#SpreadTheGospel

It is the 25th day of the last month of the 25th year since the new millennium (2000) or otherwise written as 25-12-25 in the DD-MM-YY format.

The alliteration of the 25 on the date and the year had me excited right from January! Those who are avid readers of my blog know that I have a knack for numbers, with a special liking for 7 and 17 and a little bit of 13 from time to time.

I was listening to the Christmas special by Brenden Praise featuring his wife, Mpoomy Ledwaba and inasmuch as I had scripted what I wanted to publish today, their worship session and word of encouragement further rubber stamped what the Lord had impressed in my heart to write about and share with you. Not to mention that their duet in the opening song tugged at my heart strings and had my eyes wet with emotion. (Fun fact: Many, many moons ago, I sang in church with ‘someone’ 😛 – those who witnessed the spectacle remind me about it occasionally)

I have written about South African worship and how their music has a way, a positive way, with me. This year, Matla Sona and Ngcwele by Brenden Praise were unequivocally amongst my top played worship songs for the year. I enjoyed his acoustic Free2Wrship version of Matla Sona as well, if only it was available on Apple Music. (When you get to read this Brenden, please put more of your Free2Wrshp songs on Apple Music) Meanwhile, you can watch more of Brenden’s worship music on his YouTube channel.

In the aforementioned Christmas special, Mpoomy spoke about something profound – being grateful for the spiritual blessings. She starts off by recounting how they had travelled to and fro with the family without any accidents or incidents. Brenden chimed in as well, given that his gigs make him travel frequently, he had witnessed several grisly accidents but had never been involved in one. This, the couple attributes to the protective power of God. Mpoomy mentions that celebrating physical blessings such as the car, the degree, the wedding and so on, gets many people excited but few take time to celebrate God’s spiritual covering upon us.

Mpoomy shared a reading from Psalms 27 and verse 13 rang true in my case this year:

 I would have fainted, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

Psalms 27:13 KJV

That indeed I would have fainted is accurate! Whew! 2025 saw me shed more tears that I did in 2019 and 2024 combined!

Last year, I (gruesomely) lost my job, my beloved grandma and my favorite uncle – a job I thoroughly enjoyed and people I loved deeply, respectively. Further, my parents both fell ill at the same time and one of my close girlfriends got diagnosed with cancer of the breast. When January 2025 began, I was hopeful – that though weeping may endure for a night, joy definitely comes in the morning. That is what the Lord says in His Word.

…weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

Psalms 30:5 KJV

Children of God, when I thought the ‘night’ was over in 2024; 2025 tossed me every way I could never have imagined. Last year felt like a hard test but this year… this year… this year… was the advanced level. As the Lord wills, if He wills, for the details to be known, then I will write about it; but lo, when I thought I lost much last year; this year, I lost much more! When I thought things were not so good last year, this year, they were …

When David writes in Psalms 27 that he would have fainted if it were not for the Lord; readers, I would have fainted too! Scratch that. I fainted actually, but, the Lord would not let me die.

Painful as the previous months have been, this is not the time to think that I had a “hard” year, inasmuch as it was hard in the carnal perspective, but spiritually, that is exactly where God wanted me to be.

It’s not about having what I desire, but having what I need.

Then again, what exactly is it that I lost that the Lord cannot restore? More importantly, weren’t those things, titles, people given to me by the Lord?

Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
And naked shall I return there.
The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away;
Blessed be the name of the Lord.

Job 1:21 NKJV

Romans 11:36 tells us that of Him, meaning that it is emanating from God; through Him, meaning God is the conduit and to Him, God as the recipient; are ALL things, not some things, ALL things.

For of Him and through Him and to Him are ALL things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.

Romans 11:36 NKJV

Interestingly, the scripture of Psalms 27 was in my manuscript for today’s article so when Mpoomy read it in her message of the season, then God is emphasizing His message through various channels.

Another scripture that the Holy Spirit had me meditate on was Psalms 23. Once again, my favourite Biblical character, David, pens one of the most referenced scriptures in the Bible.

The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not ^[a]want.
² He makes me to lie down in ^[b]green pastures;
He leads me beside the ^[c]still waters.
³ He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

⁴ Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

⁵ You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will ^[d]dwell in the house of the Lord
^[e]Forever.

Psalms 23 -full chapter – NKJV

God doesn’t only provide in green pastures, He provides in hostile territory as well. David says God sets a table in the presence of his enemies. That means there is blessing to be found in the middle of the battle.

In God’s kingdom, blessing is not scarcity, but surplus. His goodness and mercy don’t trail behind you reluctantly, they chase you down relentlessly. David knew what it was like to be hunted by Saul. Yet more deeply, he knew what it was like to be pursued by God, and that pursuit ended not in emptiness but in overflow.

If the year seems to have been quite tough on or for you, remember that God’s ways are not our ways.

The Jews were expecting Jesus to be a political king born into human royalty; yet, the Saviour was born in a manger, in an unexpected way, an unexpected place and by unexpected people. In similitude, what are some of the blessings you may have overlooked this year? What did you expect to come in pomp and grandeur akin to the Jews’ imagination of the Saviour’s birth, but God surprised you with a baby in a manger? Things as simple as:

• The friend who texted you at just the right time
• The lesson hidden in a hard season
• The door that closed, making space for a better one to open
• The silence that taught you to listen
• The failure that redirected your path
• The kindness of a stranger
• The courage you found to start again

I do not mean to diminish your pain, the rejection you went through, the disappointment, the heartache and all the unexpected twists and turns you have or are going through, but one perspective I would like to introduce to you today is this; perhaps you need to look at the “baby-in-the-manger” and not the anticipated king born in the palace. Perhaps what you thought would have been a promotion at work but led to a summary dismissal or the relationship you thought would have had you walking down the aisle but you ended up sliding down walls crying instead, was already part of God’s plan for you. Perhaps you need to look at the “baby-in-the-manger” in this situation. Could it be that the job promotion would have put you in a compromising situation in future and God saved you from it? Could it be that your would-be spouse was pretending throughout your courtship and God knows that s/he would have made your marriage life a chapter from a horror novel? We are looking for the baby in the palace when the baby is in the manger. Another way to look at it is that you needed the skills or experience or networks from that workplace and your time was up, according to God’s calendar; not yours.

I read this quote by Elisabeth Elliot that, “Some of God’s greatest mercies are in His refusals. He says ‘no’ in order that he may, in some way we cannot imagine, say ‘yes’.“

As we commemorate the birth of Jesus, let us reflect on our “baby-in-the-manger” perspectives in every situation we have been through the past couple of months.

Unto us, a Child is born and unto us, a Son is given (Isaiah 9:6). Our reason for the season is the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ and if you believe in your heart that He was born so that you may receive the free gift of salvation, 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

Congratulations! That is a reason to celebrate!

Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones.

Enjoy, be encouraged and if you don’t seem to have a reason to make you smile today, may the Lord comfort you. Weeping endures only for the night.

XO,

That Lady