Gratitude Is Good For You

What are you most grateful🙏 for this year? Pause for a moment and remember what you have and have been given. It is good to practice gratitude at all times by counting your blessings and been thankful, this will bring you contentment, happiness, and inner peace.

Today is about remembering to express gratitude🙏, first to God☝, and then, to all those who have made your life better. The family👪, friends👫👬👭, and colleagues you can lean on are God’s precious gifts to you. People are incredibly selfish, so be thankful to those who have stood by you in trying times, your lowest and depressing moments, encouraged you to keep moving forward regardless of present predicaments and uncertainties, celebrated🙌 with you in your highs and cried😢 with you in your lows etc.

Be thankful that you’re alive because you’ve hope, for your job if you’ve one, even if you don’t have a job yet, be thankful for all the positives you’ve learned in your search, for your health🚑 because it could’ve been worse, that you’ve a roof🏠 over your head, even if you don’t, at least you slept last night and you’re awake this morning, for friends, family, and relatives who love💖 and hold you accountable, and so on and so forth.

God showers you with immeasurable blessings and saves you from countless dangers daily. Be thankful today and always.

Thank you for following my blog. You…yes you have been awesome and very supportive. Your likes, comments, and share keep me writing.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Bibobra

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In the Midst of Trouble

The cross stands as the final symbol that no evil exists that God cannot turn into a blessing. This is the power of God. It is a mystery to the world how God would show forth his Glory on a cross. For had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory.

God is working on the things we suffer to bring light out of darkness, joy out of pain, life out of death. This is the great mystery of God, to transform the cross you bear into an object of Glory.

We must offer all of our suffering to the transforming power of God. A man was born blind. The disciples ask Jesus who did sin, the man, or his parents? John 9:1-3.

Many times when in the midst of trouble we may ask, why this sickness, why pain, why loneliness, why should I bear a cross? Jesus offers a very different perspective on the question of suffering, and that is, what will God do with my sickness?

What will he do with my pain to show forth his Redeeming Power? How will God bring good out of the evil I have suffered? How will God bring joy out of pain?

Let us, through the power of faith, trust God to work it out. The strategy in crisis is not ours; it is God. In every way, we must acknowledge the will of God. If we seek his direction, God will reveal what steps to take, what course of action to follow.

God is working through our circumstance to perform his word in bringing you out of whatever crisis you face. The desire of God for your life is always peace and the gift of grace.

As we seek the Lord in prayer, we know that he hears and will answer. “And ye shall seek me, and find me when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” Jer.29:13, 10-14. The temporal is the instrument of the eternal.

Joseph is an example of how God can use your circumstance to show forth his glory. Joseph was hated and envied by his brothers. They cast him into an empty pit to die. God redeemed the life of Joseph by allowing the Ishmaelites to take him into Egypt as a slave.

Potiphar saw that God was with Joseph and the Lord had made him prosper.

From the house of Potiphar, he went into prison because of a false charge on the grounds of rape. In prison, God was with Joseph and showed him mercy, gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. Joseph would use his gift even in prison to the glory of God. Pharaoh made Joseph Lord of his house and ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

The cross is where we wait for the hope that is against all human hope. We have this hope by faith. I can safely trust my life in the hands of God, for he knows what is best for me.

No circumstance is beyond the power of God. “There is no pain that heaven cannot feel, no sickness that Jesus cannot heal.” Nothing can stop the will of God for your life.

“In all these things we are more than conquerors through him, that loved us.”

when I am in the midst of trouble, I will trust in His power to keep me because He loves me.

By Ronald Lee.

Thanks for reading!

God’s Plans For You

You were created by God for a reason. You are a masterpiece of divine orchestration, his plans are to make you prosperous and give you an expected end.

Refuse to be defined by your past mistakes and perceived limitations, you’re powerful beyond measure and the only one stopping you is yourself.

As you begin this week, step out in confidence and extinguish every fear, limitation, hate, doubt, and anxiety because God Himself is rooting for you.

Stay Happy

Bibobra

How To Choose and Invest In Yourself Wisely

As the saying goes, “No man is an island.” To fulfill your destiny in life, you must find and invest your time and resources in the things and people that will help you get there. If you are going to make a difference in this life, you must get close and find out what needs your special skill set, in the same way, if you want to make a difference in someone’s life, you must get close to that person and find out about how to meet their needs before you transform their life.

You must use the methods that lead to maturity and subsequently, to productivity. We all have wishes but these do not automatically transform to the desired outcomes but by constant doing, pruning, growing, and maturing. Once you master what you need to do, you will grow in maturity and reproduce your success in the lives of others.

Your life is yours and yours alone. What you make of it is up to you, and it will go down in history as impactful or fruitless of the gifts you so freely received. The choice of who or what to invest in must be considered with utmost thought. You must set up a process that tests and refines any and everything before allowing same into your inner circle.

Here I have presented a method (feel free to adjust according to your personal style) to help your pruning and refining process.

1. Examination. As mentioned earlier, it is important that you cross-examine yourself and Find Your True Self so that you will align yourself to like-minded people and things that will propel you to your dream life. This is the most crucial step, hence, the reason it is at the top of the list. I would like to begin this with your choice of people. You have heard the saying that “You cannot choose your family, but you can choose your friends.” Here is another one “You are the average of the top five people you spend the most time with.” How about this one “Show me your friends and I will tell you who you are.” Ah ha, now you know why you are where you are! From the foregoing, you would agree with me that you are immensely influenced by your company, whether you are aware of this fact or not. For instance, If you associate yourself with poor (poor in this case is subjective) people, you will become poor because over 80% of what you and your friends would discuss would be things poor people talk about, the same thing as losers, gossips, people who only complain and never seek the solutions to their problems but blame every other person but themselves. On the other hand, if you befriend successful people you have better chances to become one. Winning, losing, complaining, failure, success, hate, love, is contagious. Your choices will make or mar you. You have seen how important it is to surround yourself with the type of people you wish to be like. You must, therefore, examine any and everyone who pops up in your life, do not just welcome them into your reserved space, test them against all the parameters you have set for yourself. For instance, what is his/her thought process like? How is a typical day with this person like? What type of future is this person trying to build? What are his/her belief systems, values, and principles? What is his/her purpose in life? What makes him/her thick? Only consider mingling and befriending this person if and only if all the answers to these questions align with your destination and the greater good of you both. Be careful not to be judgmental because everyone is valuable but in diverse ways and you have the free will to choose those you allow into your circle. It would be an insult to our creator for you to write someone off because they do not think like you do; be respectful and polite when you weed out the misfits.
2. Experimentation. Those whom you choose after the examination period now move to this second phase. At this phase, both parties know the core things that bring them together. This is a good stage to discuss things you would want to do and seek any collaborations. The importance of collaboration cannot be overstated, it is easy to break a stick of a broom but not a bunch. Hence, it is a win-win for those who collaborate because those who are involved bring their strengths to the table. The beauty is that another’s weakness is supplemented by the other’s strength and vice versa. The key takeaway here is to experiment and confirm your winning team.
3. Choose the best fits. Just like best friends, they are not your friends for the sake of it, but because they have proven themselves worthy. After experimentation, you should know those who deserve to be in your inner circle. Do not hesitate to call them higher, they need to know that you trust them, hold them in high esteem, and expect much from them. Do unto others what you would have them do unto you, so remember that as much as you demand, you must also give back in equal measure.
4. Remember those with whom you started. You see the human nature is very deceitful. The successful they say has many friends. When you become successful, you will be surrounded by many people who have no idea how you started and arrived at your current status. Some will come just to receive, others, to join the bandwagon and show off that they are hanging out with you, and would seek to create friction between you and your tribe. Most of these people are not committed nor loyal to what you stand for, their praises and clamor are fickle that will dwindle the moment the tides turn and your fortunes change.

Thanks for reading!

Stay Happy,

Bibobra

A Tale of Three Kings: Insights to Inspire Personal Growth in You

In my previous article… A Tale of Three Kings: Two Lessons to Inspire Growth in You, I highlighted two major lessons that inspired me. This is the last in this series and I hope that as you read and apply these lessons to your life you would grow and mature in your character and relationships.

Before you read further I would encourage you to read the first article and if you can afford it, buy the book. It will challenge your thought process and change your life in a good way.

Here are some of the key things I took away from the concluding part of the book:

1. David refused to cause harm to King Saul or even cause division in the kingdom. It is very easy for us to take the route of vengeance especially if we are innocent and the person in question is caught in our trap. When David and his men saw King Saul sleeping, his men saw the opportunity as a sign from God. We are quick to make assertions such as…”I have been patient with him/her and even been running away to avoid any kind of trouble but now God has delivered my enemy into my hands…thank you God, now is my turn to serve him/her the bitter pills.” David had the chance to end King Saul’s life but he chose to allow God to do it His own way, he said if God has anointed me king over Israel then at the right time He will enthrone me, I will not hasten the process. You too can imitate this noble act of David. Resist the temptation to be exactly like your adversary, refuse to be influenced negatively by those who chose to repay you evil for the good you did for them.
2. How can you remain faithful between the promise and the payoff? One funny thing about David’s life was that he was very peaceful and relatively happy before Samuel the prophet anointed him king. With the anointing came envy from King Saul and that was followed by torments, trials, and troubles seeking to kill him. What did God do? Nothing! what did David do? Nothing! David believed and trusted God one hundred percent that he would be enthroned at the appointed time even if he had to spend the entire waiting period in caves and running away. My take away from this point is that, you did not asked to be born, hence, you are here for a purpose and if you believe this, then continue to do the best you can and believe that at the right time you will be enthroned. Destiny can be delayed but it cannot be denied. Maintain a positive attitude while you wait to reap the fruits of your labor.
3. Are you willing to live through pain, or do you avoid it? This is an important question because it says a lot about your character. In my previous article 10 Character Building Quotes I highlighted some of the quotes I thought would help you to build your character, you should check it out. One of my favorite in that list is number 6: “A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without trials.” – Seneca. David persevered through trials and difficult times. And it was times and difficulties like these that prepared him for the tasks ahead and as it is highlighted in the book, he had to draw from these experiences to handle Absalom’s rebellion. If you are going to achieve something great then expect great trials and difficulties in proportion to the size of your greatness, embrace them, learn from them, grow and mature.
4. What needs to happen to make you change your good character? At his old age, David’s son Absalom rebelled against him and divided the kingdom. He spoke about his father’s inadequacies, the injustices in the kingdom and how he would make a better king. David was once again caught up in the middle of a battle but this time, with his own son. His men saw this as an insurrection and Just as they advised him in his youth to kill King Saul, he was given the same counsel. The line was drawn between his character and to hold on to power. He had the choice to become Saul and kill Absalom and cling to power or choose his character… “raise no hand” and allow God to decide the matter as he did in the past. David’s character was impeccable, he considered the throne to be God’s, not his own to have, to take, to protect, nor to keep.  He explicitly asserted his desire for God’s will more than His blessings. When Absalom declared himself king, David did nothing…typical of David. He relinquished everything and left the palace but as always God came through and proved Himself mightily to the whole of Israel. If you wish to know how this epic story ended read the book of first and second Samuel.

So what needs to happen to make you change your good character?

How would you respond if similar things were to happen to you?

What needs to happen to put your own inner Saul to death?

Do you agree with David’s commitment to “raise no hand,” or do you find this course too passive?

When can you know when God wants you to take action and when he wants you to accept action taken against you?

Thank you for reading!

Bibobra