Lenten reflections: Rocks as pillows

When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep.....When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, "Surely the Lord is in this place and I was not aware of it."

Genesis 28:10, 16

There is a joke in my house that when I sleep deeply, I will sleep through the bed being stolen from under me...lol! However, I'm sure even I couldn't sleep with a rock for a pillow. Picture a weary Jacob, running from his brother's vengeance. He has done wrong, but so has Esau because he had given up his birthright! He is running from the familiar to the unfamiliar. From the comfort of his father's house to the hope of acceptance in his uncle's. Midway, he is tired, so tired that he can use a rock for a pillow and fall asleep.

Life can be hard. Disappointments abound. Rejection common. We run towards what we think is a solution and discover the cruel joke of a mirage. We use rocks for our pillows. As we take time to experience more of God during Lent, I want to encourage you as I am encouraging myself. That even when life is hard, God has not forgotten about us. With rocks as pillows, we can still dream dreams and see visions. We may be going to Laban's house with nothing and yet return back home with great wealth. Our present struggle isn't the end of our story. In the words of Chimamanda Adichie 'the danger of a single story isn't that it isn't true but that it is incomplete.' The Author and Finisher knows our stories. He is where we are, whether we are aware of it or not. Seasons do change and I trust and believe that a good change is around the corner for us.

I am learning to trust that just like Jacob, even though I am not in a place where I want to be at this present time, God will bring me back to Bethel with a testimony. 

Even though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil.

ZoeB

'Come, let us rebuild' Nehemiah's voice

"....The wall of Jerusalem is broken down and it gates have burned with fire" When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days, I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. 

Then I said to them, "You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace."

Selected verses from Nehemiah 1 and 2

Beautiful Jerusalem, capital city of the Kingdom of Israel. At its highest point in Solomon's time it housed both the temple and the palace. Even the queen of Sheba was amazed when she saw the magnificence that was Jerusalem. But Jerusalem was eventually conquered, her sons and daughters taken into exile. Now, the people are 'free' but what they saw when they returned home made them weep.

It is one thing never to have experienced good times, one can adapt. The one who was born blind does not see black or darkness, he sees nothing. The one who was not born blind curses the blackness, the nothing. He remembers the brilliance of the rainbow, blue clouds, green grass,  the redness of the earth. So it was with Nehemiah when he heard news from Jerusalem. From magnificence and opulence to broken walls and burnt gates.

Some of us can relate to this situation. There was a time that just the mention of his name brought a smile to your face but now something has broken. The business you've worked so hard to build seems to be in ruins. Broken relationships, broken dreams, ashes of what once was. We sit and weep for we remember how things once were. The past is not always painful, sometimes its beauty makes the present struggles that much hard to endure.  Jerusalem was once a beautiful place to live, work and play. Nigeria too (hmm).  

There is nothing wrong with crying but our response must never end there. Nehemiah mourned, fasted and prayed before the God of heaven and then he took action. Nehemiah is a 'type' for a godly leader. Not someone who professes to be a good leader, for a good leader does not need to say he is one. His works and posterity judge him for good or evil. Nehemiah's 'voice' was to rebuild the wall of Jeremiah. Walls are very important, even more so in Bible times. Walls speak of security and protection. To keep out what needs to stay out. 

It takes courage to rebuild anything. Sometimes its just easier to start from scratch.  But sometimes we don't have that option. To re-build means doing something again, there was a building, there was a business, there was a career, there was a marriage, there are children, but we need to re-build again. Go with God, find your voice. We will rebuild our lives, we will rebuild our nation. The walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt in record time because the people came together. Read the story a bit further, there was opposition at every turn (Sanballat and Tobiah) so there will be obstacles but we must develop a tenacity to rebuild our lives, against all odds.

Finding my voice, using it.

ZoeB

iPray Fridays: SIMplicity

And when you come before God, don't turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat? "Here's what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won't be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace. "The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They're full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don't fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply.

Matthew 6: 5-13 (The Message)

"Its not how long u pray, its how strong you pray! You can pray for 5 hours but if there's no faith behind your prayer, there's no power."

@GuvnaB from Twitter

I really miss blogging, both reading and writing. I used to take the fact that I could blog for granted. Now its one of the things I'm grateful about. Lord, thank you that Zoe can blog...lol! I'm in a season where I have a lot of questions, maybe its the scientist in me or just a phase. There is a way in which one is raised not to ask questions, just to accept what one is given as the status quo. That's fine but for those who have questions, I am learning that who you ask is just as important as what you ask!

Reading my Bible this morning and this passage just jumped up at me. Sometimes when people ask me why I love to pray, I respond with 'I'm not so sure I love to pray, I'm learning'. I will be honest and confess that I have periods of time where I feel so distant from God. I don't read or study my Bible and I don't 'pray'. Yes 'pray' because I lay on my bed one morning and I heard a familiar voice whisper 'so if it isn't formal, does it mean it isn't conversation' those were not the exact words but something to that effect. 'Each time you want to speak to your dad or friends, do you wear something special or put some makeup on. In an emergency, do you consider your looks or the fact that you may not have been getting along or do you just reach out to the one who can help you sort your situation out! Do you only speak to them in public when others are around and ignore them in private?'

What is prayer? We say it is communication with God. Communication involves at least 2 parties and consists of speaking, listening and understanding. It is a 2 way thing. We speak to God and He speaks to us too. So many times I get caught up in a legalistic and religious view of things. When I pray sometimes people laugh and I do admit my prayers may be a bit funny but that's because I am funny and I believe God loves me like that. I need to search the Scriptures but I believe that most of the prayers Jesus made were in private and his public prayers were short and direct. Hmm, I believe a big barrier to effective prayer is this notion that it's like a recipe where you need to mix this and that, keep at this temperature for this long before you can get the right result. I want to challenge that and say we should come to God on the basis of relationship. Sometimes I talk for hours to a friend, sometimes a few minutes. I do not love them more when I speak longer or less when I speak shorter. The most important thing is that I communicate with them, pass the message across, honestly and openly. Also come believing that He hears and He has the power to change situations.

Its funny that I try to hide things from God, the One who sees all and knows all. Anyway today's iPray is about simplicity..not length, just honesty and openness between you and your daddy. If Jesus was sitting right next to you on a bench in a park and you had your head on his shoulder what would you tell him....even if you had to whisper it? Say it today. If you want to share it here, feel free to leave it as a comment.

Let's pray together.

The power of choice

Thanks for all your comments and prayers. She and the family are strong, I know the Lord is in control. I've just been reflecting on the power of choice. Like today, I woke up with the choice to be sad and depressed over some issues in my life or to be happy and thankful for the faithfulness of God in challenging times!

Truth be told, I chose the former for the first few hours of the day but after much thought, meditation and listening to Kirk Franklin's "Keep your head" a zillion times I've decided to choose to be happy! Not just happy but rejoicing, rejoicing not in circumstances but rejoicing in the Lord!

I am still here, a year older today (as well as Nyemoni, Andrea Bocelli, W.B, N.A, 30+'s brother!!)hopefully wiser and stronger. I'm an aunt to the most adorable boy in the world (Bobo, na u biko...), I have food to eat, somewhere to lay my head, people that love me and have been there for me but have been taken for granted as I pursued...In life, if we look closely, the things that are actually working for us are more than the things that aren't but because we choose to focus on the issues they become more magnified.

I think I should be more a doer of what I write than a writer! Just to encourage someone that to walk with Christ is never easy, sometimes I feel like in this walk with Jesus, He always takes me on a long path but I am encouraged that it is the right path for me, I just don't know it because I'm looking at it through my eyes.

No matter what you are going through, God sees you, He knows you and He loves you. You need to believe that He loves you. He loves you a lot, He loves you even more than a mother can and you don't mess with a mother's love. So be still and know that He is God. I never tell people not to cry when they are hurt but as the tears fall from your eyes, know that it's never over until God says it's over, it's never OVER until you WIN. And win, we will because we are overcomers.

@ayo, it is well!

Today I choose to MAGNIFY the Lord. O lord, you are very great, forgive me for looking down instead of looking up. There is no one like you, there is no one who can take your place. Almighty God, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, I worship you. Ancient of Days, all-seeing and all-knowing one, I praise you. The wonders you have done, the works of your hands are marvellous in my sight today and forever more.
Sorry for being an ungrateful servant, thank you for being ever faithful. Thank you for strength and thank you because I know that I am a winner you. Amen and amen.

Remain blessed and highly favoured. 2008 continues (whether ekwensu likes it or not!) to be our year of UNCOMMON TESTIMONIES because we have been EMPOWERED to PROSPER!