#SpreadTheGospel

[blows dust off blog]

Greetings from Verona. Greetings from Dakar. Greetings from Rome. Greetings from Mombasa. Greetings from Nairobi.

Receive these greetings in the Name of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Writing (again) feels good. It feels oh so good, borderline orgasmic – for those who have experienced it before 😉 … and today’s date is my favourite number so double yay! 😛

My last two articles were penned from a pain so raw, I barely articulated the deep sorrow, confusion and grief I was in at the time. I wrote not about what I was feeling, but about God’s Word and what He says. He tells us…

Let the weak say, “I am strong!”

Joel 3:10 AMP

So when one is weak, they ought not speak about their weakness but about God’s strength.

And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”

2 Corinthians 12:9 NKJV

The words we speak, create what they are sent to do. When we speak blessings, then blessings will abound; when one speaks curses, then you know what follows.

“The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.”

Matthew 12:37 NLT

The Book of James tells us that God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation (James 1:12) but when the heat of the fire gets intense, or when the rollercoaster ride seems never-ending, we may be inclined to ask God, just like David did, how much longer the fire is meant to last.

My soul is in deep anguish.
How long, Lord, how long?

Psalms 6:3 NIV

David wrote Psalms 6 at a time when his own son, Absalom, was planning to kill and overthrow him, and his trusted advisor, Ahithopel, chose to betray him. [Get the full story from 2 Samuel 14 onward ] We also see that David was in physical pain too, as he writes in the second verse that his bones were in agony, and this was not a metaphor, it was literal.

“Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am faint;
heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony”

Psalms 6:2 NIV

Detours are paths we don’t expect. They are the setbacks (as they seem) we didn’t see coming. It’s the cancer diagnosis you never imagined for your dear friend, the job you prayed for ending maliciously, the betrayal you least expected, your mama being assaulted, watching your papa grow old, your siblings turn vile and your life literally turn upside down.

I spent the last three months imbibing lots of material – books, teachings, podcasts, memoirs – on handling loss and unexpected transitions.

In Christine Caine’s book, ‘Don’t Look Back’, she writes “…. it is often difficult to move on when we have experienced deep trauma, pain, or suffering, and feel utterly hopeless and helpless. Moving on is something we know we should do, what we often want to do, and at times what we actually refuse to do, but it remains something God eagerly wants for us.”

Reading Christine Caine’s book reignited the hope that this too, shall pass. The joy of reading is that it expands your purview and makes you realize that other people have or are going through something similar to yours. I am reminded of this quote, by George R.R. Martin, “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.” A Dance with Dragons. It is amongst the quotes that keep me reading.

I enjoy good reads and I enjoy good writing. Not all good reads are well written; and when you come across a piece that is both a good read and is well written, I consider it a literary jackpot. C.S. Lewis is one of the writers who hits this sweet spot for me. He tops my charts for several reasons:

• his literary prowess is inimitable. The way he writes – his use of words and various literary devices such as imagery, hyperbole, personification, his articulate use of rhetorical questions and clauses makes me want to keep reading.
• his deep knowledge of the Bible, his theological comprehension and his personal journey with God
• he writes about his personal experiences in a way that seems almost fairytale-like yet remains relatable
• his literary prowess – the man writes so well, I have to say it twice.

I had read about C.S. Lewis during my Bible School days, but I hadn’t, at the time, read a book by him until a pal gifted me the paperback copy of “A Grief Observed” just before he left Kenya for the Netherlands. In the book’s foreword, Doughlas H. Gresham writes, “This book is a man emotionally naked in his own Gethsemane.” The gift was clearly inspired by the Holy Spirit as I was going through the motions of grief at the time, unbeknownst to me. I was a caricature of myself; for though my outward person was flourishing, my inner person was gaunt.

Fast forward to a few years later and C.S. Lewis is back in my life again for a season that is close to but not the same as the last time. How interesting. I recently went through his anthology, ‘A Mind Awake‘ and several of his quotes resonated with me.

“Getting over a painful experience is much like crossing monkey bars. You have to let go at some point in order to move forward.” ~ C. S. Lewis

“….what we don’t grieve, won’t leave.” said Derwin Grey in his devotional teaching. What is important to keep in mind is that mourning is not just the death of a person, but for anything -a dream, a hope, a plan, a goal, a relationship, an expectation- that dies. It’s for the changes that we weren’t ready for; for the transitions we did not pray for, did not hope for and did not desire to ever happen. There needs to be a season of mourning first.

The Bible acknowledges that there is a time to mourn.

“a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,”

‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭3‬:‭4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

God is the Master of sleeping in the storm while the rest remain panicked and frantic. C. S. Lewis wrote that “Life with God is not immunity from difficulties, but peace in difficulties.” Jesus Himself said so.

“….In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

John 16:33 NIV

When the blows kept coming in thick and fast and in quick succession, I had to be still. I was literally forced to be still. I felt as if God was giving me gentle but firm nudge to move up, not just move on.

“Hardship often prepares an ordinary person for an extraordinary destiny.” ~ C. S. Lewis

One day, you will look back and see that God’s modus operandi is incomprehensible.

“Rising up, especially rising up again, is not always easy—especially when we are tired, especially when we are winded, especially when we’ve been wounded. But the good news is that our ability to arise is not based on our strength, but God’s.” ~Christine Caine, Don’t Look Back.

‘Detours’ do not mean that God’s promises, plans, and purposes for your life have changed. In fact, you are very much on course.

If Joseph’s brothers hadn’t betrayed him, he wouldn’t have ended up as second in command in Egypt. God turned Joseph’s tragedy into triumph and used him to save an entire nation from famine.

“He called for a famine on the land of Canaan, cutting off its food supply. Then he sent someone to Egypt ahead of them— Joseph, who was sold as a slave. They bruised his feet with fetters and placed his neck in an iron collar. Until the time came to fulfill his dreams, the Lord tested Joseph’s character. Then Pharaoh sent for him and set him free; the ruler of the nation opened his prison door. Joseph was put in charge of all the king’s household; he became ruler over all the king’s possessions. He could instruct the king’s aides as he pleased and teach the king’s advisers.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭105‬:‭16‬-‭22‬ ‭NLT‬‬

God NEVER leaves us. Even when Joseph was in the dungeon, “the Lord was with him” and “showed him kindness and granted him favor with the prison warden”. God is always with us.

“Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the prison, the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.”

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭39‬:‭20‬-‭21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

God is in every situation and He deals favorably with us.

“So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.”

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭39‬:‭22‬-‭23‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Faith is trusting that God is so wise and so in-control that any and every thing meant for evil, He can and will work out for good.

You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

Genesis 50:20 NIV

This epistle (laymen would say blog article) is very much mine as it is yours [if you resonate with my current season that is]. I am strengthening myself in the Lord just like David.

 Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was ^[a]grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.

1 Samuel 30:6 NKJV

From one saga to another, David went through the pits, yet, he remained steadfast in the Lord. That’s my guy!

“For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭66‬:‭10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“You let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭66‬:‭12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Akin to the author of Psalms 66, people are riding over my head, I am still in the fire (it’s hot!) and I’ve been in the water too but the Lord said that the fire is not meant to burn me nor the water to drown me; and I stand on that Word.

When you pass through the waters,
    I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
    they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
    you will not be burned;
    the flames will not set you ablaze.

Isaiah 43:2 NIV

All I can say is – to God be the glory. We do not know what God is up to, but we know that it is always for our good and His glory, even when the prevailing circumstances may not look like it.

I will leave us with this quote by Oswald Chambers that will double up as our food for thought, “Is my confidence in God sufficient that I can experience joy even during times of sorrow?”

As mentioned earlier, I have been reading a lot more lately, hence this article is seasoned with several quotes. In closing, I charge you to give your life to Christ if you haven’t done so already, He alone gives peace that surpasses human understanding. Please repeat the prayer below out loud:

Dear Lord,

Thank You for dying on the cross for me. I believe in my heart that you died and rose again and I confess with my mouth that You are Lord and Saviour in my heart and in my life. I denounce my former ways and choose to be Your child. Thank You for setting me free. I am now born again.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen

You are loved. You are treasured and you are not alone.

God adores you.

XO,

That Lady