Time And Chance
Ecclesiastes 9:11 NLT
“I have observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn’t always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don’t always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time.”
I have shared with you my love affair with the book of Ecclesiastes. I know many believers have their different takes on this book in the bible but hey, we all look at life from the perspective of our lenses. This scripture is loaded with the answer to everything that keeps you awake at night and makes your life miserable sometimes. Have you tried taking an inventory of your life and the lives of those around you and sometimes you feel like you missed your path maybe? Or you see people you know whose lives were destined to be great but somehow you wonder what happened? Sometimes it seems as if having so much education only makes you poor when we were told it was our pathway to success and greatness.
To reiterate what the Teacher said, “nothing really makes sense under this sun”. People can start out poor and become great. Someone can start out great and end up in a meaningless life cycle. There’s no straight arrow to life except that when God intervenes in your affairs, “Time and Chance” will find you. His mercy gives you what you don’t deserve and I know a scripture that says the Lord will lead you into prepared blessings. Psalms 31:19(TLB). For some of us, the love of God plus our own self-discipline has given us ‘Time and Chance.”
I pray for you this week that you will find peace in this race called life. That the hand of the Lord which can move a man from prisoner to prime minister overnight will do the same for you. Where you have been delayed in life, may you experience a supernatural speed. I declare it is so and so it is in Jesus’ name. AMEN!
XOXO,
Lady Abena.
The Fruit Of Self-Control
Proverbs 25:8 ESV says that “A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.” In other words, when your defense structures and protection have been demolished. Any and everything can enter you and destroy you.
What is Self-Control? The Oxford Language dictionary defines Self-Control as “the ability to control oneself, in particular one's emotions and desires or the expression of them in one's behavior, especially in difficult situations.” If you live in this cosmos called earth, surrounded by people, institutions and structures, now or later, people, systems, things and processes will poke your patience and emotions at every angle. The grace to be able to stay firm, calm and collected in all situations can only come from the Holy Spirit. It takes strength to remain quiet when the expected reaction is for you to scream and yell. It takes courage to be walking through the valley of the shadow of death and not topple out of balance. It just takes guts to live among people and still rise above everything they will throw at you. I look at self-control as holding a remote control to myself, pressing the buttons, managing my emotions and reactions and all situations.
That grace, courage or strength to keep yourself and emotions in check, only comes from God. So I pray for you as I do for myself daily, that the Lord will continue to pour His Spirit on your life and cause you to produce good fruits that will draw many to Him. I pray it is so and so it is in Jesus’ name. AMEN!
XOXO,
Lady Abena.
Declarations For October 2023
Welcome to the tenth (10th) month of 2023. I found this on “Kingdom Culture’s Pinterest” concerning the month of October.
“Judaism - Cheshvan (October/November) is the 8th month in the Hebrew calendar. The root of the word Cheshvan is “chash”, which in Hebrew means “quiet”. The very name commands us to be still, to be quiet.”
This is what the Lord is saying to you and I this month:
“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalms 46:10. The lord has won this victory for us. The Pantocrator has already ruled in our favor. For the integrity of His name, He will bring everything to perfection this month so that the world will know that He is God. Just as He spoke through Moses, we will just stand still and watch the LORD rescue us this month. Anything that represented Egypt (slavery, bondage and captivity) in our lives, we will never see again. (Exodus 14:13 paraphrased).
I decree and declare it is so and so it is in JESUS’ name. AMEN!
XOXO,
Lady Abena.