INSPIRATION FOR THE WEEK: Let Us Lift Our Hearts And Hands

"Let us lift our hearts and hands to God in heaven."

- Lamentations 3:41

We have heard it so many times that when one door closes, another door opens. What if one door closes and the next door does not open? When you lose your job you often have the hope that another door will soon open and soon seems to be eternity. When you lose that business opportunity you always hope that another one will come and it seems like you will wait forever. When you are heartbroken because of a failed relationship it seems like all the good people are taken and you will not have another chance to love again.

What do you do when you find yourself stuck between a door that was closed behind you and the one that is locked before you? That place is usually dark and your days are dark as well. You know what they say, "when days are dark friends are few!' That place, that moment, is usually lonely. What do you do?

I have learnt through my few experiences and I have believed in the words of the psalmist, "It is good for me to draw near to God" (Psalm 73:28). When you are alone in that lonely and dark place of your life, God is there with you. The things that continue to distract you, and keep you from seeing His face are gone. It is you and God. The people who will want to spend time with you and keep you occupied are no where in sight. It is you and God. The people or things you normally turn to when you are in need are out of reach. It is you and God. The voices that continually disturb you from hearing God's voice are dead. It is you and God.

This is the perfect time for you to sit back and examine your position with God. This is the perfect time to do what some like to call soul searching. This is the time when you allow God to take over your life and mould you to be what He wants you to be. This is the time for purification. This is the time for clarity. This is the time to turn your eyes to Jesus. This is the time to lift up your heart and and hands to our Father in heaven.

I have come to realize that sometimes the hard knocks in life are a way God draws us closer to Him. I have learnt that through the moments when I lost what I thought were the most important things in life, God revealed Himself as the most important being in my life. His grace is sufficient for me. I have learnt that God used the low moments in my life to reveal His greatness in my life.

When I was caught between closed doors, I was in the right position to listen to God as He redirected my life. It was during this moment that God reminded me what He has assigned me to do before I depart from this planet. It was during this moment that I was endowed with the ability to hear His voice with so much clarity that I had to obey to His calling. Amazingly, when I said yes, things are starting to fall into place again.

This was the time when I began to look into my life with  a refreshing perspective. I did not ask myself "Where did I go wrong?" but I began to ask God, "What is it that the Lord is teaching me now?" I began to ask myself about God to reveal His plan. I began to cherish the moments I spent with Him. I began to enjoy to be in His presence. I began to pour my heart out to Him. Suddenly, I realized that I was not alone but He was there with me. I realized that losing the valuable things in life was preparing my heart to trust Him in everything.

My dear friend, when you find yourself in that place where it feels like a wilderness, you cannot tell where to go from here, just call upon the Lord. Jeremiah wrote, "I called on Your name, O LORD, from the lowest pit. You have heard my voice; "Do not hide Your ear from my sighing, from my cry of help." You drew near on the day I called on You and said, "Do not fear!" (Lamentations 3:55-57).

This is the opportune time to lift your heart to God. Lifting your heart simply means desiring or longing for God. It means exalting the Almighty God in your heart. It means preparing your heart to seek God. It means allowing the Spirit of the Lord to move your heart to give worship to the loving God. When the glory of the Lord fills your heart, it is manifested in the lifting of hands which symbolizes worshipping the God who sits upon His throne in heaven.

My dear friend, whilst we are waiting for God to open the next door, let us lift our hearts and and hand to God in heaven. Believe me, joy will fill your heart and you will be transformed from glory to glory!

From Absence of Inner Peace to Inner JOY

There is nothing that hurts like a troubled heart. You may feel like you have everything under control. On the outside you look happy and you seem to be successful in everything you do… but there is only one problem, your heart is not at peace!

You go to church and you come back feeling empty. You read the bible and you understand nothing at all. You pray and you cannot find the words. You feel the urge to go on but there are strong forces pulling you away. The more you think about, the more you get anxious.

Trust me, this is a very painful moment. You feel so sad on the inside and you start blaming yourself for this and that. You start pointing and naming things you are not doing well instead of counting your blessings. You sink deep into the sticky situation. The sad thing is that you never understand what is happening, You just become a slave of these forces.

From my experience, it takes courage to humble yourself and open your heart for the Lord and he will set you free. There is always that gentle whisper, that voice within you that tells you what to do and your role is simple, just listen and do what that voice is saying. The Lord will set you free.

It’s amazing how you feel the inner peace and joy inside. Someone wrote JOY can be described as putting Jesus first, Others second and Yourself last. I have realised how much this is true. There is no point therefore to go back. Galatians 5 : 1 says “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”