Restpiration

The process of Growth

Growth is wonderful and, what’s more, inherent in nature. Everything that has breath experiences the joy of growth. That’s right! Growth is such a joy to behold because it brings into full sight beauty and glory.

Nonetheless, growth for some might be daunting, energy draining and ultimately excruciatingly painful. But why is that?

When was the last time we saw a caterpillar whining in much anguish and discomfort to transform itself into a fully fledged butterfly?

How about the trees around us…ever heard their moans from all their growth pains?

Nature really gives us a different perspective on the process of growth- one which is not so familiar to the average man.

I’m not attempting to explain the scientific phenomenon of growth or anything of that sort. For once, let science take care of itself. Instead, I want to suggest some impulses that I think bring about many of the unpleasant experiences associated with growth in today’s world.

We all have dreams, ambitions and visions. No matter how soiled and wrapped up they are in the mud of disappointment, despair and frustration, they are still safely locked somewhere in our hearts.

All these (dreams, ambitions and visions) in one way or the other create an eagerness within us. This eagerness is a positive energy as long as we know what to do with it. Mention must be made of the fact that the intensity of this eagerness varies from one person to another.

The painful experience of growth is unfortunately, the inability to channel the eagerness within in the right direction especially when we realize the glory, fulfilment and satisfaction that come with accomplishing our dreams.

But can I tell you something? There’s a stark difference between frustrating and challenging. I’ve seen many motivational speakers and marketers capitalizing on the misunderstanding of these two very different words to achieve their parochial objective of productivity.

The classical marketer when given the platform will try as much as possible to make the audience feel bad about themselves for not patronizing his products and again, makes them believe that they’re better off if they get maybe a dozen of his products immediately. Are they right or wrong in doing that? Well, I’m not quite sure. Anyways, this article isn’t about judgement, it’s more about discernment.

What frustrates you causes you to be irritable and to react usually without any logical basis. The only reason we have to show for our actions will be the promised bliss on the other side. When all your dream ever does is to frustrate you, then it needs some evaluation.

A challenge on the other hand brings the best out of you; where you’re able to respond with much consciousness and awareness of exactly what you are doing.

The litmus test for me has always been: Is this dream producing in me an eagerness to have things before the right attitude or vice versa?

The desire to have things before the right attitude is what makes growth painful and harsh on our souls.

Like it or not, between your present and the future you envision is the process of growth and the only way you will make it through is by having the right attitude.

To overcome the pain of growth, concentrate on what the achievement of your dreams will make out of you. Immediately you get this, it will be a 180˚ spin in your life.

You’ll love to dream and envision new heights because at each turn you will realize something unique about yourself. Then you can gladly say, I like who I’m becoming.

The Disengagement principle

There is an amazing phenomenon of the human body where the body’s defence mechanism, the immune system mistakenly fights against healthy body tissues. In the world of Medicine, this gives us what we call autoimmune diseases. Although much study is being conducted to ascertain the cause of this physiological miscalculation, there is wealth of evidence that shows that these diseases are common in our world today. You may have heard of lupus or multiple sclerosis (MS), all these are examples of autoimmune diseases. Needless to say, this article isn’t about physiology nor the human body, we are just gleaning some jewels of information to help understand the ideas presented in today’s article.

Identity is arguably the most important aspect of life. Who you are determines everything. There may be certain things that others are constantly tensed about that just wouldn’t get to you because of who you are. The more established you are in your identity, the better you’ll be able to reap the full benefits that comes with it. One of the things that try to steer us away from our identity is what I call stray thoughts.

Thoughts are like the many dresses you see anytime you walk into the boutique. They are of different shapes, sizes, colours and textures. To the best of their ability, the salespeople always ensure that these clothes are in good shape and rightly positioned to catch your attention. But the onus is on you, the customer, to know exactly what you want. If you’re a size 5, then you know that a size 25 dress isn’t an option. You make your choice according to your knowledge of self and preference.

Thoughts are ideas that jump at us from time to time but we can always choose those that we will dwell on. Don’t dwell on stray thoughts anymore than you would buy a size 25 dress if you were a size 5. The enemy of our souls always wants our minds to be cluttered and disturbed. He has a clear strategy: if I can’t beat them then I’ll get them to beat themselves. With stray thoughts, the enemy tries to instigate you against yourself so that you come to a place where you hate yourself, you don’t value yourself as you ought to or even you are disgusted about yourself; which is a clear instance of an autoimmune disease of the soul.

Examine your thoughts today; what image do they present to you? And how does this affect the way you see yourself? As smart as we are, let’s draw the line in the sand and refuse to allow the enemy use us against ourselves.

Beyond the ark (Part 2). ~ The Cruise

The epic fantasy disaster comedy film, Evan Almighty which was directed by Tom Shadyac sought to retell the story of Noah in our modern day language. Although not to be confused as a vivid rendering of the life of Noah, the film bears some lessons especially for Bible story enthusiasts and beginners.

In the film, while the flood increased on the earth, Evan and all those that were with him in the ark could literally feel the impact of the flood. From time to time, the ark made some sharp curves which usually threw all the occupants off balance. They had to hang on to objects in the ark for dear life.

And the waters became mighty and increased greatly upon the land, and the ark went [gently floating] upon the surface of the waters.
Genesis 7: 18 AMP

I feel the Lord wants us to behold this epic event in a different light. Although the rain poured heavily upon the earth and the waters covered even the highest hills there were, the Bible tells us that the ark floated gently above the flood.

As I thought about this, I realized that submerged in the flood were hills, people, animals, buildings and so on. If Noah’s ark were designed by God to be somewhat a submarine, then there would have been a lot of bumps in its path which will require God to steer the ark so it doesn’t collide into any of the submerged people and objects.

However, the ark was the only thing in the entire earth that floated above the flood. As the flood rose higher, it only bore the ark up. So there were no objects at that height for the ark to collide with. It floated gently above the flood so much that the people who were in it were totally oblivious of the destructive nature of the flood.

That is how the Lord wants us to be in Christ Jesus. Today, Christ is our ark. Although God swore to never again destroy the earth with water, the earth is doing pretty much of a good job to create its own destructive flood.

We can talk of floods of depression, anxiety, hopelessness, weariness, and the likes. Many have been completely submerged by these floods and have lost their sense of excitement and pleasure in living. Thanks be to God that we have a dependable ark in Christ Jesus!

When we are in the ark, we need not worry about the bad news surrounding us because we are safe and secure. When it’s all said and done, the Lord Himself brings us to rest on the hills of blessings.

It is interesting to note that Noah’s ark after the flood came to rest on Mount Ararat. From the Hebrew Lexicon, Ararat means “the curse reversed: precipitation of curse”. That’s right! You can believe God for His blessings after the flood.

Beyond the ark

The ark of Noah remains one of the greatest wonders in the world. Unlike the Lincoln Navigators and Airbus products, the ark wasn’t one of the most stylish inventions you’ll find. Perhaps reflective of how simple yet excellent its grand architect, God Almighty is.

The plan and design of the ark made it comfortable in spite of the raging flood; well-ventilated and water tight. Pretty good for an ark made of cypress wood. No wonder this has been a great source of learning for scientists especially in the area of ship building.

As verified by the Lloyd’s Register of Shipping, every large vessel on the high seas by 1900 was definitely inclined towards the proportions of Noah’s ark. What an amazing testament to the omniscience of God Almighty.

But as it remains, the ark is not God’s greatest invention, we are. The complexity of the human system is still a mystery the world of science hopes to fully unravel. And to think of the fact that God formed man out of simple dust is simply mind blowing.

Just like the days of Noah, God has never used things we consider “out-of-this-world” for His extraordinary inventions. He uses the everyday common things to prove just how good He is at what He does. Though our witty engineers give their best attempts to imitate God, even the best robots woefully fall short of God’s masterpiece, humans.

It has been confirmed by ship makers that modern ships have been built slightly longer than the dimensions of Noah’s ark to give them some speed and added stability. But Noah’s ark didn’t require any of that speed and added stability. Speed was superfluous because Noah and those with him in the ark were in no hurry. Besides, where could they be hurrying to? The whole land was covered with water. God always builds to suit a particular purpose, His ultimate purpose.

You may wonder why you’re only 5 ft tall instead of the 7 ft you’ve always admired. Easy…it’s because 7 ft is superfluous to God’s plan for your life. If you happen to attain your dream height one of these days then that’s fine but if you don’t, dear friend, don’t sweat it. Trust in the omniscience of your Creator who fashioned you according to His purpose.

Just like King David, you can declare that you are wonderfully and fearfully made.

Breaking bad habits with God’s help

There are many today around the world who struggle bad habits. Habits are our default settings. They are things that we are programmed to do under certain circumstances. In fact, those circumstances serve as triggers for us to act out our habits. As we all know, there are good and bad habits. In order to save words; let’s say a good habit is one that promotes your general wellbeing while a bad habit does the exact opposite. Because we have a Heavenly Father who loves us dearly and always wants us to be in health and prosperity, we are encouraged in His Word to avoid such bad habits. Instead of being filled with guilt, condemnation and shame, He wants us to experience His righteousness, peace and joy. But what if like the masses, you’re having a hard time breaking a bad habit?

Thank God, there’s a way out. These are not necessarily “things to do to break this or that habit“. They are truths that you can know and believe that will reprogramme your mind to live your best life. God wants you to live the abundant life full of faith, hope and love. I’ve summarized these truths into 5 easy points. Let’s start…

1. Know that God is on your side.
Ofttimes when we struggle with certain bad habits and even addictions, we have this picture in our minds of how God is throwing His hands in despair at our every failing. We picture a God who is demanding, intimidating and harsh. However this doesn’t help anyone. You need to know that God isn’t the one against you. It is the bad habit that has become the enemy’s tool to steal that abundant life that God desires for you. As a good Father, He isn’t siding with your accusers to condemn you. Rather He’s made all His resources of strength, unconditional love, grace, righteousness and surpassing peace available to you. Instead of shying away from Him, lean on Him to break every bad habit in your life.

2. Know that the greater one lives in you.
In every battle, it is always encouraging to know that your army is stronger and more powerful than your opponents. You need to know that the same powerful God who created the heavens and the earth and put the stars in place dwells in you by virtue of the Holy Spirit in you. The power of conquest doesn’t lie with your adversary, it is with you. Have that confidence always that the power, glory and victory belongs to your camp. You’ve been set up for victory all the days of your life. Even now, celebrate your victory in Christ Jesus.

3. Know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
I used to think that God only cared about our spiritual needs, since He is the Father of spirits (Hebrews 12:9). Little did I know that this God tasted humanity when Jesus walked the face of this earth as God in flesh. As God in flesh, Jesus not only preached to people, he also healed their sick bodies and fed the multitude with bread and fish. God has gone as far as numbering the very hair on your head. It’s that amazing? At the height of it all is the fact that He chose to make your body His temple. That’s the value He places on your body. Be rest assured that any bad habit that threatens to ruin His precious temple will receive His kingly roar. He prizes you above all else.

4. Know that His strength is made perfect in your weakness.
With Jesus your weakness isn’t what disqualifies you. It is actually what qualifies you. Jesus said to the weary and disheartened Israelites during His day, “If you are tired and worn out of religion, come to me and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28, paraphrased). He mended broken hearts and healed the sick. What qualified the weary for the rest that Jesus provided? It was their weariness. Similarly, their sickness qualified them for healing. Today, believe that you are qualified to receive God’s provision to override your every weakness.

5. Know His unrelenting love for you
God’s love is the greatest love of all. It’s so genuine and boundless. Love isn’t just God’s covering. It is who He is and what He does. He loves you personally and consistently. His love for you hasn’t changed and it will never change. Regardless of what happens, there’s one thing that remains- His love for you. It may be difficult for us to grasp the entirety of His love because most of us haven’t received a blueprint of this love from others. We have people who fall in and out of love with us but when God loves you, my friend, you’re stuck in His love. It’s everlasting. Draw from His unconditional love for you.

I am confident that as you dwell on these truths any bad habit in your life will wane in the light of His glory and grace. I’m a testimony and several others are also beneficiaries of these everlasting truths. Let’s share this hope with others who may be experiencing struggles with certain bad habits. There is hope in Christ.