“Against all odds.”
The Christian race is full of obstacles.
Hurdles that present themselves as problems. Things designed to slow us, even stop us.
If there are no hurdles in your race, you are either not running or you are compromising.
Hurdles help shappen or form your character to fit into the purpose of God to make you useful.
God expects us to make it, against all odds.
“He maketh my feet like hinds’ feet, and setteth me upon my high places.” – Psalm 18:33
My feet, representing my human ability cannot stand or overcome the trials and hurdles in my path. This means the impossible situations I cannot handle, sicknesses that refuse to go, debts I could not pay.
They are stumbling blocks in the path of the believer, and weapons in the hand of the enemy used to reproach the believer.
The more we struggle the further we get from our God-given vision! Sorrow and distress encompass or overwhelm me. Yes, I may be troubled on every side, yet not distressed; perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed! (2 Corinthians 4:8-9)
Oh, but the race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong, nor yet bread to men of wisdom! Abilities come from God. So in my distress I called upon the Lord (Psalm 18:6-9) He heard my cry and suddenly mountains of problems shake at the very foundations. Because God was angry with the problems and the people that stood against me accomplishing His will for my life, fire poured from his mouth and fell on me! I became a Stone; a coal of fire! I became alive!
In his anger, He bowed the heavens and came down!
No one saw him but I felt His presence inside of me, for greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world! He set me on high. Without being drunk with alcohol and no drugs I became high, fearless and full of faith, knowing I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me! Rather than complain and murmur, I began to give Him praise! Suddenly obstacles begin to turn to miracles!
As a soldier in God’s end time army, God turned my thin, dry, draggy and powerless feet into hinds feet to leap over hurdles, over obstacles. Things that people thought impossible became possible with me. Things I couldn’t do before I began to do! God is my strength, my power and my ability!
“For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall.” – Psalm 18:29
Who or what shall I be afraid of?
There is no mountain I cannot climb, there is no river I cannot swim, there is no wall I can not jump!
The secret to every victory is in:
(1) Knowing that your strength is in God.
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.” – Ephesians 6:10
(2) You activate that power with the instrument of faith.
“Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” – Ephesians 6:16
“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” – Hebrews 11:6
As faith comes only by hearing and hearing (having an understanding) of the Word of God, ask God to make you of quick understanding. (Isaiah 11 verse 3)
God bless you you.
“He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; but he that hateth gifts shall live.” Proverbs 15:27
I was in a bus recently and the driver pulled into a petrol station to buy fuel. The filling- station attendant told the driver the cost per litre. At this the conductor screamed and said they would not buy. The driver insisted they buy, informing him that the fuel remaining would not go far but the conductor would not listen. He suggested they buy at the next filling station.
What was the difference? Only N10 (Ten Naira). Yet, he hiked almost double, the cost of boarding his bus.
Every passenger in the bus encouraged the driver to overlook the difference and buy. Obviously, the conductor owned the bus and had the last say. We moved away from the station and have not driven up to four minutes when the bus jerked to a stop. The driver shot a quick glance at the conductor without saying a word, and as if that was the cue, all the passengers spoke angrily at the conductor who took a jerry-can, crossed the road and boarded a bus back to the station we just left to buy at the price he had refused!
Think about the time wasted, the money he paid to and from the station and the demeaning words of angry passengers. Only because he did not want to part with a few Kobos, despite the hike in fare.
Indeed, greed is expensively costly! And whosoever is greedy indeed troubles his household.
Lets make riches.
By the grace of God the world is a marketplace, we are sent in here to trade having been equipped with the resource of heaven. We have all been given different quantities of the same thing; depending on our ability, what we have to do. In other words what we have to do is responsible for the quantity of time that is given to us. It is said that to whom much is given, much is expected.
Some are given at birth 50 years, some 70 years, some 100 years and more. God gives everybody according to their abilities; according to the work they have to do for Him here on earth just as in the parables where the servants were given different quantities of the same thing. One was given five talents, the other two and the last, one according to their abilities, what they are capable of doing individually.
At birth we all received Time. Time is something that we all received when were coming to earth. Everyone of us big or small received the same thing in different measures.
If we have to check the average lifespan of a human being which is 70 years.
“The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.” -Psalms 90:10
Multiply 70 years by 365 days and you have 25,550 days. In other words every man came in with 25,550 days. Only? Multiplied further by 24 hours, we have 613,200 days. Only! However some received, just like in the parable, more and others less, according to the work we have to do for the Lord here on earth; according to the various responsibilities that God has sent us with here on earth.
No individual person, no one person came into the world with money or with cars or houses or clothes or gold or silver. No! We all came in naked with nothing at all whatsoever.
The only thing you brought into this world is TIME! And God expects you to exchange time for your basic need. Time is the money that followed you into this world, time is your greatest investment. When companies or institutions engage you what they take from you is part of your time. No company or individual is rich enough to engage ALL your time; they can only have part of your time and in exchange they give you some money: termed salary or payment.
How rich you are depends, not on how hard you work or how long you work, but on what you do with your time.
“I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.” – Ecclesiastes 9:11
For a lack of understanding many are wasting this resource, they are burying it! Just like the last man in the parable dug the ground and buried his talent, so many because of ignorance are literally digging the ground and burying the time that God gave to them to invest!
This is the basic difference between the rich and the poor. The ability to turn or translate Time to riches. Many are burying their Time.
But we are expected to manage our time.
“Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” – Ephesians 5:16
To redeem means to buy back, to exchange or put value on something that you need back earnestly. With various distractions, the enemy has stolen our money -Time! Today, we have the phones, internet, social media and all, eating up our time! We need to redeem it!
Like the servants in the parable who gave account of the talents received , we would give account of Time because this is Heaven’s resource given to us before we came to this world. Does what was done justify the time used? How relevant is that thing in relation to the time spent on it? Idle words eat up time! You will give account of idle words because you have wasted heaven’s resource!
What makes a word idle if not the non- justification of the Time spent on it!
There are only three ways to spend time. No matter who you are or what you do your time is spent on these three things.
(1) Thought. Watch your thought and its direction.
“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” – Philippians 4:8
(2) Word. Watch what you say. Would it build or edify others?
“But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.” – Matthew 12:36
(3) Deed. Watch what you do and be careful not to walk in the counsel of the ungodly, or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of the scornful!
“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.” – Psalms 1:1
And it shall be well with you in the Mighty Name of Jesus. Amen.
jimout2002a's Blog 