Accomplish Great Things 6

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Ask for and pray possibilities

Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery. Psalm 2 verses 8 to 9, NIV, Women’s Devotional Bible.

Keep on asking and it will be given you; keep on seeking and you will find; keep on knocking (reverently) and (the door) will be opened to you. For everyone who keeps on asking receives; and he who keeps on seeking finds; and to him who keeps on knocking  (the door) will be opened. Or what man is there of you, if his son asks him for a loaf of bread, will hand him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will hand him a serpent? If you then, evil as you are, know how to give good and advantageous gifts to your children, how much more will your Father Who is in heaven (perfect as He is) give good and advantageous things to those who keep asking Him! Mathew Chapter 7 verses 7 to 11, Amplified.

And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;  Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:  And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.  And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;  Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.  And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.  And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?  I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? Luke Chapter 18 verses 1 to 8, KJV.

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask any thing according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. 1st John Chapter 5 verses 14 and 15, NKJV.

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations for ever and ever,  Ephesians Chapter 3 verse 20, NIV, Women's Devotional Bible.

Ask me and I will tell you some remarkable secrets about what is going to happen here. Jeremiah Chapter 33 verse 3, NLT.

Invest in Value

                                          Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Value is the intrinsic worth of a person, an object, a place; a unique attribute which sets the person, the family, object or place apart from other people, objects and places.  When you understand value and invest in value, the full dividends of value accrue to you without you even requesting for the dividends.

King Solomon for instance truly understood the value of an intimate and fervent relationship with God that would foster his total dependence on God. So he worshiped God with all his heart as instructed by his father, David. Please read 1^st Chronicles Chapter 28 and 2^nd Chronicles Chapter 1. Solomon was subsequently blessed by God with divine wisdom which placed him several steps ahead of his contemporaries. Significantly, that great wisdom also translated into great and abundant wealth.

King David not only loved and feared God; he also invested in a personal relationship with God because he understood the value of an intimate and fervent relationship with God. Please read Psalms 16 verse 7, 27 verse 4 and 25 verses 12 to 14.

David chose God above silver and gold and God rewarded him with abundant blessings. He had many children, great wealth and ruled Israel for a long time; won several wars without being hurt; survived several evil plots and attempts against his life simply because he understood the value of an intrinsic relationship with God.

Give Yourself Mileage

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Seest thou a man diligent in his work, he shall stand before kings and not mean men – Proverbs Chapter 22 verse 29.

Ideally, everyone’s divine gift should create room for greatness and abundance for him or her if deployed in the right environment and before the right persons who would give the person mileage.

Therefore, always ask yourself if a relationship, task or utterance would take you to the divine purpose and plans of God for your life before investing quality time and resources in such relationships, task and utterances.

David was a skilful musician yet he did not play just before anybody. He played musical instruments before Saul and made the King happy. Though Saul became envious and attempted to kill David while he was playing the instrument for him; the point being made is that David played before kings and not insignificant people who would not give him mileage.

David also took on Goliath not only to deal with Goliath for insulting the army of God but also for the attendant benefits. Please read 1^st Samuel Chapter 17. David did not challenge a mere street fighter, an inconsequential person to a street fight. It was a fight for national honors on both sides where the winner was to become a national hero, as well as a beneficiary of many things from the King including becoming a son in-law of the King. Fortunately, David won the fight against Goliath and earned great mileage – a national hero as well as many other perks.

Joseph interpreted the dreams of the servants of Pharaoh but was also careful to remind the butler to remember him and recommend him to Pharaoh. Though the butler forgot, he was forced to remember Joseph when the divine opportunity and timing for Joseph to be celebrated came. Please read Genesis Chapters 41 for details.

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.

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.

Take a Leap of Faith

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

You are no longer a toddler in Christ. Neither are you a teenager or young adult. You are a mature adult loaded with the word of God that always accomplishes purpose. Please read Isiah Chapter 55 verses 7 to 13, Numbers Chapter 23 verse 19, 1^st Samuel Chapter 15 verse 29. You are also filled with the Holy Spirit Who daily instructs you on how to use this great divine arsenal at your disposal. Please read Isaiah Chapter 28 verses and 48 verse. Therefore, do away with the baby steps and begin to leap, I mean great leaps of faith which you urgently require to take you to God’s heights for you.

Beloved, you have dwelt too long at the bottom rung of the ladder daily giving lame excuses which do not hold water anymore. The baby steps no longer befit your new status in Christ Jesus. Additionally, they are impeding your progress as they always slow you down. The last thing you need now is any slow paced movement as it cannot move you forward. It will only keep you in a non-progressive circular dance.

But giant leaps of faith based on the truth of the word of God that you are a royal priesthood, a peculiar person divinely wired to be a lender to the nations will push you up the mark.

Significant leaps, spiritually, physically, mentally, financially designed to take you to God’s destined heights for you are what you really need now. Prevailing circumstances may look like you are glued to a spot and therefore have no business moving; not to talk of leaping; yet beloved, God says it is time to leap from point A to Canaan if that is where God wants you now. God Who is your great Provider and Sustainer says He will make available all the resources you require to make the leap. Just follow Him at His pace and not yours.

, Keep Your Heavens Open

 Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Open heavens guarantees access to the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places. Treasures are always hidden. Please see Matthew Chapter 13 verse 44. It takes the wisdom of God, divine favor, grace of God, knowledge and understanding to unearth hidden treasures. How can any treasures be hidden in the sand? Well, yes and God alone Who created the sand and the treasures hidden in the sand can open your eyes of understanding to the exact spot and location as well as quality of treasures hidden in the sand? How can the sea hold any abundance when it is water and flotilla? Beloved, God Who created the seas, oceans and rivers also deposited huge resources that are great treasures in them. Consider for a moment that pearls and corals come from seas and oceans. Please read Deuteronomy Chapter 33 verse 19

Open heavens simply means or translates into guaranteed access. Beloved, you have guaranteed access to the resources of God at all times but the challenge is whether you know this divine truth and if you do; whether you know how to access the unlimited resources God made available to you through the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross.

God has given to you everything that pertains to life and godliness through Jesus Christ. To access these resources is simple and easy through your divinely guaranteed access in Jesus Christ – through salvation by faith in Jesus Christ. Your faith in Jesus Christ guarantees you full access into all the spiritual, mental, physical and financial riches Jesus Christ got for you and me at Calvary with His precious blood.

You Can Stop Wandering

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Wandering is to do something repeatedly without any defined purpose. It is going round in circles – no progress from point A to B. Wandering can be as a result of sin as in the case of Cain in Genesis Chapter 4. Cain became a wanderer because he violated the commands of God by killing his brother. Consequently was driven from the Presence of God or he lost the Presence of God on account of his sin. Secondly, because he shed the blood of his brother on the earth, the earth refused to yield its best for him.

Cain was cursed by God to wander because he killed his younger brother, Abel; as in the case of the Israelites in the wilderness when they refused to move forward to the Promised Land because of the negative report of the ten spies (Numbers Chapter 14) ignorance and lack of direction as in the case of the people described in (Psalm 107 verses 4 to 9);  and the people of Israel who kept circling the mountains of Seir for a long time until God gave them directions to go north so they would stop wandering and make progress to the Promised Land. Ignorance and lack of direction can keep a person, family, a community, an institution and a nation wandering for years without making progress. Please read Isaiah Chapter 28 verses 23 to 28.

Break the Spell

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Cut off the unusual foliage which is preventing sunlight from getting to you so that people can see the beautiful gifts in you. The unusual foliage which is unusually heavy screens you and your divine gifts from the divine audience God blessed you with. Therefore, your divine audience does not see you, do not know anything about you, cannot access you because of the unusual thick and heavy foliage screening you and your divine gifts from your God given audience, patronage and income. The solution is to cut off the foliage from its root source so that it does not grow back again.

The foliage may not necessarily be trees with big evergreen leaves or anything physical such as manually erected buildings and ceilings. Rather, they are satanic arrangements designed to seclude you and obscure you from any form of visibility whether local, national or global so that no one gets to hear about you or know about you. In the case of Joseph, he was sold into slavery by his brothers.

Slavery was meant to terminate his dream and vision of global leadership but unfortunately for his brothers, God was with Joseph and prospered him even as a slave. In a short time, his boss Potiphar noticed that God was with Joseph and made everything Joseph did to prosper. Potiphar promoted Joseph to lead the affairs of his household. And just when Joseph thought that he was well on his way in the ladder of global leadership, the enemy struck again, albeit through Potiphar’s wife. She wanted Joseph to partner with her in sin but Joseph refused to do so despite her daily sexual harassment of Joseph. Eventually, Joseph’s refusal to partner with her in sin culminated in an unjust prison sentence when she lied that Joseph attempted to rape her when the reverse was the case. Herein is the crux of the matter. How does anyone get to be heard of; known of and celebrated while in prison? Impossible but because there are no impossibilities with God, Joseph’s case was different. God was always with him wherever he went and significantly the people who matter and who would ensure that Joseph continued his climb to the global leadership pinnacle always noticed that God was with Joseph. So the man in charge of the prison noticed that God was with Joseph and  put Joseph in charge – an opportunity and platform to interact with all the prisoners; also a platform and opportunity to showcase his divine gifts though he was screened off from the global, national and local market places.

Joseph wisely utilized this platform and opportunity to give himself national visibility though he was physically screened out from the national marketplace. How, you may ask? He invested his divine gifts in the baker and butler of Pharaoh who were serving time in prison. Significantly, Joseph’s investment paid off; though not immediately. It took two full years for the butler to remember Joseph’s divine abilities and when he did, he immediately recommended Joseph to Pharaoh.

Exercise Dominion

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

At creation, God blessed Adam and Eve. Part of the blessing was for them to manage the abundant resources they were blessed with optimally by multiplying the resources to compound them into overflowing abundance and prosperity as well as exercising dominion over anything on the surface of the earth.

Beloved, this implies that God blessed them with power to take charge and rule over any creature on planet earth – Land, Sea and in the air. That way, nothing would stand in their pathway as they worked at being fruitful; multiplying the abundant resources at their disposal into overflowing abundance. This suggests that God prepared them ahead of challenges by issuing the command to exercise dominion as part of the blessing. In other words, God capacitated them to take charge over any challenge that would show up. But Adam and Eve missed this point when Eve capitulated to the wiles of the enemy and Adam followed suit. In the process, they lost the divine authority to exercise dominion over any creature on earth as well as manage the resources of the earth to overflowing abundance.

Fortunately, Jesus Christ restored this power and gave it back to as many as would walk with Him.

God created man to subdue and exercise dominion but unfortunately, not everyone is able to do so. Nothing ought to limit a believer’s progress in life because you are created in the image of God to function in the realm of unlimited possibilities. The life of Gideon speaks of the possibilities in a life connected to God regardless of how low the background may be. Gideon believed he was an insignificant person until God came to Gideon and declared him to be a mighty man of valor. Gideon was afraid of the enemy but when God intervened in the life of Gideon by speaking of His divine possibilities deposited in Gideon from the foundation of the world, Gideon routed out the same people he was afraid of.

Relevance

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Relevance leads to significance. Please read Romans Chapter 12 verse 2, Acts Chapter 20 verse 32, and Psalm 119 verses 105, 130.

Impact, transformation brings relevance and relevance leads to significance, honor, fame and wealth. Writing or doing anything for the sake of money, fame or honor is good, in point of fact very good. But what is best is doing it to impact and transform lives positively. You can make great clothes or jewelry or write interesting pieces which do not impact or transform lives. They are like seasonal stuff which reign for a season and they are gone. But when they bring about transformation through the positive impact on lives, they become classics which are relevant and for all seasons and generations. Some examples include the book, A Man for All Seasons; the musicals, The King and I, Sound of Music; the works of William Shakespeare, the cartoon, Lion King, and corals and pearl jewelry particularly single strands on any woman’s neck (considering the dramatic transformation they bring to a woman’s face.

Transformation then based on positive impact should be the goal of any enterprise. For instance, basic questions such as why do I want to be in the fashion industry; is it to help people dress well to glorify God or just be another  name in the industry to make a name and money irrespective of whether people dress godly or not? Why do I want to write, is it to make a name and money or to impact lives and in the process make both a name and money? Also, why do I collect what I believe are timeless and outstanding pieces –name, money or just for the fun of it?

The Bible records that Haggai and Zechariah impacted the people of God positively with the prophecies they gave by the Spirit of God. As a result of their prophecies, the people of God were galvanized into positive actions – the rebuilding of the Temple of God despite personal and institutional challenges which assailed them. Additionally, Zechariah’s prophecies helped to rebuild the confidence of the people, first in God and then in themselves as God’s chosen people; called forth to show the praises of God.

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Keys to Global Visibility and Relevance

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Have a fervent relationship with God

Fear God and eschew evil; any sort of evil no matter how beautifully it is coated. If Joseph had capitulated to Potiphar’s wife, he would have remained a slave in that house until he was eventually caught in the unholy liaison with her. But thank God that Joseph’s fear of God made him run away from evil. He chose to honor God Whom He feared.

Joseph was generous – he shared the love of God with his fellow prisoners by investing of his divine gifts and abilities in them. He interpreted their dreams for free. Please read Ecclesiastes Chapter 11 verses 1 to 6.

He always showcased his divine gifts – even in prison, he let the baker and butler know that he was blessed with the divine gift of interpreting dreams. He did not behave like the wicked lazy servant in the parable of talents who chose to dig his talent in the ground and ended up with no reward. But the other two servants who invested their talents were handsomely rewarded by their master. Please read Matthew Chapter 25 verses 14 to 30. In the end, Joseph was also handsomely rewarded when he interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh and also proffered solutions to the problems posed by the dreams.

Beloved, appreciate and put premium value on your divine gifts for you never can tell how far they will take you in life. Solomon appreciated and valued the great gift of divine wisdom God blessed him with. He was globally sought after all the days of his life as people came from far and near laden with gold, silver, precious stones and great gifts just to hear of Solomon’s wisdom – 1^st Kings Chapter 4 verses 29 to 34, 10 verses 23 to 27. Do not despise your gift like the young man described as devoid of understanding in Proverbs Chapter 24 verses 30 to 34 who allowed his garden to go to seed.

Be knowledgeable – be well informed, thoroughly knowledgeable – you know the details and can connect the dots easily. Ignorance can be a major limitation as it impedes progress – if you have no idea of how to get to point B, you may remain stuck at point A until you get the relevant knowledge to move to point B.

Always expand your knowledgebase as knowledge sometimes gets outdated and when knowledge is outdated, it is no longer relevant and usable.

Stop investing time in low profile tasks as they do not really take you up the mark. Hey only help to relieve tension. But when you invest quality time in high profile tasks, they move you up the ladder speedily.

Stop Living Poor

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

God loves you, cares about you and is deeply concerned about how you look and present yourself generally especially in public. Make the effort to look God’s best; that is look the way God would have you look. Request what you require from God to look the way God wants you to look. Wear what fits your body shape and suits your personality.

You do not need any more handouts. Welfare is good but it is to take you to your Canaan. Stop living poor, stop depending on handouts.

Take the hurt, the worry and anxiety, resentment and bitterness and even hate away from your eyes and tone and words; and COMMUNICATE LOVE; the unfailing love of God to you. Manifest the truth that you are deeply loved and owned by the King of kings Who never fails. God will always provide, He will always make a way where there is no way, He will always supply your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. The will of God is for you to prosper according to His word in Deuteronomy Chapters 8 verse 18, 10 verses 8 to 11. Reject and throw away the big fat and obstructive lie of the enemy that God wants you poor and in lack for a reason or certain reasons.

Therefore, do not be anxious about anything. Please read Philippians Chapter 4 verses 6 to 7. Pray without ceasing. Pray in the Spirit on all occasions, all kinds of prayers and request. Please read Ephesians Chapter 6 verse 18. As you present your requests to God in prayers and petitions with thanksgiving in your heart; because He is God and all power belong to Him; the great peace of God guards your heart and mind in Christ Jesus, that is protects your heart and mind from depression. Please read Proverbs Chapter 12 verse 25. That is why the Apostle Peter counseled to cast all our cares upon Jesus Christ.

Live rich because Christ became poor so that you can become rich. Please read 2^nd Corinthians Chapter 8 verse 9. Therefore, do away with the mentality of foraging for foods; of making do with old and tattered clothes; run down home appliances, battered shoes, unsightly furniture, etc. Please, live rich by asking God to daily and always provide for you what you need. Please read Ephesians Chapter 3 verse 20, Psalms 37 verse 25, 23 verse 1 and Philippians Chapter 4 verse 19.

Live abundantly – live in abundance. Stop making do with what is available; what you can cope with or just make do with such as undersized shoes and clothes which you squeeze in or oversized shoes and clothes which you keep shaping up.

Ask God to Open Your Eyes

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Elisha, Gehazi and the Syrian army who besieged Elisha’s house to capture him is an interesting story of God’s protection over His own in the midst of insecurity and attacks by the enemy. Unknown to the Syrian army, God had His ready army awaiting the Syrian army to deal with them. The army of God was also there as a protective force for Elisha and Gehazi. Please read 2^nd Kings Chapter 6 verses 8 to 23.

Beloved, do not fear for God is always with you, a very present help in trouble. Please read Psalm 46.

You may not immediately see or perceive His help but if you hold on to Him, He will open your eyes of understanding to His good thoughts and plans for you in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

Hagar for instance thought that the end had come for her son after their water ran out; significantly so in a desert. She watched helplessly as her son came close to death on account of thirst. Hopeless, she walked some distance away from the child so that she would not see him die. She had given up hope completely – where would she find water in the desert? That was when God opened her eyes to see the well of water around her.

Do not Keep Your Life on Hold 6

 Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

The widow of the indebted prophet sought divine intervention to break the strangle hold of debt in their lives. She did not accept it as the norm that her two sons would go into debt servitude on account of her husband’s indebtedness to the impatient creditor. God intervened immediately and their family history of indebtedness changed to that of financial abundance as God speaking through the prophet Elisha instructed her and her sons on how to make money. So rather than beg and borrow; which was their earlier way of life; they learnt to generate and make money; paid off their debts and had plenty to live on simply because she refused to accept the negative circumstances of indebtedness and debt servitude as  a way of life.

Beloved, you can change a negative family history if you will simply ask God for divine intervention as Jabez and this great woman did. You can also be free of debilitating ailments if you would simply ask the Great Physician to intervene in your situation. There is no ailment that He cannot cure – His blood paid the full price for your healing and deliverance and by His stripes you are healed. Therefore, do not allow sickness and disease to keep your life on hold. The woman with the issue of blood had suffered untold pain, humiliation, shame as well as .loss of resources and livelihood for twelve years. Despite having spent her financial resources on medics without getting any respite; she did not give up. She did not allow the ailment to keep her life on hold. That explains why she took the bold step of faith to go see Jesus and touch the hem of his garment. As she did so, twelve years of pain, humiliation and unnecessary suffering disappeared. Any wonder she quickly owned up to publicly as the one who touched Jesus.

The Syro-Phoenician woman refused to allow sickness to keep the life of her daughter on hold and she pleaded with Jesus to show mercy despite the fact that her race was disqualified from receiving the blessings of Abraham at that point in time. Jesus honored her faith and her daughter was healed. 

Do not Keep Your Life on Hold 5

 Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Solutions

Refuse and reject complacency irrespective of the supposedly beautiful package it comes wrapped in. rather, keep moving forward, setting new goals, targets, raising the bars. Just like the Apostle Paul said, do not consider yourself to have attained.

Replace ignorance with knowledge, lack of understanding with understanding, foolishness with wisdom, impatience with patience. Be decisive – expand your knowledge base; access the required information you require to make the quality decisions which will move you beyond abundance to overflowing abundance. Seek the information from relevant sources which are current and timely. Do not work with outdated information which was relevant in the sixties, seventies or nineties but is no longer relevant now because it is outdated.

Embrace and deploy new technologies. They are not rocket science and they are not in the stratosphere. They are within easy reach on planet earth and in your local stores. Acquire one NOW. Also, be tech savvy. Get a smart phone and connect to people you need to connect with to do business, etc. do not be like the man at the pool who was still waiting for a benevolent someone to put him the pool at the stirring of the water. Unknown to him, Jesus had come and he could receive his healing and deliverance without necessarily being put in the pool of water. Jesus, the Creator and Owner of the pool Who hitherto sent and angel to stir the water was already with him and asking to help him. But because the lame man was still living in the past; he did not know Jesus and did not recognize him; he complained that he had no one when he had the Author and Finisher of our faith, the King of kings and Lord of lords, the Great and Strong Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Balm of Gilead; the beautiful and sweet Rose of Sharon, the Alpha and the Omega; the beautiful beginning and glorious end with him. What an irony. It took great and extravagant grace to save the lame man. So shall it be unto you in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

Do not Keep Your Life on Hold 4

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Indecisiveness – the inability to take decisions to act because you do not have sufficient information that will help you take informed decisions. Indecisiveness could also be as a result of fear – fear of failure, of the unknown, not meeting up to expectation, fear of existing competition. Whatever the fear is, deal with it.

Accepting negative circumstances as the norm for your life and refusing to do anything about the negative circumstances – for instance the man at the Beautiful Gate in the temple had accepted it as his fate to remain crippled; being carried daily to the temple to beg for daily sustenance as a way of life. That explains why he asked Peter and John for alms. Fortunately, Peter and John did not have nickels to give to him. They had what was greater than nickels to give to him; what would restore and transform his life from being a liability to his people; from being daily dependent on the generosity of other people to being an asset; to be independent financially as he would be physically strengthened to engage in economic activities which would generate income for him.

Peter prophesied divine healing into his life and the man who was lame from birth not only walked but leaped and danced. Peter by the Spirit of God broke through the limitations placed on the man to keep his life on hold as a cripple and a beggar. He could now walk on his own and no longer required the assistance of anyone to mobility to the temple gate to beg – what a great transformation. To God alone be all the glory.

The Gadarene demoniac had also accepted his self-destructive behavior as a way of life. But Jesus had pity on him and broke the chains of darkness which kept the young man’s life on hold as a self-destructive person inflicting pains on his body and soul. Please read Mark Chapter 5.

Taking on the cares of other people without giving a hoot to your survival. For instance, you choose to see other people through school without giving yourself any form of education or vocational training which will help you participate meaningfully in economic activities. You may end up becoming a liability to the same people and if they do not have the mind of Christ, they will resent supporting you. While it is good to help other people; always remember to empower yourself too.

Do not Keep Your Life on Hold 3

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Through carelessness and thoughtlessness and negligence; just like the ostrich which lays her on the bare ground and leaves them uncovered; without any protection. She does not give a hoot whether they get trampled upon or not. The same thing can happen to humans who neglect to activate and deploy the gifts of God in them. Their lives can be kept on hold for long. Please read Job Chapter 39 verses 13 to 18, 2^nd Timothy Chapter 1 verses 5 to 14, Luke Chapter 19 verses 11 to 27, 2^nd Kings Chapter 5 verses 19 to 27. Gehazi could have progressed to triple portion unction of Elijah’s unction transferred to Elisha as double portion unction yet Gehazi chose to keep his life on hold by running after gifts which his master Elisha had already rejected. Gehazi ended up with leprosy rather than triple fold unction.

Complacency can also make you keep your life on hold – the self-satisfaction that you have arrived at final destination coupled with the refusal to move forward or do anything to move beyond the point of self-satisfaction can keep you stuck in a place where you begin to stagnate to retrogression. Complacency is a terrible tool of the enemy to ensure you do not move into the fullness of God’s plans and purposes for your life.

Do not Keep Your Life on Hold 2

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

This brings to mind what I have observed over time. And I am sure you have also done same. It is that certain people in certain environments choose to stay stuck within the rot and limitations of the environment because nothing, no one challenges them to break free of the rot and limitations of the environment. About everyone in such environments are dirt poor; live off bins and the generosity of other people; drug use is rife and high; prostitution and teenage pregnancy is the order of the day; refusal to excel is an accepted norm and way of life and any attempt by anyone or group of persons to excel is always fiercely resisted because the environment and nurture has conditioned them to hate and reject excellence in any form. It usually takes only extravagant grace to bring such people out of such environments where the blame game is the order of the day. They blame about everything on the government, members of their families, Churches, neighbours and what have you when in reality they should be blaming themselves for their inability to take positive life transforming decisions and actions to move their lives forward.

The very lazy man who refused to work in Proverbs Chapter 22 verse 13 kept giving excuses that there were lions in the street. The question that begs to be answered is how come the so called lions prowling the streets did not eat up the other diligent people going about their daily tasks and who also walked on the streets where the lions prowled?

Beloved, do not wait for other people to do for you what you can do and should do for yourself. Do not live a life of making excuses or blaming people and circumstances for your failures and misfortunes.