GLORY’S PASSAGEWAY

Hello there dear gist partner!!!

How are you doing today? How has October been for you so far? It is my prayer that you remain sensitive to God’s presence and that your desire to walk with Him never goes away. 

I am really sorry for not coming here to gist with you last week, it was a lot that day: time got away from me and I was so weak that day that I couldn’t come to gist, please forgive me 🙏🏾. 

Anyway, welcome to today’s gist. 

I’m currently on a study of the book of Revelation and I saw something in Chapter 12 that I decided to share today for two reasons; so that you also learn from it and also so that I never forget too (fun fact: the book is called Revelation, not Revelations –I am hoping I am not the only person who has been calling it the second one, make e no be like say na only me no know; and if, like me, you didn’t know before, you’re welcome 😉 ). Verses 1 and 2 records as follows: “And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth.” (ESV) As I read this, and the continuing passage, I realized something: this woman was bath in splendor, awaiting glory and going through labour pains –the most intense and indescribable pain a person could ever feel on earth. As I thought about this, the Lord said to me: the glory awaiting you doesn’t cancel out the stress, pain and challenges that it would take to get there. I realized the immense truth of this because sometimes we’re tempted to think that the fact that God has given us a glimpse of the beauty and glory of the future means that it will be a peachy experience getting there, that isn’t always the truth. There’ll still be battles that you will have to fight to get there, there’ll be challenges on the way but remember, the glory coming and the challenges present do not cancel each other out, they both validly exist as seasons in your journey; one as the passageway, the other as the destination. 

Too many times,  the craziness of the challenges that we face has us thinking that we may have heard or seen wrong, or that we have fallen out of purpose or that God couldn’t truly have sent you on a journey that involves a lot of pain. That’s the devil’s lie: when he sells you the narrative that the path of God should be strife and challenges free, he is able to lure you out of purpose into the ‘road wey you no know’ because it seems easier and if it’s easier, then it must be the actual path that God intends for you because after all, His plans and thoughts for you are “of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11, NKJV). But if you read the passage, you will notice that God didn’t say anything about stress free. So, in a bid to find the ‘true’ path God seemingly has for us which would always be ‘stress-free’, we then walk out of purpose and move into where God no send you and what happens when you’re away from purpose, the covering of alignment isn’t there, then you become susceptible to any attack the enemy deems fit to throw at you (yes, the attack may be so subtle that you won’t realize that you’ve gone under). It is for this reason that Jesus says in Matthew 7:13-14 that: “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (ESV) Don’t be tempted by the ‘easy’ way, it may not be God-sponsored. 

Am I saying that suffering or challenges are the way to know if you’re walking in God’s will? NO! You can very well be suffering and still be outside of God’s will. What I am saying in fact is that you should not doubt or deviate from what God has clearly told you and even confirmed to you because the road to the place isn’t a smooth ride; the Lord says: you just keep your eyes on the glory ahead (what He has told you is the destination) and obey even through the suffering and/or challenges, dawn surely will come! 

Besides, there’s only one way this thing ends: YOU WIN! Once you’re in alignment with God’s will, there’s only one outcome for this: YOU WIN! I want you to remember this during the toughest challenges that you face, in the hardest times in your journey, once you’re walking in obedience, know that at the end of the day, your victory is certain!

May God help us to continue to walk in alignment, no matter how hard the journey gets. 

TUNES AND THOUGHTS: our song recommendation for this week is ‘Promises’ by Maverick City Music. This song is a reminder of God’s faithfulness, an assurance that no matter what happens, no matter how stormy and challenging life gets, you can always trust God because He won’t let you down. Stay in alignment, walk with God, He will take you safely to where He has prepared for you, if only you trust Him enough to walk with Him. I pray that this song blesses your heart too. 

Audiomack: https://audiomack.com/demetrianaamichellee18/song/promises-feat-joe-l-barnes-naomi-raine-maverick-city-tribl?share-user-id=140072136 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/5suRrn5N4HNeRXOpBTdmZt?si=eNXWvNCYRbmPyRPA4Svq0w 

YouTube Music: https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=4co0Q2Z98U8&si=FlmAvwQ60Yqx5H07 

Well, that is that about that as far as that is concerned, see you next week!

Love 

Achenyo.