Is Your Situation A Surprise?

Would it occur to you that between you and someone who created the blueprint for your life, you’re the only one that could be surprised by anything that happens?

Think of it. You write a script for a production and in the middle of the action, should/would you be surprised at the unravelling of events? For something you wrote?

Then why would

What if I Told You Anxiety is a By-Product of Self-Sufficiency?

I had a friend who tried to get me to see the insight in some verses from Matthew 6 because I was struggling financially at the time and all I did was worry in between prayers. Precisely, those verses were Matthew 6 vs 25-34. I’ll put a link here since the verses are too many to paste here: Matthew 6 vs 25-34 (AMP).

As a realist, I tried to think out all the possible avenues from which money could spring forth. All of them were dry, void. I had to refocus on God since there was no other person standing with me in that darkness.

What my friend told me at the time was that I shouldn’t worry about the things over which I have no control. Those are the very things that I shouldn’t even attempt to think through; those are the things that I should commit to God ab initio. So I turned to prayer. But I found myself caving in under the pressure of physical demands for money that I didn’t have. I kept circling back to ground zero. It became a depressing cycle.

Although I didn’t read between the lines of the verses preceding 33 and didn’t get this insight at the time, I had to learn to look to just God since there was no one else. I told myself God wasn’t sleeping. That He saw how messy things were and all the threats facing me. Some way, somehow, He came through just *in* time.

Now, the insight I’m getting from all the verses here is that first and foremost, we need to REMEMBER that God created everything before man; He knew that every creation of His must be fed and nourished somehow. He made provisions for every single living thing He created, including man.

Since God put everything else in place before setting man as Lord over those other creatures and He didn’t starve those creatures, He won’t let us starve. Also, remember that God made provision for every single creature in the biological food chain.

God essentially set a table before us (Psa. 23 vs 5); our cups are running over; our heads are anointed with oil. Verse 33 of the Matthew 6 talks about everything else falling in place on the condition that we seek God FIRST. God sets the table before you come to Him. He knows you are coming. But He’s waiting for you to come to Him first, instead of trying to find the table in the darkness on your own. The light to your path is on that table you’re trying to find on your own. However, just like man was yet to come alive until God breathed into him, the candlelight on that table will not be lit until God lights it up so that you can use it to find your way to the table from His feet.

There is abundance on that table. Whether we choose to go to the table and sit — first having turned to God in total surrender and subjecting ourselves to total reliance on Him — or we stay away and say we don’t need Him or His provision — because, hey, we know the ropes and all about being independent and enterprising — is now left to us.

God has already made the provision. You either humbly approach the throne of grace and faithfully get on the path to that table or you can keep bothering about how you’re going to feed past today. Confident peace in an omniscient and omnipotent God or anxiety in your own shortsighted abilities, which one?

You Are All The Fuel You Need

A lot of people want to be involved in your life… wait. Let me rephrase that to match reality. A lot of people want to feel relevant in your life; they see themselves as stakeholders. In my language, such people often “overpatakilise” themselves; it means that they often overstate their importance in your life. I have such people in my life too, but I don’t take kindly to them.

I don’t know if you have these oversized visions for your life, but I do. Additionally, I’m a believer of the principle that you don’t beat your own drums in public; you let your music speak for itself. If I’m going to do something that’s massive, I don’t want enemies of progress all over my business so, I won’t announce it.That’s one small part of the discussion, though. If you also have dreams/ visions that are larger than yourself and scare you, carry on reading, soulmate. 😍

When it gets down to the nitty-gritty of taking our visions from “virtual” to “reality”, it’s only natural to want or think that we need support from others. We want to tell those that matter to us about our visions because we want to carry them along on our journey. Consequently, we may start to seek validation for our dreams from these people.

Seeking validation from people is only you looking to get your dreams crushed and buried before they’re even developed. The vast majority of people you’re seeking validation from cannot even see where you’re going with your dreams! They cannot grasp it! It’s like trying to sell laser eye surgery to someone who is decidedly and conveniently short-sighted. It’s that pointless.

Depending on the kind of people you surround yourself with — or you find yourself surrounded by –, you may or may not get the support you want. The thing is that there will be people that will actually support your visions and will have the ability to visualise your dreams with you. However, as is everything with life, you may not be so fortunate to have those people in your inner circle. Matter of fact: you may not even know them yet; or you could, but just not consider them relevant to you. That’s your cue to re-evaluate.

On the other hand, there are people that you’d expect to “understand” you, at least, but they will disappoint you. They will help you “rationalise” your visions, telling you to be “more realistic”; they will find indirect ways of telling you to “forget it”. They mean no harm, often; they’re only looking out for you and hoping that you don’t have your head buried in the clouds. 

The majority of people you come across will tell you that your visions are impossible or that there are more “worthwhile” things to dabble into in the now. The uninterested bunch will tell you that your visions are a waste of time and unnecessary. Although I wonder what — if any — place of love these ones could possibly speak from, most are simply myopic or faithless. But which ones do you listen to?

This is where it gets tough. This is where you realise that you may have to start your trip solo and pick willing and necessary passengers along the way, since you only budgeted for yourself. You’re going to have to push yourself because no one else will. Matter of fact: it’s no one else’s job to push you.

Hey, that is not to say that every single person around you will either discourage you or fail to see where you’re going. It’s your job to apply discretion and recognise those who do; those are the people you need on your journey. When you grow weary from pushing yourself, they’re there as backup.

For those who cannot see your destination — even with a telescope — you’re better off without them. Saddling them on your journey is only loading your boat with dead weight. They’ll be there every step of the way to remind you that you’re wasting your time.

At the end of the day, you need to be attentive to those whom you need to journey with you; those who want to but may be dead weight; and those who don’t even want you to start the trip because it’s a waste. The people you surround yourself with will either build you up or tear you down. In so far as you can visualise where you’re going and your faith is alive, that is all the fuel you need.

P.S. Jesus is the sailor of my own boat. I’m just chilling, letting the breeze blow away my anxieties… beneath my aviator shades. 😎

Until you see me, ✌🏾