INSIGHT

WE DON’T KNOW

A knowledge of the future and/or an understanding of what tomorrow holds makes life a live-able adventure. – FACT

Some people do not believe in God or any higher being, but they admit to the limitations in their knowledge… both natural and scientific.

One of our major deficiencies is our inability to accurately predict the future. The closest we’ve got is what is termed “calculated risk”…..and the scale goes towards “total uncertainty”. (We just don’t know what will happen tomorrow)

This undeniable hole in our intelligence has driven us to harness the latent energy in our past to get an estimate of the future through a process called “Future Projection”.

Some of us however come from the school of thought that the future is somehow predetermined…. And hence all we need do is get access to the entities/channels that knows this future.
Horoscopes are common examples of our quest to know tomorrow.
In a nut shell, the future is what each and every one of us would like to know for one reason or the other. Be it to know who to marry, where to live, what course to take, what company to work for or what things to do to get immunity from all the crisis that surrounds us.

WHETHER TO CHANGE

Another dimension to this writing is the concept of “change.”
A common realization is that “change” is not something we readily embrace.
I’ll split “change” into different categories to help explain its relevance in this write up.

Natural change: These changes occur and we don’t have any power over them. An example will be physical growth. You can get your hair trimmed every fortnight but that doesn’t make you a baby…. Let’s face it… You’re 40yrs old…

Compulsory change: With this type of change, there is an option of not changing, but limitations exist that makes not changing an unreasonable choice. An example will be a change undertaken in the case of survival. Being overweight or having bad habits will have damning outcomes… so change kind of becomes compulsory… least for your own good.

Enforced change: This change happens when you’re subject to a higher authority. A company changing its modus operandi requires all staff to comply irrespective of their opinions. Failure to do so might mean you’ll have to go and start your own business (I mean get the sack).

Willing change: Changes we choose to undergo without any external prompting. Like me deciding to build some muscles (ok….probably for the ladies)

‘COS WE’RE SCARED

One of the reasons for our defiance to change is the presence of risk and uncertainties about the future effects of the change in question.
My decision to build muscles might put me in an enviable position where I’ll have ladies swarming around me (more than I can handle) lol…. (I wish).
Take the NHS for example…. The changes they’ve undergone have not been productive enough and Labour might just loose the next election on account of changes gone wrong.

Change becomes relatively easy to undergo if these two factors (RISK and UNCERTAINTY) are taken care of i.e. you can accurately determine when change will become beneficial or detrimental.

The elimination of the factors of risk and uncertainty is what is termed INSIGHT

BUT DON’T BE

For the 3rd year running, I’m required to participate in a group project whereby we’re given the freedom to choose the people we want to work with.

Over the past two years, I’ve been privileged to work with an intelligent group of people and our results speak for us.
So it was with great ease that I decided that my former group will be the answer to my latest project.
But it wasn’t meant to be. I was led not to continue with a tried and tested team, who hasn’t wronged me and instead join another group whose credentials are nowhere to be confirmed.

I did and we’re about 5 weeks into the project and I can say my “fear of the unknown” was the biggest hindrance in joining the new group.

Where I come from …they say
“It is short sightedness that makes you think your father’s farm is the largest…. If you visit other people’s farm, yours might just be average”.

And the new group depicts this. They have a different way of doing things and admittedly a lot better than I was expecting.
In this few weeks, I have, through the influence of my new team experience things I may never get an opportunity to experience if I’d stayed where I was, benefiting from the term “Blessing by Association”.

GOD KNOWS ALL

“If I’d known about these wonderful blessings, I wouldn’t have hesitated joining this group from the word go”
If I’d had some “insight”, the decision would have been easier.

And that is the highlight of this article… if we can find a reliable source of insight….folks; it is the beginning of a better life.

I know someone that knows the beginning from the end and the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46 vs 9-10)
Not just that.....He knows me right from before I was conceived in my mother’s womb (Jeremiah 1 vs 5)

If this person knows so much about me, what part of my life (past, present, future) will He not know?
I thought deeply about this question and the answer I could come up with is “None”… He knows everything concerning me.
All I need to do is continually obey his instructions ….even those ones concerning change…..And bang I’ll be walking with Insight.

He said .....“The thoughts he has towards me are not of evil but of good. To give me a future and a hope….(Jeremiah 29 vs 11)

As I patiently rely on His full knowledge, I can start living an “uncertainty free and risk free” life… i.e. the next friend I’ll make will be pointed out to me….
That’s what I call Insight…. Obeying God

WE DON’T KNOW WHETHER TO CHANGE ‘COS WE’RE SCARED…BUT DON’T BE …GOD KNOWS ALL

Have I just failed?

A few weeks ago I said and I quote:

“I am not bothered about failing. I have been in this position before and from experience, extraordinary things always happen”.

For the next 6 days, I did everything within my capability to make the extraordinary feat come to reality.
Self motivation, mind exploration, body renovation, spiritual revelations....name it..... were all employed to help me believe that I will do very well and by the way... it is against all odds.

Hours ticked by, days and nights passed.... AND the D-DAY dawned. My attire for this day had been pre-determined.... including the shoes that were meant to usher in success.

Set out of the house with an aura of confidence, conjuring up an adroit way of handling the subject of my test.
I went through the final drill and my supervisor/instructor was stunned that he had to ask “aren’t you nervous?”...... My immediate answer was “NO”

A few minutes later, I was in the thick of the test.... seemed such a long time and finally it came to an end.
I have lived it.... YES!!! I exclaimed.... beaming with smiles and a glowing demeanour.

“I can reproduce it ..... It works.... the preparation.....the motivation...... the belief.....and much more.... ...the bravery of trying and going for it.

I cannot be stopped... I told myself.... This surely is one thing I’ve discovered about myself.... that it’s never too late....for me to achieve whatever I want to achieve.

And Here I am today.... walking this planet like you.....but I’m not so sure we have the same mindset.... or do we?

Who do you see yourself as?????
Do you give up at the slightest opposition?
Will you ever summon up the courage to face your fears?
Or you’re very much ready to live by the dictates of life.

Let me open your mind to reality.... A dictate of life is that whatever goes up comes down under the influence of a force called gravity........ We can all accept this fact and live our lives with this knowledge.... but... NO... we...... ok, (probably not you and I).... but we (humans).... came up with the innovation that makes us cruise at 30,000 feet.... WHAOOO....

Adidas says it all................. “Impossible is nothing”
God gives it all.................... “I can do all things......” (Philippians 4 vs. 13)

Every day, this is what I try to live by and so should you.... Circumstances should never tell you who you are...

Back to my story:

You’ve probably not wondered what my result was for the test... Asking you to guess might just be too straight forward ‘cos you’ll guess right..... OR NOT!!!!

RESULT = FAILED (Yep that’s right)

Admittedly, I had mixed feelings when I got the result.....but my supervisor made a statement that changed it all for me..... .he said “Son, you have failed with dignity”

Now, there’s nothing dignified about failure.... But he understands that.... I am not a failure....

So.......Have I just failed? ..... The obvious answer is NO..... I’ve just learnt how not to kill someone on the road......

UNFAILING LOVE

Unfailing Love

And now these three remain.........faith, hope and love but the greatest of these is love (1corinthians 13 vs. 13)

The cosmos (universe seen as an ordered system) is a striking resemblance of the compatibility of different particles (if humans can be called) not by force, not by law, but in an entity called “LOVE”.
It’s not surprising to see love in these things simply because the creator “God is love” (1 John 4 vs. 8)
Right from the beginning of creation, God has loved us. All went perfectly well until imperfection sets in.... not on God’s part but on the part of man. We sold ourselves to slavery, putting God in a fix, He couldn’t let us go because He loved you and I, but a ransom had to be paid.
Jesus stepped into the scene, having the form of God (Love); He laid down His life for us. He paid the debt He didn’t owe to cancel the price we couldn’t pay.

In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus dreaded what he’ll have to go through. When our sins was laid upon him on the cross, He felt a separation and He cried with a loud voice ”Eloi, eloi, lamasabacthni”.....My God My God , why have you forsaken.
Jesus was lonely, neglected and deserted at that point by His father. The physical Agony was horrible but the spiritual alienation from God was the ultimate torture. He died for you and I to reconcile us back to God. (Romans 5 vs. 1)
It wasn’t easy but it was worth it because of his unfailing love.

There are times we forget our weakness and strive so hard to earn love... God’s love.
In many cases, we leave His word and end up with false ideas. Either we are too good to deserve His love or we are not able to get his love and assume that we are not qualified. Some other times, what we do is insult God with our indifference towards the greatest act of genuine love in history.

The bible tells us that “God loves us”. His love has no beginning and it is incredibly patient. Just respond to His loving call and don’t try to earn what is freely given.
He sacrificed His son for you, not when you were good but when you were imperfect (Romans 5 vs. 8)
God says my son paid for what is unacceptable about you. Now live because of my love; respond to me; love me with your whole being; give yourself to me, not as a payment but in thanksgiving.
Live life fully with the freedom of knowing you are loved with an "UNFAILING LOVE".

MOTHER

A few months ago, I was in a position that I am again right now…. All I wanted to do was sit down, pull the keyboard closer and menacingly type my way through a tirade of thoughts about women.
Not just any woman is set to be my focus of discussion, but rather women who have been there… women who have traveled the distance… I mean… been to the so called “heaven”… those who have tasted the sweetness of a man…
Women who by chance…..stupidity…..mistake…..or by planning have lived the disfigurement brought about by bulging bellies.
Women who by patience…determination…strength…and a strong resolve endured the pains of childbirth.
Women who have experienced the good….the bad…the…ugly and the joy
Women who can be called MOTHERS.

Today….I’m drawing my keyboard closer… in preparation to tell you how wonderful mothers can be.

Mothers are a big influence in every child’s life. The love they give, the care, the sacrifices and the first word of a child ....“mummy”..... bears testimony to their impact.

Not surprisingly, the high esteem of the mother figure cuts across cultures, and it echoes in different parts of our communities… from India to the remote parts of Africa.

I am not writing to sell motherhood to you or even make you thing you owe your mum(s) anything…..because you might not…..rather I’m writing so you may know that I owe a lot to my mother …

“Remember the son of who you are” is a phrase I expect to hear whenever I speak to my mum….
But think about it…. Wouldn’t it be very depressing for me to remember who my mother is…..if she is very uncaring, unreasonable, lazy, and a bad role model.

Fortunately, I always want to remember “the son of whom I am”…..and it’s not just because I want to make her proud or be a good son…. Rather, it’s because “who she is” brings joy to my soul.
My mother is the best mum you can ever dream of…..ask my siblings…..
It’s not because she’s fabricated in a “school for mothers”….Instead…. She has taken the time out to engrave her children into her own existence…. Not only her, all good mothers do the same.

At this point I stand to acknowledge many more mothers like mine that are in this world… Numerous they are and on behalf of their children… I say thank you for putting smiles on our faces… because we do love you.

QUALITIES OF A GOOD MOTHER (Proverbs 31 vs. 10 – 31)

A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life. She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands. She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar.

She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls. She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks. She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night.

In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers. She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy. When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet. She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple. Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land. She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes.

She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:

"Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all." Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

Mother, today I arise and call you blessed.