Month: July 2025

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Grasshoppers

I know a person or two who are terrified of grasshoppers. Do you? Much as I would like to laugh at them, I don’t because I too go into flight mode—not the phone feature—when I see certain (harmless!) creepy crawlies.

Now, the other day a verse came to mind and I looked it up because I remembered only a portion of it. The verse said,

"He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,
    and its people are like grasshoppers."
Isaiah 40:22 NIV

My initial thought was to remember how I sometimes squish dudus (bugs) for no reason other than because I can. As you can imagine, seeing this verse made me view God through my own actions towards dudus, and I was left feeling extremely discouraged! The Lord in His mercy turned my attention to Job—chapters 38 and 39—where I read that the animals we consider strong and dangerously powerful beg God for mercy. And not just that, but also that these mighty animals ask God to allow them to be His slave! Isn’t it amazing to know that these huge and powerful animals acknowledge God’s might!

Somehow, reading about God’s power through these chapters in Job encouraged me. I understood that God is Almighty, all powerful and sovereign over all creation. He uses His power for good (e.g. setting the earth’s dimensions so it can sustain life, or giving food to the ravens). I also understood that unlike me, God does not squish His creation pointlessly—like I do with dudus. He instead gently cares for all His creation, and directs everything in the way it should go.

I now realise that it is beyond my ability to comprehend the extent of His power! And, that unlike God, I am in not in in control of anything.

Everything is possible for Him. So, I shouldn’t limit Him by saying “safe” or “small” prayers. Also, because He is so much more powerful than I can imagine, everything about me is small in comparison to Him. Therefore, to Him there is no big or small prayer . . . they’re all small! Which is all the more reason why I should pray about everything.

And . . . if I know He has the power to do anything and everything, then I should have faith that He is able to do what I have asked. Especially when what I have asked seems impossible.

At the moment I must confess that this is head-knowledge for me, and my current prayer is for Him to turn it into experiential knowledge.

Lord, I believe all things are possible for You. Help me overcome unbelief!

 

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Am I the Cause?

Comea long today as I share a thought on matters work etiquette.

But first, I’ll start by saying that before my recent career change, I worked in the area of customer satisfaction. Not the popular practise where businesses call to find out your experience post-purchase, but rather where companies internally strive to sell only what will satisfy their customers. Being proactive about customer satisfaction is what I’ve worked on for close to two decades. 

Naturally, even though I’ve changed career, my attention is quickly drawn towards matters customer satisfaction. And I’ve been increasingly noticing something peculiar about us as a culture. I’ve observed that we are primarily interested in the money we will collect during a transaction, and less interested in the other end of the transaction —where we give the customer what they’re paying for. What’s more, this attitude seems to cut across all sectors. The landlord/agent is interested in collecting rent & deposit, and not so much in making sure they’re handing over a functional house. The car-wash guy wants to collect his pay, with little care for how thorough the cleaning is. The investment company is quick to take your cash, but works at snail’s pace when it is time to give the money back. The food vendor is happy to receive your money, with little concern for the safety of the food they’re serving. Then there’s the tailor . . . there are endless examples! I used to think that as a society we lacked awareness on matters quality and customer satisfaction. However, I now view this as a greed problem. 

That’s a strong assertion, I know. But hear me out.

You see, when I read Romans 1:21–32, I can’t help but wonder whether you and I are the cause for the economic and political state we find ourselves in as a country. My take-out from these verses is that whenever our hearts are repeatedly rebellious towards God, then God “gives us over” to be oppressed by the very thing that we are choosing instead of Him.  

Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy.
Romans 1:28–31 NIV


I cannot help but wonder if Paul had this in mind as he wrote the above:

“But my people would not listen to me;
    Israel would not submit to me.
So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts
    to follow their own devices.”
Psalm 81:11–12 NIV


Could God have given us over to economic hardship because of our love for money? Could the chaos/protests we are witnessing be an indicator of our disregard for law and order, or our impunity? Could God have given us over to our penchant for shortcuts by allowing us to be consumers of sub-standard goods? These are the questions on my mind today. More importantly, how have I contributed to the situation? 


Very often we hear that if we fast and pray then God will forgive us and heal our land. What I rarely hear mentioned is the part of 2 Chronicles 7:14 where we turn from our wicked ways. God incorporates us changing the wrong actions that are causing us to be oppressed. Without a turnaround in behaviour, we should expect more of what is currently going on. 


I can certainly see how I could do better when God brings the next tenant . . . things to make them comfortable. How about you? Might any of your actions have contributed to God punishing the nation by letting us have our own way? These are weighty matters and deserve serious soul-searching and a commitment to do right.

God promises in Psalm 81:13–14 that when we return to His ways, He will quickly subdue our enemies.

It is definitely worth giving thought to what changes you need to make . . . 

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What Will I Choose?

Happy New Month! 

What was your June like? 

My month was hard, but it ended well.  

It was hard because the situation—the one that’s got me on an emotional rollercoaster—continues to be a source of many tears. However, the final week of the month brought a valuable lesson.

You see, before June, I had said every prayer and confessed every sin I could think of. Yet not a thing changed. There was no materialisation of the word I received from God. (If you’re wondering what this “situation” is, check out a few of the previous posts)

So I came to the conclusion that there must be a mega sin in my life that I’m unaware of, and this sin is “blocking” my prayers, and keeping God from listening to me.

It was around this time that I distinctly heard the Lord say to me, “My ear is attentive to your cry.” 

This word brought me comfort for a day or so, but when nothing changed (again!) I began to question why God would say He is listening, but still do nothing. 

Then, through a friend, the Lord sent me this verse: 

Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 
James 1:4 NIV

And it was then that I understood I was in training. The delay wasn’t about a mega sin, but about God maturing my faith. Now, you’d think that understanding what was happening would settle the matter for me, but nah! I was soon back to tears. 

But God, in His infinite goodness, has shown me that I am impatient. I do not want to persevere. I want to have Him give me instant relief . . . to resolve issues immediately.

Yet, just as physical growth takes time, spiritual growth doesn’t happen instantly either. It too, takes time. Plus, the only way to mature my faith is to patiently persevere through discomfort, because I have faith that God will end the discomfort. Then, when I face similar situations in the future, I can relax because I have experience in trusting God to bring me through the discomfort. The post Through, Not Around makes so much more sense for me now!  

As I write this, the Lord has brought to mind a verse which presents me with a choice:

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” 
Romas 12:12 NIV

The choice? Keep crying and feeling abandoned. Or, stay hopeful—actively trusting—because I know God will bring this season to an end. And, I suppose the longer it takes me to make the right choice, the longer I remain in this “bootcamp.”  

What is absolutely certain to me is that I cannot persevere, be joyful, or hopeful in my own strength. Even now as I write, I can feel impatience nudging me to ask for this to be over. 

“Lord Jesus, set me free from impatience! Help me to persevere, to be joyful, and fully trust You.“

Do you need to say this prayer with me?