Bridle Your Desires and Emotions 2

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Absalom was proud, arrogant and lusted greatly for the throne. He did not have the decency to await the death of his father before attempting to become King. Additionally, he was a crafty young man who deployed deceit to usurp the throne. He died in the process and his father, King David outlived him. It was the same deceit he deployed in killing Amnon. Absalom was an untruthful person, who harbored malice against people who hurt him.

David was extremely disciplined and much loved by God. Yet, he lost it when he saw Bathsheba’s naked body. David had no business being at home at that period. But that was not the main issue. He could have said no to whatever desires he had for Bathsheba after he discovered that she was the wife of one his soldiers who was fighting at a war he should have led. Yet, David did what he should not have done just so he could have Bathsheba. He murdered Bathsheba’s husband. But God Who always sees what people do in the most secret of places saw it all and judged David immediately.

Miriam, great woman, great big sister to Moses, and the first prophetess in Israel. Yet, for a split second, she spoke rashly against Moses probably because she was upset with him. God heard and punished her with leprosy. 

Aaron also sinned alongside Miriam and was also punished.

Moses, referred to as a very meek man and the prophet with whom God spoke face to face lost it in a moment of great rage. He broke the tablets containing the Ten Commandments written by God. He also struck the rock instead of speaking to it and also referred to the people of God as rebels. God was unhappy with Moses.

Bridle Your Desires and Emotions

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Desires and emotions sometimes run amok and when they do, they carry with them consequences which are sometimes severe. That is why every child of God should ask help of the Holy Spirit in bridling their desires and emotions.

Shechem and his family were destroyed because Shechem could not wait to make Dinah his wife before defiling her.  Dinah’s angry brothers wiped him and his family out of the land of the living. Please read Genesis Chapter 34.

Simeon and Levi, the enraged brothers of Dinah killed an entire family and clan. They could not control their anger. Please read Genesis Chapter 34 verse 25. Much later, their father Jacob placed a curse on them.

Amnon was foolish and listened to foolish counsel. He raped his half-sister, Tamar and was consequently killed by Tamar’s brother, Absalom. Please read 2^nd Samuel Chapter 13 for details and caution in receiving and taking advice.

Samson was the most powerful person of his time. He did not have to carry weapons when about to engage hundreds of men in a fight as anything he touched automatically became a weapon with which he killed hundreds of men. Unfortunately, this powerful man lost all that power to a woman because he could not control his unbridled desire for Delilah. Consequently, he lost the great unction of God upon his life and died young. Please read Judges Chapter 16.

Ahab was condemned for coveting after Naboth’s vineyard and assenting to the negative methods Jezebel deployed in stealing the vineyard from Naboth. Please read 1^st Kings Chapter 21. Covetousness for instance is sin, sin against God because it shows lack of appreciation for your God given gifts, person and blessings; lack of contentment and satisfaction for the blessings of God upon your life; uncontrolled greed for what does not belong to you; you want to own what belongs to someone else and like Ahab, you would do anything to get what does not belong to you. You sulk and you are unhappy over what belongs to someone else which you greedily lust after all day.

Break the Ceiling

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Break the ceiling over your head, your life no matter what it is. Ceilings should be broken when they become a stumbling block to progress. A ceiling over a person’s life may not necessarily be the physical ceiling placed in houses to shield the direct heat of the sun on the roof from the house.

A ceiling may be a person’s attitude, character or behavior. Issachar was initially content to serve as a slave because he saw a pleasant land. The pleasantness of the land made him lose interest in moving to his own land, his own place of divine purpose where he was divinely ordained to serve as a leader in Israel; providing divine direction to the people to carry out divine purpose following divine timing. But Issachar preferred the pleasant land. Unfortunately, Issachar’s preference put a ceiling on him and his descendants and they became a band of slaves in the pleasant land.

However, slavery must have opened his eyes to the huge divine potential and responsibility of leadership placed on him from the foundation of the world. Fortunately, he woke up to from the slumber of death to divine purpose, broke the ceiling of slavery and moved on the leadership position destined for him from the foundation of the world. He became a leader, had an in depth understanding of the times and urged Israel to do what the nation ought to do at a specific time. Please read Genesis Chapter 49 verses 14 to 15 and 1^st Chronicles Chapter 12 verse 32.

Unfortunately, Esau did not understand his inability to deal with unbridled emotions. His absolute lack of self-control was the self-imposed ceiling he put on himself that made him lose the leadership role he should have played. He sold his birthright because he was hungry. In essence, he sold his birthright for a non-asset, a bowl of porridge that would digest in a few hours and be excreted out of the body as waste and a fresh wave of hunger would start.

The Dynamics of Success

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Success is not an arrival point where you have no spots or wrinkles. Rather, it is forging ahead to daily implementing and achieving divine purposes in spite of the spots and wrinkles which may or may not leave. But what is important and significant is that you keep forging ahead, putting on your best foot forward at all times.

Success is not entertainment, it is putting on your best foot forward at all times. That explains why success is not shallow. Success has great depths and for anything planted on success ground to germinate, blossom and fruit; it has to go into great depth. It should not be like the seeds which fell by the way side.

Success is not static. It is not a destination which you arrive at and fold your hands to watch the ocean go by; listen to idle gossip; drink and drug yourself to stupor; shop until you drop; wear the best of designer clothing and accessories and everyone compliments you on your posh look; thrill and entertain a crowd and everyone is falling at your feet.