There’s something beautiful and unique about Christmas and the anticipation of a new year coming. Every time the new year is coming, there will be many prophecies and some are so scary that you just don’t want to leave your house and especially now with the deadly pandemic that is a great treat to the humanity. Many lives has been lost and the thought of Christmas make many people feel so sad. I know when you think about Christmas, all you think about is family and everyone laughing and eating, singing carols and hoping it will be a white Christmas and you are eating all manners of food. I always look forward to celebrating Christmas with my family and friends, but with the time we are living in now, we have to adjust to the changes. I never thought the time we come that Christmas time will be a time bomb and you have to cancel your Christmas plan to keep safe and a sad time for so many people because of the death of loved ones and many people could not celebrate Christmas with the family because of fear of being infected with the coronavirus and in some part of the world, there is a government restrictions to stop the spread of the virus and for some people, it’s a reminder of how the year has gone so fast and you start to feel like you have not done much and it seems like another year has been wasted. You look back at your new year resolution , you cannot see much changes. This is the season many people are depressed and pressurised to spend money they can not afford, for some it’s a season of keeping up the appearance.
I remember when my children were growing up, they used to have this count down Christmas calendar and l always felt as if l was on a race to catch up with the time. I can count on one of them to remind me of how many more days till Christmas and can certainly trust one of them to be looking for shopping bags around the house to be sure l have bought the presents. I felt so much pressure but the smile on their faces made it worth it all. I love celebrating Christmas with my family. Most of us go through this motion every year and for some they are not even sure why they are spending so much money and in so much debts and this has become like a roller coaster. You can count on your neighbours and your colleagues to give you a Christmas card or presents even if they don’t like you and you have to do the same to demonstrate the agape love of christ and Every year we have a new year resolution that we struggle to keep and a fail plan all over again.
If you do the same thing every time you can not expect different results. The way you lay your bed that is how you will lie on it. I have heard many people complain about nothing changes for them year after year, and my question is “did you do anything different from last year?”. You are the product of what you did the previous year or what you did not do. The story in the bible about a lame man waiting at the pool for an angel to stir the water for him to receive his miracle in the book of John 5 vs 9 really speaks to me. The challenge is that he needed someone to help him to get in the water and the timing is so crucial, after many years of waiting, he had a visitation from Jesus and he did not even know that the hour had come, he was busy talking stories like some of us are busy complaining about what plans did not work and how people have let us down. If you are presenting something to God, year after year and nothing seems to shift, then you have to ask yourself some questions and go back to the root. Some of us are very good at hiding behind God to avoid any confrontation from anyone. If someone tells you l am waiting on God what more can you say to the person. There are seasons in life, but we must be tuned in to the spirit of God at all times. Thank God that the lame man trusted God to pick up his mat and walked. Something struck me about this story, he was expecting his miracle to happen when someone helped him to the water, but Jesus had a different plan for him. He was told to just rise up and walk. How many times have we found ourselves in this position, we are helpless like this lame man and we are set in our own ideals about how God will do it. This man had seen many people jump in that water and become healed, so definitely this is the only way he knows.
Maybe God has been speaking to you concerning those plans of yours but you are looking at other people and you have lost focus on God. He might be asking you right now ‘what do you want me to do for you”. Can you hear him or feel him or you are too used to your situation that you have unknowingly given up, but you are still in church just like the lame man still sitting by the river and hoping for hopes against all hopes. You have heard many testimonies and you are asking God “when will it be my turn” you are waiting for a man to help you and God is saying to you rise up and carry your mat. Dare to believe God. When God gave me the vision for Time2shine l seriously thought that certain people would help me, I believe I needed their help to rise up and l was so disappointed just like the lame man. I have seen and heard so many stories of how others had people help fulfil their vision and l thought it will be the same for me, but God has shown me that our ways are not his way. When l look back to where l wrote down my vision, none of the names of people l thought would help me, helped. God will never share his glory with anyone!!!. After waiting for so long, God had to reach out to me just like what he did for the lame man and l thank God for the grace to trust him and rise up to the challenge. I can never say that it was easy, trust me, I complained so much just like the man. have so many stories of how men have let me down but I kept my trust in God and he has never let me down. We are going into another new year and you have another opportunity to change your focus and do what you have never done before. Don’t lose the true meaning of Christmas. He came in to this world to show us the way. (John 3vs16) if he can freely give us his only begotten son what more can he not give us. He came so you can have life in abundance. In the midst of all the celebrations remember that he wants you to live a life of purpose. If Jesus never came in to this world there will never be a reason for Christmas. If you rise up and follow God’s plan and purpose for your life too, you will be celebrated. I challenge you to leave that lame mentality behind and believe God to rise up and shine for him. You will never be tolerated again, but be celebrated. The only dreams that are lost are the one’s you stop fighting for. Merry Christmas and Happy fulfilling life. 