Do Not Fear

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Fear incapacitates, immobilizes, stagnates and brings about loss of vision and direction. Fear is a tool that the enemy enjoys using against believers to truncate the plans and purposes of God in their lives. A number of Biblical examples include:

The use of fear against the army of Israel by Goliath is an interesting case study. Through Goliath’s intimidating stature and boastful words, the devil succeeded in instilling fear in the hearts of the soldiers of Israel. A well equipped and well prepared army of hundreds of thousands able men who left their homes to fight the Philistine army cowered in fright because Goliath, a giant boasted of his might. What a shame especially when a mere youth who had never served in the army brought Goliath down. So it was not necessarily Goliath’s stature that incapacitated and immobilized the army of Israel. It was the fear he spewed out through his intimidating words. Please see 1^st Samuel Chapter 17.

Fear was also the reason Lot took a decision to go live in a cave in the mountains instead of Zoar where he escaped to safety from Sodom and Gomorrah. Living in a cave alone with two grown up daughters led to the incestuous union that produced Moab and Ammon. Fear births wrong decisions.

The Israelites at a time in their history threshed wheat in winepresses because they were afraid of the Midianites whose pastime was to destroy the livelihoods of the Israelites in order to impoverish them. God empowered Gideon with great faith to overcome fear and destroy the Midianites. Please see Judges Chapter 6.

Why Dare to Succeed

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Dare to Succeed is specifically designed to teach, inspire and boost your confidence levels to look the challenges that assail you eyeball to eyeball, analyses and dissect them to see the hidden opportunities, albeit the stepping stones embedded in the challenges.

Indeed, the journey of life is not a bed of roses. However, the apparent bed of thorns that strew the pathways of success can become beds of roses which propel you to success and wealth if you know what to do; which is the crux of the matter – knowing what to do, to dare to succeed against all odds.

This implies that knowledge, not just any kind of knowledge but knowledge that is specific to dealing with the challenge/s is strategic to making the challenges stepping stone. Please permit me to quote Proverbs Chapter 24 verses 3 to 4 (NLT) verbatim. ‘any enterprise is built by wise planning, becomes strong through common sense; and profits wonderfully by keeping abreast of the facts. To keep abreast of the facts is to be steps ahead of the relevant information required to pierce the darkness obliterating the light that will make you see the challenges as stepping stones.

Discard Limiting Mindsets

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

The choices people make on a daily basis are major determinants of success or failure depending on the mindsets they are operating from. Mindsets vary and differ however, there are two basic mindsets that veer off into several branches – limiting and non limiting mindsets.

Limiting mindsets limit people by erecting mental barricades to progress. Non limiting mindsets propel people to heights they least expect as they act like eagle’s wings to help a person soar above what may appear as challenges but which are actually stepping stones. Some limiting mindsets are actually self imposed limitations because a person can never rise above his or her perception, a function of a person’s mental processes. Take for example the case of the ten spies who perceived themselves as grasshopper before the inhabitants of Canaan. That singular perception informed their decision not to attempt any further progress to the Promised

Land as they had concluded that the supposedly bigger and stronger inhabitants of Canaan would step on them (do not forget they had labeled themselves grasshoppers) and crush them. What a perception, probably an evil suggestion from the pit of hell that they refused to trash immediately it hit their mental processes.

Sadly and quite significant as well as very instructive is that the perception of themselves as grasshoppers against giants – an impossible match emanated from them and was their opinion of themselves. They were the ones who devalued themselves.

Some examples of limiting mindsets include:

Unbelief and doubt, extremely filthy garments that make people avoid you and refuse to do anything with you because they do not want your doubts and unbelief to rub off on their positivism. Discard this mindset and choose to believe God and His word so that the word of God can work for you – Luke Chapter 1 verse 45.

How God Makes Roads in the Wilderness

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

God raised Cyrus and stirred up his spirit to rebuild Jerusalem, especially the rebuilding of the temple. Cyrus declared that God commanded him to build Him a house at Jerusalem. Please see 2^nd Chronicles Chapter 36 verses 22 to 23, Ezra Chapter 1 verses 1 to 2, and Isaiah Chapter 45 verses 1 to 13. God also raised Cyrus up in righteousness and directed all his ways.

Beloved, the Israelites had been in exile for about seventy years and the land was desolate. Besides, the city of Jerusalem including all the significant structures had been razed down after the items of value were carted away to Babylon. The returnee exiles did not own the kind of resources required to rebuild the city and the temple. Additionally, they did not have the authority to even return to Jerusalem, not to talk of rebuilding eh city and the temple. But because the Word of God does not return  to Him void and it was time for the Word to be fulfilled (Isaiah Chapter 55 verses 8 to 13, Psalm 138 verse 2, 2^nd Chronicles Chapter 36 verses 22 to 23, Ezra Chapter 1 verses 1 to 2, Isaiah Chapter 45 verses 1 to 13), God raised Cyrus and commanded Cyrus to build Him a house and because Cyrus as king would not be physically involved in the process, he called for Israelite exiles who were willing to return to Jerusalem. He then delegated the rebuilding of the temple and city to them. He also provided the required resources alongside relevant authorization. Moreover, he returned everything of value that was taken from the temple. Thus commenced the rebuilding of the temple!