Browsing Tag

Surrender

Valley Of Berakah!

Happy New Month!

Just the other day we were excitedly crossing over to 2024 and today we are on the second day of the second month. Time indeed flies. I know most of us, if not all ,have goals/resolutions for the year and my prayer is that you are striving to grow in what I believe are the core spheres of life namely spiritual, mental development, assignment, financial, relationships and health.

One of my spiritual goals this year is to complete a 1-year bible plan on 01/01/2025 and by God’s grace this is an area I don’t struggle with. I love reading my bible and despite having read it cover to cover severally, it’s always exciting to embark on this journey again simply because every time I open the word of God, He gifts me a fresh revelation.

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. “ Hebrews 4:12

Rick Warren rightly said: “God’s Word generates life, creates faith, produces change, frightens the devil, causes miracles, heals hurts, builds character, transforms circumstances, imparts joy, overcomes adversity, defeats temptation, infuses hope, releases power, cleanses our minds, brings things into being and guarantees our future forever.” God’s word is truly alive, active and far more powerful than any of us can ever imagine.

I have been born again since 26^th May 2016 and I can confidently say that salvation is a beautiful, exhilarating and life changing journey but truth be told it’s not always glitz and glam. It has its hills and valleys moment. Moments you’re on the mountain top celebrating victories and testimonies and answered prayers: the highlights of your walk of faith. Then the other moments when you’re knee deep in the valleys, drowning in fear, battling unbelief and fighting raging wars within your spirit and your environment.

I’ve had my fair share of highs and lows: highs that have been incredibly-mind blowing and literally the favour of God shining through and lows that have been down right heart-breaking. But in these moments, God has greatly encouraged me, assuring me that He knows and sees the end from the beginning so He knows how the story started, how it will end and everything in between. Nothing catches Him by surprise. In all these moments, He remains God and I am assured that He works ALL things together for good to them that love Him and are called according to His purpose.

Today I’ll share one of my favorite valley story in the bible that always encourages me.

2^nd Chronicles, Chapter 20.

Looming Battle:

The chapter opens up in verse 1 with a heavy profound statement “After this, the Moabites and Ammonites came to wage war against Jehoshaphat.”

Background story: in chapter 19, Jehoshaphat carried out an intense revival campaign throughout the land urging the people to turn back to God. He then went ahead and appointed God fearing judges and instructed them, “Consider carefully what you do, because you are not judging for mere mortals but for the Lord, who is with you whenever you give a verdict. Now let the fear of the Lord be on you. Judge carefully, for with the Lord our God there is no injustice or partiality or bribery. “He then proceeded to appoint Levites, priests and heads of Israelite families to administer the law of the Lord and to settle disputes. He gave them these orders: “You must serve faithfully and wholeheartedly in the fear of the Lord. Jehoshaphat was on fire and zeal for God and his passion was very impactful as a leader. You would think that after such a fiery season, there would be great reward but the very next chapter we are told his enemies united to wage war against him

Lesson: Serving God diligently and faithfully doesn’t always insulate you against battles. God has ordained a special set of circumstances, some are positive and some are not, but He knows ultimately it is for our advantage. In between where you are and the next level you desire are battles and because God knows we will never initiate them on our own accord (lol), He will arrange them for us. Our job is to keep a steadfast gaze on Him and not be overwhelmed by the surrounding circumstances.

Reaction to Battle:

When Jehoshaphat was informed of the approaching enemies, he was alarmed (who wouldn’t) but his next approach is what distinguished him as a servant of God. “3 He resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. 4 The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him.”

He didn’t let his alarm get the best of him, he knew where to immediately turn to, he knew where his help came from, he knew he never walked alone, he knew God is his refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. I wish I could confidently say that his approach is always my 1^st response but truth be told, I have my many moments where I let circumstances and emotions get the best of me. And in those moments I always end up anxious to the core, worried and anxious until the Holy Spirit has to step in and remind me who I am and who I belong to. He is teaching me and am learning to take captive all those thoughts and make them obedient to Christ.

Lesson: Make God your first and only priority whom you turn to and depend on for everything and in all situations and circumstances, good or bad. You have not been called to do life alone. You can only do all things through Christ who strengthens you and ultimately it is not by your strength or might but by His Spirit.

Jehoshaphat cried out to God:

“6 Lord, the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. 7 Our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? 8 They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary for your Name, saying, 9 ‘If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.’10 “But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, whose territory you would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt; so they turned away from them and did not destroy them. 11 See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an inheritance. 12 Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”

He didn’t pray his fear or his feelings based on the prevailing circumstance (like we are tempted to do most times). He didn’t go to God lamenting how he had been faithfully serving God and now he was under attack. He didn’t make mindless prayers in the face of great adversity. He confidently prayed the word of God, He acknowledged God’s power and sovereignty over all the earth. He remembered the great deeds and victory God had granted them in the past with their forefathers. He reminded God the promise He had given them when Solomon built the great temple of God: that when they stood in His presence before His temple that bears His Name and cried out to Him in distress, He would hear them and save them. Then he surrendered his enemies into God’s hand and expressed his utter dependence on God alone. This was such a beautiful and powerful prayer.

Lesson: May the Lord teach us to love and delight in His word. May He teach us to pray His word at all times. God will never go against His word. May His word be our anchor over our thoughts, feelings, deeds and circumstances.

“God is not human, that He should lie, not a human being, that He should change his mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfil?” Numbers 23:19

“All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever” 1st Peter 1:25

“So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it”. Isaiah 55:11

Response to Battle: God

Because our God is a faithful God, He responded to Jehoshaphat:

‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16 Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. 17 You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’”

I can only imagine the relief he must have felt when he heard the word of God. Many are the times our faint hearts probably expect that God will totally annihilate the enemies just like that and we won’t have to do a thing or break a sweat. And He totally can do this but He won’t all the times because in our relationship with God, we are both required to act. He faithfully does His part and waits on us to obediently do our part.

God assured Jehoshaphat that the enemies would still come and he would still need to face them but the battle belonged to God.

Lesson: In the midst of storms of life, don’t wear yourself out with worry and anxiety and the little strength you have of your own. Turn to God and let Him fight for you.

Response to Battle: You and I

The immediate response of Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah was they fell on their knees, face to the ground and worshipped God then the priests stood up and praised God with a loud voice. ’20 early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.” 21 After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of His[c] holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: “Give thanks to the Lord, for His love endures forever.”

And we are told that as they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the men from Mount Seir to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another. Would you imagine that? When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped.

This the part that greatly excites my spirit and makes me break out in joy. When God fights for you! Glory to Jesus! They didn’t have to lift a finger, all they lifted were their hearts to look up to God, their voices to give praise and worship God and their feet to move in obedience and march down against the enemies. Period! The rest was left to God and boy didn’t He put up a mighty show for the glory and honor of His name!

And the cherry on the ice cake: on top of the seamless victory, Jehoshaphat and his men went to carry off their plunder, and they found among them a great amount of equipment and clothing and also articles of value—more than they could take away. There was so much plunder that it took three days to collect it. Look at God!

Lesson: As soon as they began to praise, God acted and set ambushes: your victory heavily relies on your obedience, if they hadn’t stepped out in faith, I shudder to imagine the outcome. What a faithful and awesome God we serve who not only meets our immediate needs but also lovingly looks out for our wants and lavishes upon us His overwhelming blessings, more than we could ask or imagine. What won’t God with a broken and surrendered heart? May we learn to truly let go and let God, to be still and know He is God and to surrender our hearts, minds, bodies and everything concerning us to Him. There is nothing too big or too small that He won’t fight for you.

After Victory:

On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berakah, where they praised the Lord. This is why it is called the Valley of Berakah [Berakah means praise.] to this day. Then, led by Jehoshaphat, all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned joyfully to Jerusalem, for the Lord had given them cause to rejoice over their enemies. They entered Jerusalem and went to the temple of the Lord with harps and lyres and trumpets.

Lesson: Don’t be so overexcited at the victories, the blessings, the miracles that you forget to give thanks to God who enabled all things to work in your favor. Never be so caught up in seeking God only for what He can give you but always for the intimacy of His presence and the sweet fellowship of a relationship with Him.

Then we are told at the end that the fear of God came on all the surrounding kingdoms when they heard how the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side.

Lesson: When God wins a battle for you, you don’t have to fight that one ever again, it’s marked as ‘done and dusted’ lol. Don’t strive for the peace that the world gives, which always comes at a costly price of compromise but let God give you His peace.

I’ve read this chapter countless times but it still always gets me excited all over again like a little girl and as I type this am shaking in joy and can’t stop praying, praising and above grateful that am blessed to call this God my God!!Most times we hear that valley seasons are full of pain and anguish but here is a testimony that when you trust God in your valleys, you can still smile and come out praising Him in victory.

In this life you have so many adversaries and yet you are oh so little BUT you have a BIG GOD and that in itself balances the equation. Won’t you let God fight for you?

*****

I’d like to challenge you this year: pick up your bible, let’s read and grow together. There are countless bible plans that will help structure your reading and one of my fave resource that I have come to love is https://www.youversion.com/.

See you on the other side of growth!

Inspiration

Be Led!

Welcome back home my dear reader! Last we were here was 30^th June 2023: this walk of faith is turning out to be a stroll lol, Lord forgive me!

Towards the end of October I did a little soul searching and decided to make a few changes for the remaining days of 2023; a little motivation to ensure I end the year impactful and set the tone for 2024. One of the things I challenged myself to do was publish a blog post every week and so here I am being faithful in the small things. Can you believe that the year is almost coming to an end? Today, the 10^thday of November is day 314 out of 365, exactly 51 days left to the cross over, truly God has been gracious and faithful to us.

Last year a time like this, the older version of myself would have been in a state of panic and anxiety thinking to herself, “oh my goodness, the year is ending. What have I done with myself? What have I done with my life? Where am I going? Am I living purposefully?” Oh how I remember her too well she was something special, lol.

There are moments I struggled in 2022 and I was trusting God to end those seasons and usher me to a new level. Outcomes of these moments was I stopped serving both in church and in my personal space, I wasn’t as fervent in my prayers, fasting, and devotions. I wasn’t writing my goals, blogging, dreaming and chasing goals. I just lived, small and settled and I was exhausted mentally, emotionally and spiritually (more of it here https://mywalkoffaith.co.ke/ebenezer/).

I remember when I crossed over into 2023, deep in my spirit I knew it was not just a physical crossing into a new year but it was a change of season: the end of closed doors and the dawn of a new era of open doors. And true to it, I am deeply overwhelmed by God’s doing in my life these past 10 months, He is Ebenezer and faithful to His word. This 2023 version of myself is different: she’s not feeling alone, struggling in a storm, battling feelings of doubt, insecurities and stagnation. She’s more settled and grounded in God, she’s more aligned spiritually and is discerning to understand the times and seasons by the grace of God. She has solidified her identity in Christ and isn’t wavered by small waves of life as she has learned to lift her eyes unto Jesus, the author and finisher of her faith. She’s living her life authentically, boldly and unashamed knowing the only validation she needs is His. She’s serving in church and in her personal space as she disciples those God brings her way. She’s no longer struggling to pray: the dying embers have been fully flamed and this girl is on fire for Christ.

I have now come to fully believe that when we seek God diligently, He rewards us with His presence and so much more. “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Hebrews 11:6

I am a living testimony, I have seen His hand in my life and I am in awe of what a surrendered vessel can become in His hands. All it needed was me letting go of the reins on my life and letting God lead the way because it dawned on me that the root cause of my struggles were anchored in my innate desire for self-control. All this time spent fighting God for the control was just wasted years because my life isn’t my own to lead, more so when I surrendered to Christ and allowed Him to be the Lord of my life. Prophet Jeremiah in his book, chapter 10.23 states that so well “Lord I know that people’s lives are not their own; it is not for them to direct their steps”. I wonder why I was I hell-bent on living my life on my turf like I was the “lord” and yet I was just a little smurf (yea, big animation fan).

But doom to you who fight your Maker – you’re a pot at odds with the potter! Does clay talk back to the potter: ‘What are you doing? What clumsy fingers!’ Isaiah 45:9(Message version)

Why do we struggle with leading ourselves yet we are limited as mankind? If only we knew, understood and believed that God’s plan for our lives is grand beyond our wildest imaginations, then we wouldn’t be struggling to get off the driver’s seat and let Him drive us to our destiny. Before we were formed in our mother’s wombs, God knew us and before we were born, He had already predestined us for greatness. His plans are to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us a hope and a future. As mankind, we are yet to witness a fraction of what God has in store for us, period! All we have experienced is just but a glimpse of the His magnificent will for us. It is written in 1 Cor. 2:9 “No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love Him.”

Beloved, don’t box God!

Don’t box Him in comparison to what you think you need or want. You only end up grossly limiting Him to your own thoughts which are way lower than His. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9. Your needs/wants are so basic to what God has in store for you, it’s like a child asking the dad to buy them a teddy bear because in their mind that’s the biggest need and yet the dad can provide so much more than that.

Don’t box Him in comparison to what He has already done for you. You only end grossly limiting Him to one template yet He can do exceedingly abundantly above what you think or imagine. God is the same yesterday today and forever more BUT His methods are not the always the same. Some battles you will strike the Red Sea with your rod, some you will wade in the Jordan River. Some battles you will strike out the enemy with your swords and some you will walk around Jericho for 7 days for your victory. Some miracles He will only speak a word and your sight will be restored and some miracles He will spit the ground, mix his saliva with dirt, make mud and apply the paste your eyes. Don’t use the victories of yesterday as a strategy for today’s battles.

Don’t box Him to your timelines. All the days ordained for us were written in His book before one of them came to be. God is never late, God is never early; God is always on time: He works in His ordained and appointed time. We are the ones who are always in a hurry when we want it done on our terms in our own timing, then when it doesn’t happen, we cry out there is a delay. But is it ever a delay if from the word go we didn’t know of the exact timing of the occurrence? Who should dictate what entails a delay? Us or the one who creates the time and the timings? I believe until we know the expected time of arrival, then we really can’t tell if there is a delay, that can only be God’s job and we must strive to leave it in His hands.

If there is a core lesson for me in 2023 is the gentle reminder that we are just but vessels in the hand of our maker, we are like sheep in the fold of our good Shepherd. Our job isn’t to know where we are going, nope. That’s the Shepherd’s job and He does such an amazing job at it. Our job as His sheep is to simply know God’s voice and to walk in total obedience. The Psalmist in chapter 37 stated that “The steps of a righteous man are ordered/directed and established by the Lord”

Our job as His sheep is to rest in the words of Psalms 23:

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He knows all your needs and wants, He is Jehovah Jireh, your provider.

He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters.
He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.

All we are called to do is to allow the Shepherd to take the lead. Even in the days when we can’t tell where we are going and it seems all dark, we are called to not fear.

Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Even in the face of opposition when we feel we are hard-pressed in all corners and we are surrounded and outnumbered, we are called to rest in the assurance that He is the master orchestrator and all things work together for good.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

So today, do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom: rest in that assurance. Surrender to His leading, purpose to draw near to Him and He will draw near to you. Walk intimately with Him, know His voice and follow His leading.

And surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Let go and Let God lead you.

In whatever you do, wherever you may be, place your hand in His, be His faithful follower and let God’s hand lead you and you’ll be surprised at what God will do!

AMEN!