Does this âcountâ as resting? Simply scrolling on the phone the whole day, keeping your mind exposed to toxic content and drinking tea? Is it only about wearing sweat pants and a robe? Is rest all about having no make up and not wearing heels? Certainly, not.
Over time, itâs become increasingly clear to me that resting isnât as easy as it sounds. Some take a nap but the mind is on a treadmill. Some just spend the day in a cute robe and never intentionally do what refreshes their body and mind. This is why the world cannot teach us how to rest. The world has no clue. A holiday to Italy does not mean you are resting. You could just be getting away from an environment. We need to find out from the One who initiated Rest what it really is. When do we rest? How? Why? We need to be refreshed and we are stuck in the fast lane trying to figure out what really works. Is it just sitting and watching TV? Iâve done that before and the next day I was still very exhausted at work.
My brother and sister, you can rest in His arms. Snuggle there and release all your burdens, your struggles, your laments. âLord I know long hours and my body is super sore, please give me a rest in your arms today and ready me for tomorrow.â Allow your mind to rest from the busy schedule, the books, you canât read 24hr. I hope you know that resting doesnât mean be lazy. You rest from something, you donât just rest 365 days.
Ooo you know I love animation! I got us a few videos to watch! Letâs go !!!
âBy the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.â ââGenesis⏠â2âŹ:â2⏠âNIVâŹâŹ
The average believer has âtime managementâ issues. From getting to church on time, to making time to pray, making time to read the Word; we have an imbalance. People will come late to church to avoid âintercessionâ . I find myself sometimes trying to rush through a task or rushing through prayer because I didnât manage my time well. God wants us to spend time with Him. The Bible says in Genesis that God would visit Adam in the cool of the day but in the cool of the day , in the night, in the morning, youâre nowhere to be found. If you can meet your lover the whole Saturday afternoon surely you can meet with God at church on Sunday. Do you make time for God or is it all about what you want to do and when you want to do it?
If we can watch series all day; some even watch filthy stuff on tv , we have time for that but we donât have time to read a chapter of the Word of God? When we are asked we say ,âOh today I didnât have time to do it. I will do it tomorrow â and darling itâs been like that for monthssss. Which tomorrow were you talking about? We find ourselves inconsistent in how we do things because we are not a time conscious people when we have to put in the work, we only keep time when we need something from God. âLORD show up NOW!â But what about the times when YOU must show up? If you canât give your time to the kingdom of God Iâm sorry but youâre useless to the kingdom. How can you be used by God if He doesnât have the time to use you? The day He wants to , you have planned the whole day at a party. The next day youâre elsewhere. âLord I need encountersâ When are you going to get them? âLord give me nationsâ When because you donât have time to evangelise in your city. Some of us donât even have that much of busy lives; but we still cannot make time for God. How unfair?
Where is your sacrifice of time? You complain that the blog is too long to read but you can read 16 paragraphs of an ungodly novel. We hate it when the pastor exceeds by 5 mins but we are the ones who beg the DJ in clubs to add 10 more minutes because we donât want to go home. This must STOP! How do we expect to grow if we donât give God time? We had time to go to school so that we can learn and grow, we donât have time to attend service to learn and grow, we donât have time to pray , you time for long phone calls with men and women who wonât even marry you, what is the matter church? The matter is ; we either lazy, selfish and unserious.
I urge you to Selah on this topic. We wonder why others are excelling and maturing while we are stuck in one place still fighting a witch in the night? One of the reasons is, they have made time to put in spiritual work while you snored talking about âIâm tiredâ after a whole day of doing nothing. Iâm sorry if this is a hard pill to swallow, we can always drink water after to make sure it goes down but we are not going to vomit the truth. We must swallow it. You cannot help anyone , yourself or be an asset to the kingdom if you mismanage your time. Today is Worship Wednesday , spend time praising and worshiping God . (Someone has already decided they wonât do it) because âtimeâ. If I catch you.. you will dance 17hrs 44 mins . No one is ever too busy to make time. Im sure all those busy ungodly people make time to worship their gods. Show up today as a son whoâs ready to make changes! I love you, bye!
âAnd Mary said: âMy soul glorifies the Lordâ ââLuke⏠â1âŹ:â46⏠âNIVâŹâŹ
Click the links below for praise and worship songs you can use today. Youâre free to also use your choice⊠my friend , make time.
âMartha said to Jesus, âMy Lord, if only you had come sooner, my brother wouldnât have died.â ââJohn⏠â11âŹ:â21⏠âTPTâŹâŹ
The Holy Bible
The issue of time is a sensitive issue to many people because many things that happen in our lives are time sensitive. For example, pregnancy is time sensitive. Training in the university, your job, the burial ceremony, the tv programme – all these are examples of time sensitive things. Nobody ever spends the whole day and night at a wedding because there is a programme that gives information of the start and finish time of the wedding. No matter how nice the decoration is, how tasty the food was, how close you are to the bride and groom and you think they look beautiful, when itâs time to go home and wrap up the programme even the hosts must pack up and go. King Solomon puts it like this
âThereâs an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth:â ââEcclesiastes⏠â3âŹ:â1⏠âMSGâŹâŹ
Read it again. Youâll begin to understand why Sarah laughed. It was not a question of whether she heard the word or not, it was the fact that she considered âtimeâ and with time, man gets older and older. Sarah has a valid excuse to laugh according to the natural man. Wouldnât you laugh if you saw an old pregnant woman? And your thoughts will be âWhy did she wait all this TIME, why didnât she do it SOONER?â Soon is a measure of time. I am old is a measure of time. Speed is also a measure of time. Many believers do not believe the word of God after a certain âtimeâ of expectation has passed. If you received a word for a new job and you expected it to happen on the 1st of May but the time passes and it is now the 23rd of May and all your applications have been rejected , man will sulk and question God why? Because man ties the word to time and we forget that Solomon says , the units of time are only for those on earth. There is a time and season for everything on earth! God is not time bound. He does not have the âmasterâ time over His affairs. He is not an âoldâ God because He doesnât count years like you do; He is still very relevant , in every season even stronger than you who was born just 20 years ago. The issue of timeâŠ.
Mary and Martha are dealing with a crisis that is time sensitive. Lazarus is sick. I remember the time my uncle had cancer and they gave us the number of days he had left to live. The sickness had become lord over his time on earth as in the case of Lazarus. The fact that he was loved by Jesus and had sisters who were spiritual and in relationship with Jesus did not stop the the clock from ticking ⊠closer and closer .. to death. Lazarus died. Your life on earth is time sensitive. You will not live forever even if youâre an Apostle or a Scientist, A wife or a Friend, time will not be on your side forever, one day it will be against you. According to the two sisters, the issue was not the sickness but that Jesus didnât arrive sooner. âLord if you had come yesterday; Iâd have the fees money todayâ. .. âLord if the wife came last year Iâd be having kids right nowâ .. âLord if you had come sooner, my mother wouldâve been healed!â I bring you understanding today , the question of time works with man , it doesnât work with God because time is the law for man, God operates by the Word! As long as there is Word ; it will not return to Him void!
God is not late. God is not unaware. God is not using the Apple Watch. God invented âtimeâ by seasons, but the âclock and calendarâ as we have , was invented by man. That is where the problem is. Man came in and created a system that tracks days for them. Man came in a created a law that makes people panic when its sensitivity threatens our peace. âItâs been too longâ according to who? âI should have this by 25â says who? By His word , by faith or by the times of man? At what time did God create the stars? At what time did He think to give Abraham a child ? How old was Abraham according to God when He gave him the child? God does not work with the clock; He works with the Word and the right time. How hard it can be to trust in Godâs timing. We are a people who want it and we want it now! And sometimes the behaviour of man when he wants something NOW, is almost like that of a brat. âI will sulk and bang my head against the wall so that l force my Mom to give me the ice cream NOW!â
Did you know that manâs time is not perfect? Try making the same meal twice, youâll discover that at one time it took you just 30 minutes but you made the same meal again and this time it took you 25mins. Man lives on estimated time. God lives in eternity. Godâs time is perfect . God already scheduled your life before you were born. You were born at the right time. You were born into an already planned life. Yes you want to get married in 2024; but do not think you should do it because âyouâre lateâ. No. âLateâ is a language of man , we speak Gods language. âAt the right timeâ⊠letâs continue on this topic tomorrow as we worship.
I leave you with this; He is not late. You are either in a hurry or considering the time of the natural man. He will not come at 12 oâclock; He will come at the right time. You push yourself to depression if you consider things the way the natural man considers them. Mary and Martha, how did it feel when Jesus didnât show up at the âtimeâ you wanted Him to? Mustâve hurt. The truth is many are hurt because of the âdelayâ because Lazarus is either dying or dead. Sarahâs womb is dead. The business is dead. âLord when will you show up! Iâm not patient anymore. Iâm breaking down. The clock is ticking!â
âHe says, âBe still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.ââ ââPsalms⏠â46âŹ:â10⏠âNIVâŹâŹ
Stillness shows that God cannot be controlled by our time. âWhy am l to be still when I need to speed up somethings , I donât have timeâ .. my love; trust God, just be still. Sarah shall surely carry her baby, not through a surrogate, but what one who was once called âa later comerâ will âovertakeâ.
âAll creatures look to you to give them their food at the proper time.â ââPsalms⏠â104âŹ:â27⏠âNIVâŹâŹ
Yes, though I walk through the [deep, sunless] valley of the shadow of death, I will fear or dread no evil, for You are with me; Your rod [to protect] and Your staff [to guide], they comfort me.â ââPsalm⏠â23âŹ:â4⏠âAMPCâŹâŹ
Why was David walking in the valley of the shadow of death? Why didnât he just run? Why didnât he just avoid it altogether? Why walk where your life is being threatened? Does that make sense? I live in Johannesburg, {South Africa} there are places here that I just canât go to. The places are known to be dangerous; you can go there and never come back with your eyes open. I imagine the valley of the shadow of death could be alikened to such a place but David says âl walk throughâ. I will probably marry a bold man like David but esqueeze me? What do you mean you want to walk through a dangerous place my dhiye?
âThe season is hard, l just want to run and rush through, I want speed, I want to just come out of this place NOW! I am faced with danger; the place poses a threat to my life; the trials are too much; the speed of Elijah Lord,â and God says âWe are not going to run from it; we will walk through it!â We all know people who ârushed outâ and ended up committing suicide. They didnât understand that sometimes the pressure to rush out is a trap of the enemy. Walking is a slower pace compared to running. It means youâre most likely to stay longer in an environment when youâre walking while the one who runs can find themselves in a different location in a short space of time provided the journey isnât long. Are we to speed through every season or do some seasons require that we walk instead?
The valley of the shadow of death can be emotional, mental, physical, etcetera. It is not necessarily walking through a dangerous place in Johannesburg. When we read this verse, we often picture someone walking through a tar-black valley and the devil himself hovering over them with his black hood and sickle waiting to pounce on them. Well, at least thatâs what I picture. But this touches on different areas of our lives. The dark valley of depression. The dark valley of unemployment. The dark valley of a business failure, a painful lawsuit. The dark valley of a serious illness or of caring for someone who becomes increasingly dependent on you. Every Christian knows what it is to walk through times of darkness, and when you find yourself in a dark valley, this Psalm is for you.
Iâm here to say to you; it is just a shadow. Trust God. Do not fear. He is with you. Do not panic. Do not try to be like the world that runs from process. Yes, part of the journey may be uncomfortable; trust Him. Trust in Him. We are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed. We are not of those who are quick to find our our âfixesâ Some in an attempt to avoid the dark valley, got themselves addicted to âquick fixesâ. A quick fix will wear out and there youâll be, afraid again. David says I fear no evil because You are with me! Do you believe that He is with you?
Do you feel afraid? Afraid that you wonât make it? Others are going ahead and Iâm just here, thugging through life? Afraid that one day the thoughts will cave in and youâll take the rope? Afraid of trying? Afraid of being alone? Afraid of process because it involves putting off and putting on? Afraid of the unknown ? Afraid that we might die? Are you afraid of the receipts that youâll receive this monthend? I want to say to you, He is with you! We will never walk through the valley of the shadow of death alone.
Walk with your Abba. Donât try to outrun Him. He sets the pace of the process. You follow in faith. Do not bring God into your own desired pace. He knows what to do to get you where you need to be, when you need to be there. He will do all this while protecting and comforting you.
Donât worry , you are in good hands. One of the things I had to relearn the past couple of days is
âItâs okay to be Abbaâs baby. Itâs okay to not have to be so tough. Itâs okay to be a child, sit on His lap and rest in His arms. David was not always fighting Goliath âsâ I hope you know he wasnât the only giant. He was a psalmist on some days , singing to the Lord and building intimacy. It doesnât mean he didnât have problems.There is a time to fight but thereâs also a time to rest in the boat. So , Itâs okay to be vulnerable to Him. Itâs okay to rest in His love. Itâs okay. Itâs okay. Itâs okay darling. What youâre so afraid of , could just be , a shadow.â
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I see pink roses in the mirror. Are we seeing the same thing? Green stems? Yes? What does this tell you? That the mirror is reflecting bunch of pink roses that are in its vicinity or better still; are held over the mirror. So we agree that the mirror cannot create what it wants. It cannot decide âOh I want to show the face of a womanâ or âToday I will show the sky,â No. The mirror does not have the power to choose its reflection. It can only flash back the exact image of what is infront of it. Whether you like it or not, if you put pink roses infront of a mirror thatâs exactly what youâll see. You can cry or be angry but itâs the pink roses youâll still see. It means the mirror reflects the truth not the wishes of your heart. If you wear a black dress, itâs the black dress youâll see in the mirror not the yellow one you saw at the store and wished to have . The person who comes out in your day to day is a mirror of the person inside of you. If you speak bitter angry words, the inner you is exactly like that.
You donât âwishâ to be a good person, you must become a good person. We live in a world of lies. We want to have friends who lie to us so that we donât confront the problem. Imagine if I came here and told you , âThose roses are blueâ youâd think âSheâs crazy!â Why? Because you can see and you know the truth. We live in bubbles of lies, either the ones created by our fear to face the person in the mirror or the ones created by the experiences weâve had in life. You can run from the mirror but you cannot run from the person. I donât carry our bathroom mirror everywhere , I leave it at home but what it reflects when I leave the house is what people will see. Running from the reflection doesnât change the reflection. Running from your trauma wonât change it. Running from facing the weak, tired, broken, inner man will not change him.
I have some black spots on my face sometimes I donât want to go out with them showing, so I put make up. Thereâs something called a concealer. What it does is that it hides dark circles, age spots, blemishes and more by hiding pigments and blending these imperfections into the skin. As powerful and effective as that is, you will have to wash your face. And there is that face again Vanessa, the attempt to disguise imperfections , the discolouration and dark circles worked BUT for a few hours. There we go again, time for confrontation.
Mirrors can evoke strong feelings in us â and they can also be incredibly powerful tools for changing our perspective and seeing parts of ourselves that are usually hidden as we look out into the world. Our desire to be seen and reflected is basic and innate and so is our desire to be fake when what we want to see is not necessarily the reality. Self reflection is the key to breaking free from the inner critic and the external world that strokes our fears and anxieties that we are never safe, never good enough, and never have enough. Some of your thoughts about other people are actually your thoughts about yourself.
Itâs of uttermost importance to occasionally, look into your own eyes for just a moment and ask â who am I? How am I really feeling? Am I a pink rose or do I run from the truth by creating lies that fuel my confidence? Am l constantly lying to myself because Iâm afraid to face the real me? Am I healed? Am I hurting myself and others? Am l kind? Am I proud? Am l too self conscious that I canât enjoy one moment in the sun? Am l a people pleaser so I work myself to the bone to make others happy while l suffer from not giving myself the attention I need? Am I too emotional so I make impulsive decisions that arenât thought through just because I want to silence the loud emotions? Am l angry? Am l a good friend? Am I a good lover? Am I a good sibling? How do I know? Do I listen to others when they speak or itâs only my voice that must echo through the room? Am I a 25 year old baby – wanting to run from responsibility by blaming apartheid or slavery for my laziness , immaturity and life of unfruitfulness? What is the truth? When I discover the truth will l make amends or will l just run with the lies because everyone already knows me as âthatâ person?
You choose the image that is mirrored . If youâre not happy with it , change it. I had to change the angry Vanessa, I didnât like her. If I did not intentionally change her, even those who love me with their whole being would leave. You cannot blame people for walking away from the nonsense you create – you need to STOP! As long as you keep making excuses, youâll keep making mistakes and you will be responsible for the consequences. We have the word of God to help us every step of the journey! Away with the lies! Let us face the word of truth so we can live joyful fruitful lives, as beautiful as those pink roses.
âReflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.â ââ2 Timothy⏠â2âŹ:â7⏠âNIVâŹâŹ
IF YOU NEED HELP, GET HELP! Stop running from the reflection. Youâre headed to a dead-end. Mirror mirror on the wall ; who is this person I see?
âNow there were four men with leprosy at the entrance of the city gate. They said to each other, âWhy stay here until we die?â ââ2 Kings⏠â7âŹ:â3⏠âNIVâŹâŹ
