You are here to be challenged..

 "You are here to be challenged not to be afraid but to know God"...My heart practically leapt for joy hearing these words in my sleep...I woke up saying it out loud enough...I was wowed... 😲 knowing fully well that this was God's answer to the frank conversation we had while waiting on Him the previous day.

"Lord, I hope you know it's really hot down here... you seem so distant ... don't seem to know you anymore! Why am I not able to even do the things I would love to do for you? Is it a wrong timing? Am I moving too fast? ... there seem to be a hold on me ... no power to move... I can't go backwards neither can I move forward...the only thing I find able to do is to keep studying your word...meditating and hanging on every word!"...I  poured out my soul in prayer to the Lord but still felt quite heavy with an unusual stillness within. 

His answer came in an unusual way...in my sleep! I woke up strengthened from within, giving Him thanks for responding to me. While thanking Him, I sensed a scripture flashed through my mind;  "Be still, and know that I am God!"...Psalm 46: 10. Wow...stillness is indeed the place of tranquility where we know that He is controlling and moving us by the mighty power of His Spirit. Beloved, I believe this is the place we need to desire to be. 

I must confess that though my heart was calm after hearing His voice, my mind wasn't! Owing to the fact that I had to take up a bigger responsibility within my extended family in a few days. My fears were worsened when I heard the news that the banks here in Sagamu have been terribly vandalized by protesters violently fighting against the cash crunch impact.  Hmm.. exasperated....push came to shove and I ran back to the Lord confessing to Him: " "Dad, it's really hard for me to be still...to trust you to show up...." I heard His immediate response; "...the more you surrender control to me, the easier you can trust me....stop trying to be in control...let me do that for you! 

What a wonderful Father God is to His own! Always available anytime we call on Him...I really desire to know Him more! I held on to His word, which was even confirmed through my pastor's counsel and took up the task. I understand better that God wanted me not to just take up the task but do it with a right attitude... leaning on His strength, wisdom and provision. We can't cajole God, we need to listen for His opinion (not ours or peoples')on how to do the work He called us to do. He may send confirmations to us through anyone He chooses but we have the primary responsibility to seek Him first. His response was just apt, a feedback I was unaware I needed to defeat the "superwoman syndrome" that was weighing me down.  We must be watchful to stay connected to our source. God's assignment must not become a routine. Hmm...we must always check on Him to examine us and give us fresh inspiration. I believe we all need this personal feedback report from the Lord as often as He desires. I emphasize it's important we learn to know and discern the timing of any work God gives to us, running ahead of Him leads to nothing, on the other hand, we miss out on His goodness when we are far behind. Frankly, it is not easy but it is highly rewarding to pay the price by cooperating more with the Spirit,  surrendering all our eggs in His basket of grace, following Him step by step and walking at His pace. In addition, let's stay within the purview of our work description and not try to take upon ourselves God's role. 

The maturity and grace to be still especially when God instructs doesn't come spontaneously. It is groomed in the place of worship and prayers and diligent feeding on His word of grace. it feels really foolish to remain 'still' in the face of storms.  Sometimes, the  pressure to perform according to people's expectations is our secret motivation. We want to be perceived as "superman/ superwoman ...a goal getter always busy actively working... inventing and reinventing! Truly, God has given us the gift of work however we need to be teachable enough to be led by Him into doing His work as He pleases. His plan is already blessed so we need Him to lead and direct us on our unique path...  work as He works...rest as He does...move when He tells you to and wait when He instructs you to. Waiting patiently doesn't mean passivity, it's simply holding on,  obeying the last instruction with the right attitude. I learned that scripturally, the opposite of patience is pride. Little wonder God ensures we appreciate the invaluable lessons of waiting on Him so we can be more effective in our service within and outside the church.  

I realised that sometimes God positions us to be still in order to unveil and expose to us the refuge of lies we might be standing on knowingly or unknowingly. Yes, even as Christians we can be unknowingly working against ourselves and much more God's purpose through wrong beliefs and erroneous doctrines we might have ingested through religion, people's opinions and expectations,  background, societal values, prejudices, culture, associations, experiences, unbalanced teachings and wrong interpretations of God's Word and visions. 

A few days ago, my neighbor's aged  mother, a petite widow was attacked by a Russian Caucasian Shepherd dog who broke its chain and ran into the streets. It caught up with the aged woman who was innocently walking on the street and bit her severely. People came to her rescue and she was rushed to the hospital with bleeding wounds. My husband had to intervene in order to get the owner of the dog to pay for the bill and also face the Landlord association penalty for such careless act. The matter was appropriately addressed and 'mama' was fully taken care of. She was discharged from the hospital and she came back home feeling better. The next day, my husband saw her alone at a corner cringing with fear. He said he went to her and asked her about her sadness and she responded that someone told her she will bark like a dog and eventually die from the dog bite. Sadly, mama had been poisoned by a lie and she believed it...hmm...an opinion that is baseless and cruel, and this stole away her earlier peaceful countenance making her really weak. My husband had to speak with her telling her the truth about how God loves and saved her even fought for her justice. Moreso, she's recuperating well. He sang in her native Igbo language and also danced for her...mama laughed and danced too ..hugged him and went to her apartment to rest. Today on her way to the clinic I saw her beaming with smiles, full of life ..she is a lot stronger. The lies had to be broken with the truth of God's word right on time lest it becomes a refuge of lies in Mama's mind. 

A refuge of lies is a place of safety built on lies. The foundation of this tower is made principally of lies and Satan is the architect/ builder. It appears to be true, in fact, it might have some blocks of truth however time reveals its fallibility. It's so dangerous that it gives you a false hope which eventually breaks apart sooner or later leaving the refugee shattered. 

A refuge of lies can take the form of a marriage, system of government, a belief system,  organisation, ministry, opportunity, job, achievements, business, friendship... relationship... unhealthy habit, approval syndrome,  ungodly counsels, opinions (be careful who you allow to speak into your life). 

Taking your faith seriously can provide an escape route from a refuge of lies you are in or about to enter. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble, Psalm 46: 1

Isaiah 28: 17 

Judgement also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.

Be warned that the judgements of God will sweep away every refuge of lies. It pays to be exposed to a refuge of lies and you intentionally deal with it as God reveals to you rather than allow it to break apart in the course of time...then it can be too late. The Holy spirit is the Spirit of truth who exposes every refuge of lies. With the baptism of the Holy Spirit comes a demolishing of the whole man ( works of the flesh including refuge of lies ), and a compassion for the world. The dealings of God and the revelations of His word and prayers, seasoned with quality worship are spiritual hammers that break down all the refuge of lies we, whether knowingly or unknowingly have taken shelter in,  leaning on or hiding in.  The refuge of truth replaces the lies as we grow and mature spiritually. The journey of victorious living in Christ is vividly encapsulated in the bible...read the book and lay the sure foundation of faith which is the refuge of truth.  

Where does the fault lie for the state of things we see today? It is in the lack of a deep spirit of repentance. Repentance is a deliberate turning away from sin and doing the work of righteousness and holiness through faith in Christ Jesus. You can take victory over your destiny...but you must do it the Lord's way.  The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and  abounding in mercy!   

Like a cake oozing with delights, the land of Africa is a sweet deal, ingloriously invaded by 'soldier ants' minds who are eating away the sweetness. The only hope for restoration is the creator Himself. The refuge of lies portrayed by  money politics and corruption within my country and across Africa is disheartening but I see new frontiers of hope emerging out of Africa...the relentless multitude of God's mercies upon this continent cannot be overlooked....a new Africa is arising out of obscurity with purposeful minds ladened with treasures of divine intelligence. They are strong, doing exploits because they know their God and are courageous enough to stand in the gap, skillfully breaking up the refuge of lies in their space. I have a big heart for Africa's 'mental' transformation and this been expressed through my passion for speaking, writing and even in the world of  Art. Winning an award as the best student in pencil drawing during a state Art competition at the University of Lagos exposed me to the possibilities of using art to convey my thoughts. So during my National Youth Service Corp program, I contracted an artist to illustrate my thoughts ( a train of transformers rising out of Africa) in a painting and it was my parting gift to the Center for Youth development, (CEYDA) popularly known as FORWARD AFRICA, an NGO, affiliated to Abia State University. It was a great privilege to serve and mentor youths at this institution. 

 May we not stop stooping down in our hearts to call on God to heal our land and also serve people passionately using our gifts. We pray and we work...that way, the refuge of lies upon our high places can be brought down. 

The household of God has a great responsibility in governance and modelling right societal values. Sadly, many Christians are inadvertently raising refuge of lies through their actions and inactions. In fact anytime the word of God is interpreted with the flesh, such interpretation becomes a refuge of lies ...adding or subtracting from God's word whether knowingly or unknowingly builds up a refuge of lies. Let us allow God to expose to us the refuge of lies we might have believed so we could salvage our land from lies.  

 

The omniscient One knows all, but He needs us to be close enough. Our knowledge of God impacts on the quality of choices you make in life. Every trial and tribulation offers us unusual opportunities to know God in different ways... the father, provider, advocate, defender, refuge, protector, father to the fatherless, mother to the motherless, husband to the widow, the great shepherd, counsellor, deliverer, builder....lover of our soul. 

Difficult times are much more invaluable indeed in knowing God more at a deeper level. For instance when we suffer lack and hunger, it's an opportunity to know that God is able to send ravens to supply our needs...the supply might not be impressive at that time but it's just enough to keep you alive, to keep you up doing His work knowing well that “After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you” (1 Peter 5:10).In fact, as a Christian the dealings of God can separate you from others who are not mature and sensitive enough. Some of the refuge of lies some people in the church believe are: - 

-Heaven helps those who help themselves. This is not God's word...it's a lie from the pit of hell. If you can help yourself why does heaven need to intervene? Just like the foreigners who lived in Samaria feared the Lord, yet served their own gods, many in our churches today fear the Lord yet are serving their own gods ( Money, power and Sex). 

- Things will always work for your good. God never said this, He said: And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8: 28. 

Some people say  " God is not wicked and He cannot allow His own to beg'....I make bold to say that sometimes God's own may beg for a season in life. God is not wicked or punishing you by not providing as promptly or often as you desire. Psalm 37. [25] I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. 

The truth is that the righteous is never forsaken even if he begs for bread...it's for a while...  that season will never last through to his seed. I'm not glorifying poverty as God's will I am only saying that we can't pray away God's process of giving His own power to build wealth. 

David though anointed still had to beg for food at some points while running for his life. His life was in danger and safety was more of a priority than even food....of course there was no way he could work or engage in anything else when he was being chased by a mad king whose prerogative was not to protect his kingdom but to kill the One chosen and anointed by God to replace him. Hmm ... sometimes we face certain trials that keeps us on the run ...seeking first for safety ( physically, emotionally or spiritually) above any other need and that could make us vulnerable even to beg for food at such season...

This is why the ministry of giving is so critical. It's important we understand our roles in the context of God's plan. Be faithful wherever God plants you  Take care of God's household with your heart full of love...giving gifts and seeds of love even if it's a widow's mite..many have disappointed God and still disappointing Him by not standing by and supporting God's servants and work. Can you discern anyone who God has assigned you to diligently support with your resources at this time?You can't starve God's faithful servants but you can only cheat yourself out of God's intended reward for you. When you bless such an individual God Himself will bless you. The point is if you fail in your  responsibilities towards God and His house you lose the reward. God will choose someone else to do the work and if such is faithful, he gets the full reward.  

" God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints , and do minister..."

Your ability to discern a brother or sister in need is so golden and precious. You will do yourself a big favor by not judging people by their reproach or sufferings. God allows the trials for the furtherance of the gospel. An understanding of our purpose, times and seasons helps us to endure trials with a right attitude. 

 " For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day. 2 Timothy 1: 12.  

Paul understood why he was suffering, it was because of his divine appointment as a preacher, an apostle and a teacher of the Gentiles. Though he worked at some point as a tentmaker, he was imprisoned for the cause of the gospel and he had no choice but to depend on God to use people to feed him. Paul wasn't a lazybone, he zealously obeyed God's call and assignment yet landed in  prison. Depending on your purpose, your full obedience to God's call might actually lead you into a prison for opposition will arise. Mind you, not all prisons are physical, there are unseen prisons which manifest as unusual delays .. such as financial prison, marital, health, emotional...loss of a loved one...it really feels dark in there...if God brought you into such, He is faithful to stay with you right there, working in you to bring you out with honor into great abundance.

"Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God. Isaiah 50: 10-11

Remember, even in prison, Joseph was blessed because God was with him. He was still a blessing to others. Don't allow your pain to stop you from being a blessing to others...you will reap your harvest of joy if you faint not! It's not enough to know the truth but it's wiser to allow that truth to govern your life and choices. 

So God, in His eternal plan for your good, may have brought something into your life that is distasteful, something that is causing you to feel that your life is worthless. I comfort you with the same words God comforted me with: 

" You are here ( in this situation)to be challenged not to be afraid but to know God! 

 "That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death... Philippians 3:10. 

Jesus loves you 😍😍😍

Yours sincerely,

Segilola- 

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