Waiting Patiently by Faith

Has he taken too long to respond?

It is because He is preparing a special sauce for you. At times we may feel that our miracle is taking long. Just like Hanna and many other barren women of the bible, we need to realize that that which is conceived from a moment of barrenness is special. What is so common between Samson, Samuel and Isaac? They were all conceived by women who dared wait on the Lord in their barren state.

When we ask God for something, God knows exactly what we need. You may ask for a husband who will love you and take good care you when God knows you need to be married to a president. He will therefore take time to prepare that person for you because you need someone special.

At those moments when we seem to be ridiculed by the people of the world who seem to get the best, we need to wait on the Lord. When everyone else seems to be getting answers to their prayers and yours seem to be taking long, then know that God is preparing something special for you. Just the same way you have to wait a little longer than everyone else in a restaurant whenever you make a special order, you need to realize that you have made a special order and it will be ready at God’s appointed time (the right time).

The eyes of the Lord are over the whole earth. His eyes are full of grace. He is compassionate and is concerned about our welfare. When the bible says that Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord, it simply means that Noah sought God and found grace. Hebrews says he was saved by faith. Noah believed in the saving power of God’s grace.

God values each individual and wishes that we may all come to experience His saving grace. He loves each one of us and will meet our needs. He is processing our order and all we need to do is believe in His saving grace. When we fail to find this grace that Noah found, then we will go through life feeling “oh so and so is better than me”. If Noah an ordinary man believed in God’s saving grace and was saved, what should hinder us from finding this grace in God?

LIFE IN KENYA BY THE YEAR 2027

Beaten fair and square, I trudged up the hill
This was the end of the road
Below lay a pitiful sight
The chiselling man powerfully sweating
Clutching his stomach, a den of roaring lions
Emancipated with hunger and pain

This was where they smiled with the teeth
Their ice-cold eyes searching behind each other’s shadow
Shaking hands without their hearts
Their left hands searching each others empty pockets
Then the overloaded plane landed
With their dirty hands, with nails clogged with dirt
They searched through its contents
Whose prices were, more fascinating than the values
The labels more valued that the labelled
Then they sat back and wined and dined.

As the sun whirled on the azure sky at sunset
Clattering into the horizon and clicking in the slot
It’s when I paused and pondered and stopped and wondered
Perhaps the sight held within it some gleaming pearl
Some future majesty
So I gained wisdom and waited.

That night passed with passions high and wild
The streets stained with new potraits being framed
The wheel changed hands and new plans were filed
The morning saw the light anew
Men started laughing with their hearts and eyes
Mechanical handshakes long gone, they shook hands with their hearts
Their hands were immaculately clean
No dirt clogged in their nails
The trees exchanged greetings in gentle whispers of dawn
Plane and contents flew back, who needed them?
The morning glory climbed above my head
Down in the withered grasses something stirred
As I went down the hill with a radiant smile
For a new dawn had come

Move to The Next Level

You have dwelt on this mountain for too long. Now get up and take possession of the land that I am going to give you.

This can never be put in a better way. There are so many thing that we have dwelt on for so long. The children of Israel had dwelt on Mt. Sinai for forty years. God wanted them to move on and posses the land. Receiving Christ is the first step of the Christian faith. By believing in His death on the cross and His resurrection, we receive our salvation. Thereafter, God requires of us that we may move on to the next level by faith.

The children of Israel had seen God’s deliverance and provision for all those years yet they never got the faith to move into the Promised Land. We may have been saved for decades or months or just a few days, but the question is, what are you doing to posses that which God has in store for you? This may not only be in material possession, but they may include increasing your sphere of influence - drawing people to God’s kingdom.

When some of us were born again, we were zealous and willing to share our faith with so many around us. We hoped to save the whole world and wished our friends and family members knew this truth we had found. After some time of preaching to them and never seeing a difference, we resigned to fate and complied with the status quo. We felt incompetent. All along, we have been unwilling to take part in God’s work since we feel that God isn’t willing to use us. For such a long time we have dwelt on these feelings of incompetence and unworthiness that we have done nothing to expand God’s kingdom. It is time to move on to the next level. For how long will you dwell on your inabilities?

The spies that went out to Canaan came with some incredible truths about the land. They even carried the grapes to prove that the land was indeed good. But the people chose to believe the lies. It is true that they looked like grasshoppers but isn’t it an exaggeration when they say “and indeed we were”? It could be true that you and I are incompetent when compared to some professor somewhere, but does that make us useless or rather incompetent in all spheres of life. Looking like a grasshopper doesn’t make one a grasshopper, does it?

You and I need to have faith and confidence in God if we are to move to the next level. Faith in the idea he had when He created us. Faith in His choice for our families, nationalities and friends. Believing that His plan is the best. It is only faith that will enable us see the possibilities amidst all the impossibilities, helping us see our greatness when we look like grasshoppers.

It also requires that w fully obey His word. It is only when we live in total obedience to God’s word that we are able to achieve His purposes and accomplish much. Samuel told Saul that disobedience is worse than the sin of witchcraft. My understanding of witchcraft is that it is a form of idolatry. When we disobey God, we are simply not worshiping Him but pledging our allegiance to someone else. Obedience to God gives us confidence in that we are not afraid of the consequences of our actions for we know who our commander is. The consequences of our actions are bearable once we know that we are obeying God’s voice.

The other significant requirement is determination. We have to be determined to fallow through our actions in faith and obedience to God. Having put our confidence in God, we need to be determined in our hearts that nothing will stop us. Indeed there will be discouragements, but with a determined heart, we need to put off all those voices that speak lies. Determination silences every wind of false doctrine. We need to be determined to know God’s will and act upon His instruction. I believe that whoever earnest searches for truth without prejudice will find it. God promises to fill those who hunger and thirst for His righteousness. If we are ever to yearn for anything, let it be for God’s righteousness. Let us be determined to know Him better and move on to the next level.

And so I ask, what is this mountain in your life that you have dwelt on for this long? Is it financial security, career development or family? You may have all along said, “When I start earning a better salary, I will be able to give more”. Yet if we can’t learn to take care of the little we have then we can’t be trusted with much either. You need to move on now in your giving for you may have dwelt on this scarcity mentality for too long. You may say “when I get married or finish school, then I will be in a better position to serve God”. Well within the school setting or in your single hood, there are so many people who need to hear the good news of God’s salvation. They can only best be reached by those in their category. We all need to start creating influence within our spheres of operation. Let us all purpose to move on to the next level.