Hope

When we lose hope we become easy prey for oppressors: both physical and spiritual.

My prayer for us all in this season is that God grants us the grace and inner strength to continuously be hopeful no matter what.

That we create communities where when we feel hopeless, we will be lifted by the hope we see in others. Hope has been the Single factor that has pulled many out of unthinkable situations to places of complete liberation and rest.

Let’s acknowledge the pain, hurt, confusion, and the feelings of helplessness/hopelessness; release those and be intentional at guarding our hope.

Hope creates the foundation we need to build what we want to see. Hope enables us to see. Hope enables us to dream. Hope enables us to identify the good. Hope enables us to see stinking situations as manure that can be used to fertilize and realize a beautiful dream.

Hope keeps the atmosphere open and ready for the manifestation of what might seem impossible. Hope enables us to keep taking care of ourselves and putting one foot forward after another because in our minds eye we can see a better tomorrow so we stay preparing for it so that once what our mind sees manifests, we can be in a good place to step fully into it to play our part with excellence.

Hopefull people never lose. Refuse to lose by being quietly or loudly hopeful. Guard against surrendering to hopelessness… It spirals quickly into something else. Even though you can’t see it or feel it hope is been an age old powerful force responsible for creating powerful positive shifts in people, places and situations that were otherwise hopeless.

Never underestimate the power of hope. After you have done all… stand in quiet/loud hope.

RefuseToLose #StandingInQuietHope #Unstoppable #ItsMyBeautifulSeason #ItsYourBeautifulSeason #ItsABeautifulSeason

Haters

The way conversations and statements about haters is being thrown around these days sets off a discomfort and uneasiness in me that is being difficult to shake off.

I have had my fair share of people who do not agree with me on many levels on issues that I’m passionate about. I have had people who I thought had my back sabotage me in ways that in some ways, I’m yet to recover from. But the question remains are they haters?

Believe me when I say I have pondered over this a lot, seeking answers. I have read around a bit and wanting to understand the trending label of haters. I chanced upon this video of Tyler Perry in the Lakewood Church talking about the same subject and his explanation resonates with me more. In the message titled climb and maintain, he gives an illustration of when an aircraft takes off and is flying.

When there are people who have supported you consistently and seem to all of a sudden abandon you or now there seem to be some Form of misunderstanding, it’s not always because they are haters. It might be just that, they are just going through a rough patch themselves, it might be hormones(especially for women at a certain stage in life) itighy be that their role in your life is over and they are handing over the baton to the next person who has been designated to be with you in the next season of your lifes journey.

When you are leveling up, a new job, marriage, entrepreneural endeavor, relocation, more commitment in your faith, more committment to your goals, decision to be committed to family life etc, not every single person in your circles will understand, your changed behavior and support it. And that is okay.

I have come to understand and accept that it’s okay to be misunderstood and sometimes in the bid to explain ourselves to people who are committed to misunderstanding us, we lose ourselves along the way.

It could also mean that I might not have been communicating the right way and learn to improve on my communication skills. It could also mean that I am burnt out from all the demands regarding my decision to level up and I am also growing and adjusting in finding my feet in my new season.

It could also be that I didn’t choose a good friend from the beginning and so the new season or changes in my life has revealed that fact.

We need to have deep introspection, have honest conversations with ourselves and get to the root of issues before we start to label others as haters. In the absence of that we are prone to make the same decisions over and over again and we will be stuck with the mindset that most people are haters when we are the ones who are the common denominator in all the relationships we’ve had.

Another angle to look at this is not everyone is equipped to do the next level of life with you…..pause let that sink in. Does that make them haters? Does being ill equipped to handle something that is beyond a person’s capacity make them haters?

Other times people are also going through their own seasons of change. Seasons of change can be pretty brutal on a person. It could be an empty next, menopause, peri-menopause, a health issue, financial situation, career complications, family drama, death of a loved one etc etc. Even positive seasons of change can make a person seem unsupportive towards you.

I have lost count on how many friends and family relationships changed when they got married or relocated or got that dream job etc, etc and rightly so.
Others the overwhelm that such changes brought into their lives still remained steadfast in our relationship.

Sometimes people just outgrow us… Ouch… truth hurts right? Or we’ve just outgrown them as well. It’s healthy. I know it doesn’t feel that way right now but that’s exactly what you need.

It could also mean you are right, that the heat in your life, the purification process that is required to level up, revealed the snakes in your life. It can be brutally hurtful… but I hope we are all able to pick ourselves and heal from that, forgive and have some energy left to move on.

I hope we survive the loneliness that leveling up requires, as you build a new tribe at every stage and I hope we do the work to heal, leave the baggage behind, travel light and be able to embrace all the richness in new friendships and relationships in your new season.

It is time we begin to look within, it is time to let go of relationships that no longer serve us with grace not resentment, being grateful for the beautiful years we’ve shared. It’s time to make forgiveness a lifestyle. It is time to embrace that snakes are part of the earth’s eco-system and equip ourselves so when we find one within our circles, the discovery will not become our permanent undoing. It’s time to set a reminder that not everyone is equipped to be with us in every season of our life. It’s time to embrace being misunderstood. It’s time to set the values right when choosing our tribe. It is time to learn how to communicate well. It is time to embrace the loneliness that comes from leveling up, believing we will find those who are supposed to ride it with us. It’s time to understand that fact that majority of people we’ve labeled as haters, could it be that they are not?

Here’s to all the friends and family who choose/are equipped to stand by us through all the different seasons of life, and continue to remain fiercely loyal even though sometimes they do not understand us. Thanks for being the comfort blanket we need, the safe place that reminds us that we are worth unconditional love.

An Inheritance or a Paycheck: Which one do you prefer?

Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.

Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward and that master you are serving is Christ. Col. 3:23-24 (NLT)

Whatever maybe your task, work at it heartily (from the soul), as (something done for the Lord not for men; knowing (with certainty) that is from the Lord (and not from men) that you will receive the inheritance which is your (real) reward. (The one whom) you are actually serving (is) the Lord Christ (the Messiah). Col. 3:23-24 (AMP)

Servants, do what you’re told by your earthly masters. And don’t just do the minimum that will get you by. Do your best. Work from the heart for your real Master, for God, confident that you’ll get paid in full when you come into your inheritance. Keep in mind always that the ultimate Master you’re serving is Christ. The sullen servant who does shoddy work will be held responsible. Being a follower of Jesus doesn’t cover up bad work. Col. 3:23-24 (MSG)

My favorite is the MSG version, phew God’s standards are sure high! Sometimes when I read the bible I say to myself, this is a hard saying, who can bear J but I remember that God is the one who gives us power to become children of God. Which means we are unable to obey His word by our own strength unless we are willing and surrendered, then he empowers us to obey Him.

That being said, the reality is some work environments are just toxic. The in-thing in most places is most businesses and organisations are more concerned about the bottom line than the people who work for them. This leaves room for abuse because whoever can work the system by ‘whatever’ means gets to win.

This message is for those who have done their homework well. You are abreast with happenings in your area of expertise and then some. You have upgraded yourself such that the only thing you have not done yet is a PhD! You are diligent in your work, working well with the right attitude and excellently. You have prayed, fasted, sent out several applications, attended interviews in the hope to change jobs yet nothing positive comes up. It looks like your life sentence is just working smart and hard whiles watching other people who seem not to be putting in much effort reap the rewards. You have spoken up several times about this to your supervisors and HR and you get full assurance that you will be sorted yet you keep being overlooked all the time for promotion.

Interestingly, you have become an institution J (no pun intended!) for training people who are strategically placed and eventually move into more rewarding positions. In the meantime, your 40ft containers full of prophesies of your impending breakthroughs are exploding at the seams. God has even confirmed to you personally several times that He will do it. Amazingly, you stand in the gap for other people regarding the same issue and like magic things fall into pleasant places for them.

In my Christian walk I have come to believe that even though the word of God sounds FOOLISH most times, when you brace yourself and obey, the rewards are mind-blowing. A sister-friend of mine always says that God is a show-man and I have personally experienced that truth in my life; He is indeed a showman. I can say without reservation that if you are an obedient Christian, there is no way you will lose out. Even if what you believed God for does not materialize in your lifetime, generations after you in your bloodline will enjoy the good seeds you are sowing today.

I know generational thinking is not very popular in this era, we want everything and we want it now but really when you think about it which one is better, great paycheck with super position and benefits or a lovely inheritance from our Lord Jesus Christ who has the whole world with its riches in His hands? You be the judge.

He might even choose to pleasantly surprise you with both the great paycheck with super position and benefits and a lovely inheritance. He is God and sovereign so after you have done all my brothers and sisters just stand. Your labour will NEVER be in vain. He is super faithful.

Hugs to all who are feeling unappreciated/unrewarded/invincible/ in the workplace.

Have a rewarding day!

Emefa Gadze