Obimo, cheta........

Over the course of my life, I have had many conversations with God but I think this is the first time I am consciously having one with my heart. I share with you for perhaps, it is one you need to have too. Yes, maybe like me, you need to remind your heart about some important truths as we close out 2017 and go into 2018.

Obimo, Cheta. That there is nothing too hard for our PapaGod. He never fails. Remember how he has come through for us this year. Look at you today, still beating in my chest. How many hugs or comforting words from man do you think could have done that? Just not possible. Your pain was, is too deep. Yet, see how God has held all your broken pieces together as His Spirit slowly mends you back to wholeness. Dear Heart of mine, please remember that being a Christ-follower does not exempt us from trials and painful loss. But we have this assurance: Whatever we will need during those times, God IS.

Obimo, Cheta. How yesterday you were beating fast as I got so upset with our lastborn son. He was grumbling about us not having flowing water upstairs. I was like, “What? Can’t you just even be grateful you don’t have to go fetch water from a river?”  I continued: “Instead of you to give thanks that you even have a clean shower to step into. Not some makeshift shed in the bush?” Dear Heart of mine, I am so sorry for making you race but can we just remember that this is exactly how we sound when we whine and grumble during difficult times in life? Imagine how our PapaGod must feel when we demonstrate the same ingratitude. Please let’s commit to taking time to think before we allow the devil to move us into a place of ingratitude. Deal? Deal. And please, let’s apologise to LBS. We did not need to yell. God never yells at us.

Obimo, Cheta. Please remember that thanksgiving is the key that opens the door through which God will come down into our situations. Biko, let’s remember this and make thanksgiving our native dialect. See, dear Heart of mine, our appreciation of God must not be linked to our circumstances. Do you recall that scripture I hid in you some years back? The one that made us realise that God has not really asked us to thank him ‘for’ all things but ‘in’ all things and situations? Yes, that one. First Thessalonians 5:18. Remember how relieved we were because thanking God for bad stuff just felt so wrong. But giving him thanks and praise “in, as we go through or despite” bad situations seemed more doable by his grace.  And you know, I like it when we do this. Why? Because it is just so much fun frustrating the enemy! Once we do this, he knows he has lost once again.

Obimo, please Cheta. That our PapaGod has told us what his will is. He wills us to be thankful in all circumstances.  Please dear Heart of mine, keep me thankful. God is not suggesting. He is commanding. I don’t want to be outside of God’s will. That’s a dangerous place to be. And please, remember that being thankful to God goes beyond being cute or polite. The kind of thanksgiving we owe God comes from a deep place within you, my heart. A place of gratitude we only get to by spending time to think and reflect on how much God has blessed and helped us. You and I, we can think for Africa, so we ought to be natural born ‘thankers’.

Finally, Obimo, Cheta. That God is never late. Trust his timing and his love for us. Remember that it is just 2017 that is ending, not our life. If we are still waiting for the fulfilment of God’s promises to come to pass, that is already something to rejoice about for only the living ‘wait’. There are many who were also still waiting for answers to their prayers who today, are dead. Not only are you and I alive, we have the promise of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.

Written by Salt Essien-Nelson

Salt Essien-Nelson is a blogger/author based in Lagos, Nigeria. You can connect with her via her blog - The Salt Chronicles on Blogger where she is ‘seasoning’ the world around her one salt blog at a time or send her an e-mail via abimbolaen@yahoo.com