Word of the week
Genesis 28:18 NLT
The next morning Jacob got up very early. He took the stone he had rested his head against, and he set it upright as a memorial pillar. Then he poured olive oil over it.
Last week, we spoke about how Joseph was in a transit situation and he used stones for pillows. The story doesn’t end there.
Jacob took the stone that was his pillow and raise it up as an altar and memorial to God.
It was Jacob’s way of remembering a difficult time when God showed up for him.
Please don’t forget what you passed through in life to become who you are today.
Why is it that you shouldn’t forget?
- When you don’t forget what you have passed through in life, you will remove pride from your life and stay humble. Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon forgot where he was coming from. God took him from zero level and built him up but he boasted of his might. All of us came into the earth at zero level. We were all born naked. Everything we are today is because of the help we received from God. We must never forget that.
- Why shouldn’t you forget? Number 2. You stay grateful when you remembered what you passed through in life and how God helped you. The opposite of gratitude is entitlement. You can never please entitled people but a grateful person is happy at the smallest thing you do for them.
- It becomes difficult for you to fall into the hands of hero worshippers. If you forget where you came from, you will crave worship, you will crave excessive respect and you will sin against God. Only God deserves worship. When people respect you, let that be ok for you. And even if they don’t respect you, shrug it off and move on with your life.
Remember Haman in the Bible. The quest for respect killed him. He was so angry that Mordecai didn’t respect him that he took steps against Mordecai and his people that eventually killed him.
Never forget where you are coming from and it shall continually be well with you in Jesus Name
Message of the week
John 5:5-8 NLT
One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?” “I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.” Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!
I want to encourage you today to be expectant of God’s intervention in your situation. God will make a day of opportunity to come for you in Jesus Name.
There’s a story that happened in Nigeria a month ago. There was this young man selling sachet water in the traffic. Now, it’s brutal to sell things in the traffic. The person selling is under the hot blazing sun, at the risk of being crushed by vehicles, there is also a risk of you being cheated. To sell things in the traffic, you must be down and out and just be looking for a way to survive.
So, this young man was selling water in the traffic. And then a bus carrying some prisoners came by him. One of the prisoners asked him for N100. That’s like 10p in UK currency. This young man gave him the money. Then the others prisoners in the vehicle started begging him for money. So, this guy started to give all of them money, from his meagre resources.
Unknown to this young man, someone was doing of video of what he was doing! And the video went viral. Reporters found the guy and asked him why he did what he did. Apart from his kind act, this guy’s response further endeared him to me as a person. He said and I quote, ‘I felt sorry for the prisoners. Though I’m suffering I know I’m better than them because I have something they don’t have and that is freedom.’
Let me wrap up this story.
This young man that was down and out has now been given an educational scholarship up to PhD level by a notable Nigerian businessman. Another couple in Canada promised to give this young man N100,000 (that’s over a £100) monthly upkeep while he is studying. I’ve been calling him young man because I still don’t know his name. If you know his name please put it in my comments section. I love to acknowledge people by their names.
There’s also this other story that trended in Nigeria a few years ago. A young married lady of one was going about her business one day. What was her business? She was hawking bread. She was not in a wealthy place at all. She was not even comfortable.
Whilst hawking the bread, God made her paths to cross with a photographer who told a good look at her and realised she could be a model!
Long story short, that lady is an international model today! Her name is Olajumoke Orisaguna.
The man at the pool of Bethesda had experienced frustrations for years. He had nobody. He was down and out. He was helpless. But God is still in the business of favouring people. A day of opportunity came for this man. Jesus healed him, and he was able to go on with his life.
I pray for you and myself that God will fast track our day of opportunity in Jesus Name.
I pray that you have a good week.
God bless.
