The agony and the ecstasy

There are times we are up and really up ! It's a mountain top experience and we are rejoicing, it seems all faith makes sense and God is love becomes our anthem! We sing and our neighbours think we have won the lottery! It's joy unspeakable and full of glory! Those are great times and how I wish life could always remain that way, but alas-it ain't that easy!

There are also days that we sigh, cry, moan, complain, refrain, and run into castles of despair that even have dungeons of discouragement! Ah hah! Where is God now? Where is the joy! We have forgotten the way to sing, our throats can hardly be cleared! What has gone wrong? Hmmm brothers and sisters- LIFE IS NOT A BED OF ROSES! THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY are all part of what makes life worth the living.

If you are in the light- REJOICE! But if you are in the DARK SHADES! Still rejoice because NO CONDITION in YOUR LIFE WILL BE PERMANENT, THE ONLY CONSTANT THING IS CHANGE!

May the GOOD LORD help us in the changing scenes of life! I want to trust HIM at all times!

My times my times are in Thy hand
Whatever, they may be
Pleasing or Painful
Dark or Bright
As best, may seem to thee
-from one of my favourite songs

Silence

"In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise.- Proverbs 10: 19



Sometimes you just have to learn to keep quiet!
Sometimes silence is gold
Sometimes our lives will know no better
Than our lips, we fold

Don't get me wrong, my idea is clear
We love to speak for people to hear
But sometimes the rhythm is not at its peak
And to the solitude of silence, must we sneak

Could I say better, could I say worse
The years of regret and of remorse
You can remember, so can I
So don't let the "non-silence" make you cry

Alas, this is my admonition for you today
For all you speakers who love to say....!
Keep it shut and let the Lord speak to you
There's always something He wants you to do!

-@ Adebanji Alade Silence 2009

STOP!

We are living in a fast world where almost everything gets done so quickly. We go to work quickly, have to finish our work on deadlines, we end up in the luuch room eating quickly, we join the band wagon to leave work and gasp in the rush hour quickly. The Internet is quick and when it does work to our desired speed we rake and rant for faster service.

Hmmmmmmmmmmm and suddenly all this can get into our spiritual lives and we want to have a fast and quick relationship with God! Hmm Well, God has been known from the ancient of days to kind of never be in a hurry! "But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." II Peter 2:8- so sometimes God can take ages and He also teaches us to be still and patient-Psalm 46:10-10-"Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth."

In a follow up to this, my life was really getting out of control until I was meditating one day and God said,"STOP!"

But there was more to the STOP than what I thought, each of those letters meant something I needed to do.

So here is how it went

S- SOLITUDE with GOD- Ahh we just can't be in quietness, just you and God and maybe a pen, paper, your Bible and that devotional or bible study book. We just need that time uninterrupted. God LOVES it, our lives would be fresher for it and most of all we'll feel His valuable presence again!

T- TUNE- Get in TUNE with God- Sometimes we get out of step with God we know it! We just don't seem to be operating on the same frequency. God wants our heartbeat and His to rhyme and that's no joke, because HE LOVES us! How about that?

O- ORGANIZE- Get your life ORGANIZED- every part, God seldom likes what some of us sit pretty and console ourselves by saying, "it's alright, it's organised mess." No!! Those documents must be filed, properly and according to date, section and type, those clothes in the wardrobe must be sorted, those letters must be replied, that room must be tidy, that..............uuurggggghhhhhhhh!

P- PRIORITIZE- Get what is important done and leave the less important till after the most important has been done! We need not put off that pressing thing that is right in front of us, always begging for attention but like a giant we avoid it. My tax return was like that to me but thanks God I got it done before the deadline!

Let try and S T O P! And in the midst of chaos, quick and hurried lives we can bask in the glory of Gods peaceful presence!