Sunday 31 August 2014

A Jeer at Fear!



Hi Friends!

It's been an interesting month of August in my church; Daystar Christian Center; Lagos Nigeria where August was declared our month of Extravagant Praise and all services have been particularly electrifying with wonderful praise sessions. Co-incidentally a couple of renowned  churches also declared August as the month of Praise. When I get back from doing two services in church, I would usually log on to the Winners Chapel Online service and truly, I can say, Praise is a common language n the Kingdom of God. 

Praise sessions in church, coupled with my personal and family praise sessions have been the most interesting times of my life and it must be an attitude I should never let go of. Ironically at the beginning of the month, the fright of the Ebola disease had not spread so much and few days into the month, I concluded it wasn't a mistake or coincidence that we were admonished to praise God throughout August. 

Needless to say in West Africa and in Nigeria where I currently reside, the fear of the deadly disease has taken a grip on the nation. You hardly come across people discussing anything without the mention of Ebola. Newspapers headlines are always scary, the news time on the Television has garnered a wider audience, because everybody wants to have an update. Resumption time for schools has been postponed, sanitizers have become a must have in everybody' bag; hence the producers of sanitizers must be making a lot of money especially here in Nigeria (An Opportunity in a difficulty you would say) . Lives have been lost, some have recovered and some are still ill etc. Earlier in the month, I decided I was going to go off the news for a week because I realized if I was not careful, I would be subjected to the palpable fear in the environment as  fear was being sold a penny everywhere!



For me, in all of these, it is a call, an  admonishment to really come to know Him in whom we have believed. Fear is crippling, fear torments, fear attracts the negative, fear hinders the move of the Holy Spirit, the power of God. In times like this, we who are called Christians are the ones to offer courage and comfort to a terrified world and not be crippled by fear itself. We are admonished in different parts of the bible not to fear; fear is not of God!The Bible says do not fear  more than 365 times- that is enough for one day of the year.

Before now, it was the terror of Boko Haram that gripped our nation; I am optimistic that someday soon, it will become a thing of the past entirely. For all you care, the scourge of Ebola will come to an end and some other things will crop up from time to time around the world. Would we continue to live our lives in fear? Fear of the known, of the unknown, of what we see of what we don't see, fear of the present, of the future and even of the past?

God's admonishment for us is clear and direct in Isaiah 41: 10

"Fear thou not; for I [am] with thee: be not dismayed; for I [am] thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness"

It's as simple as that, if only we would take it not just at the face value, but accept the words just as our Father has said it!

Enjoy God's grace as we enter the "..Ember Months.



Do you know Jesus as your Lord and Saviour yet? If you don’t, then say the prayers Here.


The Pen