to You, my questions are nothing
just a chasing after the wind
‘Cause all I’ll need to know, You’ll tell me
So I can be all You made me to be.
You know what?
I think I’ll just start gazing at You right now.
Dayo and Akin learn that a merry heart is good medicine, especially in trying times.
It was another one of those days.
Dayo Jegede was stuck at his friend’s house on a Friday evening, and there was no electric power to do anything. He had been staying with Akin ever since the academia at the university had gone on strike for over five months already. Like millions of Nigerian students, he had tried to invest his attention in online courses and eventually in remote freelance graphic design jobs. Yet, any progress he could have made was affected by the erratic power supply in their area. He was two days late on a flyer design he was meant to send to a client in Norway, his laptop battery was down, his phone battery was teetering on 1%, and Akin’s nonchalant singing in the other room was beginning to get irritating.
Dayo slammed his laptop shut and stomped over to Akin’s room. “Guy, this thing dey tire me,” he said. “I just dey tire.”
Akin smiled. “How e no go ‘Tyre’ you? Oya, come ‘Sidon’ for my side. Make we talk.”
Dayo hissed. “I dey yarn you correct thing, you dey use me crack joke. I swear, I suppose knock you for head.”
“Alright, alright. Sorry. You never eat since, na why you dey frustrated.”
“Abeg, leave that side. I need to get this thing. You get fuel for gen?”
Akin winced. “I suppose buy, but the price don go up. So I no—”
“But them still go sell, shei?” He turned his flashlight to the clock, confirming that the time was a few minutes to 9pm.
“Well … but e go cost o.”
Dayo clapped. “Oya, do fast. Make we go buy fuel. Please, I go add money on top.”
He was well aware that his account was deep in the red, but now he was desperate.
Akin winked. “What if they don close?”
Dayo really did not have the time for banter, so he clenched his fists to ease the pressure that was building up in his arms. “Akin … please…”
Akin did not need further convincing. Within minutes, they were already walking down their street to get to the filling station along the main road. From the houses around them, they could hear the racket of other residential generators, providing electric power for their domiciles. It dawned on him that it had been a long time since they had experienced a truly silent night in their neighborhood.
Another result of this problematic country, he mused, hissing under his breath.
“Have you noticed that the sky is brighter tonight,” Akin asked.
Dayo turned to him. “Hmm?”
“The sky? It’s supposed to be dark, but because of the full moon, it seems a lot brighter.”
Dayo never ceased to be amazed at how Akin always seemed to keep an upbeat disposition despite all they were going through. It bordered on annoying most times, so Akin never dwelt on it.
They met a long queue of cars at the station, and a couple of people with their kegs ready to purchase fuel. Dayo wanted to curse someone, to let off some of the pent-up anger that had been building up within him. It did not help that the other folks in line were discussing the state of insecurity in the country, and the seeming futility of the forthcoming elections.
“All of them are liars,” a pudgy man said. “They only want to fill their own pockets.”
“Abi o,” another added. “None of these politicians can even tell us their plan. The money they used to buy their form, where did they get it, sef?”
“It’s not all of them that have no plan o,” yet another added, and he proceeded to explain why his candidate was the best of all the presidential aspirants. That led to another person praising his own candidate, extolling his effectiveness in potentially changing things.
On and on, the conversation continued while Dayo just shut his eyes and tried to keep his breathing even. He could hear Akin humming somewhere behind him. Neither of them enjoyed engaging in political arguments, especially in these times. They all hoped for better days, but ‘the sufferings of these times’ were so not comparable to ‘the glory’ they hoped would follow. It felt very hard to even hope, sometimes.
It took them close to 30 minutes before they could buy fuel, and they were soon on their way home. Dayo was hungry now, but what was primary on his mind was completing the design job on time. Akin was still humming.
Dayo could not hold it in any longer. “This country is the weapon fashioned against me,” he said. “I hate it here. I just hate it here.”
Akin placed a hand on his shoulder. “Guy…”
“And don’t try to make it sound better,” Dayo snapped.
Akin nodded. “You’re right. It feels hopeless. Many things aren’t working. It can be annoying and frustrating, and so discouraging.” They walked on in silence for a moment. “But do you know what I do, Dayo?”
Dayo arched a brow. “How you dey do am, sef?”
Akin pursed his lips. “I try to keep my mind on what God has done and what God is doing. And I’m thankful…”
Dayo hissed. “Guy, I know that stuff. But in the real world—“
“Real? What’s real? If I complain and mope, what does that give me? Even if issues change or I leave the country, there would always be one problem or the other. But God never changes. He is more real than the problems around us.”
Dayo was not ready to engage on that topic. “You make it sound as if it’s easy.”
Dayo smirked. “I think you just twisted that verse?”
“Did I? Oh I think I did…”
“But, Akin, this thing hard, true true.”
“Shebi you’re a child of God? And the fruit of God’s Spirit in us is Joy. It doesn’t matter what happens around us, He can help us to be joyful. Joy is a gift. The joy of the Lord is your…”
They were already approaching their apartment, so Dayo ignored him. He hurried towards the generator to fill it with fuel.
“Your strength,” Akin finished. “Come on, man, you left me hanging there.”
“Let us get light first,” Dayo said. “We can continue Sunday School after that.”
Akin helped as they poured in the fuel from the keg into the generator. Dayo could not wait to get back to work. So even though when he pulled on the generator cord it did not come on, he knew that it was just a minor issue. He pulled on the cord again…
…
…and this time, it cut.
For a moment the friends stared in utter shock as what they had thought would be their hope of electricity for the evening was snuffed out before their very eyes. They would have to wait till morning before they could get an engineer to fix this. Dayo stared at the broken cord in his hands, with no plan or course of action coming to mind.
With nothing left to do, he turned to Akin, whose hands were on his head. In the silence that followed, the inevitability of it all dawned on them, and they burst into laughter.
For Dayo, it was a nervous laughter of exhaustion, as the realization that there was nothing more he could do about his problems. Yet the more he laughed, the harder it became to stop laughing. The laughter made him feel lighter, like there was nothing more he could do. He was out of control as he sank to his knees and pounded the ground with his fist, choking on hysterics.
“Why you dey beat the ground?” Akin said between guffaws. “Wetin the floor do you, na?”
Dayo managed to make out the words, “Why are we laughing? We dey mad?”
“Don’t you see, Dayo? God is with us! Everything don mess up, but we can still laugh! We still have Joy. Isn’t that something to be grateful for?”
Dayo did not feel the confidence Akin professed, but at that moment, he wished he did. God had given them reasons to smile and laugh and, even now when things seemed bleak, he could still laugh.
Electric power was not restored that night, and Dayo had to turn in the design the next day. However, even though nothing changed, Dayo’s burdened heart was a little lighter that evening.
And that, he realized, was something to be thankful for.
THE END
Hi there, dear reader. Many times we go through situations that impose the bleakness of the times on our consciousness. The news seems choked with bad news many times, and it many times looks as though things are just getting worse around us.
But God is still in control. He’s still got the whole world in His hands. His Spirit within you can keep you Joyful. Happiness is based on what ‘happens’, but Joy is irrespective of what happens. In His joy there is strength to keep on standing, strength to do what you need to do, and you are lightened to even hear and see the wisdom and direction He may be showing you out of the darkness.
I pray that you find reasons to laugh, my friend, and that you keep on laughing. Be strengthened.
Did this bless you?
Have you had a similar experience you would like to share?
Do you need someone to pray with you in what you’re going through?
Please share and let me know in the comments. You just might be a blessing to someone here. Trust me, we all need it.
The clack of Tobi’s shoes resounded in the hallway as he approached the Director’s Office, folder in hand. He snapped his fingers in greeting to others as they passed, sharing the occasional ‘Chairman!’ or ‘My guy!’ to those whose names he didn’t know (and whose names he had no intention of asking for because after working with them for close to four years already, that would be all kinds of awkward!)
He peeked into the large main office area where Miss Ekaette sat behind her desk outside the Director’s office. A CNN newsfeed was streaming over the flat-screen television on the opposite wall. “Good morning, young lady!” he exulted.
She looked up from her laptop briefly. “Mr. Owoeye,” she said with a nod.
He let himself in. “Please, Mr. Owoeye was my Dad.”
She smirked, shaking her head. “Keep using lines like that and you just might end up a Nollywood character from 2002. You’ve got the loud shoes down already.”
“Heh, touché. I was just passing by so I thought, hey, I might as well just share my report early.” He pulled out a USB stick from his pocket. “It’s all in there. Typed, edited and justified.”
Ekaette stared at stick. “And you could not just mail it in like a normal person?”
“Who said I was normal?”
He wasn’t sure if he saw her roll her eyes at that. It was hard telling expressions these days, behind the masks everyone was wearing. “Well, you’re sha not putting that flash on my system,” she said. “I don’t need to be battling viruses at this time.”
“But I thought you were vaccinated.”
She did not respond for a while, typing away on her system. “When you’re tired you’ll go back and mail it in.”
He nodded, tapping his fingers on the armrests. “Good talk. I’ll just let myself out, then.”
He could not wait to get out, with the awkwardness of it all. This was probably not the best time for banter, he figured. Nevertheless, even when he got to the door, something about it all made him pause. Miss Ekaette was generally always cynical, yes, but something about today gave him a little concern. He was not sure if he was overthinking it, but he just could not leave yet.
“Are you alright, Ekaette?”
She stole a brief glance at him, continuing with her work. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
His hand was still on the doorknob, but he could not leave just yet. “Are you?”
This time she looked up at him, squinting as she weighed his words. “Are you really asking?” she asked.
He did not know which way to respond just yet. It felt awkward. He felt stupid. He considered throwing in a random pun to lighten the mood and get out of the moment.
“How am I?” She pushed her laptop away, flicked her braids out of her eyes and buried her face in her palms. Her voice came out as a hoarse whisper. “Honestly, I don’t know.”
Now Tobi knew his premonition was valid. He pulled up a chair and took a seat.
God, what do I say? Am I supposed to say something?
“It’s just … too much,” Ekaette said, pulling down her mask. “I mean, every day you think it can’t get any worse but it just keeps getting worse, and worse, and worse.” With each ‘worse’, she banged her fist on the table. Tobi had never seen her so emotionally expressive, and it was awkward for him. “Every single day…”
For the first time in a very long time, he felt stuck. He was used to interjecting conversations with the odd quip or pun, but even he knew that those would be inappropriate now.
God, please show me what to say. Don’t leave me hanging here.
“So much on my mind to settle,” she continued. “And I have no idea where to start. I can barely concentrate. Like, I have been on this page for hours now, and I have no idea where my mind has been. I’ve not figured out how to settle my rent yet, and it’s due by the end of next month. It’s just the first week of July and there’s too much month at the end of my money!”
Tobi winced, trying to understand that last sentence. “I think you meant—“
“Oh, I meant what I said. Transport, food – everything just keeps sapping my account dry like there’s no tomorrow because of this messed up godforsaken country! And, oh, don’t even get me started about how messed up the country is. Just thinking about it makes me … weak.”
She wrapped herself in her arms, rocking as she spoke. “Every day there’s a new low. After last October, something snapped within me. It’s as if every hope I had that we could change this system and make it better just … died. It feels like the end of the world, but the world just doesn’t want to end yet.”
Tobi nodded quietly. She was referring to the protests against police brutality in 2020, the narrative of which was hijacked by malefactors and overshadowed by political agendas. It had come to a peak with the mass shooting of protesters at Lekki in Lagos, an evil further aggravated by the large scale attempts at a cover up or, worse, to trivialize its implications. The issues plaguing the country for decades had already suffocated many a Nigerian’s hope in the nation, but October 2020 was the last straw for the younger generation, awakening them to the reality their forbears had been facing for generations.
Tobi was grateful that he did not need to speak just yet. The more silent he was, the more she was able to talk. Perhaps that was a good thing, he surmised.
“And the news!” Ekaette continued, pointing at the television overhead. “The kidnappings and attacks. Terrorists, bandits, insurgents … whatever new word they come up with. Do you know the worst part? It’s that the casualties have become nothing but numbers to me now. 50, 500, 490 … just numbers. I’m just numb anytime I hear of another attack.” She shook her head at the thought. “I feel nothing. I’m just a terrible person.”
Tobi had taken the cue to go turn off the TV while she spoke. He did not feel any less awkward. Was he to place a hand on her shoulder, or give a hug, or just sit and feel as stupid as he already felt? This was uncharted territory for him, and he felt helpless. He could identify with much of what she said. “You’re not a terrible person,” he managed.
But Ekaette wasn’t done. “And even now, when I’m supposed to be doing my work, I don’t have the strength to get anything done! I dare not even get on WhatsApp, otherwise people would know that I’m online and I’ve seen their messages. I don’t have the strength to respond to anyone. That notification bell sickens me now. I feel like such a failure. I can’t do anything right. Me with my scatterbrain and…” She placed her head on the table. “I can’t. I just can’t.”
Tobi stared at her, wondering what to say. If he was to be honest, he felt the same way a lot of the time. Most jokes at the country’s expense were Nigerians’ attempts to get through another dreadful day, really.
He placed a hand on hers. “Hey. It’s going to be okay.”
“Come on, you don’t really believe that.”
He hesitated before responding. “I know what it’s like to be overwhelmed,” he said. “Maybe it’s not the same as what you feel, but I have felt my own share.”
She sat up and stared at him, her hair tussled around her face. Having to stare at her while talking made it feel harder, so he avoided her gaze.
“Believe me, I know. A lot of this is messed up,” he said, gesturing around. “All of this makes no sense. Everything is going crazy. I get it.”
She just stared, but she still looked disheveled and spent. “You know, you don’t have to try to help if you’ve got nothing to say. It’s perfectly alright.”
He exhaled. “Phew, thanks.”
“I think I just needed to vent.”
“It do be like that sometimes. I couldn’t even come up with a good motivational speech. I drew a blank there.”
At least they were able to smile at that.
“You know what I tell myself when I feel I can’t do anything right?” Tobi asked. “I choose to do what’s ‘left’.” He grinned, but she didn’t seem to get the joke. “You know, ‘cause the opposite of right is—“
“I got it,” she said, not even amused in the least.
Ok, you went too far that time, Tobi.
“Maybe you might need to just stay off the news for a while. No breaking news for a while. Maybe even put your phone on ‘Silent’ or something, so that the ringing doesn’t get to you too much. At least until you can handle it.”
“Yeah, like I haven’t thought about that before,” she muttered sarcastically. “But thanks. I’ll … I’ll do that.”
Tobi took a deep breath. Maybe all she really needed was an ear, and he was perfectly fine with that. But he could see himself in her words too.
“There’s this verse in the Bible that says, ‘When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the Rock that is higher than I.’* I guess, sometimes, when things are out to overwhelm me, I’m learning that I need to remember that God is bigger than it all. He promised to never leave us or forsake us**. We can trust that He will keep His word.”
She wiped a tear. “At this point, that’s easier said than done.”
“Times are hard. But God is still good.” He noticed she smirked and shook her head. “What?”
“It’s easy to draw the ‘God card’ when you don’t have the answers. Just throw in a little Christianese and we’ll convince ourselves that every problem is just sorted out.”
He thought about that. “Well … I actually don’t have all the answers, yes. And … you’re kind of right.”
She was visibly surprised at that. “Really?”
“That, yeah, some of us have the tendency to cover our problems with an ‘It is well’ or ‘May God sha help us’, or something. But it doesn’t mean that there isn’t something real to all this. Our very real challenges make us want to find something real that we can hold on to. Everything that’s fake fades away when push comes to shove. I believe that, beyond the appearances and doubts and stuff, there is still something real here.”
She folded her arms. “I don’t follow.”
Tobi did not feel equipped for an apologetic discussion. He could only speak from his thoughts and experiences. “The way I see it, at this point, it’s either God is real or He’s not. All His promises to protect and preserve us in the midst of trouble, it has to be true. And if it is, I believe that I’m going to see it, God’s goodness. Unless, of course, it’s not real. And if it’s not, well … it would fade away in the face of adversity.”
He wondered what was going on in her mind through all of this. She just kept staring at him incredulously. “People have suffered and died,” she said. “Some of them even prayed. Doesn’t that prove that God does not solve everything? Or that, maybe, all of this is just in our heads?”
He had thought about that many times. “You know, He never actually promised that we would never suffer. Jesus did say that there would be challenges and tribulations, but He also reminded us that but that He has overcome. If we really trust Him, I guess we have to believe that that’s the Truth; that He has overcome, and that we have also.”
“But what does that even mean?” Ekaette asked. “But when it comes right down to it, how does that change anything in these very real experiences? How does that put money in my account?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. But I think it means that He can deliver us from our challenges. But even if challenges rush in like a flood, they will not drown us. When it appears they’d consume us like fires, they’ll not burn us either***. When we walk through the darkness of pain and the unknown, He will be our light****.”
She shook her head. “You’re just full of those, aren’t you? You’ve got a verse for everything.”
He couldn’t help but smile. “Well, not everything … yet,” he said with a wink.
“But you truly believe this stuff?”
“Honestly, many times I need to remind myself. It’s why I keep the Word on my mind. Just saying them out right now is me reminding myself too.”
She exhaled. “But do you really believe that stuff?”
“I believe…” Tobi paused here. He thought about this all the time. When the pandemic and lockdowns had begun, he had needed to face up to questions about his faith and what he truly believed. The basis of his trust and of his life had stared him in the face more now than ever, and in the months hence, he had come from questions to answers to even more questions.
He knew that he could have easily given an answer that tied everything up positively in a neat bow. However, he could be nothing here if not honest.
“I believe that … even though I can’t see or feel like it sometimes, God is still with me because He’s promised. He is true to His promise. Even when it’s hardest, and. Even in my questions, and oh, I have so many, I believe He’s guiding me in Truth. I don’t understand everything now, but gradually I’ll get to know what’s most important much better. I believe He can strengthen me when it’s getting heavy. And I believe that, even if the challenges eventually end me … well, that’s not the worst that could happen.”
She blinked. “As far as pep talks go, that was not one.”
“No, I’m serious. We’re all leaving the planet someday, whether we’re astronauts or not.” She didn’t react to that one either, so he moved on. “But Jesus defeated death, and because I have received His gift, I have won too. I don’t have to fear Death. What can Death do to me, if not to take me home to my Father?”
She ruminated on his words. “Yeah, that doesn’t sound suicidal at all.”
“Au contraire. How I live is different, even with all its challenges. Because we don’t have to fear death, we can confidently live and do much more, even when it’s hard. We’ve got God’s very life on our insides. He gives us wisdom on what to do and where to go, and we can be joyful in the midst of challenges. Even when it’s tough, He can still make me a blessing and encouragement to others. Like He’s doing right now.”
Ekaette arched a brow. “Really?”
“Really really.”
She picked up her phone and swiped through. “Nope, my bank account’s still the same. Nothing’s changed.”
He chuckled. “C’mon Ekaette. You’re feeling better already, admit it.”
She waved a hand dismissively. “Meh.”
“Well, it’s not about feelings.”
“Nice speech, though.”
“Nice speech?! I was pouring my heart out here!”
She scrunched her nose. “I don’t think I feel different. Sorry. No dice.”
He shook his head. “And here I was going to pray with you, but clearly you’re not taking any of this seriously.” He pushed himself to his feet. “At least I tried.”
“Might as well just pass the offering plate now,” she said whimsically as he headed for the door. “Hey, Tobi!” He turned. “Thanks a lot. For listening. For everything.”
He smiled. “Anytime. About your work, just take it in stride. One at a time.”
“Yeah. But I could do with a break sometime too.”
“Yes. As soon as you can, take it.”
“And that thing you said about … you know, praying for me? I could probably do with some of that too.”
For what it was worth, Tobi realized that the inclination to wait behind was probably for a reason. Ekaette was bursting with questions and full of doubt, but he was here. Perhaps, in one small way, God wanted him here for her, even in her questions and doubt.
“It would be my genuine pleasure,” he said.
Hi there! Emmanuel here!
Many of us the world over are going through some very difficult times out here. But, like Tobi, I pray for you that the Lord keeps your heart at rest and at peace. I pray that your heart is receptive to hear the songs of deliverance He is singing over you. I pray that He strengthens you on the inside and keeps you aglow, no matter how dark it is out there. I pray that you remain strong in faith, able to stand in the day of adversity.
I pray that your confidence in His Love is unshaken, and that you are an effective channel of His love to others.
And I pray that, when your heart is overwhelmed, you remember the Rock that is higher than all your problems.
God loves you, and He is for you.
In Jesus’ Name.
Amen.
VERSES MENTIONED
From the end of the earth I call to You, when my heart is overwhelmed and weak; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. (Psalm 61:2)
Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have, for God has said, “I will never leave you or abandon you.” (Hebrews 13:5)
Jacob, the LORD created you. Israel, he made you, and now he says, “Don’t be afraid. I saved you. I named you. You are mine.
When you have troubles, I am with you. When you cross rivers, you will not be hurt. When you walk through fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not hurt you. (Isaiah 43:1,2)
Even if I walk through a valley as dark as the grave, I will not be afraid of any danger, because you are with me. Your rod and staff comfort me. (Psalm 23:4)
What do you do when you are overwhelmed? Have you ever felt overwhelmed? Kindly share your experiences.
Many times He’s called the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but these three men had very different stories. But theirs are pictures that many of us can identify with, showing a God Who is not ashamed to be identified with us and our past.
There’s this thing I read in a book called Changed into His Likeness by Watchman Nee that really revolutionized my understanding of how God came for each and every one of us. Take a look, you just might identify.
Throughout the Scriptures, ever notice how when speaking to the Israelites God is referred to as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It meant a lot to the Israelites because these guys were their ancestors. It was a reminder that the very same God that did awesome wonders in their ancestors’ day was very much alive and well with them.
But then these three guys were very much unlike one another. They each represent different personalities and show how God interacts with different kinds of people, and with us at different stages of our growth.
Abraham and Isaac
Abraham was the father of faith himself. Right off the bat, as soon as we meet him, God’s calling him to take a giant step of faith and Abraham (then called Abram) obeys. This man had a very amazing and exemplary walk with God. He experienced miracles, lived prosperously and fought and won battles all by God’s strength. See, God had a covenant relationship with Abraham that gave him an edge. Abraham is like the picture of that stellar child of God. His life is marked with so many exploits and wonders done through God’s favor. He has testimonies of the miracles and wonders God has done in his life, of the many battles he’s won by God’s might. He talks casually about how God is His closest friend and how God reveals secrets to him. He’s that believer we all aspire to be like. If this is where you are in your walk with God, it’s legit, and it’s a good place to be. Oh the adventures you will have in God!
Isaac, however, is majorly known for being Abraham’s son. Not to belittle or invalidate his own experience, but much of what we see him doing is as a result of what his father has already done. His father got a wife for him (Genesis 24:1-67). One time Isaac was going to dig up wells but they were his father had dug years before (Genesis 26:18). He was basically living a life enjoying his father’s inheritance. He had entered into rest by heritage, enjoying the blessing of his father. Isaac reminds us that, as believers, we have entered into a Victory already purchased for us. The battle has been fought and won, and we’ve been crowned ‘More than Conquerors’ through our Father Who loves us. All our accomplishments in Him are based on what He’s provided already. We won’t be speaking cliche when, like Paul, we say, “I am what I am by the grace of God.” (1 Corinthians 15:10) This understanding is very important so that our confidence is never in the exploits wrought by our hands, but in Him Who birthed us. Always.
Meet Jacob
But Jacob … now here’s a real zinger of a story. Jacob was the quintessential picture of a hustler if there ever was one. He tricked his brother, Esau, into selling his birthright (Genesis 25:29-34), he tricked his father into bestowing his blessing upon him instead of Esau (Genesis 27:1-40), and he later tricked his uncle Laban into giving him the best majority of his herd (Genesis 30:25-43). He got tricked too, like any hustler has experienced, but he owned those scars. He went through life winning seemingly by his efforts, with the wisdom of the world. He had street-smarts, and they had worked for him for so long. But then many years later, his brother, whom he’d swindled out of his birthright, was on his way. For the first time, the trickster was said to be greatly afraid (Genesis 32:7) Jacob was so scared that he sent part of his family ahead in case Esau was ready to kill him, so they’d get killed first. The night before their fateful meeting, Jacob fought with God. Or an angel of God, it’s not explicitly clear, but it’s heavily implied that it was God in human form (Genesis 32:24-32). They fought until daybreak. Jacob’s thigh got dislocated out of joint, leaving him with a limp for the rest of his days. “Let me go,” the Angel of the Lord said. “Bless me!” Jacob cried. “I won’t let you go unless You bless me!” And God blessed him and gave him a new name: Israel. Jacob went on that morning to meet his brother, ready for the worst, but Esau instead embraced him.
Jacob is like the rest of us
I’ve come to love Jacob’s story because while most of us are not like him, he’s like so many of us. We may not all have tricked our way to the top, but we’ve all gone through circumstances that looked like we had to work our way out of. We’ve all had those times when we’ve come to depend on our efforts because they’re what have come through for us. We can relate better with the physical reality of the works of our hands than the faith the Bible speaks of. Everyone of us will come to that wrestling place. It may be a difficult circumstance that causes us to realise that the arm of flesh can only go so far, as we start to wrestle in our minds with the idea that we really can’t do everything on our own. The question that’s played at the back of our minds comes to the fore: “Where has God been all this time? Is He even there?” And in the midst of this, God is telling us to let go. Let go of the right to understand or work your way out of everything and depend on Him. We really can’t get beyond that difficulty by our effort. All He asks — all He expects of us — is to trust Him. To trust that He loves us enough and is powerful enough to get us through. It’s a wrestle because letting go is a hard decision. It may leave us with a limp, like Jacob. The limp isn’t physical, but it’s a reminder that we will always need His help. It would be a constant reminder that you may have been able to sort out everything else by your abilities, but there are some things you know are way beyond you and show you need God’s help. It’s humbling, trust me. But like Jacob, that’s the only way we’re getting out of that fight. Even the Apostle Paul had his own ‘limp’, but he called it a thorn in the flesh (2 Corinthians 12:7). He prayed and prayed, asking God to take it away. But you know what God said?
My grace is sufficient for thee, for My Strength is made perfect in weakness.
Can I put this in perspective? One of my pastors, Dr Samuel Oyeyinka, once put it this way. Do you realise that, to this day, no one can fully decipher Paul’s ‘thorn in the flesh’? Some have speculated that it was an eye defect because Paul once wrote about having to write in BIG LETTERS (Galatians 6:11), though that could have just been for emphasis. Some said it was the pain of constantly being persecuted. Some suggest it may have been loneliness from his singleness. Or, who knows, maybe it was a literal thorn that was lodged in his flesh! (creepy picture, I know)
Whatever it was, it was something so difficult that The Paul, writer of two-thirds of the New Testament texts, kept asking God why He didn’t take it away. That was his wrestle with God. This ‘thorn’ could have been any of many things but we really don’t know for sure what it was! Why? Now this is the best part. It shows that, whatever it may have been, God’s strength and grace overshadowed it so much that it didn’t become an issue anymore! It was a constant reminder to Paul that he really needed God’s help, but to others Paul was just fine, even super-fine.
It did not impede Paul from fulfilling God’s intent for his life. Whatever this thorn may have been, Paul was still able to say at the end of his life, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:” (2 Timothy 4:7) Because Paul trusted His life to God, God helped him walk despite his limp. Wow!
The God of Jacob
Jacob came out of the fight with a new name, Israel. But do you notice that God was still referred to, more often than not, as the God of Jacob and not simply the God of Israel? Do you see how God was not ashamed to be associated with Jacob, with all of his crooked past? It’s a reminder that, when we commit our lives to God, our past, present and future are committed to Him. He’s not ashamed to be identified with our past because not only has it been a part of who we’ve become, but He’s going to work it out into His beautiful glorious future for us. You would look back and see the beautiful thread God weaved through and out of that past. In the pain and hurts, He would strengthen you so you can even be a comfort to another going through theirs.
He’s not ashamed to be identified with our past…
This is why Paul would say, “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon Me.” (2 Cor. 12:9)
My limitations are a reminder that God is able to help me. When I face my own thorns, those situations where I still have questions, I’ve come to a place where I deliberately commit them to God. It’s not always easy, but I’m willing to trust that if I trust Him with the parts of life I find difficult, He would help me walk. By His strength and grace I will walk on water with Him. Where I limp, I’ll trust He’ll help me walk. And if I get overwhelmed by the waves, I know He’ll carry me.
I’m learning to live from that place always, not just when I face difficult circumstance. When I’m weak and aware of my weakness, I’m at my strongest (2 Cor 12:10) because He has more license to work! And, like Don Moen’s song, my heart constantly sings… Lord I offer my life to You Everything I’ve been through Use it for Your glory Lord, I offer my days To You Lifting my praise To You As a living sacrifice Lord I offer You my life.
Abrahams have learnt this lesson of trusting God, early. That’s why they have such a close walk with God. That’s why God can do so much through them. This, trusting in God, is the only life Isaacs know because Abrahams taught them. But they, like we all, will come to points where we have no choice but to trust God. A literal moment of truth. It stretches us, but it builds our faith. We tend to define Christian life based on the Abrahams and Isaacs, but don’t forget that even the Jacobs are special to God. He also wants to be identified with their journey, to show forth His glory and awesomeness through their story. We all come into His plans through the door of faith, trusting in Him. He meets us right where we are. Right where you are.
Faith is like coming to a cliff. Our Father calls us to step off. Our common sense tells us to stay on solid ground, and we wrestle. But when we trust Him and step off, we land in His arms.
The more we step off of these cliffs, the better we know the One waiting to catch us. Over and over again.
Let me finish…
Let’s bring this home, shall we?
Abraham shows us that we can have a close walk with God, and that we would see His strength and might working through us.
Isaac reminds us that we’ve come into an inheritance we did not work for. Christ provided everything that we would need for life and godliness. Our part is to trust Him, receive what He’s done, and walk.
Jacob reminds us that there’s a point where the strength and knowledge we’ve always known would not be enough. In those places where we see we have to trust God, we come to see His power at work in us and for us. The ‘limp’ may remain, but it’s an opportunity to see His strength in us.
No matter where you are, God came for you. In every stage, we’ll always be reminded of our need for God, and of how He’s enough and more than enough for us. He is committed to making your life a living example of all He can do.
And that’s why He’s not ashamed, but really excited, to be known in the mouths of the people as the God of (insert your name)!
Thanks for reading!
Who do you identify best with? Abraham? Isaac? Jacob? A mixture? Have you ever had your wrestling moments with God? Kindly share in the comments. You just might encourage someone 😊
From seeing how my phone needed updates, I learnt that I need updates for my growth in God. Updates of wisdom, strength, reminders of His love, godly perspectives and mind-sets, and so much more.
For weeks the apps on my phone have been reminding me to install the new updates. I’d become quite used to seeing the numerous reminders in the Notifications tray, but I put it off for later.
It came to a head one day when my Twitter app wouldn’t let me open it until I installed the latest updates. According to them, the new update would help to protect my app from recent security issues that previous software definitions were not prepared for. Now I saw reasons not to put off that update, so I set out to do it.
I could go into explaining the lessons I learnt from that experience, but there’s more.
One of the reasons I hadn’t downloaded the updates hitherto was because my phone’s storage capacity was quite full. Every time I tried to download an update my phone would require me to uninstall one of my other apps. All of them were important to me, so I would instead look for photos, videos, audio files or documents that I could delete to clear the space. It’s usually difficult for me because I find it a little hard to let go of these. I can be quite sentimental, I find.
But this time, I had to give in. I deleted I think over a thousand files that day to make room for the new update. Some were dear to me, some were easy to let go of, and others had me wondering what they were doing on my phone in the first place. In the end I cleared enough space and the download could go through.
The app’s now got a couple of changes in its interface but it almost looks exactly the same. I may never know why it needed the update or the security risks it’s protecting me from, and that’s probably for the better. Unless, of course, it’s a backdoor channel for them to monitor me (cue the ominous music: dun dun DUUUNNN!)
Not all my phone apps are updated yet, but I’ll still get to them.
Updates from Heaven
Do you know that just like my phone app needed an update, we also need our God-updates at every point in time? That every day, there are heaven-rooted updates tailored for you?
I’ll explain.
As God’s people we’ve received His Life through the finished works of Jesus Christ in Redemption. Our spirits are renewed so that we can be all God intended for us to be; His children bearing His nature. That’s perfect and, like Jesus said, “It is finished.”
In this world there are new challenges in every season and every day. Like Jesus said in Matthew 6:34,
…Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
Now the life God has given us in Christ is powerful enough to face these challenges. Through the power of God at work in us, God is able to do exceeding abundantly above what we could ask or think, even beyond whatever adversity there is out there. But our minds and bodies are exposed daily to experiences in opposition to God’s Word.
Whether we like it or not, there could be circumstances to try and make you feel discouraged, people ready to ruin your day with unreasonable words, and news and online threads ready to order the course of your thoughts and mind-set for the day. It’s not all bad, but more often than not, they are content created without our best interests in mind.
In the midst of this, Lamentations 3:22 and 23 reminds us of the words you probably remember from that song;
It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness.
Just to put it in perspective, just as the days are evil, the Lord has new compassionate and preserving mercies for you every day. Every. Single. Day.
Tailored for your specifications, beyond and above whatever could be thrown at you. 2 Corinthians 9:8 tells us
And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:
One of my former pastors loved to describe it as you having a full tank of water but having an empty bucket. It doesn’t change the fact that you’ve got water ‘cause there’s a supply available with your name on it. You receive from your supply when you turn the tap. He was talking about the grace of God available to meet our needs and help us give, but I think it also applies here.
For each and every task you are given and each circumstance we face, for everything that would lay a demand on the life in you, God is able to make all grace abound toward you so that you can have all you need to have an abundant supply for every good work.
Why you can download the update
No matter how hard I try, that Twitter app update could never work on my computer. That particular update could never work for the Facebook app or the Instagram app on my phone either because it was not made by them or for them. The reason I can download the update on my phone is because the update is made for the app on my phone. It was made by Twitter for the specific version of the app that’s present on my phone.
In the same way, because I belong to Jesus, I am capable of receiving the updates of strength, instruction and grace that are my inheritance as His child. It is His delight for me to receive and walk in them. Because I have His Spirit in me, I can receive from Him.
In 1 Corinthians 2:12 it says
Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
When we got born again we received the Spirit of God. And it is because we have the Spirit of God that God can reveal to us His will at every point in time. Like it says earlier in that chapter in verses 8 and 9,
But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
God is willing to show you things beyond what you’ve seen, to let you in on secrets beyond what you’ve heard, and to cause you to conceive thoughts and ideas beyond what you’ve ever imagined. Just as He shared His plans with Abraham like a friend, He intends to have that kind of relationship with you. Even much more, because now you are His child.
You are the child of the Maker of all that is. Wow!
So just like a child learns to talk the more he/she hears us talking with, God’s updates are to bring you to His level of thinking so that He can relate with us and guide us well in all the peculiar circumstances that we could face.
So How do I Download the Update?
In Romans 12:2 Paul writes,Don’t be like the people of this world, but let God change the way you think. Then you will know how to do everything that is good and pleasing to Him.
Have you noticed that the more time you spend with an individual who makes puns and cracks dry jokes, the more you’d find yourself deciphering puns? Soon you’d probably be the one others will be running after crying, “Don’t leave me! Take me with you!” (someone reading this in 2038 didn’t get this reference. Sorry, kid 😉)In the same way, we let God change the way we think (our mind-sets) by actually spending time with Him, by giving our time and attention to reading and studying His Word and in prayer. That way we can know what His will is and we can do it, empowered by His Spirit in us.
Paul also wrote about the importance of making the best use of time in Ephesians 5:15, 16
See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise. Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
When we live our lives by the wisdom of God we are walking circumspectly, making the best use of the time, and equipped not to give in to the adversity we may face in the day.This is why it is usually encouraged to start your day with a time set apart to read the Bible and talk with God. Some call it Morning Devotion, others call it Quiet Time, but nobody calls it Steve 🤷🏽♂️.Either way, the value is not in what we call it but in Who we’re setting out time for. It helps to set the agenda for our minds and to get His agenda for the day.
Clearing the Clutter
Just as I had to remove some apps from my phone, opening our hearts for His updates may require letting go of some things we’ve held on to.
It could be things we love and prize above all else. It could be our time, some of our friendships, some of our goals, or even the feeling of entitlement from our rightful achievements. It could be our media choices or our online presence. Sometimes the Lord may be instructing us to let go of some of these so that our attention can be on Him. For some of them, it is as He becomes our priority that we can have a healthy understanding of their roles in our lives. Otherwise they could become idols in our lives, distracting us from the Lord and all that’s important for our lives.
It could be things that have hurt us or guilt in our past. We don’t hold on to them deliberately, but they may have a hold on us, defining our approach to things and keeping us from reaching for all God has for us. I touched on this partially in my story, Portal.
For all, Jesus says in Matthew 11:28-30
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Offer your past, present and future to the Lord and trust Him with it. It may not be as easy as an instant thing, but trust Him with the process.
When we let go of things that have a strong hold in us, our hands can be open to receive all the Father has been trying to show us.
Spending Time with God
This is a lesson I am still learning. I wish I could come to this article from a place of mastery in this aspect, but I am a learner. And I don’t mean that in the Christianese sense where I’m really a pro trying to be humble, NO! I’ve literally found myself going through days without reading my Bible and I’m trying to work on that too. So, now that I’ve burst your expectations of me, hope you can see that I’m really a learner.
But it’s in spending time with God that we receive these updates.
In 2020 of course most of us may not be able to gather with other people yet, but I encourage you to be part of a church. Be regular and committed to the community. The teaching and fellowship (friendship) are essential for our growth. There are some things God would give you through your fellow believers, and some things He wants to share with others through you.
You can also set apart a specific time for it. You can find moments in the day to spend time with Him, cut off from your phone and other distractions. You can even take a day off to spend time with God. The Christianese term for these are ‘Retreats’. It’s allowed and very essential.
You can have devotionals and Bible reading plans that help you keep at it. Pray about what you’ve read. Bible apps like YouVersion can help with that too.You can have a prayer list of people and things you need to pray for and about. The thing is even as you pray He would show you more that you should pray about.
What if it’s boring?!
Don’t worry, you’re not an evil person for thinking that these times can feel boring sometimes. Sometimes it can feel like we’re not getting anything done. Your mind may have trailed off while reading a chapter and you’d find yourself 50 verses away from the last thing you remember in the narrative. You may have prayed for what felt like an hour only to check the clock to see that only 5 minutes have passed. If you’ve never experienced any of these then you’ve either not tried it out or you’ve got a special gift I really want to receive🙌🏼. Please, share in the comments🙏🏼.In these times, I like to be honest with God. I can sit and just talk with Him, telling Him what’s going on in my mind. Truthfully, these conversations don’t end there. They go throughout the day. Sometimes I get instruction or things become clearer. Sometimes it feels like nothing is happening.
But don’t stop. It is in seeking that we find.
Don’t look for a disembodied voice. The primary means of God talking to us is through His Written Word. Every other impression is by the Holy Spirit within us, not compulsorily by an external audible voice. He could use that, but my advice is not to set out looking for the spectacular. Seek Him.
I once heard a quote by someone that said prayer is like starting the day by saying, “In Jesus Name,” then going to bed saying, “Amen.” That’s because throughout the day you were talking with God.
Share your day with God. See what that does to your interactions.
When my heart is overwhelmed…
What about those moments when we really don’t have the strength? When the day has just been terrible and we don’t feel like doing anything ‘spiritual’?
One of my favourite verses is Psalm 61:2
From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
David’s desire when his heart was overwhelmed is to be reminded of the One, his Rock, Who is bigger than that problem. Knowing that my world does not revolve around me because I have Someone bigger, greater and wiser on my side and at work in me, gives me courage to face the challenges. It’s one of the reasons we find another Christianese word in the psalms a lot: magnify.
O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together. Psalm 34:3
Or even Psalm 35:27
Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.
Ever used a magnifying glass before? It makes things look bigger. It doesn’t make the thing bigger but it makes my perspective of that thing to be bigger.
God doesn’t need to be bigger or more powerful or wiser or stronger. He already is! But sometimes I forget that the Greater One is for me and with me. That’s why I need that reminder.
I need God to be magnified in my eyes.
And that only happens when I look at Him. When I behold Him, I can see Him. Not literally now because I’m still mortal, but as I read about Him in His Word and listen to others talk about Him, as I listen to music that expresses His wonder, as I worship Him, I realise that I really am not as big as I thought, and neither are my problems. He is so much bigger, so much richer in love, and He is so much able to help me more than overcome.
We see this pattern in David’s life. One time when his people’s families were carried away by raiders, his soldiers were angry with him and mutiny was afoot. They were even talking about stoning him. David, whose own family was also carried away, was in great distress. But the Bible lets us know that he ‘encouraged himself in the Lord.’ (1 Samuel 30:6) And right after he asked God for direction, and God told him what to do to get his people back. His stability was in that place where God was bigger than everything else.
Our stability is in the Holiest Place like in the temple (Hebrews 6:19), where Christ is seated having conquered all and redeemed us. Where our sins are forgiven and we obtain mercy and find grace in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16). It is why we have the Spirit of God in us. You, God’s child, are evidence that God is more than able to deal with whatever problem comes your way.
You have access to the King and Conqueror of Eternity, especially at your weakest moments. He’s your stability.
This is what I do. I tell Him exactly what it feels like. Sometimes I just play worship music and sing along to Him. It helps lift my thoughts and feelings, and I worship along.
It takes our attention off our fears and limitations and focuses it on His strength available and at work in us. Like He said to Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9,
My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness
Share your experience
In recent times I’ve had a couple of interactions with friends who are also making a deliberate consistent culture of spending time with God. What’s your experience like? What lessons have you learnt?
Please share with us in the comments. It could be an encouragement to someone too.
Thanks for coming by!
Lately my phone battery has been dying at moments when I needed it for work or crucial discussions. It’s not that it’s faulty per se, no, rather it’s because I didn’t charge it when I ought to.
I used to charge it overnight so that it would last for much of the following day. When, however, I didn’t get it charged overnight it dies during the day. There were many moments during the day when it could have been charged, and should have been charged, but many times it felt like those were the moments when I should be using the phone.
One time I was using its WiFi hotspot to do some online work on my laptop even though the phone battery was low. Not only did my phone die that evening, but it did not come back on for hours even after it was plugged in to charge. That was the moment I realised that I had gone too far.
Yeah, I’m probably the worst phone owner out there. I’m trying to improve though, and I will.
But the experience taught me something. My phone taught me a couple things about my life.
I need a consistent power supply
Just as my phone needs to be charged for it to work well, my life needs a consistent supply of God’s Word if I’m going to live effectively. Every day, with every word we speak, every thought we think, every move we make and every breath we breathe we are expending life. There’s a saying that the source of a thing is what sustains it. We become children of God by believing His Word in the Gospel, and it is His Word that sustains us.
Or like Peter put it
For through the living and eternal word of God you have been born again as the children of a Parent who is immortal, not mortal.
(1 Peter 1:23)
God’s Word is eternal and abides forever. If I want to live effectively, I need a supply of God’s Word to frame my mindset. If God wants to speak to me, it would primarily be through what is written in the Bible.
Remember, the tree in Psalm 1 is planted by the rivers of water. That’s a constant consistent supply. We all need that. Like hugging a transformer and staying fully charged. Yes there’s a death, but there’s life ’cause God’s Word gives life😉
We afford ourselves of this opportunity when we connect regularly with our local churches to be taught God’s Word, when we listen to it being taught elsewhere, when we discuss and study it with one another and when we study the Bible for ourselves. The Holy Spirit helps us to understand. All of these are very important for our growth spiritually.
If it is not charged well, it would die
If I am giving out more than the quota of God’s Word that I am taking in, I will burn out.
As children of God, the inclination of our God-renewed spirits is to reach out to others. We may reach out to people with God’s love and message through our words, our acts of service, our social media, but primarily, our lives. Many times God provides opportunities for this. But if I have not been feeding on His Word regularly, I may be a blessing to others but I would not be in the best frame that God wants me to be. In explaining His Word I may have faulty situational explanations opposed to His Word, defined by my emotions and not His context. In some cases, I might even not know or be aware of what He would have me do. In some other cases, I might even refuse to do what He would want me to do because I don’t feel like it.
Notice the common denominator in these examples: my feelings. When God’s Word is not my priority, I am going to be live based on how I feel. Feelings change, people. But God’s Word endures.
God wants me to be fruitful. Psalm 1:3 paints a very interesting picture. Here, check it out:
…they find joy in obeying the Law of the LORD, and they study it day and night.
They are like trees that grow beside a stream, that bear fruit at the right time, and whose leaves do not dry up. They succeed in everything they do.
Psalm 1:2,3
The kind of person that is spiritually healthy and fruitful at all times is one who finds joy in obeying God’s law and studies it day and night. And do you know the fruit that God wants to produce in our lives?
But the Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control.
Galatians 5:22, 23
I want to be loving, joyful, peaceful and at peace, patient, kind, good, faithful (trustworthy) and full of faith, humble and self-controlled, and I want to be like that all the time.
Love, for example, is a primary quality of God because He is love (1 John 4:8). And the Bible lets us know that love endures, it is kind even when it suffers long (1 Corinthians 13:4). Living just by feelings wouldn’t cut it. If I want my life to remain loving through all seasons, if I want to be fruitful in God’s measure no matter what happens, I need a consistent supply of God’s Word.
I’m not made to work 24/7
I’ve covered much of this particular lesson in my other article on REST so you can check that out too (thank you!). But I’ll summarize that here too.
Our phones were not made to work 24/7. They need moments to recharge so that when they are charged we can use them for all the tasks and fun stuff we desire.
We also weren’t made to work 24/7/365. God gave the Israelites a pattern of 6-days of work in a week with one day set aside to cease from work. While it’s not a law for non-Jews like me, the essence of it is very essential for every one of us.
Rest gives our bodies and minds an opportunity to recharge. To let go of the stress and work that have weighed it down so that we can later tackle it with revived energy, creativity, excitement and better coordination.
That meme or WhatsApp discussion won’t run away if you let your phone charge. The world won’t end if you take a day or a couple of hours to rest before heading back into the work you’ve been doing for hours. That rhythm of work and rest is essential to us all. When God rested on the seventh day, I’ll bet it’s not because He was tired.
My phone is my possession and as such its well-being is in my charge. If its screen is broken, it’s my fault. If it is ruined beyond repair, I am responsible. The state of my phone and my other possessions says a lot about my attention to responsibility. If my phone battery is dying consistently when it could have been charged, then it means I have been lax concerning my responsibilities.
This makes me consider how I’ve been treating the people and systems placed in my charge. Do I only use them or am I deliberate about adding to them? Am I more concerned with what I can get rather than what I can give?
These opened up a lot I needed to work on, and much of that work is inside where no one else can see, except the Audience of One.
This leads in to something very important.
My life belongs to God
The phone may have been purchased by me, but does it make it mine? Who provided the money?
James wrote it this way:
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
James 1:17
My life and every good thing in it is a gift from God. In taking care of it well, I am honouring Him. But when I do it deliberately for Him, life becomes a life of worship. The best way I can honour Him is to give it to Him. Like Paul put it,
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Romans 12:1
He also wrote it this way in his letter to the Corinthian church,
For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
1 Corinthians 6:20
In honouring Him with my life, I am serving Him rightly. In taking care of my phone, for example, I am honouring it as a gift from Him. This gives me a sense of higher responsibility.
Many times we forget that God is actually concerned even with how we treat our secular things. Jesus told a couple of stories to illustrate just how important this is.
Remember the one about the talents? Jesus told a story in Matthew 25 about a man that was travelling but he gave a couple of talents to his workers. And, no, he didn’t magically give them the ability to sing or play the violin. A talent in those days was a unit of money some have estimated to about $5000. The servants were rewarded for using and gaining profit on the money he gave them. But the one servant that kept the one talent he was given was said to despise his master, and was punished for it.
Jesus wants us to be responsible with the things He has given to us. Our friendships, our family, our secular work and ministry work are all important to Him. We honour Him when we see it all as an offering to Him, choosing to honour Him in them all.
And it all starts from honouring Him with our lives.
Let me finish…
So if I were to sum up all I’m trying to say:
Keep your phone charged!
Have a consistent supply of God’s Word.
God’s Word makes us fruitful and effective
Your life is a gift, a responsibility bestowed on you by God. Make it an offering to Him.
Yeah, I think that about covers it. This particular article has a lot more to do with actions so I’d better get to work.
Thanks for reading!
What have you learnt or are learning? In what ways can we honour God in our lives? Please share below. Thank you!
I originally posted this on Facebook on June 24, 2014.
God is out of time!
Really, He is. And that’s a good thing. Because God is not bound by the limits of the Timestream.
In the illustration above there’s this line drawn on a page. Time is like that line, with a definite beginning and an end (since our time is measured relative to the positions of the earth and sun and moon, we could probably say time began when God created them … probably). God drew that line on the page. Or you could say He is the page. That’s why He’s the Beginning and the End, because they’re literally in Him.
So time does not limit God because He is outside of it’s line. So don’t ever let yourself get worried that God doesn’t have enough time to get some things done. Years may have passed since His promises came to you first, but it does not mean He’s late. Also, the things He’s promised you may seem to require a longer time than is available … but time does not define or restrict Him. He can make all things align on your behalf.
In my ‘sci fi’-influenced mentality, I like to imagine that if God needed to, He could actually alter events in the past to create a new present. Perhaps that explains the ‘deja vus’ we experience once in a while (you know, the “hey, I’ve seen this before” feeling). OK, I know it sounds downright unbiblical, but I’m just saying He’s got that kind of power. He’s more powerful than you think He is.
He’s mega-awesome like that.
And if you’re in Christ that’s exactly what He did for you. The covenant required for your salvation, the price required for the sins you committed in these times– it was all done at that point in history when Jesus came and died and rose for you too. So whenever in history you are, if you accept His gift, you too can come to eternal life. It’s like He took your sins back in time and dealt with them in Jesus, and He died with them, and rose with the New you. His Grace transcends the limits of time itself, regardless of what you’ve done.
So yes, God is out of Time.
And that’s a good thing, too.
I almost lost this blog a few weekends ago, and I was terrified. If you’re reading this then you know that it’s back up (like, obviously) but more than anything, what the experience showed me was my own vanity and things that I need to work on in myself. I mean, it’s just a blog! I should get a life 😁
It all started when I saw an advertisement for a task that would require storytelling and I was so excited to get on it. One of the requirements on the application form was for a link to some of my past work. Now I’m ashamed to admit this, but in that moment I felt really proud to put in the links to my recent stories-turned-books (Have you read Portal and The Curious Case of Doctor Maundy? Please do!There’s a behind-the-scenes series on writing I’m planning to put up here, so follow the page too so you’d be the first to know when it’s up. Gracias! 😁 🙏🏼). And when I say that I was proud, I don’t mean that in a good sense.
So I came over here to do a little touching up on the pages so that any visitor would see excellent and quality work … or something. I made a couple of edits here and revisions there when, all of a sudden, I found that I couldn’t save changes anymore. After trying a few more times I assumed it was just a fluke so I stayed off the ‘Net for a while. It wasn’t until I tried logging in again when I saw the message in a red block on my dashboard.
This blog had been suspended 😳.
I tried to access the URL on different browsers, but it said the same thing.
Now I’m usually generally chill, and I deliberately take myself away from undue tension, so I wasn’t anxious at first. I just figured there was something I needed to do to change this and that I’d figure it out soon enough. Maybe there was one of those Terms and Conditions I usually don’t read that I’d violated, I thought, so I scanned through them. As far as I could tell everything was in order.
As the hours turned to a day and nothing had changed I gradually realised that this was a serious problem. I came face-to-face with the possibility that I could actually lose this catalog of articles, stories and writings dating back to 2013.
The thought of it all shook me to my core.
What if I actually did lose everything?
Before I get to how we got it back up, I should point something out. This period and looking at it all showed me a bit about problematic perspectives I held.
What do I really have?
I realised that I had considered the blog as a possession of mine, something I worked to build, and an extension of myself. Sometimes I look back at the archives and feel that “started from-the-bottom-now-we-here!” feeling. This blog has been an experience all on its own. Many life experiences have occurred in its day. I’ve had days with so much traffic and dry spells stretching for months, but it’s all been part of the experience that’s been building up gradually. I’ve been learning what works and what doesn’t. I’m learning not to judge based on responses, but to also write in reader-friendly ways. I had every right to see this as my own.
Or did I?
Perhaps it’s valuable, and it is. But if the loss of something ‘valuable’ to me was going to affect me, then that says more about me than about the thing itself.P.S.: Someone reading this is wondering, “Dude, It’s just a blog! Get a life!” And writing this out now, I see that you’re absolutely right! I feel like an idiot now, but I hope you can learn from my idiocy.
My Value
Seeing how the thought of losing this made me feel less of myself made me realise that I had, somehow, tied my value and esteem to this blog and, by extension, to my accomplishments even offline. And that’s definitely not a good thing.
I find that many times I feel down when I’ve not got something new going on, or when I’m not being praised for something. And that’s completely unhealthy and destructive.I apologise if I’m being too open about my flaws here. I find that this year I’ve been doing that a lot.It’s subtle, but if my perspective of my value is defined by my accomplishments, then that means that I have also been determining the value of others based on their accomplishments. And as the cycle goes, I would also judge my value based on the applause, rejection or indifference of others.
This is the core of an inferiority complex. It’s something I was sure I had dealt with, but I was now seeing signs of it peeking out again.
Who Owns it, anyway?
In recent times, I’ve been encouraged towards, and am considering and planning the conversion of this blog to a full-fledged website. The thought process of it all has made me go back to the beginnings of this platform and to be reminded why it exists.
This is not really my own. It’s never really been mine!
Many things on this page have changed over the years, but the tagline has not. Life, Hope, Faith … with some humor.
It’s my playground to show my works, but it’s really a channel for the Real Owner to reach others through me with the creative tools He gave me. It was an extension of myself because that’s how I’ve learnt to see myself: I am God’s Instrument to reach the world, and every of my platforms will do the same.
But what’s at the core is my life.
It’s my heart.
Jesus told the story of the rich fool, the guy who defined his security based on what he had. He described the man as “…he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:21) I certainly don’t want that to be me. I want my life to be one that blesses and lifts others, yes, but it’s nothing if my life is not a delight to the Lord.
Like Jesus also said, “…where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Luke 12:34). If the Lord is my treasure, then that’s where my heart will be. That’s Who would define my desires and life’s purpose and esteem.
What does it say about me?
I am learning to remind myself where true value lies. I am valuable, not because of anything I’ve done or can do or will do, no. I was valuable long before I could do anything! I am valuable because of the One that made me, that knows me, that loves me. That owns me.
I am valuable to God.
My favourite verse, and more like a lifeverse for me over the past couple of years, has been Isaiah 43:1:
“…Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.”
You are Mine.
I am His.My value is not tied to my accomplishments or possessions. Like Jesus said,
“…Protect yourself against the least bit of greed. Life is not defined by what you have, even when you have a lot.” (Luke 12:15)
For a child of God, you never really lose. If we lose anything good, by God’s grace it can be restored and we can get back up again. That’s the promise of God’s Word. Remember Job? Everything he lost was restored by the end of the book, in doubles!
Proverbs 24:16 tells us that a just man may fall seven times, but he rises up again.
But you know what?
Even if what was lost is not restored, even if our hopes and dreams don’t materialise the way we would have desired, God’s promise is that His own can still be secure and at rest, stable and unshaken. Hebrews 11 tells us about the wonders and exploits done by many by their faith in God, but it also tells us of many who through their faith in God were able to go through trials and mockings, imprisonment, stoning, temptation, torment and even death.
They lost so much, but their true treasure was never taken away. Their true Treasure could never be taken away.
I want to be that strong and stable on the inside.Like Psalm 46 shows us, God is our home and refuge, and He is the One alive in us, like a river flowing through a city, bringing springs of gladness. Even if the things that have defined our stability are ever moved out of place, we will not be shaken. We can always be glad.
It would hurt, and real loss should hurt. But with God, that’s not where the story ends.
We can always be at rest.
What am I learning?
I’m learning to understand true value. When I underestimate anyone or anything, I devalue them in my eyes and lose out on some of God’s greatest gifts, treasure in “jars of clay” (2 Corinthians 4:7). When I overestimate them, I make them idols and I project my expectations on them, thus missing out on what God would have used them to be or do, and unable to see the bigger and much more that God has for me beyond that thing/person. Idols keep us from seeing what’s really important. I do the same to myself when i underestimate or overestimate myself. I’m learning to know what God sees, and esteem as He does.
I’m learning to enjoy every moment. The Bible lets us know that while “sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof,” (Matthew 6:34) God’s mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22,23). Every single day has an allotment of God’s supply for me and for you. We can actually enjoy His peace and rest, our own God-given Garden of Eden experience where I never feel the need for validation or affirmation because we’re constantly reminded of His validation and affirmation of us.
I’m learning to Live. Jesus said that He came so that we can have an abundant life, life to the full (John 10:10). I can face life trying to meet targets and deadlines and expectations, or I could actually live, and in so doing meet those targets without being shaken by the strain. To breathe in all that He’s got for me so that I can breathe out all that the world needs. And all of this both deliberately and ‘subconsciously’, I’m able to relate well with people, see myself and see them through God’s eyes, and without judgment.
I’m learning to be Free. Free from the allure of accomplishments, from the limitations I’ve known about myself, from the fear of failure or judgment, from the shame of my past mistakes, and free to lay hold on the ‘something better’ that God has for me.I’m learning to receive what He’s got for me freely, so that I can freely give. And, yes, even if it means I’ll never get it back. I’ve got Him, and He’s got me. And in the final analysis, that’s enough.
The blog will continue. I will keep doing things for the Lord by His strength and ability. I will keep creating things. But we can, and I will also have times where I’m not producing anything per se, and I will still be secure and joyful through it all.
That being said, Lord willing, you can look forward to a major release toward the end of the year 😉
And I’m also learning to clear the clutter. But that’s a post for another day. I think I’ve bared my heart beyond comfort enough here 😅.
Oh yeah, I sent a message to WordPress and the community personnel reached me to explain that my browser had was generating spam from my serial saving, and it was automatically suspended. So they got it fixed. Thanks, WordPress. 😁
So what are you learning, or what have you learnt, about loss and value? How do you handle it? Please share.
And thanks for reading!!!
Earlier today my sister’s family came over. And while playing with my 3-year old nephew, practising his writing and drawing, this conversation ensued.
BOY (my nephew): I want to draw Jesus.
UNCLE (me): Ok, here’s what we’ll do… GRANDMA (my mum, not wanting us drawing Him wrong and blaspheme): Why don’t you draw something else? ME: Don’t worry. I used to draw Bible characters. BOY (who copies us every chance he gets): Yes, I used to draw Bible CARROTS!
And that’s where I lost it 😂
We’ve since drawn so many things together, from Jesus to angels to hands to cartoon carrots… I mean characters😉. It’s really my hand holding his, but he’s confident in knowing he drew them too. And when it’s something difficult we want to draw he asks me to draw with his hand.
It reminds me of how God works in us and through us. He does magnificent things through people that trust Him and place their hands in His. Things far beyond their abilities or limits, by His very Spirit alive in them.
Sometimes after he’s told me to help him draw something, he rebuffs my direction and turns humans into 5-eyed formless monstrosities, but he’s exploring his Creativity like I once did 😁 Looking at the mess he then asks for my help and we start again or modify it.
Reminds me how God is patient in teaching us. Our certainty that we know what’s best at the expense of what He says sets us back or delays us from getting to His good result many times. What looks best may not always be good or of God, you know.
And sometimes when we’ve decided what we want to draw, let’s say a face, we (I) may start with an eye. He asks what I’m doing ’cause it looks nothing like the face he had in mind. I just encourage him to be patient, that I know what I’m doing
Reminds me of God too. Some steps He leads us in may not look or feel like the end He told us about or that we were expecting. But have you trusted your life to Him? Is your hand in His; is He your Lord? Then you can trust Him to be with you through it all.
That’s the person who knows God is with them in the valley of the shadow of death (Psalm 23).
This person may pass through a valley of crying and turn it into a spring (Psalm 84).
Just like his/her Father Who makes rivers out of the wastelands (Isaiah 43).
Drawing with His hands.
My nephew’s in his inquisitive phase too so we’re answering questions almost every second. It’s fun and exhausting, but makes me grateful for our Heavenly Father who hears my every question, spoken and unspoken, and guides me into His wonder.
In His much larger world, some questions fade away. Some persist and lead me to more in Him. Some questions I may never get the answers to until I see Him face-to-face.
And you know what? Then He’ll be all that matters, because He always has been.
POST-SCRIPT
I cannot express just how much it means to me how you all pushed out my story, The Curious Case of Doctor Maundy. Thank you so much ❤️🤗. I hope it blessed you. And I hope to be even more of a blessing. God bless you, everyone.
Here’s a little secret just for you: God willing, there are even more amazing and deeper stories coming. Already been doing some research on the subject matter. Anytime you remember, say a prayer for me please.
Also, I hope these have sparked something grand in you. All of this is just a tip of what God can do.
In this and in coming weeks I plan to share some lessons I’m learning on my writing journey. If you haven’t already, follow this page so you’re the first to know.
And finally before I go, I recently had the privilege of writing a feature in The Journey to the Extraordinary for the #21stCenturyBibleStories series by the amazing Osetemega Iribiri. Check it out by clicking this link, and also share your stories in the information at the end. Don’t forget to follow her on Medium. You’ll be really glad you did.
Emmanuel Onimisi 