What About Faith?

 It's a fine day,is it not?I think it is...it's a holiday,at least we get to sleep and relax and get away from the city noise, pressures of work and the pressures of our own minds even if it's just for a day...we don't care we will grab it greedily because a day is better than nothing...those were my thoughts when I learnt Wednesday was a holiday...frankly speaking....I love sleeping, it must be one of my hidden talents...anyway here we are,what do I say,I was mostly happy I will have time to dance and dance and dance...I missed dancing...I missed moving my body,I missed dancing till I couldn't breathe,soaking in the music and just doing my thing....well I did that..I was happy I did though not to my utter satisfaction...yet one thing still disturbed me...I wanted to write,I felt good I was free to meditate sit down with God and let him to speak to me as I write...I didn't know what I would write about,I knew a day before, however how it escaped my mind am not sure...I forgot😅I was adamant on posting this week I couldn't let myself down...am huge on consistency and discipline...I wanted something to write about just anything and if am completely honest I don't have it figured out right now am just here exploring and opening myself up to anything...

I've been intentional on not complaining too much and just live in the present and be grateful...I read somewhere its when we learn to be present and watchful that our eyes shift from all the things that are not working to the blessings we have,like the gift of family the gift of friends the gift of God in our lives so present and mighty,even things like waking up in the morning become huge and we start taking our gifts our lives our purpose seriously we get this urge to live our lives and to live it to the best of our ability,be our best version...we understand tomorrow is not promised and since God gave me today,woke me up,breathed his breathe in me again,truly I can do this and do it well...we thank him...the act of gratitude...

Gratitude makes us see things differently they make us complain less and rejoice more...they fill us with joy peace and positivity... gratitude makes us contented with our lives,our season and God's timing...you know what else gratitude gives us?hope...when we thank God for everything he is doing,when we open our eyes and see all the big things and little things he is doing in our lives,when we understand and thank him from the bottom of our heart,we are filled with hope that if he did that,he can do this too...and don't let me go to belief and faith because I may write the whole night...just think about it,do you know why we are taught the importance of thanking people,saying please and apologising when we are wrong,why we should smile more and frown less...it's not just about having good manners well anytime you thank someone,first of all that person is filled with a sense of importance,he feels seen and appreciated for his efforts in making this world a better place for you through his activity...and us, anytime we say thank you and say it genuinely from our hearts we understand how that person made it possible for you,like the waiter who served you in the hotel...that's the same with God you know,we understand how loving he is to bless us,how good he is,how kind how gracious and merciful he is,it humbles us because we understand we never deserved or earned it he gave it to us freely...and with God it's even deeper because we didn't pay for it,his son did on the cross and through him we have access to our Lord,we are saved...

Brene Brown yeah yeah I know you are tired of hearing her name,well am trying to get you to read her books baby!Anyway in her gifts of imperfection she wrote on the gift of gratitude and gave a practical way in making it a habit...Get a jar a big one,maybe not that big am just being extra don't mind me😅anyway have a jar in your kitchen or your bedroom any room you spend so much time in...every morning,you can write a note on what your grateful for and put it in that jar,you can name it Gratitude jar...it's easier to start by doing it weekly then monthly then progress to making it a daily habit,like showering....My own gratitude habit is this...I do 30 days of thanksgiving on my Journal...I first select a month and write it down...I love doing it at the start of the year,mid year and December because it's my birthday month...I got this idea from my lovely cousin...don't get me wrong we should be grateful everyday,every minute but making it a habit and writing it down really makes a difference...it checks our heart and makes us look at things from a grateful point of view,it fills us with confidence and we praise God for everything he is doing...yeah sometimes I get tired of writing it, especially when I skip a few days and I have a lot to write...but I still strive to finish because I want to make it a habit,a habit I can practice forever a habit that reminds me a million reasons why I should praise God a habit my children can see, embrace and learn from...a habit that makes me a better person... sometimes I find myself doing it to get it done,not really sitting down and understanding just how much this means but you know...I tell God about it,it does us no good to feel bad about ourselves,to feel ashamed on not being consistent or genuine about it...our flesh will always be rebellious to our spirit and the will of God,this goes to say its okay to fall,I had to understand this...to understand I can go to God and tell him to help me do my 30 days genuinely and with a heart full of gratitude,to equip me with the holy spirit,to open my eyes and heart that I may perceive what he is doing what he has done for me and that my heart may understand...to purify my motives and fill me with his presence...I tell God to help me that the habit may become fruitful in my life and that it may draw me closer to him each single day...that after the 30 days I may not be the same person and I say this prayer as many times as I need to because it's not supposed to be just a habit,a discipline,it's should be a spiritual muscle meant to make us better people and better followers of Jesus Christ...it's meant to fill our hearts with so much delight and the joy of the Lord...it's meant to strengthen our walk...make us more aware of the presence and hand of God in our lives...

Maybe am writing a gratitude article but there is something else that has been in my heart for some time now...I heard from one sermon that the evidence of our faith is in God's word. Our faith is made evident when he spoke it not the manifestation of the word...when he said it to us,it was already done...it manifesting is the fruit of the word...this dug deep..because many times God speaks to me,shows me something,his promise for me,and he does it in a word...always..... slowly I have learnt that God speaks and when he speaks we will know it was him because he couples it with a word in the Bible something we look at and hold onto...that's why we can read a word and know it was meant for us right there and then..it will hit your spirit and convict you...it makes you read it more and more to understand it deeply...and though God did this,I still doubted whether it was possible for me,sometimes I get impatient,sometimes I wonder why it can't be now, sometimes I forget to live in the present...but I had to understand the power of knowing the seasons we are in and be present in it, because it's just as important as my next season,I had to understand my faith is shown when I understand and believe it's already done because he spoke it,God spoke it,I had to understand that when he speaks,no word returns to him void...I had to get it down in my spirit that the ground I stand on came to existence through a word and the word was spoken by God I had to understand the beauty of letting go and letting God,I had to understand only God can write my story and he already wrote it,one sentence after another,one paragraph after another...to me it looks like seasons,some good some bad some rocky some ecstatic but to him it was all part of a beautiful story and every line mattered...I needed to trust and love the story he is writing for me,I had to understand all he wanted from me is my trust that he got me,is my belief and my unbelieving heart..I had to understand that while I was more engrossed by the promise of the external my internal was what mattered most to him,my heart my mind my spirit my soul,he needed me to understand he wants me,and he wants to have a relationship with me,an intimate close relationship with his beloved child,he needed me to know he didn't want me to worry or be anxious how what he told me will get done,how my dreams or goals will become a reality how I will grow my gifts how I will get to his promises...no he said all that is my job,I just want you to sit on my feet...looking at me seeking me,I will order your every step. It's not sitting down the whole day praying no it's the heart posture,it's a matter of submission... sometimes or many times we wonder why God won't open that door or answer that prayer,maybe it's our heart posture...our heart means everything to him.

I kept wondering and doubting yet all God wanted was for me to stay still and know that he is God,to stay still and trust him,to just seek him and his righteousness and believe everything else will come from him...he told me baby I got you,I need you to trust me not the promise,trust it is already done when I spoke it to you and have faith...when Jesus cursed the fig tree,he cursed it and moved on,went to Jerusalem and when they walked back the same path in the morning the disciples,Peter specifically noticed the tree had dried up to its roots, remembered what Jesus had said the previous day and were shocked,but Jesus was not shocked at all,he knew the tree dried when he spoke it,it didn't dry right there and then...we don't even know when it dried but we are told when they walked back that path in the morning it's when they saw the dried up fig tree...when I was thinking and meditating on faith,I read this word and menn it struck so deep...I know sometimes I trust the promise so much and I get obsessed about it,more than I trust the the giver,and that's why when set backs,or dry seasons come in,when suffering comes in,my trust and faith withers and dries up,I end up doubting God and questioning my life my dreams...I end up feeling I can't do it or accomplish it...but God told me he needed me to trust him,my faith is made evident when I trust the word,it manifesting is the fruit of the word because God operates from the roots and the roots makes us firm makes us walk in the promise more confident and more aware of the process...

I don't know if you are like me,if you needed this but maybe we need to trust God more and more,to know him and his word,to believe that even when the unbelief creeps in we can submit it to God because we understand the unbelief is against the word of God,it's against what God said and it won't reside and take root in my heart....remember;In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God...I hope this article makes you want to trust God more,to grow your faith and to want to let go and let God...I hope it makes us more grateful for all he has done, all he is doing and all he is going to do in our lives,I hope it makes us better followers of Christ because am just like you still learning still here and can I say am grateful our paths crossed dear? Peace 🌼