Category Archives: Acknowledge God
Firm Footing
“People with integrity have a firm footing, but those who follow crooked paths will slip and fall.” Pr. 10:9
The first thing you do in dealing with the stress of compromise is, Do the right thing. Doing the easy thing may seem simpler in the short run but on the long run doing the right thing is less stressful. People with integrity have a firm footing, but those who follow crooked paths will slip and fall” [emphasis added]. You have to choose between a firm footing or slipping and falling, what will it be?
Deal With It!
“People with integrity have a firm footing, but those who follow crooked paths will slip and fall.” Pr. 10:9 [emphasis added]
Stress is a combination of different emotions; worry, guilt, fear, bitterness, anger, tension, or anxiety, strictly based on the way we think. Yet God’s Word says we should keep a clear mind how often? When the country is epidemic free? When your workload is reduced? When the economy has stabilized to one naira to one dollar? Keep a clear mind in every situation. What situation is stressing you right now? God wants you to keep a clear mind and be stressless. Over Read the rest of this entry
To Be Or Not To Be?
“You should keep a clear mind in every situation.” 2 Tim. 4:5 [emphasis added]
When we get under stress [stressed up], we easily blame our circumstances. We blame people around us, our work, everything. We blame the circumstances but the truth is our circumstances are not the cause. Stress is a response. Stress is internal but our circumstances are external. Yes, the car broke down but you chose to be stressed. Yes, the power company has cut off power to your house but you can choose to be stressed or not to be stressed. So you can put two people in the exact same situations, one person would be stressed and the other person would not. It shows that stress has nothing to do with the situation. Your neighbor’s power was cut too but they seem to be singing praise and worship while you are complaining about the country. Two people, two families, same situation, one stressed out and the other is not.
Very recently, God delivered our nation from an epidemic, right? During the epidemic outbreak, some people were so stressed out. Even parents were scared to hug their children when they returned from school. They first send them to the bathroom for a thorough wash – unnecessary stress. I know some people do not believe the stress about the epidemic was unnecessary. Yet, do you know that some people were not stressed and we are in the same country? Some people are so stressed about the economy while others are not stressed because their focus is on God who is able to supply all their needs.
Nevertheless, am I saying we should not be aware of what is going on around us? What I am saying is do not be stressed by what is happening around you. The truth about stress is we are not stressed by what is going on around us or what is before us. We are stressed by how we perceive what is going on around us. In other words, what is before us does not stress us; it is our perception of it that stresses us. You can give two people the same amount of work. One will be stressed while the other person will not be simply because one is focused on the load of work, and the other is focused on the grace f God.
Prayer: Holy Spirit, please help me keep a clear mind in every situation and keep my focus on Your strength at work in me, in Jesus Name.
Cause & Effect
“Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine” Pr.3:9-10 [NIV]
John D Rockefeller, in his biography stated that, one of the secrets of his wealth is his “ten-ten-eighty” rule. And he explained the rule to be, he tithes the first ten percent of all his income. He pays himself with the second ten percent, then budgets the last eighty percent. Someone asked me to explain why the tithe is ten percent. And I said, I do not know why it is ten percent but I know that nine percent or five percent is not tithe.
Seed Principle
“Money that comes easily disappears quickly, but money that is gathered little by little will grow.” Pr. 13:11 [NCV, emphasis added].
If you do not have savings, you cannot invest and you will not be able to take opportunities when they come. If you do not have a savings even God cannot use you financially because you do not have leverage. God cannot demand a seed from you because you have eaten everything. God asked the children of Israel to give part of the gold they had collected from Egypt to build the temple. The people that had given theirs to the building of the golden calf had nothing to give. Read the rest of this entry
Not Alone
“When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up—the flames will not consume you” Isa.43:2 [TLB]
“Praise the Lord! For all who fear God and trust in Him are blessed beyond expression… When darkness overtakes him, light will come bursting in… Such a man will not be overthrown by evil circumstances. God’s constant care of him will make a deep impression on all who see it. He does not fear bad news, nor live in dread of what may happen. For he is settled in his mind that God will take care of him.” Psalm 112:1-8 [LB]. You need to settle it in your heart that Read the rest of this entry
But God…
“But Joseph replied, “Don’t be afraid of me. Am I God, that I can punish you? You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people” Gen.50:19-20
When the situation around you looks depressing, you think about the goodness of your God. Think about the goodness of your God, not a god but your own God. Many times, we exaggerate and amplify the problems, and end up minimizing the goodness of God. Joseph’s dream was not fulfilled because of who he is but because of the goodness of God. And the same brothers who meant to kill him and that dream, came and bowed to him. Joseph had become so powerful and they were afraid because of how mean they had been to him. But Joseph said something that you and I should never ever forget. Never forget what Joseph said because that is how you should always respond. You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good. The goodness of God prevailed over their evil plans. The goodness of God will prevail in your life, over every evil plan and device of the enemy. So do not worry about revenging or getting your pound of flesh, if God is lifting you up. And He will lift you up. They are hungry; God has set you over them, feed them! Show them God’s goodness.
I want us to prayerfully sing a song to God. As you sing, I pray God will truly be magnified in your heart and life. “I have made you too small in my eyes. O Lord, forgive me. I have believed in a lie, that you were unable to help me. But now, O Lord, I see my wrong. Heal my heart and show yourself strong. And in my heart and with my song, O Lord, be magnified! O Lord, be magnified! Be magnified O Lord, You are highly exalted. There is nothing You can’t do, O Lord, my eyes are on You. Be magnified, O Lord, be magnified!” Amen!
#3: When Your Situation Looks DARK Think About The Closeness of God. Problems attempt to hunt us down into a dark place. Dark days are lonely days, worry filled days, and fearful days. They are days when we cannot see ahead and the future appears bleak. And this is precisely the time when we should think about how close our God is to us. You may be going through a lot right now, a dark place. I am here to tell you that God is with you.
Prayer: Father, thank You for the game changer in the story of my life and days to come, in Jesus Name.
Final Say
“How great is Your goodness! You have stored it up for those who honor You. You do good things for those who trust You.” Ps.31:19 [ICB, emphasis added]
Do not despair, focus on God. When the enemy wants to push you and make you depressed or the situation actually looks depressing, think about the goodness of your God. Thinking about God’s goodness goes beyond what He has done to who He is. God is not good because he has done a good thing. Yes He has done good things, but He is good because He is good and that is who He is. So focus on the nature of God. David said, “How great is Your goodness! …You do good things for those who trust You.” We have a lot to learn from David. Read the rest of this entry
Magnify Him
“I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord… Be strong, and let your heart take courage; Wait for the Lord.” Psalm 27:13-14 [NAS, emphasis added]
When Your Situation Looks DEPRESSING, Think About The Goodness of God. Depression is a signal that our focus is on the wrong things. And because we exaggerate and amplify negative things, it drives us into depression. If you do not deal with things like negative exaggeration, make no mistake, it will drive you into depression. For instance, someone makes a mistake and then concludes that he or she is a failure because of that mistake. Depending on how Read the rest of this entry
Infinitely Good
“I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord… Be strong, and let your heart take courage; Wait for the Lord.” Psalm 27:13-14 [NAS, emphasis added]
Problems attempt to make us perplexed until we are depressed. #2: When Your Situation Looks DEPRESSING, Think About The Goodness of God. Depression is a signal that our focus is on the wrong things. When discouragement and depression want to set in, it is proof that I have been focusing on the wrong things. Personally, I thank God for the grace to be alert enough to spot traces of discouragement or depression. And as soon as I do, I think clearly about what I have Read the rest of this entry
