Tag: #faithful God

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The Forgotten Day

We have officially got into our rainy season here, and the grey weather has crept into my life. These past couple of weeks have been turbulent for me. Actually, it’s probably more accurate to say these past couple of months! Some days I feel like I’ve been tossed into a raging sea. Before I can come up for air and breathe, I find myself tossed about again. It’s been very uncomfortable! All this while trying my best not to re-join the waltz! 

I’ve observed and learnt a few things that I’d like to share . . .

The big lesson is that I must learn to watch my thoughts. Self-control doesn’t just apply to physical appetites or throwing about careless words. Self control also applies to the thoughts I allow to take up residence in my mind. I’m learning that no matter what’s going on with me, I must monitor my thoughts so that they don’t lead me down a dark rabbit hole. Some of the thoughts I must kick out include “Why me, Lord? Why is this happening to me?,” or “Why aren’t You answering my prayers, Lord?,” and any other thought that accuses God of being unkind. I’m (doing my best) to be like Job and remind myself that I should be ready to accept both good and bad from God. Hoping that somewhere down the line the turmoil will end, and I’ll see what God was working out. Like it says in Hebrews 12, God disciplines/trains those He loves through hardship, and

"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” 
Hebrews 12:11 NIV

So now, when I chat with the Lord, I ask Him to show me what He is working in me and for me. I ask Him to teach me to persevere through, and not around the situation. 

This week I’ve also spent lots of time on one of my favourite ways to soothe my soul . . . listening to the great old-time hymns. I’ve found much comfort in singing along as I do my daily tasks. It has been so helpful! And led me to stumble upon an observation . . .

As I listen, I cannot help but think that we, believers in Jesus today, have lost part of the hope we have in Jesus. What do I mean? Well, a great majority of the hymns mention life with Jesus in eternity. And life with Jesus forever isn’t something that we hear taught or discussed much these days. It is almost becoming a forgotten day. Yet we are told that His return should be something we use to encourage one another . . . 

"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching." 
Hebrews 10:24—25 NIV

One of the graces that God has given us is the gift of knowing that our time on earth is brief, and therefore there will be an end to our suffering and troubles. We also have the promise that Jesus will come for us so we can be with Him forever. I suspect that if we reminded each other of this fact often, then we would be encouraged to persevere through seasons of discipline/hardship. We might also be discouraged from the endless pursuit and hoarding of wealth.

This has certainly been my experience this week as I listen to the hymns. The hope that I will receive a new nature that isn’t prone to sin, and be with God forever has been renewed in me. I’m hoping that as I continue to listen to the hymns, that I’ll get to the point where this hope is so alive in me that I can brush off things that would ordinarily annoy me or cause me to complain. Because I know that in comparison to eternity, these things are a meaningless “vapour.” I really would love for this to be true for me! 

"For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.  It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope — the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ," 
Titus 2: 11—13 NIV

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I Can’t, But God Can!

This is part two of a previous post, which you can catch here.

Back to 1 Samuel 20 . . . Jonathan could have been content in the knowledge that he was next in line to be king, and sided with his father, King Saul, about harming David. Jonathan was after all the one set to benefit most if David was out of the way. But Jonathan chose to do what is right—he told his father that his treatment of David was unfair, and then he advised David to flee. Jonathan acted righteously! 

What came to mind at the end of this story was every-day situations that we face. For example, how many of us see our mothers mistreat our sisters-in-law and say nothing? How many of us are hesitant to warmly welcome our brother’s wife into the family? How many of us see our brothers or husbands speak hurtfully to children and say nothing? How many of us treat some children in the family better than others? Or distinguish between how we treat children from the city and those from the village? How many of us listen in silence while one friend gossips about another? Or, how many of us are unwilling to care for an ageing parent who neglected/abandoned us as children? A whole number of day-to-day situations flashed through my mind, and I confess that I have certainly not always acted righteously. There is massive room for me to change my outlook and constantly ask myself, “how would I want to be treated in this situation?” Plus learn to speak up in love and not judgement . . . 

It feels like a enormous change is required, and I know that I certainly cannot do it on my own. Which is why I am so grateful that when I confess my sin to God, He is faithful to forgive me and forget my sin (1 John 1:9). Then I can go ahead and ask Him to give me the grace to love people . . . because I acknowledge that I cannot do this in my own effort.

“For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfil his good purpose.” 
Philippians 2:13 NIV

Isn’t it wonderful that we serve a God who gives us His Spirit to work in us so we are able to do the things He desires and asks of us? Especially so for the things that we cannot do on our own?

Thank You, Jesus! ❤️

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Here to Testify

The other day I was reminded of something that God did for me many years ago . . . But before I tell you what He did, let me give you some context.

There was a time in my life when I was in and out of the doctor’s over seemingly regular symptoms. The symptoms got worse in my thirties, and I eventually discovered I had an autoimmune disease. I didn’t think much of it because I figured I could manage it by avoiding certain foods. What I didn’t know is that the “thing” poisoning my body was found in almost every food, and extremely difficult to avoid. 

A few days after my 39th birthday, I got much sicker than usual, and drove to the emergency room at night. I told the doctors about the autoimmune condition but they didn’t know much about it. It’s one of those diseases that is generally uncommon here in Africa. I was given a one-month prescription to address the symptoms, and I began the treatment immediately. On the second day, I started to get worse. A bit of research led me to discover that the “thing” poisoning my body was an ingredient in the prescribed medicine. I made this discovery on a Saturday night. I was completely baffled about what to do!

The following day—Sunday—I woke up feeling worse than before I went to hospital. As I prayed that morning, I told God that this disease was going to kill me. Then I went on to tell Him that despite how I was feeling, I would drag myself to church expecting that He would turn the Sunday service into a healing service. 

I got to church and in the middle of the service, the Senior Pastor (who wasn’t leading the service that day) got up and said, ” I hear God say that today is a healing day. If you have an incurable disease, please stand up.” I still remember his exact words! At first I wasn’t sure I had heard the right thing so I stayed seated. He repeated it and this time I stood up. Two other people in the congregation also responded.

He told the people seating next to us to lay their hands on us. Adding that God would use their hands to heal. The Senior Pastor said a prayer and we sat down. As the service went on, I heard a gentle voice say that I shouldn’t take my medicine any more. I went home and didn’t tell anyone what had happened. But I stopped taking the medicine.

A couple of months later I told God that I would start eating the food that poisoned me before. And I added that this would be a test of whether the condition was really gone. (Where was my faith?) After months of testing, I found that those things did not trouble my body any more. That was over ten years ago.

If I did not have a friendship with Jesus in which I was free to boldly ask for healing, I would either be long dead or spending a majority of my time and money in hospital. But because of God’s mercy and grace towards me, I am here today to testify!

To God be the glory!




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Free Those Arrows

Recently, I’ve taken to playing a game on my phone. The game is a puzzle of sorts, and the goal is to find a path to get arrows to fly off the board without colliding into each other. It sounds like a straightforward task, but it is far from that. You see, the individual arrows face different directions and block each other. You have to find the right sequence to free the arrows so they exit the board one at a time. And, the right path to an arrow’s freedom isn’t always obvious. 

Games are not really my thing, but I do find that I particularly enjoy this one. Perhaps that’s because I can relate to being in a difficult situation and desperately wanting to be set free . . . 

The other day, though, I discovered something as I played . . . 

To identify a clear path to each arrow’s freedom, it helps to zoom in. As I zoom in, it becomes crystal clear whether there is a path to freedom or not. Which of-course makes it easier to find the right sequence to free the arrows. At the same time, however, zooming in takes my eyes off the entire puzzle so I may find what seems to be an immediately clear path, but be missing out on an obstacle in a different part of the puzzle. So a few times I’ve found myself thinking “this” is the right path for a particular arrow, only to find that there’s a blockage elsewhere.  And I’m forced to zoom out, look at the entire puzzle, zoom in again, then keep going.

And it struck me that navigating through life is rather similar. I need to be constantly zooming in and out to find “the path.” But unlike in the puzzle where zooming out gives me a full view, with life, I never have the entire picture of what’s going on. Only God has complete sight of all situations. Which means I am continually faced with two choices: to figure out “the path” on my own, or to constantly depend on God to navigate me. 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. 
Proverbs 3:5–6 NIV

Needless to say that one of these choices comes with fewer obstacles than the other! 

Let’s make the right choice—one day at a time—to invite God to navigate us through the day. Whether we are in a difficult or joyful season. It’s the only strategy to successfully “free those arrows!” 

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Not Around the Corner

The last time I was on these streets, I said it felt like the end of the season might be around the corner. I was both right and wrong! And I’m glad I added the disclaimer that whether right or wrong, I was trusting God to give me the courage and faith to be more like Jesus (I had forgotten this part though). 

If you haven’t already guessed, what seemed to be around the corner is taking much longer than anticipated. In that sense, I was wrong. However, I was at the same time right because the season did somewhat shift. 
How so? I hear you ask . . . 

I can only describe the shift as an adjustment in training intensity. You know like going from beginner to intermediate level. If I thought God was working in me before October, what He has been doing since then makes the earlier lessons seem like child’s play. And who can blame Him? I did, after all, invite Him to give me faith and courage to be more like Jesus! 

What I know now, that I did not know then, is that you cannot become more like Jesus unless you are aware how far you are from him, and what needs to change. Has the Lord ever put a mirror to your heart to show you what’s there? That’s what He did with me, and I can tell you what I saw was far from pretty. 

Rebellion, selfishness, pride (this one in particular caught me totally off guard!) . . . such things. Characteristics that I would not have thought applied to me. But, He has been so gracious in this new level of training. He didn’t show me everything at once. We’ve been going gradually. Like you would in a school curriculum. 

Have I mastered the lessons? Certainly not! Can I master them? Possibly not. What’s possible, though, is to day-by-day increase my dependence on God. Becoming like a newborn; utterly dependent on God for every decision, choice, action . . .  constantly inviting Him to weigh my motives for me.  

“'My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.' Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all.” 
Hebrews 12:5—8 NIV

Am I enjoying the training? Certainly not! But, I can wait for what God promises as the end result: 

“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” 
Hebrews 12:11 NIV
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Of Grass and Flowers


There’s nothing more calming than walking through a shamba (field) with green grass and pretty flowers . . . I hope you agree! So I found it curious the other day when I stumbled across a verse that describes people as grass and flowers. 

“All men are like grass, and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.” 
Isa 40:6b NIV  


That we are like grass—here today and gone tomorrow—wasn’t new to me. What I found surprising is that we are as faithful as the flowers. Now it so happens that there’s a pretty flower at home that blooms on its own schedule. Sometimes it opens up, while other times it remains closed all day. One flower could be in bloom today, while the one right next to it remains closed. When it does open up though, it is so pretty that I could admire it all day. However, there doesn’t seem to be a sure pattern to indicate when it will open, or how long it will stay open.

Thinking of myself as being unfaithful—even with all the effort I put in towards seeking God—came as a bit of a shocker. You see, I very often forget that the effort I make to seek God and learn His ways does not make me righteous.  Only being covered by the blood of Jesus makes me righteous. My good acts or attempts to follow a set of rules cannot bring me anywhere close to God, because I would have to be perfect 100% of the time. An impossible feat! 

Relationship, not rules, is what gets me into God’s presence.  

Which makes me think how wonderful it is that God made a provision that allows us to approach Him in a way that is fitting of His stature as the Almighty, Holy God! Without Jesus as our Way, there is absolutely no other way we could ever come anywhere close to God. 

Today then I’m reminded to say, “Thank You, Jesus, for making a way for me to have a relationship with a holy God!” 

“But God demonstrated His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” 
Romans 5:8 NIV


Perhaps every time we walk by a flower it should serve as a reminder to give thanks for Jesus’s precious gift to us . . . 

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Every. Day.

Hello! It’s been quite a while since I was on these streets. How have you been?

I have had a lot going on with me and around me.

Please share, I hear you say! Okay, okay, here goes . . . 

I’ll start with what has been going on around me. And by around me I mean mostly not in my heart or mind.

My father retired. Rather, he was unwillingly retired because he had hit the mandatory retirement age. And with that came depression. He had gone from being a workaholic to waking up and having nowhere to go, and nothing to do. Then the depression turned into memory lapses, and rapidly deteriorated into dementia. So my siblings and I moved him so he could live closer to us. Being the only one who can be easily uprooted, I moved into the new flat with him (thanks to having no family of my own! I never thought that the day would come when that was an advantage. Ha!).

Meanwhile, as I prayed concerning my father, I so clearly sensed the Lord say that my dad’s issue wasn’t dementia but sadness/depression. And prior to retirement or dad’s issues manifesting, I had received a vision of my dad speaking at a church. Now — my dad is opposed to all things religion or God . . . and even more opposed to the fake “born-again types” (how he refers to us believers!). So to see him in church, speaking, was to me absolute confirmation that the day would come when he would say yes to Jesus. And when the dementia symptoms started to show up, it was an indication to me that the symptoms would be reversed because to accept Jesus, he would need to have a sound mind. 

Yet, knowing all this, it’s been really difficult handling the symptoms. I’ve been on an emotional rollercoaster since day 1 of moving in with him. Every day I wake up hoping that today is the day I see dad restored, and as at last evening, that day hadn’t come. (I will add yet because I am certain the day will come!)  

Every morning as I wonder how I will handle the day’s disappointment if there is no change in dad, I am discovering that the Lord is faithful even when He seems to be far off. Every day He has given me a word or a song that keeps me going for the day. 

The song that is on repeat in my mind currently is the great old hymn “Great is Thy Faithfulness!” If you’ve read The Forgotten Day, you know how I love those old-time hymns. 

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see:
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

The part that’s really struck a chord with me this week is “morning by morning new mercies I see.” Which of course is taken from:

"Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
For his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
   great is your faithfulness."
Lamentations 3:22–23 NIV

Nobody warns you of the challenges that come with caring for an ailing/ageing parent, or the valleys that one must go through before God’s promise is fulfilled. Not even reading about Joseph & his prison adventures is preparation enough! . . . But this one thing is for sure — God is faithful and He supplies the comfort, mercy, encouragement, peace, or grace that you need for that day. Because He alone knows where your heart is at, or what the day will bring. So when you find yourself on an emotional rollercoaster, that’s the time to cling to Him even more.

Every. Day.

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New Actions

This is part three of a previous post. Catch up with part 1 and part 2 before you dive into this.

Knowing that the Lord was waiting on me, I decided to take action and do two things differently. 

First, rather than pray “please end this and take me back home,” I will instead ask for strength to go through the challenge. 

Second, I will spend 30min every morning praying and meditating on Ephesians 3:16, asking for His strength. My desire is that the Lord would strengthen me with power so Jesus will dwell firmly in my heart, and so I will know with all my heart that God loves me. 

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,

Ephesians 3:16-18 (NIV)

Then, when I am confident in God’s love for me, and in no doubt that He has my back no matter what, I can stop being like a pendulum. I can be relaxed like Jesus was when He slept through the stormy boat ride. 

The strength and power I need can only come from the Holy Spirit. I cannot ‘empower’ myself. So, in my 30minutes I am expectant that as I silently sit with the Lord, He will strengthen me. 

Today marks day one of these two new actions and I’m excitedly looking forward to the new thing the Lord does in me, and through me.

Pray for me, won’t you? Or, if like me you need new strength, please join me in taking these new actions!  

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Dilemma & Crisis Solved

Today is the 20th of August 2024.

On Sunday 18th August, a friend — one whom I love very, very dearly — sent me a text requesting for a not-so-small amount of money. Money that was needed urgently. 

Remember in my recent post I shared that I am currently on a lower income? If you haven’t you can catch it here.

Well, as I read the text, an image of my bank balance promptly flashed through my mind. And I quickly established that I had a dilemma on my hands. Whereas I was willing to give, I would be left with less than I need for the month.

After I had panicked for a moment, I remembered that all silver and gold belong to God. So, I said a prayer asking Him to be the one to give this friend the money required. And, because I didn’t want to use the sometimes not-so-helpful “God will provide” response, I texted back saying I would see what I can do on Monday and promised to pray for the friend’s business to pick up.  

On Monday I again reminded the Lord about the amount my friend needed. Plus, I refreshed His memory (ha!) of how much I would be left with after sharing with my friend. Finally, I told the Lord I was willing to give, because He is able to provide for my needs. Then I picked up the phone to call my friend. 

And guess what? My friend — without me asking — told me that the emergency for which the money was required was no longer a crisis. Just like that, the Lord had solved my dilemma and my friend’s crisis! 

What an awesome and faithful God we serve!

He did it for me . . . may He also come through for you.