My Ynaija Post: New Beginnings; Starting ALL over with FAITH

In the aftermath of the Japan earthquake and Tsunami, news reports say that the nation is concentrating on rebuilding and repairing the devastated areas. The nuclear reactors are cooled, radiation has been stopped and relief materials are being sent out. The international community has commended the apparent strength and sense of orderliness of the Japanese. The question plaguing their minds is the role extensive nuclear power generation has played in the large scale damage done to their country and its citizens.

In other words, they are asking themselves questions and finding out where they went wrong.

Albert Einstein once said that you cannot have the same mindset you had when solving a problem that you had when creating it.

With walking with God, there is a place you get to that requires you to sit back and take stock of where exactly you missed it. We have all heard it; that particularly reassuring phrase we quote when we have failed (though it’s not in the Bible, the idea is pretty clear from Scripture) – “God is a God of second chances”. This means He is ever ready to give His children the opportunity to make amends and to forge a new path for themselves.

Where have you missed in your life? It could be an early relationship disaster or a failed career or job move, or even a personal weakness that gave rise to a seeming fatal outcome.

The truth is that more often than not, in creating the problem, we inadvertently walked outside of God’s will, trusting in our own strength and purposes. God says that those who trust in the arm of flesh are accursed; you may very well have trusted in your own ‘arm’ and subsequently created a problem.

A few steps that have helped me in working out situations where I have stepped out of God’s will are to;

Go back to the place of consecration: This simply means setting yourself apart again to walk in his will. You tell God, “I’m sorry Lord, I’m ready again”.

Search His word for the right way to go about the issue:

The Bible is full of examples from which we can draw instruction. For the godly way to go through adversity, you may need to look at the life of Joseph. For the graceful way to cooperate with an unexpected thrust of divine responsibility you need to look at the life of Mary, the mother of Jesus.

Get insight from people who have gone through a similar situation: In the book of Hebrews; Chapter 13, Scripture says, “Follow them who through faith and patience obtained the promise”. One of the fastest ways to cut short a period of adversity is to carefully consider how people who have gone through similar situations have come out of it in a godly way. I recently sat listening to a very wise woman who told me her life story. This woman has been walking with the Lord for a long time, and from her I received direction that I looked for and couldn’t find in other places.

Be joyful and thankful: This is because you know that God loves you and wants the best for you. He is not a sadistic God who wants to punish you and see you suffer, but he wants you to come up higher from where you are and take your rightful place in his will.

Look forward to the future with faith: Know that trials will come to pass. Understand that God has never failed before and will not start with you. Faith is, after all, the substance of things hoped for. Is your outlook substantial?

As you go forth in this might; determining to see that God’s best comes to you, may you hear that voice that says, “This is the way; walk therein!”

P.s I feel I owe it to you guys to apologize for my long blog hiatus( exactly a month). I thought of you guys everyday but was hardpressed in many ways. Love always.