Category Archives: Enlightenment

God’s Revelation to Me

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Humility has been on my mind since this past weekend and a revelation by the Holy Spirit has caused me to approach God differently: boldly, but with humility.

I see humility as my realization that I am flesh and blood…from dust I came and to dust I shall return. I am nothing without God. I am only breathing because God’s breath is in my body.

I have been thinking about humility in relation to God being my Father. An earthly Father, there’s a certain way I would approach him…with reverence…respect. I wouldn’t command or demand anything of him, but ask and of course ask in faith.

On Saturday, my approach to God dropped in my spirit. I immediately accepted what the Spirit was revealing to me. I can boldly approach the throne of grace in faith, but that has to be paired with humility. I think of Esther who approached the king and when she approached, she bowed because although he was her husband, he was also king. She boldly approached him in that he did not call for her, but she humbled herself before him knowing she was at His mercy. She then made her request.

I am grateful to God for helping me to see who I am and reminding me in a simple way that if I were to approach an earthly father in humility and with reverence, how much more Him: the Father of ALL fathers and King of the universe.

May God continue to reveal himself to me in the name of Jesus.

Growing in Christ,

Hadassah

Stop Gossipping!

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Let’s be real: you’ve gossipped before right? You won’t readily admit it, but it’s probably true.

In fact, I’ve gossipped before – and I’m not proud of it. Quite frankly, it’s a shame. It’s nasty. It’s hurtful.

It may not be murder or robbery, but it’s still sin. It’s wrong. The reality is we can “murder” or “kill” someone’s reputation with gossip. We can “rob” someone of their peace when we disturb their spirit because of what is being said. Proverbs 26 verse 20 says, “Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth.” Whether the information is true or false, why be the wood that enables the fire? If the person were present, would you still share that information?

Look, you have probably heard what someone has said about you right? Didn’t it hurt or disappoint you? Have you not done the same at some point over WhatsApp or while meeting up with your friend at Starbucks or on the phone? Even Christians sometimes get caught up in gossip while sharing and asking another Christian to pray about a matter. Beware believers!

We preface the gossip with:

“I understand that…”
“I heard that…”
“My friend (name), is going through the same thing. The only difference with her is…”

If someone has shared something personal with us or we are aware of a matter – whether a married man has children with other women, a woman wears the pants in the relationship, a couple has been trying for years to conceive, your colleague’s nephew died of AIDS or the next door neighbour’s godson got caught stealing from his workplace – is that our business? Does it concern you? How is the information being shared helping the situation?

Think: Is what you’re saying edifying or fueling the rumour mill? What if it were you or your family member being discussed? How would you feel? Proverbs 25 verse 9 encourages us to, “…discover not a secret to another.” And remember, he who gossips with you, will gossip about you! Why not choose to uninstall your internal gossip app?!

Here are FOUR practical tips to stop gossip in its track:

1) Switch on the gossiper and find something positive about the person or situation to say. Turn the tables.

2) Be bold and say, “Honestly, that’s her/his business. Let’s leave it alone.”

3) If you are in a group and gossipping is occurring, literally remove yourself with an “Excuse me. I have to leave.” And if for some reason, it’s impractical, simply do not join in the conversation. If someone pushes you by asking a question, simply say, “I’m staying out of it” or “It aine my business.”

4) Turn the gossip into an opportunity to pray. Encourage the person gossipping to pray about it and remind them that God is able to turn the situation around.

Today, let us pledge to do better regarding gossiping:

I pledge to mind my own business.

Simple.

Growing in Christ,

Hadassah

Less Me. More God!

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It’s been long. Far too long. I have not posted anything in this space in nearly three months.

I am led now though to share some thoughts: God has been doing a wonderful work in my life. I am growing in Christ and it is but for the grace of God!

The growth is evident because in recent weeks, I’ve experienced a shift in my atmosphere. Notice, I didn’t say a shift in the atmosphere, but a shift in MY atmosphere.

My thinking has changed. It has evolved. I find myself more interested in doing God’s will than my own. In fact, during my evening worship today, I sang along with William McDowell as he belted out the simple, yet profound words of, ‘I Give Myself Away.’ The lyrics resonate with me:


Here I am
Here I stand
Lord, my life is in your hands
Lord, I’m longing to see
Your desires revealed in me
I give myself away

I give myself away (I want to be used by you)
So You can use me
I give myself away
I give myself away
So You can use me

Take my heart
Take my life
As a living sacrifice
All my dreams all my plans
Lord I place them in your hands


Truly, I am at the point in my spiritual walk where I am beginning to divest myself of things I have really wanted… yearned for. I am at the point of: Not my will, but THY WILL be done…whatever that will might be. There are earthly things I desire, but I have decided: Even if you don’t give them to me, Lord I will still praise you, I will still worship you…I will still serve you, for you are God – and God ALONE! I want nothing or nobody more than I want God.



My life is no longer about me. It’s less me and more God. I am more interested in being a light and the salt of the earth than attaining things, accolades etc.

I am here to serve God, sharing the unadulterated gospel of Jesus Christ, in person and on social media. I am reminded of wise King Solomon, who surmised that all of the things in the world and of the flesh are vanity and vexation of spirit. In the end, we can’t take a thing with us. God won’t ask us about our degrees, our followers…our awards. As Jesus commanded: “Occupy till I come” (Luke 19:13); however, we are not to become so occupied that we give Him a backseat to our lives, only telling Him to hop in front or drive when we are on rough terrain. We must allow Jesus to take His rightful place in our lives.



Anyway, just thought I’d give someone some inspiration by sharing my heart. Join me in realizing: Our lives are not our own. Let’s give ourselves to Him…fully. His way or no way.

Growing in Christ,
Hadassah

Let it Go!

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I really admire determined people and if you know some scenarios in my life, you would know that I have stayed the course and persevered. I’ve tasted the sweetness of victory after struggles. However, I recently had a situation where I recognized the need to not go to the finish line. And guess what? I’m okay with that.

For work, a particular department was mandated to have all of its employees take two one-month online courses, free of charge to them. I found out about it and decided to sign up, although it wasn’t mandatory for me. I figured I’d upskill.

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I decided to challenge myself and take an Excel course, knowing full well that a course I did in college which only had Excel as a topic had me lost! Yet, I decided to not do a course with Excel as a subject – but take a WHOLE EXCEL COURSE. Go figure! Well, today – during week three – I dropped the class. Yes, I was near the finish line, but I can tell you that the struggle was real! It was so awful that I felt stressed, my head was light, my body felt heavy, I felt pressured, I worked an inordinate amount of time on one question, I allowed myself to become cranky and I just wasn’t getting it. It just wasn’t clicking for me. This wasn’t working.

Yes, as a Christian, I am quite aware that “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13), but I also realize my interest wasn’t really there. I was going against the grain from the get go and before the course, I had preconceived perceptions (not the best way to approach anything!) I experienced trepidation from before it started. Additionally, I had work and personal commitments; for example, during one class, I had to attend an important work-related Zoom meeting. Then, another day, I had an unexpected interruption which took me away from class for about an hour (that really threw me off). And yes, I know life happens, and I know what it is to juggle things, but missing half an hour or an hour of a 14-week class, condensed into four weeks – which I was already struggling with – was like missing several lessons! It was rough!

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So what did I do? I dropped that class. It wasn’t even mandatory for me to do anyhow! Yes. There you have it. I dropped the class. But in doing so, I learned that it’s okay to sometimes not continue pursuing something. It might be a particular major, a relationship…a career.

There was a small sense of failure, which overshadowed me, but only for a few moments. I quickly rebounded and just faced it: Excel is not my cup of tea. Further, I just wasn’t that interested. Excel is like a foreign language to me. Honestly. It’s like a friend of mine who went to college and initially started out with a science focus. That friend struggled, until an advisor reviewed her grades and pointed out how well she was doing in English classes. She switched her major and came into her own as an English major, eventually going on to teach English. And she absolutely loves it! Is she a failure because she didn’t finish that science degree? No. In fact, she is an excellent teacher, a hard worker and truly loves her students and wants to see them succeed. She recognized her strength and channeled her energy in a different direction.

So yeah, as I sit here typing, I feel lighter. I feel free, quite frankly. I just think in life, there are some things worth pursuing, but there are some things we just need to know when to let go. Some people consider it giving up. In this case, I say I let go. This was a ‘Do you boo’ situation.’ It was in my best interest, particularly as I was being affected mentally to the point of it manifesting physically. I’ve been working since I was 19 and I am now in my 40s. I have never had to use Excel. I truly believe it is useful to know, but it’s not absolutely necessary in my line of work. My instructor tried to convince me to stay, but Why should I stress myself out to prove a point to anyone – including myself?

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Maybe someone else needs this too. Perhaps it’s speaking to you. We all have certain talents, passions…strengths. For example, I’ve read of a banker who left banking to become a makeup artist. Not only does she love it, but she’s thriving and quite popular! I know of another person who left a job as a veteran accountant to make way less money teaching Accounts in the high school system, but that person loves it! Do what you love and stick with it. It doesn’t mean it will be all smooth sailing, but when you have challenges along the way, at least know, ‘I’m in this for the long haul.’ Nothing wrong with challenging ourselves – that’s healthy – and I know some things in life don’t come easy. But this was just one of those situations that just wasn’t worth it for me.

I’m linguistically inclined. I’m a writer. I’m a blogger. I’m a speaker…a journalist at heart…I’m a communicator. That is who I am and I’mma stay in my lane!

Growing in Christ,

Hadassah