Pearls of Delight

The story of queen Esther - the Jew turned Queen of Persia, is one I have always found quite remarkable (you would find the story in the bible book of Esther). Throughout the whole reality-TV-type drama, (the first scene with the gals all lined up hoping to be selected queen, an ancient episode of The Bachelor, perhaps?), Queen Esther remained focused and clear.   Theres certainly a lot we can learn from her that will guide us as we navigate our own life circumstances, whether dire or humdrum. Following are some helpful lessons we can glean from Esther’s life.     Remember God is God and you are not.   When stuck in the muck of less-than-lovely circumstances, our first — and sometimes only — aim is to get ourselves out, and fast. With this line of thinking permeating our action plans, we can readily forget that we are not the ones in charge. Without a proper perspective, we face frustration. We try our level best to modify the circumstances, but we c...

  But he answered me, “My grace is always more than enough for you, and my power finds its full expression through your weakness.” So I will celebrate my weaknesses, for when I’m weak I sense more deeply the mighty power of Christ living in me. So I’m not defeated by my weakness, but delighted! For when I feel my weakness and endure mistreatment—when I’m surrounded with troubles on every side and face persecution because of my love for Christ—I am made yet stronger. For my weakness becomes a portal to God’s power. 2 Corinthians 12:9‭-‬10 TPT There are times I have wondered where God is, though I hear his words reassuring,..." I am here with you", "I will never leave you nor forsake you...", but I still think, how can you say you are here yet the storm is so fierce? You made the seas and the oceans, they run to obey your commands, yet the same is raging fiercely against yours, against the world you created. We believe storms shouldnt dare to rage where the Lord is...

    Your Identity is everything! Believe who God says you are                         - RIO A new year is upon us again!  Happy New year!  Its always good to usher in the new, because it heralds beginnings, fresh starts, renewal of hope, change and sometimes, it can kickstart a time of preparation for things to come... I didnt start the year thinking about this subject, but each time I sat down to write, I have found myself creating posts about IDENTITY. I sense God is laying emphasis on the issue of our identity as we step into this year. We do not know what the year holds but knowing our place in the heart of God will be the compass we'd need to navigate through the year. It is important to know what God says about you, how he sees you, where you are positioned in Christ Jesus.  The song writer Sinach says...'I know who God says I am, where he says I'm at, I know who I am'.  It is not enough thou...

   "...even in the dark of night God is at work, breaking through the husks around our hearts and bringing life, from under dead leaves" CS LEWIS Yesterday, we gathered to celebrate to offer thanks and prayers. As we reminisced about this year now winding down, we realised that even in what looked like utter darkness and uncertainty externally in our world, God was working on the inside, in the secret unseen places, healing, restoring, renewing, mending...getting us ready for our NEXT! C.S. Lewis once asked, “Why are so many holy places dark places? The cross, the tomb, the stable – they are holy because even in the dark of night God is at work, breaking through the husk around our hearts and bringing life from under dead leaves.”  The stable is where the love of God for His creation was born; the cross is where the love of God for His creation was displayed; and the tomb was where the love of God for His creation exploded in hope. God is able to turn all suffering to goo...

Grace Whispers ...fix your heart on my goodness. "Take your gaze away from all the troubles around you, let your heart dwell upon my goodness.  For I am good and my thoughts towards you are good all the time. The enemy may want you to believe otherwise by heaping up troubles to frustrate you, but let your heart dwell upon my goodness.  This consciousness will help you  overcome. It transcends the troubles of this world and lifts you above it.   Fix your heart on my goodness." Scripture For the Lord is always good and ready to receive you. He’s so loving that it will amaze you— so kind that it will astound you! And he is famous for his faithfulness toward all. Everyone knows our God can be trusted, for he keeps his promises to every generation! Psalms 100:5 TPT   Grace Whispers Rita Oladiran  

If you can prevent your five senses from dictating your actions, then faith will lift you out of disappointment and doubt - Marilyn Hickey  And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.  Hebrews 11:6 NLT I read this bible verse and I began to pray like Jesus' disciples, "lord increase our faith", and then I tried, and tried by my will, to stir up faith, even one as small as a mustard seed. If you've ever seen a mustard seed, you'd agree with me it can't be that difficult to work up that tiny bit of faith.  I told myself if I can muster up faith as small as that, surely it would get me over this challenge - at least thats what the bible says.... But no, I have seen from the scripture and by revelation, that it doesn't work quite that way.  With God, nothing comes by sheer force of will, following that way is a recipe for disappointment and frus...

  " Being joyful isn't what makes you grateful. B eing grateful, is what makes you joyful"    - Ann Voskamp If we followed our feelings, with the way the year has been, there would be nothing in there to be thankful for.  But No! We are not thankful because we feel like it, but because of who God is. We know that, in the midst of all the troubles of life and inspite of them, God is still Good. I am not trying to convince myself or you of  his goodness but I am saying ...God is good and worthy of our thanksgiving from a grateful heart. I have joined a group of ladies on the 'A thousand gifts bible study', and we feel its a good idea to create a thanks giving jar, like the one pictured below ⤵, or start a thanksgiving journal.  Do this for the rest of this month, you'd be surprised just how much of Gods graces we all have to be thankful for inspite of all thats gone down in the year. According to Ann Voskamp the creator of the study and writer of the book - A...

 So give yourselves to God. Stand against the devil, and the devil will run away from you.  James 4:7  Believers have a common enemy, the Devil! When Jesus had finished his 40 day fast in the wilderness and was at his weakest, physically, the devil came to tempt him but Jesus who is our lord and strong in Spirit overcame with the word - "man must not live by bread alone...you must worship God alone and serve him!...thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God..." Luk 4 vs 4, 8 and 12. The devil is cunning, luring - remember Eve? and lurking around to deceive and ensnare sincere believers, to pounce at our weakest places, where the guards are down.  But, the bible says to be 'sober, alert and watchful'. We can do this by God's grace through faith and prayer to the one who is able to keep us standing. So when you sense a lull in your faith walk, you find yourself asleep more often on your knees when yoy ought to pray, getting short tempered or irritable, succumbing to  f...

  "Pray as if Your Life Depends on it, Because it Does." -Marylin Hickey If you want to be supernatural, you must pray. When you pray, it sets your heart on things above,  Colossians 3:1 says.. "You were raised from death with Christ. So aim at what is in heaven, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Colossians 3:1 ICB  I have seen indisputable evidence that prayer works, and that praying people succeed. Our level of effectiveness and power in life and ministry is directly proportional to the amount of time we spend in prayer. Praying and having intimacy with God is the foundation of a fruitful life. Do not initiate anything that you are not willing to saturate in prayer. Think about this. The Bible says that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word is established. When you pray to the Father according to His Word, the Holy Spirit prays in agreement with you because He prays God’s Word too, in Romans 8 it says:   "Likewise the Spirit als...

  "What we see is not all that is." People often say the words "seeing is believing", but not so with God, He says:  "...blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”  John 20:29 NIV I remember when I was going to have my second baby (who is a big boy now) and I was told I couldn't have a normal delivery due to some complications the doctors explained. I heard them quite well, understood their medical reasoning, but something in me would not settle for less than I had been confessing and believing God for, from the moment I knew I was pregnant.   So I went home and continued with my word confession, speaking out what I wanted and what Gods word - the bible, says about it. Every time a fearful thought came into my mind, I simply held fast onto his word, I just could not let go.  I had always had this 'father - daughter' relationship with God and always conversed with him, we talked on every subject, he introduced me to his word,...

  "Trust [confidently] in the Lord forever [He is your fortress, your shield, your banner], For the Lord G od is an everlasting Rock [the Rock of Ages]."  Isaiah 26:4  Storms rage fierce and hard but when you trust in the Lord, he will walk you through. Unhurt! Trusting is a lot harder when you have suffered the pain of failure and dissapointment, but if God says to trust, then it is possible, inspite of previous failures. God is faithful, all powerful, He will honour your step of faith. Difficulties come- mostly when we least expect, that sometimes shake foundations we hold dear or perhaps shatters the world we've built around us. But, if you keep moving forward taking little steps of faith, trusting God even when you dont understand, when you do look back, you'd notice you made it through,  in one whole. When we reflect over our lives, we often are filled with wonder at how we got out of situations that looked like it would swallow us up whole, but that is ...

  "Humanity is God hidden in plain sight"                         Larry Randolph We all have the idea that God is working to bring us to a perfect end, where our circumstances allign with our ideals, and so we wait to 'arrive' to tell our story. Well Yes, He is - in His way,  in His time and for His own good pleasure. Our lives may not look like much happening - to us, its probably messy, uncomfortable and bears not much attractive prospects to onlookers. But as we live, relying upon his grace, God  is glorifying himself, here, right now, in our story, as we grow through our seasons.    "We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves."  2 Corinthians 4:7 NLT  There's light in you, that will brighten the path for another, own your story, step...

  I love the record of prayers in the Psalms, as they bear evidence of deep heart felt conversations, prayers made by real people at different seasons of their lives, they very well serve as replicable models  for us even now, several years later. I have found comfort praying them especially when I can't put together words to fully express my heart. Psalm 139 is one of those that put a short halt in my flow, infact, several. Particularly verses 23–24 ... "God, I invite your searching gaze into my heart. Examine me through and through; find out everything that may be hidden within me. Put me to the test and sift through all my anxious cares. See if there is any path of pain I’m walking on, and lead me back to your glorious, everlasting ways— the path that brings me back to you".  Psalms 139:23‭-‬24 TPT   It takes great courage to say this prayer,  It's not an everyday prayer.  BUT,  when we get to a pivotal point in our lives where we are tired o...

  "God's mercies begin afresh each morning. Here we are breaching the final lap of a most formidable year. A year that threatened the dominion of humanity over the earth God created and gave man to subdue and rule! Yet, God's word stands, as sure as He is God, because....He rules and reigns over all and He ensures that His word and faithful love will never fail. "The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning." Lamentations 3:22‭-‬23. Imagine your life as a continuous loop of time, no nights no days just one long streak of ups n downs. Sounds daunting right? Here in this plane, the world is waiting, yearning for normalcy, a shift in seasons. And we know, this time will pass because... "For as long as Earth lasts, planting and harvest, cold and heat, Summer and winter, day and night will never stop.” Genesis 8:22 MSG. Seasons Change! This reminds me that no ma...

  Not just any word, but GOD'S WORD!.  "For the word of God is living and active and full of power [making it operative, energizing, and effective]. It is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as the division of the soul and spirit [the completeness of a person], and of both joints and marrow [the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and judging the very thoughts and intentions of the heart". Hebrews 4:12 AMP In my last post I shared a bit about fighting for the promises of God in our lives and I promised to share some of my personal affirmations and declaration from the bible - the Word of God. Before I get to that I would like to talk a bit about the Importance of declaring God's word over our lives. 1. IT IS BACKED BY GOD'S  AUTHORITY  God has given us authority by His word to bring his will to bare on earth, with these words: "Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and sc...

"We have been given an inherent ability not to suffer but FIGHT".     For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7 NIV  The promises of God are Yea and Amen in Christ Jesus. God cannot lie, once he has given his word concerning any matter, He will make it happen, no matter what it takes because He simply cannot lie.  However, we have a part to play in ensuring we get the outcome, and victory we desire. For King Jehoshaphat in  2nd Chronicles 20, his part was to take his position in the battle and STAND IN PRAISE, while God fought for him, likewise for the children of Isreal at the walls of Jericho - Joshua 6.     Once, when I was going through huge financial struggles, God said these words to me.... "fight for the release of your finances, 'I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy'. Use this authority, which I hav...

When he saw the vast crowds of people, Jesus’ heart was deeply moved with compassion, because they seemed weary and helpless, like wandering sheep without a shepherd.  Matthew 9:36 TPT When you’re weary and broken, Jesus is there. He knows everything you need, even before you ask. He’s a God who remembers everything—every prayer, each tear, and every time you’ve declared his praise in the face of hopelessness and opposition. When your soul is bowed low and your shouts of love have turned to whispers, you still delight his heart. Jesus is merciful and compassionate. When you have nothing left to give but the yes in your heart, it’s enough. He’s drawn to the fragrance of complete surrender and utter abandon. Your weakness is a magnet for his strength. Every breath is an opportunity for his love and strength to infuse every cell. Never give up. In your desperation, he’ll come. Jesus, I come before your presence and wait. Let waves of glory crash upon my soul as you wash me in yo...

Are you ready to see God's explosive goodness and radical favor in your life? I think we all are. Please read through this profound word of the Lord through Prophet Russ Walden...and find out what God wants to release to you right now.    *******************************   The Month of Explosive Goodness and Radical Favor!" Russ Walden, Green Valley, Arizona The Father says today, "Get ready for a backlog outpouring of My glory in your life  today, "Get ready for a backlog outpouring of My glory in your life!  July is a month of explosive goodness and radical favor in the things that are before you.  Do you want to believe the naysayers or the 'doom and gloomers,' or are you ready for a full measure and manifestation of all that I have promised? "In July, My blessing and My favor are reaching a saturation point in your life. Get ready to be engulfed in My goodness,"  says...

"WE FALL DOWN BUT WE GET UP  WE FALL DOWN BUT WE GET UP  I FELL DOWN BUT I GOT UP  AND I FOUND OUT - A SAINT IS A SINNER WHO FALLS DOWN, BUT DOESN'T STAY DOWN..."                                   Donnie McClurkin I have fallen flat on my face many times, but I got up. Been knocked down, got the wind smacked right out of me, but I got up. As I write, I am in a process of getting back up, again. Sometimes I want just to stay under the covers and never show my face again, but, I get up, strap on my warrior boots and lift my chin towards heaven. Why?   I realise I am on a journey of purpose propelled by His promises and dreams in my heart. It may not appear so in the trial and pain, but I am being transformed, every fall and rising, along the way, adds a layer of wisdom, strength and character formed by His grace and careful Hands. I metamorphose and become that vessel fit for His ...

....They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” Jeremiah 17:8 NIV  This scripture is referenced beautifully in the Psalms... "What delight comes to the one who follows God’s ways! He won’t walk in step with the wicked, nor share the sinner’s way, nor be found sitting in the scorner’s seat. His pleasure and passion is remaining true to the Word of God -I Am.... He will be standing firm like a flourishing tree planted by God’s design, deeply rooted by the brooks of bliss, bearing fruit in every season of his life. He is never dry, never fainting, ever blessed, ever prosperous. Psalms 1:1‭-‬3 TPT Glory! Hallelujah🙌  I love this TPT version because it highlights true soul prosperity - a state of blessedness, where we are never dry, never fainting, ever blessed and fluorishing. Everyone loves to prosper. Mos...