Behind Closed Screens

Do You Want To Feel Good?

Friend, this is out of this world. This is different i can feel it. Can you believe he checks on me between hours of his work, finally a man who priotises me.
He wants to hang out with me all the time and i mean all the time.

Phone rings and Ivette grabs her phone.

“Is that him?” I ask.

She slowly shakes her head, no its work.

“Why the disappointed look? It is quite early in the day.”

Ivette looks at me and that is when i see it. The fear and doubt in her eyes.

Its been five weeks since we last talked..

But but….am trying to reconcile what she has been telling me with this.

I think something happened to him.

“Have you called him? Are his numbers going through?” I ask.

Yeah they are but he is not picking. I have texted him he is not replying but his messages show they have been read.

I turn Ivette towards me, lift her chin up

Shirley kept tucking in the shirt and removing it from her jeans as she turned checking herself out in the mirror.

Mmh…hmmm.
Suzy should i tuck it in or let it flow.

I looked up and pretending to think i said “let it flow it looks better that way..”

I feel like i have gained so much weight, i got a size bigger for the jeans but look…

I bite my lip not sure what to say to her..
She is gained more than she realises i guess..

Question is ; Do you want to feel good or Do you want the Truth?

Feeling good sounds like a good fit but unfortunately it has incapacitated us.
The culture today would rather bury their heads in the sand than face Truth.

Friends can not be honest with eachother anymore lest you become labeled toxic, jealous, selfish at the least.
Men have to start up clubs on the one million ways(roses) to make the women ‘feel’ good.
We support downright bad behavior and call it “woke”. We lie all the time in name of protecting those we love and call it love.
Preachers stand on the pulpit and promise you a problem free life in this world and you feel good, the feeling that you can just become a billionaire you just have to do a list of things that have nothing to do with the Word of God.

We have labels for that which does not make us feel good.

Do you want to feel good or Do you want the Truth?

You see, feel good is just that ‘a fleeting feeling’ it comes and goes and it is very dependent on many factors and you will always always need a refill.

Question is “Do you want the Truth?”

Before you can answer that we have to agree that there is no such thing as “My Truth, Your Truth” with completely opposite sides.
Truth cannot be both true and untrue.
It is self-deception which unfortunately we have become masters at.

Truth cannot be subjective, it is inspite of your feelings or private intuitions.
Truth is black or white.
It is definite and conclusive.

Truth does not cater to a crowd, to say one thing to this person and say something else to another person.
Truth addresses all people alike as it finds them.

Society may try to re-define many things but the Truth does not change.
This may be hard to comprehend as we are always changing but not Truth.
Its safe to say if you are born male or female identifying as invisible will not make you invisible.

Truth is consitent and will not contradict itself.
It presents one origin, one problem of man, one standard for family, one plan for human history etc. It is all related it all holds together.

Think about it, if what you call truth can be changed as circumstances deem fit then it cannot be called true.

Telling people to make sure to use condoms to avoid AIDS and Pregnancy does not make these the problem.
Sexual immorality is what ought to be tackled.
The consequences are consistent.

~Aristotle

Truth represents the World as it is not as we wish it to be.

God is the one source and sole author of Truth. Sin, Judgement,Salvation, Heaven and Hell etc are whatever God says they are.

To say of what is that is not or of what is not that it is, is false, while to say of what is that it is and of what is not that it is not is True.

God is the God of Truth, Jesus Christ is full of Grace and Truth, Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth.
The Word is Truth.

No one can be saved without Truth.

Truth is consitent with the mind, will, character, glory and being of God.
~Steven Lawson

If you are forever between a battle on what is true or not you will need an absolute to base on.

So it stands “Do you want to feel good or Do you want the Truth?”.

Truth has the final say in every life.

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Settling For A Messy Christianity!

Have you had conversations where someone came back at you with…” Dont you sin madam/sir?” Or its common today for one to say ‘I dont sin’ this i must say is one in complete denial of Christianity itself.

I sin, You sin, We all Sin. True enough but does this mean we settle for sin or in certain cases ignore it.

No, Where does the Bible speak of creating a balance between sin and winning?

Jesus used hyperbolic language to stress importance if possible cut off your hand, pluck out your eye.
Paul speaks of a constant battle , overcoming sin through the spirit’s power.

Colossians 3:5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

Colossians 3:8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.

I highlight a few of these because the scripture clearly tells us to put to desth, put these things away, there is an involvement on our part.

Its a dualistic work, as the Lord wills in you to do its upon you to act.
When the Bible says flee, you do the running not declarations in this case.

Be Killing Sin or Sin will be killing you.

Why am i talking about Sin?

It is because we have normalised it and it is not okay.

If you are not in a struggle with sin then you are probably in bed with it.

We now have a complacency in Christian Living and we dont need any more encouragement in it.

You cannot proffess Christianity and keep disregarding the Word of God. That sadly is not Christianity you are lying to yourself and that has its own disadvantages.

Jesus paid for our sins not to allow us live the way we desire but they were paid for so we
could serve God.

Jesus did not trade his life so we could live a mediocre Christianity life ,half hearted and i must stress this out that i dont mean anything supernatural here in any sense it only means us being transformed to be like Christ in how we live this life.

Galatians 5:25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. (In context the above scriptures in the text point out what it is like to walk by the spirit).

You can only know a Christian by their fruit and the Fruit in the Bible is clear..Galatians 5:22-23

I wrote this to remind you dear Christian that we are in a daily struggle/battle and hence why we encouraged to put on the armour of God.
Your struggle is not in vain you have the help of the Holy Spirit.

To deny sin is to lie to oneself. Christ defeated the power of sin over us but we still carry the presence of sin within us and that is why sanctification.

C.S Lewis.

We are half hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.

We are not home but we are on our way.

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Something Is Wrong

I have honestly come to believe there is something wrong with our doctrine today.
Hear me out, iam no expert on any level am just one who strives to open their Bible daily to understand and hear of what God has to say to us.

The Bible is God breathed, its there to instruct us, reproof us, convict us of sin, correct us in error, discpline us in obedience, train us in righteousness….
The more reason why we need to open the Bible more often and study it.

Its a practical guide for this life on earth especially if we dare say we are Christian.

There is something wrong;

GOD IS TOO GOOD TO BE ANY OTHER

God is sooooo Good, Too Good that he is accepting of you and your sin, he will forgive you regardless.

Somehow the God today is too good and turns his face away when we sin and says shoo shoo you are forgiven dear no worries.

God is as Good as he is Holy. We cannot separate God’s Character to deem fit only as we please.

Consequence, Judgement is not one any one will escape.

PRAYER

Our Prayer life is filled with declarations, commands, speaking words over ourselves.
When last did we genuinely Ask God lest we forget “Its only when the Lord permits.”
He is in absolute control.

We now assume we can command the Lord over our lives when all we have we received.

UNDERSTANDING OF OURSELVES

Except the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain those who do it, except the Lord watches the city the watchman watches in vain.

Except the Lord… We are not Super Heroes, you dont catch bullets and neither can you stop sickness or anything for that matter by refusing it.

Okay lets for instance wake up and refuse to be human, see how you can become a bird.
Its sounds outrageous but if you are going to say its a principle then let it cut across.

PROMISES

We have successfully kicked out God with all the promises we make to eachother as thou the Lord made the promise.
We are busy holding God ransom on things he did not ever promise us.

On a side note God has not promised prosperity to every one look around you, not far, maybe even oneself which by the way is not a mark for a Christian.

Here is an example of a promise;

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

He gives peace but not as the World gives. Think on it, How the World gives peace is not God’s way!

There is so much that doesnt concide with what is in the Word.
As my husband likes to say “Christians Please Think. “

Doctrine is simply the Worldview with which we govern our lives.
Just to say ‘We believe in God implies a set of assumptions about what it means to believe, Who is God and what is he like…..

YOUR DOCTRINE WILL DETERMINE HOW YOU LIVE YOUR LIFE

If our Doctrine is based soundly upon scripture, we can know we are walking in the path God has designed for us.
However if we do not study the Word of God for ourselves we are led more easily into error.

True Doctrine is clearer than many imply.
Scripture intepretes Scripture.
God desires us to know his heart and has given us his Word upon which we can build godly lives.

Our sinful natures do not easily submit to God’s decrees so we often choose parts of the Bible we are comfortable with and discard the rest or replace it with a man made doctrine or tradition.

Its not new….

2 Timothy 4:3-4 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

1 Timothy 6:3-5 If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain.

I pray we can do our best to present ourselves as one approved,rightly handling the Word of Truth.
Iam on a learning journey and i invite you to join me.

I Charge thee to Please Open Your Bibles and Study his Word.

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2022 Summed Up

I thought i would gather myself to pen something down. Iam writing this with alot running through my mind.
I have not been consistent on the blog as i would have liked and hopefully we work towards it 2023.

My inconsistency came by two significant changes in my life.
If you notice i might have stopped being consistent around June.

Nothing prepares you for loss, loss of a parent is a heavier weight than i could ever fathom.
If i ever feigned understanding am sorry i did not know. Its the constant pain of loss, the pain in your heart that you cant touch, the memories that make tears flow effortlessly, the reminders that they are not here now.

Iam a Christian and i believe in heaven and hell, i believe in a life after death am not without hope , my mother was a practicing christian. I can only hope she is in heaven i dont know, but it comforts me that it is a possibility.
It comforts me that she is in no pain.

Iam grateful for the time i had with her, iam glad i moved back home after spending so many years away ,i spent some time with her and iam grateful for the timely opportunity to be with her.

Everyone could say there parent is special and i believe them because i say the same thing. My mother was something else, i cant use the right words to describe her, they wouldnt touch the core of what i mean to say.

Its 6months, it hit harder i guess because we are going into a new year. This year is ending without a mother. It shows how things change, you have no idea what 2023 will be like. If its not God who else will you lean on. Yourself, do you know how frail we are. We shall talk about that next year.
But we have no clue of what 2023 will be like.

My mothers passing taught me ,people are irreplaceable, i know no one can ever replace my mother no matter how hard they try i have seen some try and rather makes me feel like a child telling a step parent “you are not my mother” dont take it personal it is true.

It also taught me humans are prone to hypocrisy its easy to say things about people when they cant say anything (defend) themselves, try telling people to their faces how much you care.
Give the roses when they can still smell them.

I also learned more than ever all shall pass away, i want less now, i have one goal to live Faithfully that is it, that is all.
I rather work towards God because he is the beginning and end. This also entails me telling the Truth , unlearning and learning and praying the Lord will continually help me and my family stand to the very end.
In all this while living faithfully with what he has placed in my path, iam not chasing dreams, aiming for the worlds riches…

1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world– the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions–is not from the Father but is from the world.

That verse spoke volumes , we shall talk more in 2023 if God wills.

The other significant change that happened is i got married.
Many want a fairytale story but mine just had God as the story writer.
Remember my mother was deteriorating while am supposedly planning for the functions.
When they say bitter sweet, it looks like this.

My first traditional home visit was arranged in three days, my father hadnt informed us if we are going ahead with the plans or postponing but he decided we go ahead.
It happened a month after moms passing.

I saw Gods hand amidst all this, family and friends joined hands like those of people praying and worked. I cannot begin to think it was about me, it was about the parents.
We have thrown away communities but hope our generations can pick up this blanket again.
People poured sweat and soul in my functions.

Iam thankful for my friends, my family was impressed with them.
They dropped everything to hold me, walk with me, be with me. I began to wonder if i truly did enough for them before.

Gown shopping is supposed to be the fun thing for ladies, unfortunately i was in a gown when i received news of moms passing i was with a friend i didnt go gown shopping again i paid for the first gown that fit me and wasnt heavy.

Something with loss, it makes many things that once seemed significant less significant.
I was an easy bride , my friends i thank them and hope i can be that friend whenever anything arises.

My functions lacked drama, all the horrific stories i had heard about didnt happen in mine and i knew it had nothing to do with me but God ordained it that way.
Could i have taken a fight in the state i was in? I wouldnt know. We shall never know.

All in all ,iam now married to an amazing man. God knows is what i will say when any one asks me about marriage because he truly knows.
My husband has been a comfort, he is the steadiness i needed in my life right now, i see how God was listening through things he does unknowingly. Iam thankful to God.

This year has also made me realize i did not know christianity before , false assurance is a thing.
Its easy to think you are a Christian when doing certain things ‘right’ but until you open the Bible and know how to study it, only then can you examine yourself.

2 Corinthians 13:5-6 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?–unless indeed you fail to meet the test! I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test.

Iam learning and will take you on the learning journey 2023 if the Lord wills.

What i pray for you 2023.
May the Lord be true to you.
May your eyes be enlightened to the understanding and knowledge of his word.
May the Grace of God, his Love and Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you.

Happy New Year blog fam.

Catch me on the streets.

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Just What If (On God’s Providence

Just what if you dont get that which you have prayed for, Would you still believe in God.

Part of a conversation i was having with my husband. You have to know he was asking me to think through this not to be rash to say ‘oh of course.’
My answer led to a long winded discussion and eventually led me here.

Is it not interesting how we have equated God to be a spoiler Dad (santa of this season) of sorts, whatever you desire, think, ask this you must receive?
As i randomly go through the countless Christian stations we have today(countless i tell you) prayer directions are screamed out, bigger houses, promotions at work, taking over the nations etc.

It got me wondering;

Just What if you die without ever leaving the country , Would God have let you down? After all you prayed.

If you dont ever own buildings, has God failed you?

If you dont get that dream job , has God failed you?

What am i saying? These things are not bad but they are also not the essence of the Gospel. This means you getting them or not doesnt take away the Gospel and if we are telling Truth we will not attain some of these things.

Be honest , when you invite (or are invited)to church we often tell the people your life will change.
Unfortunately the change we accord to God is poverty shall flee( by which we dont define poverty anymore), sickness shall be no more (even if you know parents, siblings, neighbors who are proffessed christians and are dying around you). Etc.

Think about it, is it that God wil give you all your desires to make you a bed of roses on earth or that he has a planned end towards you to his ultimate Glory.

Let us talk about the providence of God.
Providence in short is provision.
God’s works of providence are his most holy, wise, powerful preserving and governing all his creatures and their actions.

It has to sink in that indeed if you truly believe God is all knowing then he knows absolutely everything that concerns you and that means even the suffering, trials etc you may go through.
Nothing happens outside of the heavenly fathers plan for ultimate salvation.

How can one encourage a Christian facing a physical ailment, joblessness any trial whatsoever?

This is it. I cannot promise you a life free of troubles because he wouldn’t ask you to rejoice when trials come, he said it in his word.
But be comforted that you are not your own, he watches over you that not a hair will fall from your head without his will. That he can make all things work together for your salvation.

If you believe that God is truly your provider, you will not question wether God has your best interests at heart in the midst of your suffering .
It helps us trust that God’s good purposes cannot be changed in our lives even when we dont see how it is working.

We are all familiar with Abraham’s story on being asked to sacrifice his son isaac. It couldn’t have been easy in any way but he trusted God would provide.

Genesis 22:8 And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together.

Genesis 22:14 And Abraham called the name of the place, The-LORD-Will-Provide; as it is said [to] this day, “In the Mount of the LORD it shall be provided.”

We trust as Abraham did that the Lord shall provide.
He is working all things for our good including the evil that befalls us. We know there is a reason for every bad thing that happens to us even if we may never know the reasons on this side of heaven. But he will use it all to bring out our good and for his ultimate Glory.

Iam really stressing that rather than us having a list of all the goods we deserve even when he explicitly asks us not to love the things of this world, let us rather pray for direction on our decisions in a way that will best appopriate his blessings. Let us be more inclined to utilize the blessings to further his kingdom, a service unto others.

We can never escape Gods control simply because God is God.

We ought to delight that God is in control because it only proves he is greater than the things that challenge us, so what can separate us from the Love of God.

The alternative is more threatening if God wasnt in control imagine how much evil may frustrate Gods plans for you.

Finally this only works for those who are called according to his purpose and love the Lord.
The only comfort we have in this life and death is that we are not our own. We belong body, spirit and soul to our faithful saviour.

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A Month Later (Marriage).

We sat before a Bishop two months ago holding hands and laughing so hard as he told us in one of the counselling sessions. Honeymoon is a time to rest and bond. Well glad to say we took the advice seriously.
We (I) have rested and i had no idea how to come back on here but duty calls.
Each day am perplexed at the atrocities going on around us.
I have only one hope and that is in God and the Truth that we are pilgrims on this journey.
More of that in time coming.

It feels like i have to reintroduce myself, yes iam those women. I happily take my husbands name if the processes of the papers get less hectic i could/would/will go through it all.

So am getting the countless questions still and honestly am still resting and figuring out where to put the spoons and knives in the house so i decided since I want to start talking on here again let me tell you of some lessons i have learned in my one month of marriage. Please note its not advice, i mean what do i know ! Right! Its lessons i picked along the way.

Advice, Counselling.

My husband asked me , do all women go through this. I honestly dont know but i received all kinds of advice and counselling till i wanted to find an island to go on.

Dont get it twisted, advice is good, it is needed. One is wise to listen to advice and to take it. It is wisdom in appropriate situations at hand.

For a Christian advice is good when its foundational, biblical anything outside it is mostly subjective which will be misleading to masses(in this case, all the people you talk to).
I mean we all know someone, have been through stuff, or know a person who knows a person. The cycle goes on.

Iam thankful for all the advice received but pray so you can sieve accordingly.

Everything Good you (We) receive is but just a Mercy of God.

We are quick to think we deserve the good things that come for us, am not sure why thou or maybe it’s because of the show down of self love promotion thats increasily getting difficult to see who we truly are.

1 John 1:8-10 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

We are not as deserving as we think so i have learned to be thankful and grateful to God for everything because its all just a mercy.

Experiences are not the Standard.

Let me rephrase this. My Experience is not the Standard.
I wouldnt want to lie to you that oh the God i serve will do for you as he has done for me.
That is a false representation of God, he is not here to give you every wish and whim you have, he only fulfills what he has promised and he works in very different ways , he is diverse in his workings.

I will not make you promises.
My experience is not the standard, refer to my last post here.

Letter. (Hallo Sister).

Marry your Friend, They were right.

Best friend is a cliche word honestly, one friend cannot be the embodiment of friendship its why we have many around us we can reach out to for different needs.

In this case, friendship is enduring affection, esteem, trust between two people.
Honestly they were right, Marry Your Friend. It makes sense.

There is definitely so much more to share but maybe in time to come. Who knows.
I just wanted to let my blog fam know iam back and lets catch up.

Special thanks to the Afrobloggers family that supported me on my journey to marriage.
Support in whichever form cant be appreciated enough. Thank you.

Catch you on the Streets.

Letter. (Hallo Sister).

Hey Sister,
I only saw it right to write you a letter because I see you through your questions.
I have been on that end longer than this side of journey am beginning. Iam but just a babe on this other side, how tables turn!
You see ,that is the beauty and pain about life.
We want to know the future so much we get ahead of ourselves but truly we only have today promised we don’t know what tomorrow holds.
I hope you learn to live today faithfully as the Lord has given it to you, about Tomorrow. Can we trust he who is in control?

The other day someone asked how does a single person live? An odd question it would seem but they went on to add especially one who is searching.

Dear sister,I have another opportunity to tell you singlehood is not to be escaped or looked down.
It’s as much a gift as it is marriage.
The World has lied to you ,it has painted romance as the only way to live.

1 Corinthians 7:7-8 I wish that all men were like I myself am [in this matter of self-control]. But each has his own special gift from God, one of this kind and one of another. But to the unmarried people and to the widows, I declare that it is well (good, advantageous, expedient, and wholesome) for them to remain [single] even as I do.

But to each his own special gift. Singles and marrieds are all called to live unto God.
How we ought to, the guidelines are alive in his word.

The God we serve needs no aiding he is in perfect control.

I shall not promise you tomorrow I cannot promise you tomorrow. That which is not revealed belongs to the Lord it is possible some may not live to marry (it’s true you know some), some may marry tomorrow or even 20years from now and again some may never get there.
What am saying I cannot promise you tomorrow but God who is all knowing and sovereign in that nothing you have is not without his control ,he will take care of you and reach you to the end he has ordained.

If you asked me would I be getting married I would have laughed in your face because I had believed the world sadly.
I believed that there wasn’t a man godly enough for me. No pun intended I mean this exactly the way you think it. Not a liberal christian man or super human or a man who will promise me mansions and cars and yet still I didn’t know what I needed.
I was sinful in not trusting God in taking matters in my own hands to live a single life.

Am talking to you sister , if you think you know what you want then am afraid you lie to yourself. Our hearts are so deceitful you need God to help you.
If indeed you are a Christian woman waiting on God then wait, not motionless but as you live your ordinary life unto the Lord.
Wait on him , In his No and his Yes trust him that what he does for you is good because God is good regardless of any circumstances.
You may not understand it now or ever but because he is Iam, he is the beginning and the end, he is God Almighty.
Trust him and your soul may be at rest.

Signed Connie.

What is the Will of God?

Have you ever wondered what God’s will is for your life?

Its been a while off the streets and Iam coming from a place when most often Faith is tested.

I was faced with a difficult question of ‘What is the Will of God for my mother’s life as she lay on the hospital bed calling out Jesus’name?’

Have you wondered about God’s will for someone’s life because all you see is pain, difficulty, suffering ?

For many of us the question arises at turning points in our lives, Work ventures, Choosing Spouses etc.
These are the time we cry out “Show me your Will Lord”

As we seek his will, we can’t avoid the tension we feel, Is this Okay? Is this it? Can God let this happen to me?
It is true we desire to please God but it has also become paralyzing for many and caused more confusion.

We can also assume Gods Will only applies to particular parts of our lives , we might even believe we control the moments in our days but do we?

James 4:13-16 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”– yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

It is arrogance to think you have any control at all.

Many have struggled to define the Will of God , when we talk about the Will of God we tend to speak in reference to ourselves and usually the good things spouses, finances etc.

However the Will of God ought to speak primarily about God, his nature, his sovereignty, his wisdom.
Defining the Will of God is important because it unveils who he is, all knowing and all powerful.

God is What he Wills -Richard Muller

Deuteronomy 29:29 “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.

There are countless things we don’t know for instance you don’t know how your day might end , dead or alive, happy or sad, disappointed or excited but God knows it all .

The secret things belong to the Lord ,this highly refers to God’s sovereignty nothing happens outside God’s hidden Will.
His hidden Will is sometimes referred to as decreed will or absolute Will.
This includes all he has ordained, established every event in history, thoughts and intentions of every person.

It is ironic especially today that we spend all our time focusing on God’s secret Will, we want to know his hidden Will for the future while walking contrary to his revealed will.

“But the things that are revealed to us belong to us..”
There is a revealed Will of God which we ought to diligently study and seek to understand.
God reveals himself in the Word, he is the best interpreter of his Will.
For instance we know that his will for us is to love our neighbors, bridle our tongues, not to steal or murder, not to practice sexual immorality, slander or gossip.
How do we know? He told us in his Word.

As we sit under True Preaching, Teaching, Reading and Studying, we grow in ability to know God’s Will and as our minds are renewed the Spirit of God helps us discern God’s will and apply it accordingly moment by moment in our lives.

You may be tempted to know about your future but above all God summons us to a life of obedience today.

As my mother lay on the hospital bed I was at a battle of acceptance of what was before me and what others believed could happen.
While most believed for a miracle, I was battling with the place of the unknown.
Honestly I did not know how it would end and I eventually surrendered to God’s secret Will, that whatever happens it is designed by a living God for the good of our souls.

My mother was laid to rest on 3rd July 2022 and this was God’s hidden Will.
This means we trust God even in trials and sufferings.
Someone made a statement after mum’s passing “she has won her race and gone to a place we are striving to get to”

We often quick to think suffering cannot be God’s Will, check out my posts on God ordaining Suffering.

Does God Ordain Suffering? Part 1

Does God Ordain Suffering? Part 2

We are not called to know God’s hidden Will, we cannot know in advance anyway it is hidden from us instead we are to know what he has revealed to us.
Seek to know God’s revealed will and remember the hidden Will will one day be revealed in his Glory.
We trust God’s divine wisdom and submit to his word.

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Does God Ordain Suffering? Part 2

I don’t know how much straw a camel can carry. I don’t know how heavy a burden I can carry. We all have a tendency, however, to suppose that we can carry far less than we actually can.”
~C.S Lewis

Christian or not , suffering remains inevitable while you live on this Earth.
The last post we talked about the different forms suffering. You can find it here. https://behindclosedscreens.wordpress.com/2022/05/04/does-god-ordain-suffering-part-1/

We humans have a tendency to ask ‘Why’ only when it is a direct effect on us for instance; If one encounters a terminal illness, a child with a defect, imprisonment, a terrible accident etc.

Firstly it is quite unfortunate that we have adopted the world view of suffering. We seek to dull the physical and emotional pain.
‘if it feels nice don’t think twice’ and be assured you will end up piercing yourself with more sorrows.

We are told you get to choose how you will feel about it so in that case ignore it .

We have been taught to minimize the reality of our grief and pretend as if nothing is happening.
But this is not the approach in the Bible.
It is not sinful to mourn or admit pain. One thing we know is that God is always with us in our pain.

We need to look at our suffering differently for the sake of the Gospel, for the cause of Christ.

If you are Christian you have definitely encountered the “Why” question.
I have to admit we cannot always have all the answers and it’s typically shown with the famous Job story. We don’t know why he suffered but we know that God allowed it to happen.

So I must say it is not as important to understand why as to the Truth that it is important that you trust God.

This is a smaller part of the big picture, we are only finite and truth is we will not always know why and God is not obligated to give us a reason but rather to Trust him and rest in the Truth that your afflictions and pain come to you for ultimate good and to his ultimate glory.

We are not completely left in the dark thou his word does highlight some ways God uses suffering unto his Glory;

God will use suffering to expose the sin in our hearts.
Pain has a way of cracking our hearts open and they are laid bare.
It can reveal our lack of faith in God when you begin to question ‘How could you let this happen to me God?’
The best example in the Bible was King David. He takes another man’s wife and kills her husband, they have a child who dies even after King David prayed so hard to God.
Nathan the Prophet is sent to King David who confronts King David and he repents ,he responds this with the famous Psalm 51.
If anything Suffering cleanses us , reveals and kills our present sin and helps us turn back to God.

God will also use suffering to wean us from the love of this World and redirect our thoughts and affections towards God.

Colossians 3:2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

Matthew 19 :16-30 is beautiful. It speaks of a rich young man who seeks to know how he can have eternal life and Jesus tells him what to do. He says he has done it all.
See what Jesus responds to him;

Matthew 19:21-22 Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

Please note he went away sorrowful for had great possessions in otherwards how hard it is to part with the Worldly treasures. Jesus said it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.

The afflictions we face are a constant reminder that this world is indeed not our home and they serve as arrows directing us not to hold onto what will fade but to hold onto what is unending.

1 Peter 2:11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.

Suffering will also help us distinguish a true believer from a hypocrite.
Many call on Jesus name until that time comes. We may all call on his name but God cannot be fooled. He knows those who are his.
When suffering falls on any one it is an opportunity to discover the sincerity of our love, belief and hope in God.
A believer will cling to God and unbeliever will forsake him. It will separate the sheep and the goats.

Suffering is also an opportunity to bear witness to the world.

Romans 5:3-5 More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

We usually skip over the words of one who rejoices in sufferings.
It is not that it is pleasurable ,it is the unshakable hope we carry in God that is displayed.
Have you met a person who is suffering and yet peaceful and hopeful?
It is a beautiful display of God’s Grace in securing a man’s salvation.

Our frequent trials and afflictions are not in vain. Take heart that God knows and understands it so well.
Rest in the surety of his promise that he will never forsake you because he will Never.
It is a constant testimony through out the scriptures that the people understood that life is about self denial and cross bearing and that it is a constant fight.

The right response to suffering, afflictions, trials is to affirm what God actually says in his word. Even when we cannot exhaustively explain every part of it.
If you are suffering you must use the instrument (Bible) God has given us to weather the storms.

James 5:13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.

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Does God Ordain Suffering? Part 1

A great part of the difficulty we face in terms of really accepting this doctrine stems from the presence of suffering in our lives. We say that we believe that God is sovereign, but when we wrestle with events in our lives that are troublesome, bad things that happen to us, tragedies that befall us, we begin to question either the sovereignty of God or the goodness of God.
We ask ourselves: “How could a God who is sovereign and good have allowed these things to happen?

~excerpt Surprised by suffering R.C Sproul~

If you are a Christian and have not genuinely asked yourself this question then you are living in utter denial.
In a day and age where materialism and psychology has conformed us to thinking our greatest goods in life are physical, financial and emotional well being.
When we start to ask such questions, many seek to remove any association of God in suffering because he is a Good God. Right!!

Today suffering is inconsistent with the Gospel. If you are undergoing any kind of suffering then there is something wrong with you.
We have either wondered of this of ourselves or thought of it about another.

We need to understand that coming to Christ comes with so many blessings but it does not carry a guarantee of freedom from pain and suffering.

It’s important we understand what suffering actually is and why it would be unrealistic to think or imagine (because one thing humans are gifted with is an ability to imagine/dream) that suffering cannot be avoided till death.

Suffering is a product of the fall , a consequence of human sin against God.
Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned–

Suffering can come in many forms I may not mention all of them but one thing is certain. You know when you suffering.

Suffering can come through consequences of sin. You know God loves you when he set for you certain laws to govern how to live this life, disobey it and see what happens.
We all sin and fall short and the Bible is clear that there is consequence to sin.

Suffering can also come from People sinning against you. These are some of the things you hear people say it is unfair but as Christians you ought to expect this and know you live in a fallen world.

We also suffer because we are engaged in a cosmic battle for we do not wage war against flesh and blood but against rulers, authorities, cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

It is in this suffering that one needs a clear understanding of God’s Sovereignty, his Providence and Power.

The one most interesting thing is how the Bible is consistent with suffering all the way from the Old Testament to the New Testament.

I will highlight one of the most common historical narritives and that is Joseph’s story.
Everyone sees how Joseph was blessed but quickly forget how much he suffered.
Joseph suffered at the hands of his brothers and this was brought on by his father’s favoritism shown towards him.
He went on as a slave to a foreign country, he served as a slave, he is accused by a pharaohs wife, he is taken to prison, he is forgotten by someone he helped.

Genesis 50:20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.

In hindsight Joseph speaks on God’s providence. God works out all things according to the counsel of his Will. The Lord is sovereign over all our suffering and no it will not magically disappear.

We can be confident that God works all things together including our suffering for our Good and his Glory.

If we can trust the sufferings of Christ for our sake then we can trust Christ when we suffer for his sake.
~A.W Tozer~

We shall pause here for today and in the next blog post we shall further seek to understand; Why suffering? and Why would God allow it?

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