Posted on by thornstocrowns

Studying the word: The crucial need for it in the Christian walk

I was just a few weeks into my walk with the Lord when I realized I did not have my personal Bible. Just like every new Christian, I was eager to get the word in my heart and start on my journey with the Lord. I remember praying and asking the Lord that I wanted to study his word and could use my own personal Bible. It was not before long this wonderful couple came to my workplace and gave me a spanking new study Bible. I still remember the feeling of joy and realizing that God wanted me to start immediately. My own personal Bible, mint, blue, and white, and that irresistible new Bible smell. I thanked this amazing couple for such a perfect gift and an answer to my prayers. I couldn’t wait to get home so I could start using my Bible. I rushed home to check my new study Bible out and in the moment it felt like the words were lifting off the page and they were so tangible, I immediately started on the “read the Bible in a year plan” that was part of my study Bible. This Bible was filled with highlights, you would tell it was a Bible that was constantly being used. I was finding new truths, and I was excited about expanding my knowledge in my new walk.

Unfortunately, I started to get too caught up in my own life issues, work, and school (I was a college student then) so like many of us, my perfect gift, and answered prayer was shelved with the many other books unread for some time. If I was studying the Bible then, I moved from that to a quick read and glance if possible. I was not studying the word anymore, and it was quite evident in the many things I didn’t fully understand. I know we can fall into this because life does get busy and sometimes the Bible is the last thing on our minds. But please hear me out, we need the word in us and can no longer make it the least of our priorities. Studying the word is crucial to understanding why we are walking with God and staying sustained in our walk with him.

reading versus Studying the word

I will try to use some of my college experience to help us see the difference between reading and studying. In some of my structured classes, I would be given reading assignments weekly throughout the semester and those were great supplements to prepare me to know the context of the subject matter. Eventually, there would be a final exam, and this required me to study the material so I could prove that understood the material. So think context equals reading and study equals understanding. It might be hard to differentiate the two because both reading and studying the word of the Lord are good for the Christian walk. Think of the time you read a wonderful Bible story and connected with the characters, great right? it was a nice read and similar to a novel there was no further need for you to dig deep. Then think of the time you read the same Bible story and sought a deeper meaning to it, you may have even cross-checked with other verses and even read a commentary or two. This time you went beyond just knowing the characters and connecting, you were seeking a deeper understanding of the whole story. When you read the Bible, you can get some context, which is great! However, when you study the Bible you are studying to understand in depth the meaning of it all.

Why is STUDYING THE WORD IMPORTANT

What has been the setback for many of us Christians is having the context, but lacking the depth of the meaning. Studying the word helps us expand our knowledge beyond the context. When we move beyond the context and start to look at the word in a more introspective and meditative way, not only do we gain a better understanding of it, but it helps us better understand ourselves. It is a living word after all! (read Hebrews 4:12). I think of the Bible when we study and examine it, it also examines us. When we study the Bible in-depth, we begin to deepen our relationship with God. With deeper studying, God is not just a character in the book we just read and feel connected to, but he becomes more real to us. I was once a Bible illiterate, and that got me into trouble because all I had was context, so it was quite easy for me to believe something else aside from the actual word. Hence studying the word will safeguard you from falsehood the world does a great job at showing us. The depth of your study shields you and guides you through your Christian walk. It all comes down to seeing God in all of it, the redemptive plan for all of us, and our part in this plan.

How can you study the Word?

The word must be studied with much to consider, remember this is not just for context. You are seeking a deeper meaning here not just a feel-good story. You would want to consider the times, the situation, the reasons, the people, the purpose, and eventually the meaning. This will take you some time to pull all this as you study versus when you read, so make the time for it all. Other things you can do are;

  • Be intentional about your study time, you would have to make time in your schedule for devotional time. (don’t shelve your Bible and let it collect dust)
  • Study different subjects or books of the Bible (for example if you want to study faith; read verses related to faith and use those to help you better understand what God means by faith in depth)
  • Study with others – it will surprise you what you may have missed when someone else shares their study with you. You can do this in a Bible study setting or even a Sunday school class.
  • Supplement your study time with commentaries. These should be biblically sound commentaries. Not every commentary you find on Google is biblically sound. Look out for those.
  • Pray! Yes, pray. Ask God to give you a deeper meaning of his word as you study so you can understand it.
  • Don’t keep this word to yourself! if you understand something from your deep study, share it with the world, it will surprise you how many people it can touch.

sHOW YOURSELF APPROVED BY God

After you study and understand, you want to be approved by God. Remember how I mentioned earlier that through studying and examining the word it also examines us? Once there is an introspective of yourself in alignment with the Word, you would want to take what you have studied and apply that to your walk with Christ. So that when God sees you, he sees the practical word in you. From the pages to living it out in your walk daily, to seeking more of his word for your continued spiritual growth.

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

2 Timothy 2:15

It is time for you to take your rightful place, it is time to trade thorns for crowns!

Much love,

Xholiwe

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The failures of the flesh and heart: Strengthened by God

If I am not reading the Bible, you will catch me watching personal testimonies, I love to hear real-life testimonies and I could go on for hours just listening to how God restored people back to him. Many of these testimonies deal with the failures flesh and the heart. One thing in common for most of those who share is that they were at their end of giving up and they looked to God for strength. God gave them the strength to carry when the failures of their flesh and heart failed them. The verse Psalms 73:26 says, “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” I thought of expanding on this just because we too have been in a place where the failures of of flesh and hearts could only be restored by the strength of the Lord.

When the flesh fails

In a perfect world, the flesh would not fail, but because we live in an imperfect world, many of us experience the failures of our flesh. It is not own deteriorating health, it is the health of those we love that causes us to lose strength. The bad report from the doctor has typically left many feeling hopeless and unable to cope with the news that our flesh has failed us. In the moment we question why would this happen to us, none of us immediately think to have hope when we analyze the report. The failures of our flesh can induce fear in us as we are faced with the reality that we may lose our own strength. If we’re honest our mind immediately thinks of the worst of the situation. But do you know that even in the worst of the situation there you can draw strength? Not our own strength because that will fail us. When the flesh fails our natural strength can not be sustained. It is quite hard to sustain your own strength when your body is weak, so why not look to God for strength? (read 1 Chronicles 16:11).

When the heart fails

Unfortunately, yes, the heart does fail us as well. I know if we could, we would figure out a way on how the heart can stay intact. But as long as we live here on earth, our hearts will fail us in many ways. The heart fails when we experience all kinds of trials and tribulations here on earth and this should not catch us by surprise as Christians. Just because we are Christian doesn’t mean that we are exempt from the troubles of the world. (read Psalms 34:19). When the heart fails there is that impulse in us to figure out how we can quickly fix it and we tend to do that in our own ability and strength. In most cases, our own ability and strength have led us to feel fearful, despair, and inadequate. We are then convinced that God is not in control and that we should handle it all. We soon realize that fixing a failed heart in our own strength does not yield the results we hoped for. I say this from experience, I have in my own strength tried to remedy the aches of my heart, and while for a while I thought I fixed it, it only came back even worse. After my many failed attempts, I quickly realized that my own strength had failed me and need an assured strength. I had to turn to the Lord for his strength. You may be like me trying to have a temporary fix of the heart in your own strength, but I encourage you to turn to the Lord for strength.

LOOKING TO God For strength

From the testimonies of others to our own experiences, we can all testify that it was God’s strength that helped us through the failures of our flesh and heart. We are to look to God’s strength because unlike our own his is assured to not fail us.

It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure.

Psalms 18:32

The failures of our flesh and heart may try to convince us that all hope is lost and God’s promises to give us strength are not true. However, the Bible many times speaks of the strength the Lord gives us when we entrust him with all our failures. Below is a list of verses you can look to while seeking the strength of God;

  • Psalm 54:1
  • Psalm 46:1
  • Psalm 29:11
  • Psalm 28: 7-8
  • Psalm 37: 39
  • 2 Corinthians 4:16
  • Philippians 4:6

While there is not much we can do in our own strength, I pray that you find the strength to pray and ask God to give you his strength for all the failures you have experienced. I encourage you to shift your focus from despair to trusting the unseen strength God can give you. Let the failures of your flesh and heart know a greater strength than your own. It is time for you to take your rightful place, it is time for you to trade thorns for crowns.

Much love,

Xholiwe

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You were running a good race: Get back on track

Everyone has their favorite book of the Bible and mine happens to be Galatians amongst many others. I recently read a couple verses with a friend and spent some time reflecting on some of the verses. The entirety of this book emphasizes that people must have faith in Jesus Christ and Paul tells us of the freedom experienced when we live a life of faith in Christ over the law. The Galatians welcome his teaching on faith and freedom in Christ at the start and are doing so well, but unfortunately, in chapters 3 and 4 Paul begins to have concerns about them turned back from what he taught them. He addresses them and pleads with them not to turn back, why would they turn back? they were doing so well. (read Galatians 3:1-4; 4: 8-20).

We too are no different from the Galatians, we have received the teaching and know it to be true that there is freedom when we live our lives by having faith in Christ Jesus, but just as the Galatians, we can get persuaded to think otherwise and turn our backs on the truth. So I ask us the same question Paul asked the Galatians, Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? (Galatians 5:7 NIV)

YOU were running a good race

If you are like me and love to occasionally watch the Olympic track runners, then you might know what a good race looks like. Almost every race starts with the runner in the assigned tracks and all are signaled to start. There is usually a crowd watching in the bleachers and you can hear the many cheers as the runners accelerate. These runners have trained and put in their effort for this final moment, nothing should go bad as they sprint through their lane. It would be so disheartening to see your favorite track runner stumble and fall because someone cut into their lane. But it does happen and when it does you ask yourself what went wrong? They were doing so well! Paul must have felt the exact same way when he watched the Galatians stumble and fall.

Paul watched the Galatians train and put in their effort, he then watched them start to run their races and for a moment there, they were doing so well, and he excitedly cheered them on. He would hope that they would make it to the very end, knowing the obeying the truth he taught them. I can imagine his disappointment as he saw one after another trip and fall. He said to them, “You were running a good a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?” We know who cut on the Galatians and made them trip and fall, but how about us? What is cutting in on us?

I think of my very own race and let’s be clear Paul uses running races quite a bit as a way to describe our spiritual journey. So let us not confuse the two as we think even about our own races (our spiritual journey). In my spiritual journey, I experienced times when I was slowed down, completely distracted, came to a stop, and was persuaded by other things. It is quite easy than you think to be persuaded by these other things, the things that cut in on us as we journey with the truth we know. Paul says that these persuasions do not come from he who calls us in verse 8 of chapter 5. Who is the “he” that Paul talks about? It is Jesus, Jesus does not call us to these different persuasions that draw us away from him. But we do get persuaded by people and things, and recognizing these persuasions is important so that you can know when you are getting off track. I know I am getting off track when I;

  1. Start to revert back to my old ways. The old ways Jesus set me free from, I begin to think and act on them.
  2. Feed into the lies of the enemy that contradict God’s word over me.
  3. Give into believing something else (ideologies) contrary to what I know is truth.
  4. Find ways to justify my wrongdoings and get comfortable with continuously doing wrong.
  5. Neglect the word of God and stop spending time in it.
  6. When I worry more and pray less.
  7. Allow my selfish ambitions and desires to overtake me and I end up losing sight of Jesus.
  8. Surround myself with people who don’t care about their spiritual journey with Jesus.

I could keep going with the list, but these are just a few of the things that can persuade us away from the truth we know. It is important now to allow these persuasions to take us away from the freedom we get to experience in knowing Jesus. We steadfastly walk with the Lord through it all (read my other blog on steadfastly walking with the Lord). How can you maintain your truth in a world full of persuasions?

  1. You stand firm on the truth that you know. Your belief in Jesus Christ should not be easily swayed.
  2. You used the word of God as you practical application to how you live your life.
  3. You immediately become aware of when you begin to get out of track.
  4. You study the word of God and hide his word in your heart.
  5. You practice your faith and remain disciplined in it.
  6. You pray earnestly.
  7. You surround yourself with people that believe in your faith and will also help you grow spiritually.
  8. You repent of your old ways and get back on track.

Run your spiritual race well and stay focused on the goal to win the race set before you! This race you can not do on your own or even worse allow people and things to cut in on you. You have found a new freedom as you live your life in with faith in Jesus Christ. Let it not be taken away from you. Guard it with your heart, don’t be easily persuaded by things that do not come from him. Instead, be persuaded by the things of the Lord. Steadfastly walk with the Lord knowing that he will guide you as you journey through this life. It is time to take your rightful place! It is time for you to trade thorns for crowns!

Much love,

Xholiwe

Posted on by thornstocrowns

God’s Bigger Picture: The picture we don’t see

Two weeks ago my aunt and I went to a painting class. My aunt is an artist and I thought it would be a great birthday outing to celebrate her. This was for her because I am convinced that painting is not my strength. I find myself trying way too hard for only the final picture to not turn out, well, not so great. I have been to several of these painting classes with friends and family so believe me when I say, I just tag along. I knew this experience with my aunt wouldn’t be any different. Once we made it to the class, the instructor already had everything in place for us, the paint, brushes, a blank canvas, and to the side was a tiny little picture of how our paintings would look once we were done. My aunt said let us take a picture of the blank canvas so that we can show people how we started and then later our final picture! Great idea! I took a photo of the blank canvas and thought nothing much of it. I was too worried about how mine would turn out anyway. Sometime this week I was reminiscent of our time painting and decided to look at our photos and looked at where we started, our progress, and our finished paintings. It was the blank canvas that led me to want to write about God’s bigger picture for us that sometimes we don’t see.

Clearly, there is nothing to see with a blank canvas and I would like to think that all of us start from there in our lives. Newborn babies are a great example of this, especially when they blankly stare into this new world and do not know what to expect. A blank canvas could turn out to be anything based on the painter’s direction. Trust me when I tell you that it could be anything because all of us in the painting class based on how we followed instructions or just tried our best (pointing fingers at me), we all had different paintings despite us all referencing the little tiny picture of the final painting. With our lives, just like each painting was different in that class, our lives are different. But one thing that is universal for all of us is God’s bigger picture. What is God’s bigger picture for us?

What is God’s bigger picture for us?

As I continue to read God’s word his bigger picture continues to be much clearer. From start to finish, his picture has been the same. This picture does not look any different, the picture is the same for the poor, for the rich, for the one who struggles with sin, for the person who doesn’t believe, for the one who believes, it is for us all. God’s bigger picture is to dwell with his people. It was the same then and is still the same now. From the creation of man in the garden, God has desired to dwell with his creation. Unfortunately, with the fall of man, this picture got distorted making it hard for us to see what God sees. We shifted our focus to our own picture, and we have missed it all together. Every plan by God has been to fulfill the bigger picture for all humanity. Even when it meant him giving his only son Christ Jesus to redeem us. He did that with us in mind so that he may dwell with us. (read Ephesians 3:16-17).

When we dwell with God, we live with him and he lives in us, this means in more modern language, we do life with him. Doing life with God is one built on trusting him and knowing that through him all is fulfilled. He knows your beginning and he knows your end (read Revelations 22:13). Think of him as the instructor of your incomplete painting/picture, he will guide you through the fear, the joy, the frustration, the excitement, the regrets, the assurance, you can name it all so that ultimately you can see what he sees. It is a beautiful picture of you and him in it. Dwelling together as it was always meant to be from the beginning.

How can I see what he sees?

We too desire to dwell with God but as I mentioned earlier this image was distorted. The world became increasingly evil after the fall of man in the garden and this shifted our focus. However, there is a longing in all of us that sometimes can not be explained and if we dug deeper it would point to dwelling with God. Sadly, It can be hard to see what God sees when we are in a broken world that is filled with so many distractions. We may find ourselves focused on the wrong picture because when it is in front of us, it is impossible to think there is something else beyond it. If a person is presented with a picture of continuous pain, regret, fear, or loneliness, how can they believe in a bigger picture? They can only believe if presented with something different. We can only see what he sees when we re-align ourselves to his word. Reading his word daily and keeping it in our hearts for his word is truth. This means focusing on God in a world that may want so badly to draw us away from him. It is easy to fall into the trap of focusing on self and comparing our life to others in this distracted world. What this does is that it further distorts us from seeing God’s bigger picture. To see beyond this, may require you to realize that your life needs God’s guidance and much of your trust in him. (read Proverbs 3:5-6). Will you give God permission to dwell in you so that you may see clearly his bigger picture for you?

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.

revelations 21:3 NIV

I hope you can see it now that God’s bigger picture is to dwell with you! He desires to live life alongside you. Trust me when I say that he is the best instructor/guide when it comes to painting a clear and meaningful picture. He wants to take that distorted image and make you see what he sees and that is a fulfilled life with him by your side. It is time for you to take your rightful place, it is time to trade thorns for crowns!

Much Love,

Xholiwe

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Steadfastly walking with the Lord: Is it worth it?

I had a conversation with my friend a while back who is an avid runner. This girl runs in any type of weather, mind you we live in the Midwest so you know we experience all seasons. I asked her how she does it and never skips a beat, and she said it is her continuous walking that has helped her build this momentum over the years. This momentum has allowed her to complete several 5k races and I am always so impressed by her passion and consistency. Her passion and consistency made me think about steadfastly walking with the Lord, which she is also great at! Steadfastly walking with the Lord is quite similar to what my friend does as an avid runner. It requires continuous walking that helps build one’s momentum to even do more walking. It is the commitment to walk alongside God through every season.

Merriam-Webster defines Steadfast as firm in belief, determination, or adherence. It further breaks it down and says that steadfast implies a steady and unwavering course of love, allegiance, or conviction. Our walk with God when all summed up in one requires all the things mentioned above. Unfortunately, it does get difficult in some seasons to hold on to a steady pace and build momentum. So what do we do when start to lose our steadfastness? We examine our hearts and see if anything has changed our pace or entirely has made us quit. Several things can disrupt our steadfast walk, but in this blog, I want to highlight a few that we may experience.

Hope Deferred

Typically, when our steadfast walk with the Lord is disrupted, we know that our hope has been deferred (read Proverbs 13:12). When our hope is deferred we consciously or unconsciouly conclude on the impossibly of the desired change ,our actions begin to somtimes indicate that we have taken another route in search for hope. You may have had hope for a long time that things will get better for that difficult situation, you were trusting God and the more this hope felt far off or put off for later you, the less you felt inclined to walk with the Lord. To make matters worse, you decide to walk this alone. What a difficult walk it is when done alone. I have been there and might I tell you, it is not an easy walk. I wish at that time I could have thought of people like Abraham who steadfastly walked with the Lord even when the hope for his promised child with Sarah felt impossible. I had to pick up again on my steadfast walk with the Lord. But the good thing about the Lord is that he is ready to walk with you once you decide that your hopelessness will not take you away from steadfastly walking with him. Even when the walk may feel uncertain for you, your part is to stay firm on what you know to be true.

SIN AND SHAME

Do you remember the story of the prodigal son Jesus told? The son went on his own leaving his father to a far-off land and with the money he inherited used it wrongfully for worldly pleasure. He committed sin through how he lived his life and later shame came upon him when all his money was gone. We know the ending is a beautiful story of forgiveness, but I want us to look at this story with us in mind and our steadfast walk with the Lord. Like the prodigal son when we allow sin in our lives and are overcome by it, it is quite easy for it to disrupt our steadfast walking with the Lord.

Sin gratifies only the needs of the flesh, pushes aside the Lord and like the prodigal son takes us to a far-off land away from our Father. With sin comes the shame and feeling unworthy to walk with the Lord when all he has been doing is waiting for you to come back home. Sin and shame tell us we can’t walk steadfastly with the Lord anymore, these two things try to convince us that we are unable to continuously walk with the Lord and build momentum. Oh, what a lie from the enemy. Indeed sin and shame can cripple us from steadfastly walking with the Lord, but then because Jesus died on the cross for our sins and shame there is redemption for us! We repent from our sins and re-commit to steadfastly walking with the Lord again. We then stand firm and determined to walk with the Lord and no longer make the choices that took us away from him. (Read 2 Peter 3 v 17-18).

Is it worth it?

Walking steadfastly with God is 100% worth it! I speak for myself and for many others who have chosen to stand firm on the belief that God is truly the best to walk with on the journey of life. Even for the most difficult times, because walking with him when all is well is quite easy. However, we are to maintain our pace even when steadfastly walking with him feels difficult. Because in the end, we know that God is with us. (read Isaiah 41:10; Matthew 1:23).

5 Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord [always doing your best and doing more than is needed], being continually aware that your labor [even to the point of exhaustion] in the Lord is not futile nor wasted [it is never without purpose].

1 Corinthians 15:58 AMP

Be encouraged that your steadfastness in the Lord is not futile nor wasted. The reward for it is greater because you decided to stay steadfast. Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. (James 1:12 ESV). It is time for you to take your rightful place, it is time to trade thorns for crowns!

Much Love,

Xholiwe

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Cultivating your relationship with God: Being rooted in it

The idea of cultivating a relationship with God to many may feel like a daunting task and for some nearly impossible. I personally was quite intimidated by the idea of cultivating a relationship with God because I wanted to believe that I did not have what the others had. I would think to myself, I do not pray as eloquent as this person, or give my time as the other person, how then would God want a relationship with me? I single-handedly talked myself out of cultivating a relationship with God. If this is you I hope after this read, you feel encouraged to cultivate a relationship with God. It is not as intimidating as you think! If anything, it is quite easy because you have a God ready to build a relationship with you!

A relationship with a God you can’t see

Many may argue and say how do you build a relationship with a God you can’t see? And in all realness, it is a good question. My answer would be through having knowledge of him. You are unable to cultivate a relationship with God if you have no personal knowledge of him. Fortunately, God made knowing him quite simple, you can get to know him through the bible (his word). If you are like me and grew up in a Christian home, I grew up being taught of him, but I personally did not know him for myself. It was what was taught to me that helped me believe in his existence, but seeking him is what helped me know him. The amazing thing about God is that he is not hiding himself from you, he is in plain sight wanting to be known by you. Our part then is to seek knowledge of him.

Think about how we get to cultivate relationships on earth for a second, we first get to know the person who a minute ago may have been a stranger to us. We ask questions such as; how are you like? what do you enjoy? what matters to you? and the list goes on. These are the exact questions you can ask God if you want to cultivate a relationship with him. It will require you to seek these answers in his word (the bible) to know him better (read Jeremiah 33:3). While with earthly relationships it may feel easier because you can see and touch the person that does not mean you can not have a similar experience in your relationship with God. The key is to know him and cultivate this relationship with him. Doing so is not as complicated as it seems to be or even as intimidating. You can have a relationship with a God you do not see by seeking to know him better. (read Jeremiah 29:13).

communication with God

Any long-lasting and fruitful relationship requires communication. With our earthly relationships, we communicate quite regularly with people we know. The constant communication builds even deeper and more meaningful relationships. Our approach to making communication essential in our earthly relationships would also apply to our relationship with God. Cultivating a relationship with God requires you to communicate with him regularly. We do this by praying to him, we have the privilege of communing with God daily through prayer. Our constant prayer to God starts to grow our relationship with him because, with each prayer, you invite God to be a part of your life and relate with you. Similar to how you call a friend when you receive good news or even bad news, is the same way God would like to hear from you. His desire is to be known by you and commune with you. (read 1 Chronicles 16:11). It will surprise you how much your relationship with God will grow because of your constant prayers to him.

Becoming rooted

From my experience with earthly relationships, I can tell you that my strong and meaningful relationship had to be rooted so they could stand through it all. If you want your relationship with God to become meaningful, it has to be rooted. It is the type of relationship you want to stand and stay anchored in. Becoming rooted comes from your constant desire to know God, to be known by him, and to commune with him through prayer. Becoming rooted in other words is a commitment to your relationship with God. You stay in it until the very end.

17 [I always pray] that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may grant you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation [that gives you a deep and personal and intimate insight] into the true knowledge of Him [for we know the Father through the Son]. 18 And [I pray] that the eyes of your heart [the very center and core of your being] may be enlightened [flooded with light by the Holy Spirit], so that you will know and cherish the [a]hope [the divine guarantee, the confident expectation] to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the [b]saints (God’s people), 19 and [so that you will begin to know] what the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His [active, spiritual] power is in us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of His mighty strength

Ephesians 1:17-19 AMP

Again, God wants to be known by you and I hope that you want to know him too. Cultivate a relationship with him, he has been waiting for you to come around. Tend to this relationship like you would to the dearest relationships you have on this earth and watch it grow. Share with God in your good, and in your bad and see how making him part of your life transforms you. It is possible to have a meaningful relationship with God. You have to cultivate! It is time to take your rightful place, it is time to trade thorns for crowns.

Much love,

Xholiwe

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On the other side of frustration: The Assurance of Jesus

It was at least my 8th time attempting to make things work so I could move on with my work, but sometimes technology has a way of giving up on you especially when it knows you really need it. I had a deadline at work and this particular software chose the wrong day to not function. Did I mention I had a deadline? In my many attempts to make things work before the end of the workday, I was trying everything possible and with each attempt, my patience began to run thin and by my 8th attempt, I was frustrated. With absolutely no control over what was going on, I gave into my frustrations so I slammed my laptop, and slapped my hands over my face to express my frustration. I bet this sounds familiar to most of you, frustration is quite the emotion, right? I oftentimes think of frustration as that annoying deep itch you can’t reach in the middle of your back and if you are without help, you sit there with it in hopes that it will go away and it doesn’t. I want us to talk about the deep itch called frustration and how best we can get through it without losing ourselves.

REcognizing your frustration

I, first of all, would like to confirm with you that you are not the first and certainly will not be the last to experience frustration. Even the people of old were quite frustrated with their lives and situations, just most of us are at times. Frustration has a way of showing up when people are unable to attain what they personally what to fulfill. In the same way, it also in some way makes people feel like they have lost control over their own lives. A perfect example of worldwide shared frustration was with the COVID-19 pandemic. A lot of us experienced many frustrations due to the limitation and little control we had over the course of the pandemic. With these many frustrations being experienced, it was almost impossible to see the other side of our frustrations and be assured by God that things will go back to normal prior to the pandemic.

When we as humans get frustrated we are often consumed by the need to take back control and find stability by whatever means possible, let us face it, we love to be comfortable. We witnessed that a lot during the early months of the pandemic, might I remind you of all the bulk-buying of toilet paper and cleaning supplies (Yikes)? However, when we are frustrated, it is almost like that comfort is taken away from us and then we get so fixated on how we can get back to our comfort without finding the proper help to help us get on the other side of it all. Understandably, we all find ways to cope with our day-to-day frustrations, but there are long-term frustrations, people, still, experience and those types need the help of Jesus in order to get on the other side. Examples of long term frustrations are plenty, but here are a few; persons frustrated from the lack of career fulfillment, persons frustrated from the lack of having a baby after many years of trying, persons frustrated from many failed relationships, persons frustrated from a terminal illness, persons frustrated from the lack of sufficient funds to pay off debt…..I mean the list can go on, but these are some long-term frustrations that need the assurance of Jesus if we ever want to get to the other side of things. Notice how I mentioned “the lack of” in all the long-term frustration examples? I was not writing that just so I could flow with the text, long-term frustration are often times experienced due to the lack of something for prolonged periods of time. Unlike everyday work frustrations that can be fixed by the IT guy or sharing notes with your co-worker, long-term frustrations can be a tough thing to live through, and to some, they may feel impossible to overcome, but can I encourage you? I will share this famous Bible story and I hope it helps you see that on the other side of your frustration is the help and assurance of Jesus you have been looking for. What does the other side of frustration look like anyway?

Jesus ON the other sIDE OF FRUSTRATION

I couldn’t think of a better example of Jesus on the other side of frustration than this Bible story I will share with you. Granted, there are many bible stories that could help us understand that Jesus is our assurance in all things, but this Bible story is still fresh in my mind, you can read it for yourself (Luke 5 v 1-11) or if you are a visual learner like me, watch ‘The Chosen’. Last Saturday I took some time to watch a few episodes of ‘The Chosen’, an amazing Bible story series by the way. If you haven’t watched the show, I highly recommend it, my sister’s in Christ suggested it and I love it! I had a chance to watch the story of Simon Peter the day before his first meeting with Jesus. I liked the visual depiction of Simon Peter’s many frustrations throughout the episode. But there are these two particular scenes that lead me to think about frustration and Jesus. The first scene that got my attention was when Simon Peter was out fishing at night. He like most of us usually decides to take matters into our own hands, the idea of control and the dare need to attain our desires leads us to many frustrating situations just like Peter experienced. Back to the story, with every attempt to cast his net and catch fish, Simon Peter grew more and more frustrated, he frantically cast his nets to no avail, he also had help, but even with the help of his brother and fisherman friends, nothing was caught all night. How many of us just like Simon Peter had the help, but we’re still left with the dealings of our long-term frustrations? Our inability to get to the other side of frustration is not always because we do not have the help, it is because we have placed a limit on how things should happen based on our initial desire to fulfill our goals. This is where Jesus comes in.

Going back to the Bible story, the other scene from ‘The Chosen’ that caught my attention was Jesus meeting Simon Peter right after a very unsuccessful night of taking matters into his own hands. Jesus then notices that the fishermen have toiled all night with nothing caught, he sees their frustration, he then asked if he can use their boat as a pulpit to teach a small crowd by the shore. With their permission, he continues to teach the crowd and once he was done, he asks them about their night, and you guessed it, they express their frustration of being unable to catch any fish. He, Jesus then instructs them to cast their nets again and at his instructions, they cast their nets again. Something miraculous happened, they caught plenty of fish! A night of frustration quickly turned into a joyous celebration for Simon Peter and his friends. How does this relate to us you ask? Think about the many frustrations that keep you up at night, only to wake up to them again the next day. What was Jesus trying to show Simon Peter and the rest of the fishermen? He was trying to show them that he is the assured help to all their frustration. He also showed them that on the other side of frustration is joy, peace, rest, and fulfillment. Their plan was to catch fish at night and that limited them to see that Jesus could help them catch fish during daylight. Jesus took the limits off their initial idea of attaining their goal and idea of control. So what is on the other side of your frustrations that you can actually look forward to? I already mentioned some, but let me list them for you;

  • Peace
  • Joy
  • Rest
  • Happiness
  • Assurance
  • Fulfillment

I hope this encourages you to see the other side of your frustrations, while I know the reason for your long-term frustration still lingers, there is a much better path you can take. The limitless path Jesus has set up for you. As cliche as this may sound, I feel like it is okay to say this right now, let go and let God! Here is the perfect assurance from God to you while you make your way to the other side of your frustrations;

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” 

Matthew 11 v 28- 30

All! not some…the verse says ALL should come to God with their frustrations and he will give them rest. Now that is a blessed assurance! I will end by saying these words, trust God by his word, and listen to his instructions especially when you get frustrated. God knows there is another side to all your frustration and wants you to see it. It is time for you to take your rightful place! It is time to trade thorns for crowns.

Much Love,

Xholiwe