Break the Siege

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

A siege is a blockade which is usually mounted by the opposition; which could be spiritual, physical, mental, financial, emotional, and marital and is designed to separate you from the resources you require to succeed so that in frustration and despair, you surrender to the opposition.  While sieges have always been a part of history and have always been tactically deployed by the military and rebel groups to wear down the determination of the opposition to succeed, they are still very much in use day, significantly in diverse modes. They are also used in the realm of the spirit to stop the flow of God’s blessings to His people as evidenced in the siege laid by the prince of Persia against Gabriel enroute to deliver God’s blessings to Daniel.

Also, when the morally bankrupt wife of Potiphar daily harassed Joseph sexually, she actually laid a siege on his mental processes, trying his emotions severely; hoping to wear down his resistance to sin so that Joseph would sin against God and Potiphar.  And when eventually she discovered that the siege was a waste of her time as it had no effect on Jacob, she deployed another strategy; lay a physical siege on the young man. If his emotions were cast in stone, was his body also cast in stone and dead to stimuli from a morally bankrupt woman probably schooled in seducing young men?

Fortunately, her strategy failed for Joseph’s body was also divinely immune to sexual immorality. Joseph would rather run out of the house naked than defile his body which was the temple of God. Please read 1^st Corinthians Chapter 6 verses 13 to 20 and Genesis Chapter 36. Though Joseph was punished with an unjust prison sentence for what he did not do, it was just as well and good that he did not capitulate to the satanic siege laid by Potiphar’s wife because that siege would have kept Joseph in perpetual servitude  in Potiphar’s house. One second of sin with Potiphar’s wife would have altered the destiny of Joseph drastically. Rather than become Prime Minister in Egypt, he would have remained the houseboy he was in Potiphar’s house. Why, you may ask?

Joseph would never have had the opportunity of meeting the baker and the butler of Pharaoh; which also meant that he would not have interpreted their dreams; the basis for which Mr. Butler recommended Joseph to Pharaoh.

Designed to Succeed - Be You 2

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

You are divinely designed to be the sun behind the cloud, the game changer who is never dampened by circumstances. You are divinely designed to always find creative ways to navigate whatever stormy waters you run into so that you take your ever winning team into smooth sailing waters. Therefore, do not ever consider giving up despite the thunder storms, claps and fierce lightning strike. Somehow, somehow, still put on your brave charming smile, still strategize and the answers will come. It is not over for you. You will always succeed beyond your expectations; the expectations of people about you because God Who designed you to always succeed is always able to do exceedingly abundantly above all you can ever ask or think of so that you always succeed.  Therefore, keep on the winning smile, the determined but measured steps to succeed because you are God’s success story being unveiled to the world.

However, you need to urgently break the alabaster box.

The story of the alabaster box is very interesting. The alabaster box was a very expensive box that contained precious sweet smelling oil. But as long as the box was intact, the fragrant oil was trapped in it, without blessing humanity. But the moment the alabaster box was broken and its beautiful contents filled the atmosphere and blessed humanity with the sweet smelling fragrance, it became a reference point in time and history as a blessing. Beloved, the world is waiting to breathe the beautiful fragrances you carry inside of you so that people can be blessed and you can become the reference point in time and history that God designed you to be from the very foundation of the world.

Identify Your Constituency 2

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

The Apostle Paul for instance had a clear sense of his vision and mission which was global and all encompassing – the Gentiles, Kings and the children of Israel. Please read Acts Chapters 9 verses 15 to 20, 22 to 30; 13 verse 47.  He commenced his mission at Damascus where he encountered Jesus, progressed to Jerusalem, Tarsus, Seleucia, Cyprus, Salamis, Perga in Pamphylia, Antioch in Pisidia, Iconium, Ephesus, Lystra and Derbe as well as the numerous places he went for missionary work. The Apostle Paul harvested souls; he planted Churches wherever he went amidst persecutions; significantly from the Jews who always incited people in these communities and cities against him and his team. None of the challenges such as health, financial and sometimes emotional challenges; coupled with the backsliding of certain brethren, as well as insincerity amongst some brethren discouraged Paul. Rather, he focused on finding solutions to the challenges; grew a thick skin to persecutions and learnt to leave immediately his life was at great risk. He also encouraged backsliding brethren to remain steadfast to Christ, challenged insincere brethren to be sincere to the faith they professed, earned his upkeep as a tent maker, prayed for divine health for himself and members of his team. The Apostle Paul truly identified his constituency; significantly by the leading of the Holy Spirit. He also paid significant attention to the peculiar opportunities and challenges of his constituency and responded to them wisely by the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Quite significant is the fact that the divine call is not even your decision. It is the decision of God that was made even before you were born. Please read Jeremiah Chapter 1 verse 5. The divine call therefore confers on you God’s authority and power over the nations that God called you to so that you can root out and pull down, to destroy and throw down whatever is not of God, whatever opposes God and contaminates the people and the nations. Additionally, God also empowers you to build and to plant the righteousness of God, the love of God, the wisdom of God, the prosperity of God, the kindness, compassion, mercy, forgiveness of God and His grace in the nations of the world He called you to. But if you operate outside of your constituency, you may have to work in your own strength and sadly, with really nothing to show for it.

Identify Your Constituency

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

You can identify your constituency by the leading of the Holy Spirit. This is to say that the Holy Spirit helps you to identify the people God sends you to. For instance, the prophet Jeremiah was sent to the nations of the world in his generation and significantly, Jeremiah worked within that constituency. Please read Jeremiah Chapter 1 verses 5 to 7. This also implies that God is the One Who defines the constituency which you work in and not necessarily you, your background, your ethnic group, nationality, race, economic power or status, religious affiliation, position in the Church, acceptance in the Church, etc. it is the decision of God and not yours. Therefore, prayerfully identify your constituency by the help of the Holy Spirit.

Once that is done, you will also need to identify the specific needs of your constituency which God in His infinite wisdom has capacitated you to meet. Then explore ways and forms of meeting the needs; again by the Spirit of God because is not by might nor by power but by the Spirit of God and with God, nothing will be impossible. Please see Luke Chapter 1 verse 35 and Mark Chapter 10 verse 27.

Additionally, the content of the message you are sent to deliver to members of your constituency is very important. This is because your content must be specific and relevant to the needs of your constituency and because God is the only One Who truly knows and understands the needs of each constituency particularly the one He sends you to; the content of your message should be sourced from God so that you can actually impact members of your constituency. This also implies that your message should be what God commands and not what you desire, wish or love to say. Jeremiah was commanded to speak what God would have him say to his constituency. Even when Jeremiah tried to hold in the words of God because the words were not acceptable to the members of his constituency, he could not hold it in. he had to speak what God required him to speak. Please read Jeremiah Chapters 1 verses 7, 9 and 17; 20 verse 9. The prophet Jeremiah also knew and understood his constituency.

Determine to Succeed

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Aspire to succeed

Dare to succeed

Focus to succeed

Act to succeed

Be bold to succeed

Break barriers to succeed

Create time to succeed

Invest time to succeed

Avoid distractions to succeed

Avoid contentions to succeed

Collect assets to succeed

Succeed despite the odds

Be discreet to succeed

Be tactful to succeed

Excel to succeed

Study to succeed

Read to succeed

Analyze to succeed

Believe God to succeed

Trust God to succeed

Exercise faith in God to succeed

Exalt the name of God to succeed

Praise God to succeed

Worship God to succeed

Honor God to succeed

Acknowledge God to succeed

Pay your tithes to succeed

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