Categories
The Overcoming Believer

The Wound [3]

Hey guys! I’m amazed at the feedback from this particular topic. I got messages from people on social media talking about how God is helping them through this topic and I’m so glad!! I’m so glad that we want to become healthy people, healthy Christians , that way we can impact our world more effectively. Please pardon me for posting late today.

How are you? How’s your heart? I travelled to the Eastern Cape a couple of weeks ago. So we had a stop over by a garage and I was talking to the cashier, I asked her ,”Are you happy? How are you? How’s your heart?” she almost started crying. Her eyes were teary and she said ,”I have never heard that kind of question. Nobody has ever asked me that. I don’t know if I’m happy but thank you for asking.” Eh I wanted to give her a big hug. How many people does she have in her life and do they know this? That she feels that way? As I was walking away I thought of how many people in the world, in my circle, in my family , who are just looking to have a conversation about it. By “it” I mean, people dying to talk about their pain or experiences and they have no one to talk to. How many people want to be checked up on because they’re having a hard time?

I’m just not an open person. I am quite sociable but for me to actually speak and say “I’m having a hard time!” Is so hard for me. I think many of us have not been able to address the wound because we don’t speak? We shut it in. We thug it out. We have become emotional Batistas. We shut people out and we don’t understand that we need them; that the people we are pushing away will oneday go away. I am learning to speak, to learn to give my friends a chance to be there for me when they can, to tear down the walls l built because I was protecting myself from being wounded.

One of the reasons why we seem to be stuck in pain is we don’t believe we can truly be healed. We have had it for so long we can’t relate to life without pain. When people say they’re joyful we don’t even know what it means and so we entertain the thought of pain as “home” ; as “default mode” ; as “normal”. You meet someone who has been raped more than twice and they can say stuff life “life happens” or “these things happen” , you then realise ah, because of the length of the time it took to heal and the many times they were wounded, they have automatically locked into the box that tags , “Accept it. Pain is part of life. Just keep going”. It’s hard for a limping man to keep going. He surely wants to sit and rest for a while yes?

I have a question for you. Do you really want to be healed? Or do you like your life as it is? Posting about pain? Is it okay if you were to live like this till you die? If it’s okay then you even need more help for not realising a need for change.

When Jesus saw him lying there, he knew that the man had been crippled for a long time. Jesus said to him, “Do you truly long to be well?””
‭‭John‬ ‭5‬:‭6‬ ‭TPT‬‬

When Jesus saw a man who needed healing , He asked the man a question. He didn’t assume the man wanted it. He didn’t just heal him. He asked him “Do you truly long to be well?” Someone can say, “But Jesus , he is by the pool obviously he’s there for healing.” Just like many people flood counselling rooms and we assume they’re looking for healing but they just like to talk about it. Many people were by the pool! A group of friends with the same story! Others got healed but he remained there 38 years! He lost time because he was not healed. You lose more than the man, you lose time. He could’ve made so many memories, did so many things, but year after year he sat on a mat, the legs remained crippled. My darling you must desire it! You must long for it, truly! How long has it been sitting by the pool while others finally find joy? How long has it been?

Why is Jesus asking someone he found in a hospital if he wants to be well? I really picture that place as a hospital because the bible says many ailing people were found there. So why ask if you can see the need? Because unless the “needy” sees the “need” there’s no need to help them. Unless we realise that we need help, we won’t get the help. Unless we understand that we cannot go on like this, we will keep going on like that. It’s a conscious decision to come to .. Am l bleeding? Do l truly long to be made whole? I can tell you right now, many many many people, depressed, hurt, angry, don’t want to be made whole…. They are okay with the attention that comes from people .. they are fine as long as they have a mat and a cup to beg at Bethesda. No family, It is time to go forward.

“Since my people are crushed, I am crushed; I mourn, and horror grips me. Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is there no healing for the wound of my people?”
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭8‬:‭21‬-‭22‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Why then is there no healing for the wound? Is there no God in heaven? Can’t He help us? He can family but here’s the missing piece… Do you truly want to be healed?

Categories
The Overcoming Believer

The Wound [2]

I greet you with a hug in the Name of Jesus. I trust that you are well and had a good weekend. This week l want us to wrap up this topic so we can look at an interesting topic that I’ve been studying. If you didn’t read the last two posts on this topic I encourage you to, as it will give you insight and understanding. If you did read, we don’t read to cram or to just get excited. We must be transformed by the renewal of the mind. The Word should fall on fertile ground otherwise we are just running with chained feet.

What happened to you?

You guys already know l write from pictures. If I come across a picture it inspires me to write. I found this on Pinterest and l just grabbed it for today’s blog. What happened to you? For many people the picture is a visual representation of the state of our hearts. Many wounds. Many bandages. We just patch where there’s bleeding and move onto our next fresh cut. The previous wound hasn’t healed but you’re now dealing with a fresh cut. The cycle continues and people die – broken people. People even die from this, I hope you know. People have died because the heart couldn’t take it anymore. How far do you think your heart can go with all those cuts and bandages suffocating it day and night?

The truth is this may sound harsh but it’s not of God for us as believers to have a wound that doesn’t heal. If that were true , why did Jesus heal everyone He came across? Why not leave them to suffer ? It means that some wounds don’t heal because we don’t want them to. We enjoy the attention we get from friends and the many people that come for our pity party. We sit by the pool 38 years. We have not purposed in our hearts like the woman with the issue of blood to get the healing we need. We have tied ourselves to the identity of “she’s so broken” or “life has been so hard for him” so much that we feel we cannot relate with any other identity. Is it Gods will for us to cry over one boyfriend for 10 years? No. Why is Israel still crying about Pharoah?

“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.”
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭14‬:‭15‬ ‭NIV‬‬


Why did they cry? Is it because they remembered the trauma of Egypt? Between a rock and a hard place we say? Have we ever thought about what those people actually went through in Egypt? How painful and hard their lives were. Let’s not forget that it’s in Egypt that people lost their sons , isn’t that how Moses was found in the river by Pharaoh’s daughter? It’s a place where the Hebrews cried and no neighbour had the strength to come over and comfort because they too were in mourning. What do we say about the Labour? This one that we work 9-5 and want to quit? No one is beating you o . The Israelites were working HARD! Toiling! And still got beaten. Isn’t that traumatic? Do you now understand why they cried? Wounds. Between death (drowning in the sea) and going back to the tyrannical government, both sound like death to me. Yet God hears them cry and He says , MOVE ON. Yho!

Wouldn’t you have cried too? We still cry about what someone said 5 years ago. We are still bleeding from the first relationship and we are 6 relationships in and the stench of blood is still on us – the heart is bleeding. Yes, brokenness is like joy, you can smell it off a person. Think of it, why haven’t we healed? Because some of us are lying to ourselves. We think we are healed yet when the triggers come the bandage falls off. On the previous posts I mentioned that people with scars don’t bleed, they testify in joy. Wounded people bleed and their testimony sounds like anger. I’m addressing two things today , What happened and When will you be ready to finally move on? I am sorry to say that whether you choose to heal or not, you are between Egypt and the Red Sea, cross the sea or become a slave forever. Freedom or comfort?

I went for counselling at church one day and Pastor KG said to me, “Part of deliverance is walking out of the situation.” I had never heard that before. I have only heard about the process, the gradual transition, just you know, the “kinder” way of dealing with things. God saying to Israel, “ My poor children, that’s so sad. Don’t worry , l will kill the Egyptians okay? Cry it out, breathe in and out. Did you eat? Awww. Let me see what l can do. Should l part the Red Sea? Aww I will. Shhhhh . Shhh my baby.” That’s it right? But sometimes that’s the mistake our friends make. Sometimes it’s the uncomfortable that drives us to move on! God in His perfectly loving self said to them “You better stop crying and move on!”. Ah! If I said that to anyone wouldn’t they hate me? We call the people who tell us the truth that we need “insensitive” but what if we needed to hear that to finally break out! I know many people who left me because I told the truth. They wanted people who validate their commitment to particular things. God says , move on!

Question is, did God know that Israel had never walked between the Sea before? Yes, He did. Does He know you have never known joy before? Yes He does. Is He aware that all you’ve known is Pharoah’s abuse and now that you see him coming you’re terrified, hurt, afraid, angry, feel defeated, because you’ve been there before and it took every ounce of your strength? He knows. Does He know you were raped? You were a child. You couldn’t fight. Does He know that you lost a child or a parent like the Israelites and yet others still have theirs like Moses’ mother? He knows. Is He aware that you gave your all to that man, that woman, you genuinely loved them but they took you for a spin in a car with no doors and you had no seat belt so you got bruised so much you can’t trust anyone anymore? He knows. Read what Ps KG said to me again!

”No that’s just what your pastor thinks!” Okay let’s read God’s response.

As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord.”
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭14‬:‭10‬ ‭NIV
‬‬

And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward:”
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭14‬:‭15‬ ‭KJV‬‬

I have come to tell you. One of the ways you actually address the wound is by moving on. Walk now. He is with you. I know it is a hard thing to do. To step out of this cycle of pain that you may have known all your life but my darling, it’s time now. Remove the bandages. Arise and shake yourself from depression. He says to tell you, “It is time to go forward!”

I love you. ❤️

Categories
The Overcoming Believer

Reflection Friday

Hey friends!

“When the bridegroom didn’t come when they expected, they all grew drowsy and fell asleep.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭25‬:‭5‬ ‭TPT‬‬

Today l woke up with a pressing message! I feel it really weighing on my heart to talk about this. By God it came on a reflection Friday because that’s what we need to do. I need us to take this as serious as l believe it is. As l woke up today l suddenly began to think about the end times. A friend of mine and my pastor had the exact same dream and I couldn’t help but think about them. I realised nah, the church is really not ready. Individuals aren’t ready, families, prayer groups, ministries, people are not ready! Listen, all of us! Even those who are standing! Many have lamps and they’re chilling without oil. Our mindset is, “We will get it tomorrow, later, soon!” But what guarantee do we have that we will have the chance to?

We don’t want to talk about death because “it’s scary” or whoever “talks about it” could be “dying” Relax, I am yet to win souls so l’m here l am believing for the 120 o but let’s talk about it. All those people we started the year with who have passed away, did they know? Did we know? They probably thought “not me” like I am but who has the dates for when it will actually be them? Who has the timetable? Nobody. It’s all nice &games living like you’ll be there to repent in December. My friend, fix it now. Stay with the oil in the lamp.The delay of the bridegroom doesn’t mean He’s not coming. It’s not an excuse to chill without oil.

We team up with those with oil and fool ourselves into believing it’s “team work” that proximity to those who are ready automatically makes us like them? I live with a pastor “we” are going to heaven? I’m married to a praying woman, “we” are going to heaven. My sister is a prophetess “we” will make it? In the group, in the mix , let me burst your bubble to say when the bridegroom comes, everyone will mind their own story! Everyone will act as if y’all were never together! People will act like you never had “virgin” conversations, probably laughed the whole night together, waiting for the groom to show up! The problem is some laugh with their things in order, some are giggling while destiny wastes away! Proximity to anointing doesn’t mean we are exempted from meeting the requirements for heaven! OH BOY and this generation with “we this” “we that” totally love our unity and harmony, very good but my beloved family, it’s an individual deal. Your lamp is yours, their lamp is theirs.

Can we see that “borrowing” is not a thing in the kingdom of God? The world borrows a lot. They thought they could “borrow” but they didn’t realise that The Kingdom doesn’t operate like Absa or FNB , nah the Kingdom doesn’t operate like a loan shark organisation or MTN when you don’t have airtime , the Kingdom is a “what do you have in your hands” place. Hmm! We cannot bring our mindset of borrowing money and clothes and wigs and everything to the kingdom! Oil cannot be borrowed! Apostle Felix cannot borrow me his oil to go preach in Zambia, l must work out my own salvation with fear and trembling. You have a lamp that has no oil? Go get the oil! Stop thinking about how you can hold onto the skirts of your granny for more prayers. Stop depending on short clips on TikTok and Instagram to help you keep your faith in tune! Snoring the night away depending on when things go bad “l will call Apostle” my darling .. we are not entering as teams.

Didn’t Esther make a couple of friends during the beauty treatments? 6 months is a long time to not make friends especially if you’re in one place but when the day finally came to meet the King, we are not told that Esther said “King please can l come with my friend?” There’s a place for that. Encouraging each other to take the treatments on time, etcetera but when it was time to meet the King? Esther had no business tag teaming! This was her presentation, her profile, her show! The problem is we assume we will always face God as “the world” no! A day is coming when it will be a face to face encounter and not even your friends can “support you” because files will be opened that are more exact than your friend’s testimony of your “godliness”

I love this scripture in Haggai 1:7 , it says , this is what the Lord your God says , “Give careful thought to YOUR ways.” We are so busy giving careful and serious thought to other people’s ways but what about me? What about you? While we are busy calling out sin on TikTok which is a GREAT thing to do by the way, let’s not forget ourselves. We are still part of the recipients of the gospel. We are not exempted. Blogging here doesn’t exclude me from the congregation/audience. What are we actually busy doing? How are we still the same as when we received Christ five years ago? How are we warming ourselves with the fires in the court like Peter and when we’re asked of the Man we boldly said we love, we change our speech to “l don’t know what you’re talking about!” They asked who, you responded what?! Is that all He is to us? A secret lover?

Posting verses we don’t live by. Singing songs whose meanings we don’t understand. Attending services and conferences hearing messages we will not obey. Serving and being too busy in public when the secret place is as cold as this July. Chasing shadows of the past because we have attachment problems. Depending on youversion bible verse notifications to remind me of a Saviour I “chose”. But creation is groaning! The sons are prostituting themselves with other gods! Our nakedness must be covered!

And lastly, why are we seeking validation from those whose hearts have turned from God? Did we think they’d agree with us? Does the blind man agree with the seeing man on a colour? How does the know the difference between baby blue and navy blue? And we want the world’s opinion? The world is BLIND! We are scared to stand up for our faith because people will call us names? Just names? The apostles went though worse! We’re scared of being called “pastor” we fear family so we do what they do, we fear friends so we play for two teams .. is the gospel shameful? Is life shameful? Listen, jokes aside, choose today! Even worse if you read this because God will remind you!

Please hear my heart on this, the gates are slowly closing & the sons are still modelling between two kingdoms. Samson is on Delilah’s lap fooling himself into thinking “we are in love.” It is only a matter of time Samson. The delusion will go away when the Philistines arrive. We need to WAKE UP and GET RRADY!

ZION BEHOLD YOUR KING IS COMING!

Categories
The Overcoming Believer

Worship Wednesday

Hey guys! I am wowed by the feedback I got from yesterday’s post. It’s so amazing how God spoke to people in so many different parts of the world about one thing. It is truly the gospel of power. We all have had different life experiences but one word from God is able to meet us all at our various points of need. I am so glad! One of the things that make me happy is knowing that people’s lives are changing from this ministry. It just makes everything worth it! When l realise I’ve not posted here I panic 😂 because I know some of you will dm me and ask. That’s good pressure! Good panic if there’s something like that. To just know that people are expectant and are willing to put in atleast 5 minutes of their time to go through the blog posts. You bless my heart!

This is a visual representation of what Holy Spirit did yesterday. One net, the word = many different fish. The net has been pulled into the boat and the fish are getting cleaned. God is stitching every heart. The rape, the abuse, the grief, the rejection , everything!

“For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭4‬:‭12‬ ‭AMPC‬‬

The word is effective! Ah I want us to praise Him today for HIS WORD! His word has changed my life l don’t know about you. What God speaks is what l long to hear. What He says is what l desire to live by. It is not inspiration or motivation , it is life! We are here because of His word! How else would we be saved had we not heard!!!

“When they heard this they were crushed and realized what they had done to Jesus. Deeply moved, they said to Peter and the other apostles, “What do we need to do, brothers?””
‭‭Acts‬ ‭2‬:‭37‬ ‭TPT‬‬

WHEN THEY HEARD! They decided to do something about it! Listen, we can write a million blogs, listen to a million sermons, hear the truth and still remain the same unless we decide to do something about it! What do we need to do Holy Spirit? What is it that we need to do to get that healing? This is not the season to hear and just be excited. Excitement for a word is good but it doesn’t necessarily mean transformation.

I want us to thank God for His word! This is not Shakespeare or a fictional novel written to get you through chilled Thursday, this is LIFE! You don’t need to have heard a prophecy to praise Him, the word in itself is prophetic! On this worship Wednesday say thank You! Thank You Abba for this treasure that we call the Bible! Worth more than gold! We have more than stacks of money in the Bible! It is the gospel that leads to life eternal! What a gift to us! Even in the beginning was the WORD!!!!!! Asher!

Nang' Mthokozisi | Spirit Of Praise 8 ft Mpumi Mtsweni
Categories
The Overcoming Believer

The wounded heart

While l was in prayer the other day, God gave me a new book title. l like to pray and when I’m done, I remain still in the presence of God and wait to hear Him speak. This is what He said to me; The Wound. I quickly wrote it on a piece of paper. He said, “Many people have ignored wounds and that’s why they keep losing. Attend to the wound.” This is how many of us are right now;

There’s no getting around it: healing is going to take some time and effort. There’s no pressure to become like your friend who bounced back quickly, or fictional characters in movies and books who heal and are back with tidy endings in two hours. Your wound is your wound. It is best known by you. You know what happened and how long you’ve been bleeding. If you have healed l bless God for your sake but if you know that deep down that you put a bandage and never checked if the bleeding stopped, this is for you.

Why would God say this? Is it that He has seen how we are on the field stretching hearts that are barely surviving? I have shared my story before , many times; l grew up a very broken girl. I was the kind of child that would isolate in the toilet because my family is big so you can’t “cry in your own space” because you don’t even have your own space. I would stay in the toilet and weep. My relationship with God also grew from those moments. Without healing I became an angry child, always fighting. I am saying to you, I know what a wound can do to a good person. I know how a wounded soul can change a once-was-sweet person.

You are not the same person you was before. No. The wound changes you. Just as physical wounds need to be treated in a physical way, so heart wounds – with hidden symptoms that often go unrecognized – need to be treated in a heart (emotion-centric) way. You look fine but you are limping emotionally. Infact you are on life support. The biggest lie ever told on this is, “I’m okay.” We get used to the pain and we embrace the wound as part of us. We then fool ourselves to believe that we have scars when we have wounds. Scars don’t hurt. Wounds do. You’re still hurting because you never healed. They’re not “your scars” they’re “your wounds”

The question is not necessarily whether we come from broken homes or not‚ as a large majority of people do. It’s not whether we fell in love and got burnt or not, most of us have. Eh l have shame, big big burn. More suitable questions are…did those experiences damage us? Change us? And‚ if so‚ how has the emotional damage become a part of us, and does it still manifest itself in our daily lives? Wounded hearts breed wounded hearts. Dysfunctional homes breed dysfunctional homes. If we do not choose to accept and work through our wounds‚ even though the wounds were not our fault‚ it is very likely we will repeat the very behaviours‚ in some form or another‚ that wounded us. Pain can be recycled and oh boy does it breed itself in the most horrific ways! Someone can become a serial killer because they watched their father beat their mom. You ever watch the crime channel? The wounds that never heal create a numb person .. numb people are dangerous people. Out of touch with reality, out of touch with God, out of touch with everything.

Denying the reality doesn’t change it. If you need help sweetheart, get it. What does it help to be a wounded soldier ? If an arrow is shot at you right now you could die. You can’t compete with healthy soldiers who seem to have their footing , fit and ready to conquer. You don’t have to. The wound needs your attention . I’m not saying drown in a pool of pity or depression, I’m saying address it.

I probably would play better football than a fractured Ronaldo. They even remove them from the field and replace them with other players who are in good condition. Even if the new player can’t play as good as Ronaldo, the reality is, Ronaldo cannot be in the field . However, the fact that he got a fracture and couldn’t finish the game doesn’t mean you won’t see him in the field again. Best believe he will be back like he never left. If he forces himself and plays anyways with that kind of leg, he risks never being able to play again. Not only does he play ineffectively, he will cause the whole team to lose.

The wound cannot go into marriage. You cannot keep playing games that poke the wound. Remove the bandage , it is giving you false belief of healing, let’s get that stitched instead. And beloved , give it time. God is saying to us, “Inorder to live effective lives we need to deal with what’s causing us to be ineffective.” The good news is, the wounds heal eventually.

“He heals the wounds of every shattered heart.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭147‬:‭3‬ ‭TPT‬‬

Tell Abba today , “Help. My heart is broken.”

Categories
The Overcoming Believer

The heart condition

The heart condition by Vanessa Ziyambi

Happy Monday my loves. I hope and pray that we are all doing well. Lately I’ve been going over the materials I’ve written before , books, notes and I do feel that it’s time I share some of that with the Yielded Family. Beginning of 2023 God instructed me to write a book about the Heart. It was my first ever nonfictional book and so I struggled to write it. Besides it being a complicated thing to do because I had no experience in anything else but fictional writing and poetry, the contents of the book , I felt I was unqualified to write it. Such a book takes a lot of self introspection which at the time I didn’t have the courage to do. I hated looking at myself and my life beyond the surface. I was afraid of what I’d discover about myself. With every word I was writing, a page of my life was opening. Old pages, torn pages, ruffled pages, and even the new pages. The heart condition.

Let us look at this topic this week. As I have mentioned, it takes courage to see yourself for who you really are and that’s why the world refuses to come to Jesus. Christ reveals the inner man and begins to work on us to transform us. The world isn’t brave enough to face the real man in the mirror. People hide their true nature behind big smiles, sweet tones, hugs, and even gifts to charity. People hide behind cute outfits and muscles. They hide behind trends and what is “liked”. They become what is “liked and accepted” while deep down the true nature is screaming for expression. We often suppress the inner man but he threatens to come out often. The true person is , the heart.

The heart of the person, is the person. More than their name, their wealth, the Queen’s English, the qualifications , the heart. More than the long prayers, the pool of tears in worship, the tongues in capital letters, the big bible and the chain with a cross, the heart. More than the gifts, the “I’m here for you’s” , the many words we say to look good and feel good, the heart. You are your heart. You cannot run from it by spraying nice perfume, the stench of the heart always spreads in the room faster.

If we were to ask the question , “Who amongst us is a good person?” People’s hands would go up within seconds. Isn’t it strange, we all think we are nice people. We all think we are the nicest person in the squad. If this is true, where are the fruits of it? Where’s the proof? From the biblical perspective, the heart condition of an individual can be proven by the content and quality of their lives. It takes more than someone’s testimony of you , what do you think is the truth?You know yourself don’t you? You know the things that stir up your heart and to what extent. You know how far your heart can stretch and how much room is in there for people. What we think we know, God knows better. The heart condition.

I imagine it to be like an environment. Every environment is different and unique in its own way. Part of the things that make an environment different is the weather condition. For example, in South Africa we are in the winter season, google says it’s summer in Greece. In as much as we are in the same world , we are experiencing different weather conditions because of the different environments we are in. The hearts of men are likewise. One is in winter because the environment is cold, another in summer. Same world, same house, different people, different lives. To bust your bubble, you and your friends are also not all alike. The fact that it’s the same continent doesn’t mean it’s raining in the entire Africa because it’s raining in Botswana.

“Just as no two faces are exactly alike, so every heart is different.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭27‬:‭19‬ ‭TPT‬‬

What’s the weather like in your heart? The foundation of this topic has to start with that question that we answer so casually. How are you? Without the fear of opening up to anyone else, open up to yourself, how are you? Don’t answer before you actually selah, like you answer anyone who asks you because you want to keep the conversation going. This is you to you. What’s the weather like there? Does it snow often? Do you experience many weather conditions on the same day? Is it flooding? Put everything else aside and face this truth, you are your heart. Your name is just a way to identify you amongst the billions of people in the world. Your heart is who you truly are, how tragic it is , if that heart is always snowing. How terrible it is if that environment is flooding with no drainage system.

“The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful, a puzzle that no one can figure out. But I, God, search the heart and examine the mind. I get to the heart of the human. I get to the root of things. I treat them as they really are, not as they pretend to be.”
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭17‬:‭9‬-‭10‬ ‭MSG‬‬

What’s the weather like?

Categories
The Overcoming Believer

Reflection Friday

This is a picture of a key: a key hole on a door. Obviously this means the door is locked because nobody uses a key on an unlocked door. Surely most of us , if not all of us, have done this action before. To get access into our house l have to use a key and unlock the door – only then can l enter. It doesn’t matter how rainy it is, how hot it is, how cold it is; the door cannot open if ;

  • you don’t have a key
  • you don’t have the right key
  • you’re not in close proximity to insert and turn the key

One time my niece and l were coming back from the airport and it was such a cold cold night ; we got to our place and discovered none of us had the key. It started off as a joke , “”You have it don’t you?” – “No you are the one who has it,” until it wasn’t looking funny anymore. We were cold, hungry and needed to get into the house because it was getting darker outside. To make things worse, we had a spare key but guess where it was? Yup- IN the house. The door remained closed and we stood there – panicking. Where would we sleep? How long were we gonna hold out on such a cold day? Even if it is your house and for sure all that is inside is yours, if the door is locked and you have no key , you are as good as a street person who has no house. Only difference is – you probably have cleaner clothes.

We stood there for a while, had our neighbours come and try to climb onto our balcony but even that door was locked from the inside. I was commanding the door to Ephphataaaaa 😂 but the door never Ephphoot (there’s no word like that so don’t carry it and start using it to pray) Also my faith was smaller than a mustard seed so vele eh! Guys! We had to pay lots of money for a locksmith to come and open the door for us. A stranger came to open OUR door for us ( Selah) It took him a few minutes and we were phakathi inside. Eh but we paid yho!

The locksmith did not have our key. He had other tools that can open the door by force. This means he didn’t need the key because he had discovered other ways to deal with the situation which would give the same desired end. Imagine if we just stood there and cried all night, was the door going to open up? Does the door have feelings? Could we beg the door to open? No. What about reminding the door that we own the house? Or telling the door we have a key but it’s inside? No. This is what happens with most of us in life, we stand before doors and we don’t have a key or a plan. We then sit and cry. How many years have we cried standing by opportunities simply because we refused to unlock the potential in us? What about what’s beyond the door?

Psalm 24:9-10NLT

Open up, ancient gates!
    Open up, ancient doors,
    and let the King of glory enter.
10 Who is the King of glory?
    The Lord of Heaven’s Armies—
    he is the King of glory. 

Think about it. The opportunities on the other side of “school” . The greatness on the other side of “investing in prayer” . The beauty that comes when we “unlock the ignorance” by studying the word. Many of us have the key! We are just not desperate enough to “take a shower in the house” or get a “proper meal”. My niece and l were desperate that’s why we paid money to get into the house. My darling sometimes the key is money. Paying your fees. Tithing. I know we hate talking about money but sometimes only having an idea of how the door can open doesn’t necessarily mean the door will open.

How about the key to your joy being you confronting your fears? So will you lock up your heart and refuse to love again because the last time it didn’t end well? Will you stop trying to get into the market place because you’ve tried to unlock the door for years and you’re still outside? What if you have the key and you’re suffering outside because you’re not desperate enough to find out what’s behind the door? Oh l have a lot to say on today’s reflection post but let’s continue next Friday.

Do you have the key? What are you doing about it?

Are you like us? No key? Make a plan like we did.

Bottom line is ; the door must open. (That really is the bottom line – literally) 😂

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The Overcoming Believer

Worship Wednesday

David

“Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might, while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets.”
‭‭2 Samuel‬ ‭6‬:‭14‬-‭15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

We cannot talk about praise without mentioning David. I also can’t help but mention it’s evident, that happy is the man who has the ark near him. The ark of God brought so much joy to all who were close to it. It represented the immediate presence and glory of God in Israel. That surely is a reason to be joyful. How then are we so sad in God’s presence? Even more that He is with us and in us. The ark of God is now in us!!! I can imagine what David would do had he lived in our time! If the had a chance to live in our generation and have God living IN him – how would he praise? We often make the mistake of only getting excited about the songs and not necessarily the heart of praise. Too familiar with the ark so our conduct is just too careless. “Why praise, let’s go straight to the Word!” Or “ They should dance quickly l want to go home!”

Is praise just flattering God? Buttering him up so you can ask a favor? Is it us liking the drummer’s beat and the artist? By no means! Praise is expressing out loud the respect and honor we have for our God. That we are willing to openly declare God’s greatness encourages others to see God in this light and honor Him as well. David danced with all his might! As a king! We can’t dance for a minute because of title! David was a king yet he praised with all his might – all his strength – he had no reservations, didn’t worry about what “others” would think. If we still care about what people think are we praising Him or seeking praise?

Praise also affects us. When we acknowledge God’s greatness, it strengthens our own faith. Praise is the language of faith. You do it even when things aren’t going so well. Ah I can’t get over this; “David danced with all his might!” It wasn’t just a dull lazy dance! The “Oh let me just move so l don’t look awkward to people,” He wanted to dance! He wasn’t forced by the worship leader to say ,”Come on move like this!” He set his entire being on praise and it is evident in the Psalms – men of praise will always be men of encounters. For how long will you be shy to praise?

Job

At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship”
‭‭Job‬ ‭1‬:‭20‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I love Job. I have lost quite a lot in my life but never all at once. Job lost everything all at once! In one day! Selah. No like really really Selah. He woke up like any other day, had his plans, had no idea that a terrible wind was about to blow away everything he had known to be his normal life. Just like the hour prior you had no idea your mom was about to pass away? Just like you didn’t think you’d ever lose the job? Or the marriage? A few minutes to pain still looks so beautiful. Job didn’t even have a dream that he could cancel! He woke up to a new season just like that. I know they say men don’t cry or men are to always be strong and thug it out BUT let’s be real! How deep the scars can be that they create unhealthy men who can only respond by abuse or neglect. Job teaches us something. Worship is a commitment. It is a lifestyle. It’s like breathing. You don’t stop breathing because you lost money (unless you decide to commit suicide which is also wrong). Worship is who you are. Job heard all these things and didn’t say “Take me to all these places , let me investigate,” He went to God who could see his broken heart and he worshipped! Lord my heart is heavy but I won’t keep poking the scar – l will worship! What kind of man was Job? Why didn’t he sulk and go seek for “traditional help?”. He had a heart of worship. Join the hosts of heaven and worship Him!

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The Overcoming Believer

Are we ready?

We are in the last half of the year! Let’s take sometime to celebrate the fact that we are alive! I lost an aunt on Sunday who was super energetic! She was sick for four days and that was it! She was one of the strongest people I have ever known yet over a couple of days, she passed on. This is not an issue of “Doctors said I’m healthy!” Or “I eat healthy food and go to the gym!”. In as much as all this is correct application of wisdom , our tomorrow is always in the hands of God even our next second! It is not by might nor by power. It has nothing to do with beauty, wealth or eloquence. The most beautiful and most powerful still sleep the sleep of death! Thank God! Really, thank Him! He has kept us! Welcome to July my darling!

Are we ready? If you said , “For what?” You’re not ready 😂 I can tell you by the Spirit of God, we have stepped into a season like no other. You do not want to be found without oil in your lamp or jars in your house. There is a pouring of blessings! I know many of us are aware of this, it’s in big bold letters in the Spirit; we are in the new! We usually get excited over new months and then after a couple of days we’re back in our shells of anxiety – just like how we’re so extra on New Year’s Eve into the new year only to fall back into the bubble of sadness that it looks like a replica of the last season. I hope we do not find ourselves reversing into the old when the new is here. Old mindsets, old habits, old characteristics, all in the trash can. 🚮

It is very easy to find ourselves back in the old because we’re afraid of the new or we’re simply not prepared. The foolish virgins had the lamps! They were virgins! They had the invitation to come! They had the correct outfits l suppose, had done their hair installations 😂 and beautified themselves. They arrived at the banquet before the groom and waited! The problem was they waited without capacity. They overlooked the importance of full on preparation. They didn’t think it was necessary to have extra oil because “We can borrow or buy later!” My darling, this world? Life? Will not wait for you while you look for the next vendor to give you oil. Have you ever stopped time? Does it stop and wait for you to put some concealer on or take rollers off? No. Instead – time is the friend who will leave you behind (me leaving you behind for church if you’re late!)

I am reminded of Naomi. She let her daughters in law know that even if they waited, it was to a dead end. You cannot just “wait” , work on what makes you the best candidate. I’m not necessarily talking about marriage I hope you catch my drift, I’m not ruling it out either. Having the brain (lamp) is not enough, make sure the brain has sense (oil) . Having the looks (lamp) is cool but let’s also get the character (oil) . Let us stay with our files ready! Is the cv ready? Is the heart ready? Will we have to do risky last minute patch ups and possibly lose what we’ve been believing for? What if they don’t borrow you their oil? What if they say “We only have enough for ourselves” What if the bridegroom arrives and we’re out looking for oil at the wrong time?!

There is a serious need for us to be prepared this season. Be prepared to be promoted! Be prepared to meet Boaz or Esther! Be prepared to fast and pray. Be prepared to serve! Be prepared for battle so that you don’t become like Israel army – trained to fight only to disappoint an entire nation! Be prepared to love! Yes! Loving people with their imperfections. Be prepared to forgive! People will mess you up! Be prepared to endure should this not be your season! Be prepared to laugh! Infact start laughing! Be prepared to dress up and go for the interview – while you’re applying – have your outfit ready! Be prepared to win! Be prepared to be a good husband/wife! Be prepared to give! Be prepared like an expecting mother prepares delivery clothes for her newborn . They call the little fleece – a receiver! Get your receiver ready – we are within! When a pregnant woman is going to give birth she packs some clothes for the baby. She has never seen the baby. The baby has not told her it will come out alive but She is just confident that the baby will come out. She is aware that Labour time is not the time to be looking for a receiver or nappies. She cannot say to the midwife , “Wait, I need to run to the shops.” She cannot borrow from another mother who is in Labour because chances are she also has prepared for her own child. Pushing time is not the time to be looking for the receiver! We are in the Labour time! Receivers ready! Ears ready to push at the command of the midwife! All you need is to be getting a name for your miracle! Congratulations in advance!

“Be prepared for action at a moment’s notice.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭12‬:‭35‬ ‭TPT‬‬

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The Overcoming Believer

We’re back!

Hey my lovely family. It feels like I haven’t written in a long time. I want to apologise for my inconsistency the past week, I had to attend a conference in another city. I left in a hurry and didn’t want to “just write” to mark register. I believe that if you’re a cook , the taste of the food is more important than the design of the plate. Likewise, l cannot make one cute post that literally has no soundness. I am back though and have a lot to tell you. Ohhh I obviously took pictures!

One of the things l learnt from this trip is that faith and worry cannot coexist. I was worried about so many things and then l decided to drop that burden and man did God show uppppp! Imagine how many times we have failed to receive from God because we’re more fixated on the problem than the problem solver.

“He was unable to do any great miracle in Nazareth, except to heal a few sick people by laying his hands upon them. He was amazed at the depth of their unbelief! Then Jesus went out into the different villages and taught the people.”
‭‭Mark‬ ‭6‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭TPT‬‬

Jesus was “unable to do” got me! How can Jesus be limited in doing what He wants to do? What could possibly stop Him? Who? How? How could Jesus’ power be limited by the reaction of people? The bible says it was because of the depth of their unbelief – so he went out into different villages. It is possible to live too near a man to see him. It is possible to be close to the anointing that’s helping others all over the world but you. It is possible to live with a good spouse and never see it; you could even be the child of an Apostle and never receive from them – it’s not in proximity – it’s it’s heart condition. Our focus today is – unbelief.

I did not believe that I’d make it for that conference. So as long as l had that heart- l did not go. I could not go. When l decided to stop worrying and start thanking God, praying that if it’s His will l will go – l went. With no single hiccup. My trip was smooth as my skin when I was 21 years old (now I dunno what’s happening – send help Oh Lord) Anyways it’s not like it will stop me from going to heaven and stuff. 🫠😂. Dear friends, it is true that there is a connection between faith and the workings of God. Could it be that it’s not that we don’t fast and pray , could it be that it is because we don’t believe. Far it be from us that after all is said and done , we remain without , simply because the depth of our unbelief is marvelling.

The gospel according to Mark made it clear that Jesus performed miracles as an acknowledgment of someone’s faith. “Your faith has made you whole,” was His response to many who asked for their healing. The issue at hand, therefore, is not one of whether the Lord had sufficient power. The issue is how we have adopted unbelief as part of our character. We become “unbelievers” who pray 3 hours and do Esther fast. Believers who were waiting for the Messiah they didn’t believe in. It has become a character trait – a stronghold – a lifestyle – a mindset . Many believers only believe in going to heaven but they can’t trust God to put food on the table. Many of us have been here but were being called to more by believing more! Jesus is busy doing mighty works in other cities! What about in your city? In your family? In your life?!

There is an idle faith that is only stirred up when we see first – like Thomas. I experienced something that made me realise , God is ready to do. I’m the one who’s not ready to receive. The faith of the woman of the issue of blood! She didn’t even worry about touching Jesus’ hand, she wasn’t in a queue saying “Papa please lay your hand on me” , hers was silent, hers was determination, hers was “All this man is and has , has the power to change my life even the hem of his garment!” Do you realise that Jesus didn’t sew that garment ? He probably bought it somewhere. There was no occasion where He taught people to touch His garment for healing- so how did this woman even think of that? “What can the hem of His garment do? I need Him to pour anointing oil, l want to fall!” This generation may say. I have come to remind you, Sarah and Abraham didn’t have the same faith.

Sarah still believed in helping God. You need the breakthrough? Stop calculating how many Hagar’s you have that can pop your Isaac. Start thinking about what Isaac will wear when he arrives. Faith is locking into the later. To perceive and lock in! To perceive and be convinced it shall be so and not otherwise. Sometimes it’s not in the obvious, sometimes it’s in the hem of a garment or holding onto a promise even if you’re old. Remember, He is busy doing miracles signs and wonders in other cities.. He can do it in yours..

BY FAITH.