WE should rejoice in the fact we serve a God of multiple chances, we have all fallen short of his glory. When is the last time you thanked God for the gospel of Jesus Christ?
Every day that you wake up is another chance graciously given to you through the pain, the suffering, and the powerful blood of Christ. When you look at it, there are so many great saints who failed the Lord in the Bible, but they got up. When you sin use that opportunity to grow in the Lord. Just like David, Jonah, or Samson, you will be given a choice. Philippians 1:6 says,
“And I am sure of this that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ”
What a proclamation!
I caught up with Annie Natasha Macho, a 23-year-old lady. Her story is a mirror and reflection of the glory of God which reminded me God still fights for his sheep. Born in Gweru and bred in the lovely community of Chitungwiza, Annie always saw herself as an intelligent lady eager to take on the world’s challenges and come up with real solutions affecting the community in which she resided. At some point, she might have been misjudged as being bossy when in reality all she wanted was to make an impact. Like any other human being, she had her fair share of challenges and joy.
Growing up, her parents provided her with everything she needed, for a lack of a better word, she grew up thinking every story has a happy ending. Being raised in a Christian home you are always taught to be positive-minded yet when you get into the real world it is a challenge. It is in the midst of challenges you realize life needs you to view it with practical lenses. You need a personal connection with God to endure some of life’s problems, dealing with challenges on your own may seem like an insurmountable task. Moses suffered several instances of hard times. He struggled to believe he could deliver his people from Egypt and he ran into the wilderness until God appeared to him at the burning bush and called him to do exactly what he had run away from. With God’s help, Moses successfully led his people out of Egypt, free of bondage.
Natasha faced somewhat unexplained sickness which almost took her life, in the midst of that, the medical practitioners had no leading cause for the sickness. Her skin peeled off, losing a considerable amount of weight, unable to eat or bath herself….she lost sight as her eyelids developed blisters which made her eyes shut down completely. Before the sickness, she had a dream to some extent illustrated what she was going to pass through. In the dream, laid a dead woman in a coffin, sitting in the coffin she was preaching, “there is a place where you will go, better than this” As the coffin was passing through her, the dead woman in the coffin paused and gave her three big green leaves saying to her as if it was her last words….GOD LOVES YOU, NEVER GIVE UP ON HIM.
Everyone has got questions but the biggest question we always ask is why we go through the stuff we go through. It is ironic how we focus on triviality and lose focus on our spirituality. The enemy creates a false reality we need justification for what happens to us.
“God why did you take my husband knowing he was the breadwinner, sinners are moving round yet you chose to let my son be hit by a car or why do I have to suffer this way.”
You may dwell much on this, sometimes the answer will not come. As humans here on earth we need to refocus our energy on the path God has set for us.
In her own words, Annie describes the experience as a definitive and gruesome process in her life. She got to a point where she wanted to give up on her body and go to the other side. It is in these moments that made her be strong when everyone had given up on her including the doctors. She held on to the promises of God to heal her even though the medical practitioners said otherwise. It is in a lonely, deserted place you realize you are nothing but a drop in the ocean. The sisters in her ward would hear her crying in prayer and singing hymns praising God. She began to heal. Physically she was tired but had to believe in order to be restored. This reminds us of the story of the woman with the issue of blood, to get what God has for you, you have to fight for what you want, be intentional as it makes a difference, and try again if you fail.
If you are reading this hopefully you are blessed on how God can change your narrative whether in sickness, unemployment, bondage, or whatever you are facing in your life. Life is real and it is made up of victories and losses with pain and joy. The enemy had given her a 3 day window period to die, as her parents and relatives visited her they cried seeing the state of their child. It was a painful pill to swallow to see their daughter passing through that trauma, unimaginable weight loss, inability to walk or see the light of day.
Natasha came out healed, completely delivered because of God’s grace upon her life and you too can make it. I guess it is life challenges that make ordinary people become greater sailors. We live in a world where sin is glorified, it is the new norm.
This article serves to let you focus on God once more, no matter how much you have backslidden, God is calling you today. Never cease to pray!!!
This article was written by Carl Maswoswa.
