After a long break, your boy (Sage) is back. It's been a long long time. Longer than I myself even planned. To be honest, I didn't 'hespperit' to last this long but as our Nollywood movies say at the end: to God be the glory. I'd honestly not planned to take longer than a few weeks. Next thing I know, it's been months. So what happened that made me go on a sabbatical?
Many things to be honest which I'll summarise thus: the feeling of emptiness and uncleanness. I had made a few terrible choices and the lifestyle it had led me into made me feel unworthy of been an instrument in the hands of God. Now that I'm writing this, I realise that I allowed the devil to convince me to hide my light under a bucket (God forgive me) but we are meant to be a city on a hill, a light of the world and as such the yearning to fulfil this kept tugging at my heart but I always had a ready-made excuse like our man Moses. Despite the miracle he was witnessing, Oga was still giving excuses. SMH for Moses and I.
I thank God, the time for excuses has ended and just as the prophet Isaiah wrote in Is. 6:1, I saw the Lord. Not literally oh! You get what I mean sha.
When I got the leading to write on this topic, I kept asking myself the angle I would approach it from. The angle of complaints (because it has been rough these last few months) or the angle of hope and faith. Suffice it to say that knowing God, the angle of hope and faith is the best option. Plus I love the idea of faith so much as a result of the Vacation Bible School I attended somewhere in Ikoyi when I was 12 or so.
Many things to be honest which I'll summarise thus: the feeling of emptiness and uncleanness. I had made a few terrible choices and the lifestyle it had led me into made me feel unworthy of been an instrument in the hands of God. Now that I'm writing this, I realise that I allowed the devil to convince me to hide my light under a bucket (God forgive me) but we are meant to be a city on a hill, a light of the world and as such the yearning to fulfil this kept tugging at my heart but I always had a ready-made excuse like our man Moses. Despite the miracle he was witnessing, Oga was still giving excuses. SMH for Moses and I.
I thank God, the time for excuses has ended and just as the prophet Isaiah wrote in Is. 6:1, I saw the Lord. Not literally oh! You get what I mean sha.
When I got the leading to write on this topic, I kept asking myself the angle I would approach it from. The angle of complaints (because it has been rough these last few months) or the angle of hope and faith. Suffice it to say that knowing God, the angle of hope and faith is the best option. Plus I love the idea of faith so much as a result of the Vacation Bible School I attended somewhere in Ikoyi when I was 12 or so.
David Jones Locker: The Desert
At some point in time, we (myself inclusive) all experience the Desert in different areas of our lives. Even the greatest man to never walk this Earth, Jack Sparrow. Sorry, Captain Jack Sparrow. His desert was called David Jones locker. When they showed Jack in the locker, he was a hopeless man with nothing but sand stretched out all around him and a curious white crab. That is what a desert represents in our lives (not sure about the crab though). Hopelessness and emptiness. Know who else wandered in the desert? The children of Israel (Numbers. 32:13). When we are in the wilderness, it is a point in life when nothing is bearing fruit. Let's see examples of deserts that we face:
There are so many other example of deserts in our lives. You can add yours to the list. Once you do that, ask yourself, do I want to remain in the wilderness? I know I don't. Even Jack Sparrow kept strategising how to get out of the locker. He wanted it so bad, he attempted to pull the ship to the ocean by himself. What a man!
- Relationships that you've nurtured and invested in collapse without bearing fruit
- Not getting promoted or appreciated at work despite all the effort and target achievements
- Graduating from university just to sit at home because of the nature of the labour market
- Starting a business that makes no profit.
There are so many other example of deserts in our lives. You can add yours to the list. Once you do that, ask yourself, do I want to remain in the wilderness? I know I don't. Even Jack Sparrow kept strategising how to get out of the locker. He wanted it so bad, he attempted to pull the ship to the ocean by himself. What a man!
The Oasis
Imagine been in the middle of the Sahara desert, dying of hunger and thirst with just enough water to wet your tongue. Your tongue oh! Not your throat. Then suddenly, as you're about to taste not drink the last drop of water you see palm trees and as such there would also be a fresh spring there. That, ladies and gentlemen is what an oasis represents. This reminds me of the Shunamite woman (II Kings 4:8-37). Her desert? Barrenness. Her oasis? Elisha. She had been in the desert for so long that when her oasis appeared she begged it to disappear: “Then he said, “About this time next year you shall embrace a son.” And she said, “No, my lord. Man of God, do not lie to your maidservant!" ( II Kings 4:16 NKJV).
Even our famous hero, Jack Sparrow, sorry, Captain Jack Sparrow chased away his oasis when it appeared. Remember that scene? Until they convinced him that they were real, he believed deep down that his imagination was playing tricks on him.
The oasis represents hope. Hope in the middle of the desert that God has not forgotten or forsaken you. There are so many examples of people that found an oasis in the middle of the desert but space won't allow me list them all. Plus I want you to read your bible, so yeah. One thing that you may notice is that when a lot of people meet their oasis, they beg it to go away. Like literally tell it: shuu, go away, you're disturbing my desert. One guy's own was so bad that God had to make him mute (Luke 1:20).
I can hear your mind turning and asking itself: what do I do? I'm glad you asked.
What to Do When You Spot Your Oasis
- Believe the word: this is the foundation for the oasis to grow
- Become a prisoner of hope: Zechariah 9:12. Why? Hope is the foundation of faith (Heb. 11:1)
- Hold unto your faith: there will be numerous occasions when the oasis may not seem forthcoming but you must not let go of your faith. Hebrews 11, the hall of faith, is a good place to strengthen your faith when it feels low
- Speak the word: there is power in the tongue (Pr. 18:21)
- Pray without ceasing (IThess. 5:17)
- Give thanks to God continuously (IThess. 5:18). Don't wait for the oasis to grow before you give thanks.
The charge for this week is to therefore implement these six steps and if the Holy Spirit lays any additional into your heart, by all means make use of it.
P.S: I typed this on my phone with the MS. Word app! Tekinologi!! Also found the sequel to my favourite novel the Three Musketeer (which I've read every year for the last 13/14 years) and guess what? All my heroes apart from Aramis had a tragic end. Not sure which hurt me most though. Their ending or the fact that for the 13/14 years, I never knew the book was the first in its series.
P.S: I typed this on my phone with the MS. Word app! Tekinologi!! Also found the sequel to my favourite novel the Three Musketeer (which I've read every year for the last 13/14 years) and guess what? All my heroes apart from Aramis had a tragic end. Not sure which hurt me most though. Their ending or the fact that for the 13/14 years, I never knew the book was the first in its series.
Sage
Sage is a graduate of human resource management and a 24/7 salesman. A clay in the hands of the Potter, he is on a journey to knowing God and becoming the man God has called him to be. He has a passion for football and society at large. In his quest for knowledge, he has recently restarted his passion for reading books. He lives in Lagos, Nigeria.
No comments:
Post a Comment