Find time for God and He will protect you

I pray that the Spirit will touch you and me as we discuss some principles of how you can find greater success and eternal happiness in your individual lives.

Each of you is very much aware that we are living in challenging times. Economic uncertainty is prevalent the world over. The crusade against corruption and global economic collapse is ever present. Evil works and deception in the world continue to escalate.

Satan’s influence continues to abound, not only in the hearts of those who seek to destroy lives and property, but also on the morality and integrity of people everywhere. The devil’s work has had coverage in the Zimbabwean media in these past weeks with gruesome stories of people trading in human parts. One has to ask the question where do we find safety?

“Our safety lies in the virtue of our lives. Our strength lies in our righteousness. God has made it clear that if we will not forsake Him, He will not forsake us.” (1 Co 10:13; Ph 2:12-13; 4:13; 2 Ti 4:16-18)

Notwithstanding the perilous nature of our time, you the people of Zimbabwe are a choice generation. The challenge lies in the question “Is the road you are now travelling and the present conduct of your life leading you to achieve your full God-given potential?”

If you were to make no changes in the present course of your life, would you be happy with who you are and what you have become a years or two from now? One of my favourite two-word statements that I use frequently to motivate myself is: “Always improving.” The implication is clear. There is room for improvement in each of our lives.

It has been said that one of the greatest tragedies of our time is that so many people live so far below their potential. We have seen this in most of our world leaders and the so-called celebrities, role models and even more so in church leaders many of whom have done unspeakable criminal act while claiming to represent GOD.

Near the beginning of my remarks I asked, “Is the road you are now travelling going to take you where you want to be a years or two from now?” I used the one to two year time frame because the patterns, habits, and actions you take with your life over the next year or two will have tremendous impact on what you will become in the years that follow. And I bear witness that following God’s path will help you improve your lot and help you realise your potential even in this bleakest of situations with the world in this so-called global economic recession.

I might not have any new suggestions for temporal success for our country in particular or nations of the world in economic turmoil. But I do have a few ways in which you can take and keep control of your lives.

First in your pursuit is the development and nurturing of a strong testimony. I assume that most of you have a basic testimony of the gospel. Yet I would suspect that the “things of the world” with which you deal every day are challenging many of you.

Nothing is more remarkable or important in this life than to know that God our Eternal Father and his Son, Jesus Christ, have spoken again from the heavens, for the word of God says: Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets (Amos 3:7) indeed the Lord God has called one from amongst us even in Africa, Zimbabwe, arch bishop Paul Ernest Mwazha to teach the fullness of the everlasting gospel once again upon the earth.

This gospel influences every major decision you make. It changes the course of your life to a safer one, because it provides an anchor that helps hold you fast to the teachings of the gospel, despite the evil influences all around you that entice you to drift toward sin and transgression.

If there is any one thing you and I need in this world it is faith, that dynamic, powerful, marvellous element by which, as Paul declared, the very worlds were framed (Hebrews 11:3) . . . Faith — the kind of faith that moves one to get on his knees and plead with the Lord and then get on his feet and go to work — is an asset beyond compare, even in the acquisition of secular knowledge.

I do not minimise the need for study and labour. I would add to these faith and prayer, with the sacred promise that God shall give unto you knowledge by his Holy Spirit, yes, by the unspeakable gift of the Holy Ghost.

Prayer is as essential to a righteous life as food and water is to our daily sustenance. Taking this analogy one step further, if we had to live on the sustenance and the frequency and intensity of some of our prayers, many of us would be much thinner than we are today. 

As I reflect on my youth and the initial development of my testimony, nothing had a greater impact on its development than the faith of my mother and her daily application of that faith in her prayers. The Lord responded to her faith and prayers, and years later as an adult, I found and witnessed the hand of the Lord in my personal life, my path has indeed changed and I am sure of the Gods protection indeed I have found rest in his gospel.

Equally important in the pursuit of happiness and a secure testimony is the daily habit of reading from and pondering the scriptures. This represents a significant challenge for most of us. The busier life becomes, the more difficult it is to stay connected to this important part of our spiritual growth.

I pray that you find time for God, and that God’s blessing be with you now and forevermore amen.

Contact me at [email protected]

http://www.biblesociety.org.uk/products/1273/49/first_patois_bible_gospel_of_luke/

[newsletter]