Biologically, I’m not a mom, but I a mom to my nephew and nieces, especially my five-year old niece. Anyone that really knows the story of me and my five-year old niece wouldn’t deny me that title…well, so I want to believe. This niece loves the outdoor and the many activities that come with it. Sometimes she looks at me and just suggest we take a stroll, and I’ll be so confused like, “Stroll to where?” because I really love the indoors. So, it is only normal for me to get really concern about her now we are made to “stay at home.”
I’m not just concern about her alone; I’m also concern about my other niece and nephew and about other children. Don’t blame me, I work with children and I know how lively they can be and how easily bored they can get when a particular routine seem to repeat itself over and over again. I wish there’s an idea I can come up with to make their “stay at home” more lively and active. I can’t seem to have ideas yet…or maybe I have just a few that I’m not really sure of.
I worry about the adults around me too, because it’s not easy for adults too. Like I already mentioned, I’m an indoor person and I can get myself all preoccupied with so many activities…all by myself. But here’s a truth: even with my love for indoors, even with the activities I already have planned out, I woke up on my 6th or 7th day of my “staying at home”, and I felt really bored, so much so, I voiced it out to God. And like the awesome Father He is, He had something to say. I heard the Holy Spirit say to my spirit, “Pray to walk in the purpose of this season. You have Me; you don’t have to be bored.” From there the Holy Spirit redirected my thoughts.
I began to think…well, we didn’t see this pandemic virus coming, but God did. This didn’t catch God by surprise, at all. He knew the “what” and “how” of everything before we came into the experience. I can think about the children and how I can make things better for them…how much more God? We are all concern about people that are dying, those without food, and the heroes working tirelessly to contain and defeat this pandemic virus…how much more God? Who says God just wants us to bore ourselves away? Who says all we need do is just manage our boredom, until we come out on the other side? Who says God doesn’t have plans for everything? Isn’t it the exact thing Jesus said Matthew 7:11?
“If you then evil as you are, know how to give 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 on asking Him.” (AMPC)
God has a plan and you, child of God, need to understand that. If all this period has to offer is boredom, anger, fear, and sadness, then God wouldn’t bring it our way.
Make no mistake; I’m not saying we wouldn’t feel the boredom, anger, fear and sadness. I’m not saying we wouldn’t feel the “nothingness” of repeating a routine over and over again. I’m, however, saying we can make this period count, because we have what it takes to fight any negative feeling that comes with this period. I’m saying we can engage with the Holy Spirit and be and do all God wants us to be and do this period. I’m saying we don’t have to guess our way through this period, or just try different options to see what works best. We can get the right thing or things that should preoccupy us during this period, so when we come out on the other side we’ll have ALL we are supposed to obtain from this experience…and the plan of God will be fulfilled in our lives. We need to really maximize the presence of God in our lives.
More than ever, we need to not just rush through Jeremiah 29:11. We need to read and meditate on it. We need to fix our names in it as we read and meditate…and let the Holy Spirit use it as a channel that will flood our lives with God’s peace. I like the way the Amplified version puts it:
“For I know the thought and plans I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace, and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.”
God’s Presence is a Gift
Before Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross no one except the high priest was permitted to go into the Holy of Holies. Now, we have that privilege of getting to God, whenever…wherever. We can take anything to God in prayers. We can hear directly from God. God can tell us His will, if we so desire. We can get His perspective, daily.
If you’ve never appreciated the gift of God’s presence, this is the right time to start appreciating it, and how do you do that? By making use of it. It will make no sense to the producers of the iPhone if nobody can use it, because we only enjoy the benefits of an iPhone when we use it and see the amazing things it can do. As Christians, we’re already before God, weather we realize it or not. Just being in Christ has already given us a jointed sitting with Jesus, at the right hand of God, in the Spirit realm. Nonetheless, we can be there and still not take advantage of that privilege. We can be there and complain like the rest of the world. We can be there and still try to guess our way through this period…and that’s just funny. It’s funny because we have free access to the One Who knows all things, and is willing to give us the information we need for the now (because He’s not going to give us everything at once).
The Bible says, “You will show me the path of life; In Your presence there’s fullness of Joy; At your right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” Psalms 16: 11 (NKJV).
We’re in God’s presence, and we are seated with Jesus at His right hand. We might not feel like this scripture, but that’s our portion…so go on and claim it. Allow the Holy Spirit usher you into the Joy and Pleasures that are available for you, even in times like this.
Dear Saint, this period should find you appreciating, using, and maximizing the gift of God’s presence.
In God’s Presence, anything that’s not of Him melts away
Let’s try creating a list: fear, uncertainty, pain, depression, anger, lack, confusion, boredom etc. Everything that’s not of God melts away before Him. They can’t stand His presence. So, what’s your own struggle right now? Take it to the Lord in prayers. Praise God over them. Lift Jesus above them. Build your spirit by praying in other tongues, and you’ll watch them melt away.
The Bible in Psalms 114:2-4 says “The land of Judah became God’s sanctuary, and Israel became His kingdom. The sea saw them coming and hurried out of their way! The Jordan River turned away. The mountains skipped like rams and hills like lambs” (NLT)
It is safe to say anything that is affecting us negatively can be seen as a sea or mountain. Bring it to God and watch it flee before you. You are God’s sanctuary. God lives in you! God never wants us to be suppressed by negative situations. O yes, the negative situations will definitely come. They aren’t from God but they’ll come our way. And God wants us to face them head-on and still maintain our victory in Christ. If we can’t handle anything, God won’t let it come to us. That’s His promise in 1 Corinthians 10:13.
Dear Saint, anything negative, in and around you, can’t stand God’s presence. It doesn’t matter how long it might last, you have what it takes to go through it and come out stronger. Just take it to God in prayers.
Let me remind you of a popular hymn that has been blessing me, like never before, for weeks now. It says:
What a Friend we have in Jesus
All our sins and grief to bear
What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer
O what peace we often forfeit
O what needless pain we bear
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer
Dear Saint, God has our back, our sides and our front…more than we can ever think or imagine. Get in His Presence, for real, already…and experience what He’s set to do in and through you this season.
My prayer for You and Me:
I pray we appreciate God’s presence like never before. I pray we hear Him like never before, and may our faith be great to reach out to all He’ll be showing and telling us. When all of this is over, we’ll come out of this experience better, wiser, and stronger…in Jesus’ name.
Amen.
Get in the Gym, and do
Stay Spiritually Fit.
