Thoughts and Other Things

 I recently came across a post with an intriguing question: how can you tell the difference between when God says ‘no’ and when he says ‘not yet’? This question flows from the popular saying that God’s response to prayer is either yes, no or not yet. I suppose, in the moment, you can’t, unless He clearly articulates it like he does to Paul when He makes it clear that He will not remove the thorn in Paul’s flesh. In most cases, however, we only know after the fact. It’s only when we look back at what we thought was rejection that we realize that it’s not that it wasn’t meant for us, it just wasn’t meant for us in that season of our lives. I’m pretty sure Joseph was gutted to be forgotten when he clearly made his case to be remembered and freed. “’ But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison. For I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in ...

I’ve struggled so much with trusting God’s plan for my life this past year. I used to think that the biggest exercise of trust in God’s plan for my life would be when I said ‘yes’ to his calling into ministry. But it turns out that every turn of this journey requires my trust. The past year has been particularly difficult for me. I have wrestled with God concerning how I pictured my life would be at this stage compared to His unfolding plan for my life.   In the early hours of Sunday morning as I fell in and out of sleep, I heard a voice command me: Trust God’s plan. When I awakened a few hours later, I scribbled the instruction as to not forget it and grabbed my Bible. I read Ephesians 1:11 which says: “In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will.” Through this text, God led me to understand why I can trust his plan.   1. I can trust God’s plan because it is firmly e...

I' ve learnt one thing from the nameless female characters in the Bible: You don't need a name to leave your mark. You don't need a title, a position, a following or a long list of accolades.  These women are proof that... Even when you're only known through the man you're attached to, God can still talk to you and trust you to incubate a Samson to destroy his enemies. Even when you're only known through the death of the man your provision was attached to, you can still feed and house an Elijah through a three-year drought. Even when you're only known as a slave girl, you can still drive a mighty Naaman to know that there is a God in Israel. ` Even when you're only known through the son you've birthed, you can still mould a leader and shape a kingdom through your oracles. Even when you're only known through your nationality as a Samaritan, you can still turn many to Jesus through your testimony. Even when you're only known through your...

One thing you’re sure to come across in this adulting journey is disappointment. God recently helped me understand how I (often) end up disappointed and I’d like to unpack it to save you some further heartbreak too.   I don’t think I need to explain what disappointment is. If you’re old enough to read this, I’m pretty sure you’ve experienced it on more than one occasion. However, for the purpose of the understanding God gave me, we’ll define it. Simply put, disappointment is a feeling of sadness caused by expectations going unfulfilled. If unmet expectations are the root of disappointment, we must consider what informs our expectations to deal with said disappointment.   “As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the maker of all things.” Ecclesiastes 11:5   If we are to escape disappointment, we must acknowledge the limitation of our knowledge. This is because what we know ...

As we conclude Youth Month, I thought I’d share a message God laid on my heart. I shared it with my youth group and thought I’d share it with you too. God impressed in my heart to remind the young that they have something to give.  “Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I don’t have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Acts 3:4-6 In this story, the crippled beggar is expecting to get money from Peter and John. Peter however makes it clear that he does not have what the man expects, but he does have something to give (which is way better than the money the man expects). So it is with the young – they have something valuable to contribute, but because what they have is not what we (as families, the church, society etc.) expect, we often miss it.  Consider the image above. In a world that overvalues ...

I’m getting ready for a funeral. The second this month of a beloved church member. As a pastor, it is both heart-wrenching and sobering. Heart-wrenching because of the loss; sobering because the death of a congregant is a stark reminder of the true work of a pastor.  I had the privilege of being in a room full of pastors yesterday. Pastors young and old; male and a few female. Pastors who are well-known and those no one has heard of. Those who lead crowds and those with only a handful of congregants. Pastors with state-of-the-art church buildings, multiple campuses, and the expensive lifestyle to show for it - and those with nothing to show. But none of this bears any significance when it comes to a pastor's work.  The image often used to describe a pastor's work is that of a shepherd. It is understandable because this image is littered throughout Scripture. But there is another image, another ancient occupation that God uses to paint a picture of pastoral ministry: a watchman...

The story of Elijah in the first book of Kings is such a clear reminder of just how listening to any voice other than God’s can displace us. After listening to Jezebel’s threat, Elijah ran for his life. In Horeb where he ends up, God repeatedly asks him: “ What are you doing here, Elijah? ” (1 Kings 19:9,13). God asks this question because fear, which came as a result of listening to a ‘stranger’s voice’, had displaced Elijah.   In previous chapters we see how Elijah’s steps were ordered by the Lord. Elijah was always where God wanted him to be because he was following God’s voice. After delivering a prophesy about the famine, God directed him to the Kerith Ravine where he would make divine provision for him. Following the drying up of the brook there, God led him to go to Zarephath where again he would be divinely provided for through a widow. When it was time for the famine to end, God again gave instruction to Elijah to move – to go present himself to king Ahab. Elijah alway...