After my hospital visit in July, the doctor advised me to engage in minimal exercise and avoid straining myself. He told me to take it slowly and lift a top weight of 5 kg. As a result, I decided to use the Samsung Health app to gradually enhance my physical health. Initially, I set the daily step target at 9000, hoping to finish with ease. But after a few days and some excuses here and there, I brought it down to 6000 steps. This new target came with the possibility of having some feel-good moments.
The third and fourth weeks were encouraging, and I felt like a superhuman when I did 15000+. “That is amazing,” I thought. The energy continued to the end of the month, and I made progress with my mobility. Finally, I decided to suggest to my parents that they use their app to improve their physical health. This would be fun for me, as I normally tease them to do something worthwhile. But my mom spoiled the fun. She opened her app to prove that she had been making up to 19000 steps that week.
“OMG! What! 19k, at her age?” I said within. I resolved that if she could do that, then I needed to improve. I felt challenged (I guess my dad did too), so we began to ask questions, and she shared her story.
Lesson:
In this life, at whatever level you will reach, know that someone will be better than you. If care is not taken, you will not be content with what you have and the progress you have made. Instead of being jealous, be challenged. When you are challenged by other people’s progress, you ask questions, you learn, and you humble yourself to be taught.
Humility opens the door to wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. When you humble yourself to learn, you will know and understand the person’s experiences in less time than you would have spent trying and failing.
I felt led in my spirit to encourage you that when you see your friend’s cars, houses, family, job, promotion, etc., let them challenge you. Ask, and be ready to be taught. Instead of being jealous, feel challenged. No one is an island on earth. And no one has a monopoly on knowledge. We depend on each other. God bless you
I got a surprise from my parents after my high school days. I will mention it briefly but it was before the laptop I mentioned in the 2013 post “My Little Story: It Pays to Wait”. I am now realizing that God was using the simple things I cherished to help me understand His Word. I felt some years ago that He was being hard on me but now I understand that it was part of His Love toward me.
The Lord corrects the people he loves and disciplines those he calls his own.
(Hebrews 12:6, CEV)
So this was what happened: My parents got me Nokia 6111. It was a latest trend and cheaper than the Nokia N series. I loved that phone partly because it was an upgrade from the phones I previously used; Siemens A50 and A65. Again, it could play mp3 and supported mp4. The camera was also great at the time because I had to buy external camera for my Siemens A65.
Nokia 6111
As young as I was, I decided to dedicate the phone to God. Initially, I had copied all sort of music on it but I made a vow that I was going to delete all songs apart from gospel. I thought since this was my best ever, I should have worship and praise kind of music on it: Don Moen, Ron Kenoly, Cece Winans, Hillsong, Darlene Zschech, Fred Hammond, Bishop TD Jakes, Women of Faith, Andrae Crouch, etc with some local songs. This started well and the phone was just amazing.
However, it wasn’t long until I started sliding to some hip-hop. I remember the first song; J Lo with Fat Joe’s Hold you down. Then to Sean Paul’s Get Busy, 50 Cent’s In da Club, Many Men, Nelly’s Delimma, G-Unit, Snoop, Lil Wayne, Ashanti, Busta Rhymes, Ja Rule, Birdman, etc. I kinda like the songs but they conflicted with my stance on Colossians 3:16 which says that “…Sing psalmsand hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts“.
Fast forward>>: Within a week of going against my commitment, the phone’s speaker broke. I think that I was listening to Like Glue or Get Busy by Sean Paul when the speaker went off. I took it to the shop to have it fixed but it went off again. Frustrated by what I was going through, I decided to delete all songs but gospel. And then without taking it to the shop, it came suddenly with rattling noise. Well, I didn’t enjoy using the phone from that day and lessons were learnt. I made a firm stance that my future phones would only accommodate gospel songs. That has been the case since.
Lesson:
The scripture says that It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it. (Ecclesiastes 5:5). Often times we are tickled by sudden blessings that prompt us to quickly open the mouth to make commitment to God. Other times too the uncertainties surrounding the future propel us to make a vow which is dependent on what we expect from God. Either ways, the scripture admonishes that “It is far better not to say you’ll do something than to say you will and then not do it.” (TLB)
Once you make a vow to God, it becomes binding and God expects you to honor your what you promise. We see that in the case of Jacob, Hannah, Jephthah, David, etc. These people kept their vow. In the case of Hannah and Jephthah, it was their only child yet they kept their promise to God.
It’s easy for us to think that “God will understand, bla bla bla….” but the consequences is well written in the scripture:
Don’t let your mouth make you sin. And don’t defend yourself by telling the Temple messenger that the promise you made was a mistake. That would make God angry, and he might wipe out everything you have achieved.
(Ecclesiastes 5:6, NLT)
Don’t be in a haste to make a vow. Some preachers would encourage you to make it as an act of faith. There is nothing wrong with that but know that it’s God you are making the vow to and not the preacher. Vows require discipline and sometimes it will cost you for a moment before the period of harvest. For instance if you make a vow of $1000/month for the next 3 months. It’s possible that your inflow for these month will be $1100 or $1000. In this instance, it’s not a matter of God will understand but you honoring Him for Who He is. Jephthah’s only daughter came to meet him yet He said “For I have made a vow to the Lord, and I cannot take it back.” (Judges 11:35, NLT). There is also one overlooked vow; Marriage vow. You can’t make a vow and later think it was a mistake.
I learnt my lessons with my Nokia 6111 and also from other stories I will share in the future. I have learnt that making vow to God should be a carefully thought through personal decision. It shouldn’t be imposed by any person. And when you have made the vow, have the discipline to honor it because God can’t be fooled.
If there is an unfulfilled vow in your life, as far back as you could remember, you can get back to God on it. Know that God knows the heart and He forgives sins. I believe that He is generous enough to welcome you, to have you talk things through. He is able to equip you with what you need to come clean and be careful when next you open your mouth to make a promise to God.
I heard this story as a kid about one beggar who sat daily on a busy street asking for money. One rich man saw the struggle this beggar had to go through from morning to evening and decided to help change his life for the better.
As a result, he went to his bakery and requested that a gold be put in a bread which he would give to the beggar the following morning. He got the bread and gave it to the beggar hoping that the beggar would eat the bread, find the gold, sell it, and use the proceeds to start a new life. However, the beggar thought he had no need for bread but money so he sold the bread for cash.
The buyer, realizing the worth of the bread rushed to the beggar the following morning, gave some money to the beggar and told him that he would gladly buy the next bread for more money.
Weeks later, the rich man saw the beggar at the same spot and felt sorry for him but thought maybe he should repeat the same process. He went to the bakery, got bigger gold in the bread, and made it attractive so that it would appeal to the beggar for him to at least open it. After that he went to the beggar and asked what he did with the previous bread. The beggar told him that he needed money badly so he sold it for cash. The rich man told him to please eat this new bread with his family because it was specially made for them.
Sadly after he left, the beggar thought this bread would fetch more cash so he went to the previous buyer and sold it for more cash. Time passed and the rich man saw the beggar at the same spot, going through the same struggle but he wouldn’t help again because he thought another person needed the same opportunity.
Lesson:
Like the beggar, many of God’s children in dire situations where they have to depend on others for survival. Others are wealthy but they aren’t independent and thus seek to play it safe to win people’s favor. God sees our daily struggles and has given us the Bread of Life.
This Bread of Life is Jesus Christ. However, we often trade Jesus Christ for short term benefits. We feel urgent need for little bit of freedom, fame, money, power, influence, peace, etc so we trade this Bread for them. But the Gold is in Jesus Christ. If only we would take time to break this Bread, then we would find the Gold that will transform our lives.
In Jesus Christ, there is Freedom. There is Peace. There is Power which gives greater Influence. There is riches and glory. There is Healing. There is EVERYTHING.
As I thought deeply about this, I am guilty and feel sorry for myself because I haven’t fully appreciate this Bread I have in my life. I don’t know about you. I don’t know how you have traded yours in the past but we can make amend today and own this Bread, break this Bread, and eat this Bread, and we will be fulfilled to the point that we would have no need in this life and the one to come.
I am the bread that gives life! No one who comes to me will ever be hungry. No one who has faith in me will ever be thirsty.
(John 6:35, CEV)
Whatever it is that you are hungry and thirty for can be found Jesus Christ. There is Gold in the Bread.
Prayer: Most High God, my Father, thank you for giving me this Precious Bread of Life. Please help me to appreciate that everything I need to be successful in this life and to make it to Heaven is in Jesus Christ. From today, I wouldn’t trade Him for anything the enemy would offer. Help me Lord in Jesus’ Name. Amen
Uplifting Christ 