Blessed Outside Of My Comfort Zone
Hello dear readers. It is always such a great
pleasure for me to type something on my blog. I created this blog in order to
share my views, but most importantly to share the love that God has shown me. Every
time I am about to post something, my prayer is that it encourages someone out
there. God has done so much in my life that the least I can do is try to share
His love, though it can never be enough to show my gratitude to Him. In my
short life here on Earth -am still living though-, I have seen and experienced
quite a number of things, both good and bad. But in all these things, I want to believe
that God‘s plan was to bring me closer to Him, and He succeeded in doing just
that, because as I am writing right now, my heart longs for Him. I love Him so
much and my desire is always to be in His presence. I love His word. Whenever I
see or hear His word being preached, my heart is filled with joy. But this
feeling of love didn’t just come in one day. It has been a long and tough road.
I don’t mean to say that this is my final destination. Far from it!! My prayer
is like the prayer of Paul the Apostle: ‘Oh that I may know Him and the power of His
resurrection…’’Philippians 3:10. I still want to love Him more, to know
Him more until the perfect day.
I gave my life to Christ in March 1999, back in
Zambia. I remember very well that I was just a teenager, in my 8th
Grade. I had just entered high school. It was the greatest thing that has ever
happened in my life. I saw God change my life completely. But it was also not a
very easy task. I mean we just entered high school. In many cases, that is a
stage where many teenagers become highly excited about worldly things. But God
gave me grace to overcome many temptations. Somehow, I knew deep inside of me
that God loved me and had spared my life from destruction, though I didn’t
deserve it in anyway. Before I had given my life to Christ, I used to listen to
all manner of secular and worldly music. In fact at a certain stage, I was thinking
of becoming a rapper. Yes you saw that right! Very funny, but true. But I thank
God for His grace.
You might be wondering why I am writing all these
things, but you will soon understand. I left Zambia and came to Senegal, after
my precious mother was called to be with the Lord. She was the one that drew me
closer to God. She is still my role model. She taught us how to pray and trust
God even in the most difficult times. Her death, to me, was one of the most
painful events I could have ever imagined. I just didn’t see myself living
without her. But God, who is the greatest Comforter, has been comforting me
even up to this day. I thank God for my dad. He is such a wonderful man. He became
both a father and a mother to me and my siblings. He gave me everything I
needed. I didn’t lack a thing. I was so confortable that I even forgot that
sorrow actually existed, until the day that we left Zambia to come and live in
Senegal, far from my family, far from my loved ones. You see, at a particular
time, I though God had forgotten about me. I somehow lost my Christian life. I went
back to the worldly music, and little by little, lost interest in even praying.
However, deep inside of me, I knew that was not the correct way to do things. I
must confess that even though I was no longer praying or reading the Bible the
way I used to, there were still certain bad things I could never do. I believe
the Holy Spirit was so patient with me, always reminding me of the things that
I had read in His word. Those words kept me from sinning all the time. That is
why I agree with David when he said ‘Thy Word have I hidden in my heart that I
might not sin against you’ Psalm 119:11. That is why I would encourage
every Christian to always study God’s word because it is the words we hide in
our hearts that will save us when temptations come. Like Jesus, when he was
tempted, He used the word of God against the devil and the devil left Him. I somehow
knew God still wanted me back, and finally He got me back to Himself: well not
quite!! It was still a long journey.
After rededicating my life, I found my way back on
the right track; God changed me and received me back in His arms. Oh how great
is His mercy towards us!!! I learnt to trust Him and love Him. However, just
because God is with us does NOT mean that we will not see trouble. In fact, I now
believe that when you are in God, that is the time that the devils tries all he
can to distract you, he brings all manner of challenges and temptations just to
pull us away from God. But thank God for He always gives us victory. I had just
started enjoying my life. God had just blessed me with a very good job in a big
organization and I occupied a managerial post. I was enjoying the salary, the
commissions and all the other benefits that the organization was giving me. All
of a sudden, I had so many friends, (something that was unusually rare for me,
because I have never had the habit of having many friends). But somehow, I
think I was not the one actually asking them to be my friends, but they were
being attracted by my ‘little prosperity’. Not that I am trying to boast, as my
boasting is ONLY in the Lord. But I must confess that not everyone that you
call a friend is really a friend, especially when you have something they need.
I was so confortable in this position. My so called ‘friends’
would come to me for some financial help, and because I have always loved
giving (I think it is a gift that God has given me), I was ready to lend a
helping hand. But then the devil stroke without mercy! Believe me Satan has no
mercy at all. I lost my job and in the twinkle of an eye, I found myself in
need-of many things. I had no money in my account. I had to pay house rentals,
had to settle bills etc. of course, my dad was so kind to me, he would help me
from time to time, but it was not enough especially that I am a lady and needed
extra cash to satisfy some particular needs. I encouraged myself that it was
going to be over in a week’s time or so. I told myself that sooner or later I was
going to get a new job. But God had another plan. I tried to find comfort and help
from my so called friends. Dear readers, almost none of them were willing to
help me. It seemed as if everyone had changed, but I later realized that none
of them had changed, they were being who they really are, a bunch of people
that were just after me because of what I could give them. All of a sudden, I
felt so lonely and cold. Even a person that I so much cherished and helped
started leaving me little by little until he finally closed the chapter on me. But
my real Helper, my Rock of salvation, the Friend that sticks closer than a
brother- Master Jesus didn’t leave me at all. His word that says ‘….yea
they may forget, but I will never forget you’ in Isaiah 49:15b came
true in my life. He was there with me throughout my ordeal, even though at
times I thought He had forgotten me. The first two months of that situation were
so hard for me. Not only was I broke, but I was lonely. There was no one to
encourage me except my two young sisters. I thank God for their lives. They were
like cold water being poured on a dry and thirsty soul. May the Lord richly
bless them.
I couldn’t understand what I had done wrong to be
found in this situation. I found myself confessing all manner of sins thinking
that it was because of sin that I had been put in that situation. Oh how wrong
I was! Because I had nowhere to run to, I just decided to run to the Bible. It was
the best decision I ever made. From the Bible I found out that challenges don’t
necessarily come because we have committed sin, though in some cases it might
be. I read the story of Job. The Bible says he was a righteous man, but God
allowed the devil to strike him. I read the story of Joseph. He was just an
innocent 15 year old boy who had lost his mom. But God allowed his brothers to
sell him off like one piece of garbage. I read about the story of Jesus. The only
begotten son of God, who had no sin in Him. But God allowed the devil to strike
His only Son. Was I more righteous than all these people? Of course not! I cannot
even be compared to them. But why did God do such a thing? I believe this
question is a frequently asked question by so many people in the world. They wonder
why God allows evil stuff to befall even His own people. I asked myself the
same question, and God didn’t hesitate to give me the answer through the
following scripture:
‘And as Jesus passed by, He saw a man which
was blind from his birth. And His disciples asked Him, "Rabbi, who sinned,
this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?" Jesus answered,
"It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that
the works of God might be displayed in him’ John 9:1-3.
My dear readers, I have to end here for today.
Please meditate on this scripture. I will be back very soon to give you the
rest of the story. But in the meantime, please feel free to share or comment if
you think it is worth reading. Should you have any suggestions or something to
share with me, you can send it to jentamba@gmail.com.
God bless you all in Jesus’ name
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