In search of God

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. ' Life is very burdensome and each one of us carries a personal burden of some sort that sometimes pushes us even to our breaking points. We feel depressed and overwhelmed by the constant struggles, worries and anxieties of everyday life and are enticed to just give it all up and walk away from it all. And some do  choose to   walk away physically, mentally and emotionally , living sad, lonely and depressed lives;  while others give up on life itself and sadly  choose  to take their life. And even those who do try to fight a good fight with life seem to be no better because they have to endure laboring in an unending cycle of ups and downs, wins and losses that is frustrating as...

Numbers 13:31,32, ‘But the men who had gone up with him said, "We can't attack those people; they are stronger than we are." And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, "The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size.’ Pessimism is defined as having an attitude of anticipating undesirable outcomes or believes that the hardships in life outweigh the good. The world that we live in is pessimistic. We in turn have become pessimistic in our nature anticipating that the undesirable or negative outcome is more likely to happen and that the evil in the world triumph over good. This is just the way the natural world is. This is the attitude that the ten men chosen from the twelve tribes of Israel had. And because of this pessimism, they spread a negative report among the camp of Israel about the land promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob by God on oath, a land flowing with milk...

Matthew 6:31,32 'So do not worry, saying, "What shall we ate?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?" For the pagans run after all these things, and you heavenly Father knows that you need them.' If you worry about something that is troubling you, a need that needs to be provided for, a problem that needs a solution, are you guaranteed of getting the provision or solution? I know you will not so why then do we worry. We worry because we allow fear into our hearts and also because we place our focus on our problems. Fear then magnifies these problems into giants that seem insurmountable. But living in fear and worry robs us of life and we end up living miserable defeated lives instead of enjoying the victory that God has in store for us. Our God is faithful and He knows our needs even before we know of them and provides for us a solution before the problem even comes upon us. You doubt, then look at the cross. God knew that Adam would...

Psalm 28:6-9, ‘Praise be to the LORD, for He has heard my cry for mercy. The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song. The LORD is the strength of His people, a fortress of salvation for His anointed one. Save your people and bless your inheritance; be their shepherd and carry them for ever.’ We are all God’s workmanship, so that no one can boast that he is saved by his own deeds, might or will. It is by the grace of God that we are saved, by having faith in He who He sent to suffer our judgment and die in our place, to be our fortress of salvation, so that those that believe in Him, who submit and wholly trust the anointed one of God – the Christ – then they will be redeemed, they will be strengthened, filled with peace and joy of God that is circumstance defying. Those that know who their Savior is, their Redeemer, sing shouts of praise to Him, thanking Him for all He has done, for His ...

Romans 8:28, ‘And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.’ Do not despair if things look bad, do not lose hope thinking that you have messed everything up and you have no chance at reaping any good for in all things God plans good things for those who love Him. Just look at how in Adam man was lost in rebellion and disobedience, cursed to face eternal death because of the sinful life we led, yet in His divine wisdom and mercy and love, God came and lived as man in Jesus, showing us the example by which we should live and then redeeming us unto Himself by His death at the cross thus satisfying the requirement of the law that demanded death for sin and disobedience while giving us the gift of life eternal and clothing us with righteousness in Jesus Christ that we do not deserve. God knows that you are broken, you are a cracked pot and there is no other way that He would want you because only in your broke...

Psalm 118:10-13, ‘All nations surrounded me, but in the name of the LORD I cut them off. They surrounded me on every side, but in the name of the LORD I cut them off. They swarmed around me like bees, but they died out as quickly as burning thorns; in the name of the LORD I cut them off. I was pushed back and about to fall, but the LORD helped me.’ The world is full of trouble, and we are constantly under attack from the Devil who wants us to lose hope and give up on our inheritance as believers. He will use family, friends, strangers and enemies to try and put us down, persecute us, oppress us, discourage us, mislead us, tempt us so that we may lose our way and not focus on Jesus Christ who is the author and perfecter of our faith and strengthens us through everything. But in all these we should never lose our focus, keeping our eyes on the prize, shedding off all encumbrances that might prevent us from reaching our destination and completing our race by focusing on Jesus, our Lord...

Psalm 118:5, ‘In my anguish I cried to the LORD, and He answered by setting me free.’ We were in shackles of sin, living in slavery to it, submitting to our selfish and sinful desires but the Lord saw our anguish and sent His one and only begotten Son, called Jesus, to take our sins away and by washing our transgressions away with His blood at the cross. He has set us free from the yoke of sin and death and has given us righteousness and life. What a joy to know that you are no longer dead but alive, that your name has been written in the book of life, that you are victorious, a conqueror of this world, that you are a visitor, an ambassador of the Kingdom of God on earth longing to go home to your God because of His Amazing Grace.

Psalm 118:6, ‘The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?’ Imagine this believer; the creator has got your back. What a wonderful thought that is, to possess the knowledge that the Almighty, Holy God is always with you. If you possess this knowledge, this truth, then despair and fear of men and angels should not grasp you. You should not allow anxiety to grip and envelop your heart even when you are confronted by troubles, trials and persecutions because He who is with you is greater than all that come against you. What might seem impossible to you is possible to Him because everything is possible through Him. He has you in the palm of your hand and no one can snatch you away from His grasp. Replace fear with faith and hope, trusting in the Lord’s faithfulness to help you through your problems and afflictions. Your enemies, both physical and spiritual, may gnash their teeth at you, plotting and planning your demise but God works out everything for the good of t...

Psalm 118:8,9, ‘It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.’ God is not man. He does not change His mind, He is faithful and just, He is Almighty and powerful, He is Holy, He is all knowing, all seeing and ever present and we need to place our hopes and trust in Him for He will never forsake nor leave us unlike men who will be with you only when things are good, only for a season, who are irrational and cannot change even the head on their head to be grey. Men’s hearts are full of deceit and will deceive you but God is good all the time, having good plans for you, to prosper and provide a hope and a future. There is no other person that we can depend on other than God. Placing your hope and trust in a fellow man is like building sand castles that will be washed away but trusting and having faith in God is building your foundation on Christ the Solid Rock. Simply put He is dependable.

Psalm 112:10, ‘The wicked man will see and be vexed, he will gnash his teeth and waste away; the longings of the wicked will come to nothing.’ We should live in this world fear free, doing what the Lord has put into our hearts without fear of persecution because their plans to stop you from enjoying God’s peace, joy and hope; to dissuade you from believing in good purpose for your life and getting fulfillment from living and achieving your destiny; to keep you from exercising your power over sin; to keep you from experiencing God’s unconditional, selfless and boundless love; to keep you from maturing and growing spiritually into all you are meant to be; to keep you paralyzed with fear and many other reasons. Elisha once told us that we should not fear because those that are with us are more and greater than those that are with the wicked. They may go to witch doctors, they may harm your body but Jesus warned us to be very wary of who destroys the soul, that is the Devil, who is the p...

John 14:1, ‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me.’ As Jesus was preparing to face the cross, He left His disciples a word of encouragement because He knew they were going to face uncertain and disappointing times before His resurrection. Uncertainty and disappointment, because of lack of control over the circumstances facing us, cause us to panic, despair and be fearful. We have troubled hearts but Jesus asked His disciples then and us now that we need to trust in God, the Father and the Son. When we are faced with a situation that is difficult and that seems to have no way out for us, we need to remember that God is all knowing; He loves us and has good plans for us. With this knowledge we can let all our cares and concerns rest in Him and place our complete trust and faith in Him and His ability to get us out of the situation stronger, better and more mature than we could ever do it for and by ourselves. Trust and faith is the only way to defeat fea...

1 Peter 5:10, ‘And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.’ Life as a follower of Christ is fraught with trials, persecutions and sufferings. This does not mean that we are called to live a life of anxiety or despair but because of His peace that He has given us and His boundless grace in our lives, we are able to live joyful lives even in the midst of our misfortune and suffering. We who are called and have heeded to that same call to follow and obey Christ need to persevere and exercise patience in our lives. We need to look at things in perspective which is that the time spent on this earth is small compared to the eternity of the life to come and also that God is faithful to His word and will keep the promises He has made to us in Christ. He will restore us and make us strong, firm and steadfast not only in the life to come but also in this that ...

Habakkuk 3:17,18, ‘Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crops fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Saviour. Our current circumstances might be dire, we might be facing imminent death, destruction might be upon us but at that moment, we should not be overcome by fear or despair but we should rejoice in the Lord. Why? Because He lives and He is our Savior and it does not matter what the situation is, He is going to save us. When the world seems to against you, your friends betray you; your enemies surround you, rejoice in God, shout and sing songs of praise. Do not allow yourself to cower into a corner in despair and self pity but rejoice in the Lord for your salvation is at hand. Just like Paul and Silas who were in prison in chains, in pain, when they rejoiced in the Lord, their chains fell off, the chief ja...

Habakkuk 3:16, ‘I heard and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at the sound; decay crept into my bones, and my legs trembled. Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us. It takes great trust to patiently wait for a disaster that is fast approaching us when the Lord asks us to but this is what we ought to do in the face of trouble. We need to cast our cares upon him, place our hopes in Him, even when we are overrun by fear of death, and trust in Him that we shall overcome and get to see the end of the calamity facing us. We should face our problems not only when we are courageous but even when in fear, our knees trembling, our heart pounding, and our instincts telling us to run because we are not alone and trust in Him just like Joseph and He will bless us with His Grace no matter our current circumstances

Habakkuk 3:2, ‘Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy. Often when we are faced with tough times, trials and tribulations of this world, we feel forsaken by God lamenting and crying out to Him, asking why He has forgotten us. We focus so much on the current crisis and the darkness enveloping us in the pit we are in that we forget about the crisis that we had faced in the past and how the same God we are crying out as having forsaken us helped us then and lifted us out of the pit that we were in. The God we serve is the same yesterday, today, tomorrow and forever and therefore if He has saved you once He will do it again. All we need to do is be patient and trusting. Whenever we are faced with these situations and we feel despair creeping in, remind yourself of the times past, that you have seen the saving arm of the Lord in your life. Our God is a merciful God and He will show...

Hebrews 13:5, ‘Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” ’ In whom or what have you placed your trust and hopes. Is it your wealth and money, like the rich young man that came to Jesus asking for the way to salvation, or is it in God? Having money is not a sin in itself but loving it to the extent that you are not willing to give it up for the glory of God is. Jesus told us that it is impossible to love two masters, you will love one and hate the other so do not mislead yourself into thinking that you can love both to the same degree. The society we live in is one of scarcity mentality where we are conditioned (thanks to the Devil and our carnal nature) to want to accumulate more than we need. We are never content with what we have. It is never enough no matter how much we have. We want to have a sense of security and obtain our value about ourselves from what we have, our...

Hebrews 12:1-3, ‘Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you do not grow weary and lose heart.’ As believers we know that the physical realm is not the only one in the world, but there are powerful and forces, both good and bad, in the spiritual realm that are watching us live our lives as we try to accomplish the purpose and will of God for our lives. The evil one, the great deceiver Satan, tries to dissuade us, divert us, confuse us, blind us so that we may lose our way in disobedience and rebellion to God’s will and not finish the race before us. The righteou...

1 Peter 1:7, ‘These (all kinds of trials) have come so that your faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.’ This world is full of trials and tribulations and many of us when faced we go around sad and feeling persecuted. But look at it this way, our Lord controls everything of this world, because control was given to Him, and if you are facing a trial, He has allowed you to face it for a reason, and the reason is for you to be shaped, molded and matured spiritually. Just like a pearl is shaped due to an irritation, a believer’s faith in the one who called us to Himself is built up. So when you face these trials, do not despair but rejoice because He that is in you is still doing His work in you to make you whole and without blemish, a pure bride for His second coming.

Our God the Almighty is unchanging and He declared it when He said ´I am who I am´ and that He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow yet some say there is a difference between the God of the Old testament and the new testament. They say that in the Old testament God was harsh while in the new testament He was more loving. But He is the same and has not changed a bit. The ten commandments given to Moses at Mount Sinai by God in Exodus 20:1-17, are edicts of what we are not supposed to do because before the coming of Christ, our hearts were stony and were rebellious so as to guide our actions towards being obedient to and LOVING Him. The law was not an end unto itself and was not our way to salvation but due to our deadened hearts, it was meant to lead us to where God ultimately lead us through Jesus. When Jesus came to earth, He summed the ten commandments up into two in Mark 12:28-31, ´One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus...

Most of us believe that we can exclude God from our lives, that we can do things on our own, but all this is vanity. We remove our trust in God and place it in mere men and things that are our own creation. Nothing made by man is full proof and will surely become undone by the mighty power of God. This vanity of men is shown in the scriptures in Psalms 127:1-2, ´Unless the Lord builds the house, its laborers labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat – for he grants sleep to those he loves.´ and Psalms, ´146:3-4, ´Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing.´ We need to put all our trust in the Lord. So what does putting your trust in God grant you? FREEDOM. Freedom from affliction, iniquity, injustice, oppression, bondage - you name it ...