DON'T GIVE UP!

My apologies for the late blog post. Last week was all sorts of crazy for me, with a painful blend of hurt and joy, I didn’t even know what to do with all those emotions. It ended on a high though. One of my girls tied the knot on Saturday and she’d requested me to sing at her wedding. So I got to write and perform one of my songs, as she and her hubby signed their marriage certificate, at the beautiful Enashipai resort and spa, in Naivasha.

Moving on swiftly…..

I have this bad habit where; when I’m trying to decide on a movie to watch from a collection I have, I’ll first play the movie then press ‘next’ at least twice or thrice to see bits of it. Based on these bits, I then decide whether or not I’ll watch the movie in full. If I don’t like what I see on these bits then I won’t watch the movie even if it’s been well rated. I call it a bad habit because sometime I end up missing out on a good movie or series, because I judged it based on the bits I saw. So I borrowed some series and movies from my sister’s house last week, and caught myself doing the ‘skip’ thing. It got me asking myself, if my life story thus far was one of those series I borrowed, would I watch it in full or would I dismiss it as a depressing series, based on the sad parts I’d see as I pressed ‘next’? Since at the time I was asking myself this question I was in a maze of emotions, I concluded that I probably wouldn’t watch it.

I have come to realize and accept that walking with (being totally sold out to) God is not the easiest experience. A lot is involved and the transformation process demands so much that it’s painful. I have gone through seasons where I’m backed up against the wall with no one to talk to, in tears feeling lost and helpless, not knowing what to do or where to go next, and it’s so frustrating that I wish I could press ‘next’.

Even so, I wouldn’t trade my relationship with God for anything in this world. Sometimes when I’m going through these painful phases, I wonder if it would have been easier if God would have given me the synopsis of my life earlier, so I know and prepare for what’s coming. Chances are I'd probably bail if I knew what's coming so its best I don't. I also find myself wondering what the ending will look like. Like Barlow Girl, I find myself asking “Lord tell me what is my ending. Will it be beautiful?” or like Peter in Matthew 19:27 I ask “Lord I have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for me?”

Today’s blog is to encourage all who have given their lives to Christ, have committed to building intimacy with God, but are facing challenges that make them question whether it’s worth it. Challenges that make you feel like you want to give up on life, and as if it would be better if God called you home, than you having to go through all you are currently going through- and no one understands.

 

Like I mentioned in my blog ‘Prepare for surgery’, God cuts to heal. He is in the business of restoring us into His own image and will cut off anything in us that does not resemble Him. That is, if we allow Him to. In our free will, we sometimes put ourselves in a lot of trouble and blame God for what we get ourselves into. Since He is a merciful God, He already has a way to get us out of the mess but will use it to correct us and redirect us to Himself. Sometimes He allows us to go through some things in order to work on our attitudes, paradigms, character etc. But we need to be discerning of when it’s an attack from the enemy, or something God has allowed; so we know whether to fight back the attack with the word of God or how to align ourselves for transformation.

What I’m saying is, since we have made a decision to cultivate a relationship with God and allow Him to work on us, we should trust that He will see us through it, no matter how painful it is at the moment. That one day soon we’ll look back and it will make sense why God allowed what we went through to happen.

Here’s an encouraging message a friend sent me on whatsapp the other day, thought I’d share…..

Malachi 3:3 says: 'He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.'

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.

One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study. That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining Silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.

The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: 'He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver'. She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, 'How do you know when the silver is fully refined?' He smiled at her and answered, 'Oh, that's easy --"when I see my image in it!!!'

Fortunately there is no ‘next’ button in life and we have to go through the whole movie; the good bits and the bad, if we are to be all what God says we are. Otherwise if there was a ‘skip’ button then we would find it easier not having to go through a tough test but then come out unfinished- miss out on God’s awesome plan.

We should accept that in committing to make our relationship with God work, we submit ourselves to a refining process, since light and darkness cannot both dwell in us. We should also accept that it is God’s desire that we live out the abundant life He purposed for us, bearing His image and that His plan for us is not to harm us, but to prosper us; spiritually, mentally and emotionally as well as physically.

And if like me you have wondered what the ending will be like and what will there be for you, here is what God says:

And not only you, but anyone who sacrifices home, family, fields--whatever--because of me will get it all back a hundred times over, not to mention the considerable bonus of eternal life.

{Matthew 19:29 MSG}

So if today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has His eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you. Don’t give up, it will only get better!