I think it’s fair to say that we’re all dealing with loss in different ways, this year. For one, we’ve all lost time. The months spent in lockdown is time we can possibly never recover. Time and the plans attached to it have seemingly wasted away. A lot of people have lost income this year. Businesses have closed or had to cut down on staff or reduce salaries, affecting the livelihoods of many. And many have lost loved ones, the greatest loss of all. How do we deal with loss when we believe and trust God to protect all that is ours from harm?

While reading the famous Psalm 23, I was comforted by verse 4 where David speaks about how God restores his soul. The Hebrew for ‘restore’ in this text simply means ‘to return’. When God restores, he brings back, which implies that there was a loss, because you cannot return what was not taken away. This made me understand this psalm in a new light. David boldly proclaims in the first verse how he shall not lack because the Lord shepherds him. Him not lacking did not mean he never experienced seasons of lack, but actually pointed to how he doesn’t lack because of what God does in his life – restoring where there is loss.

When faced with loss, we find hope in God’s ability to restore. In Scripture, we repeatedly see God restores, and just how limitless He is in restoring. There is nothing we can lose that God cannot restore; be it time, money, resources, strength, and allow me to say, even life. We learn through the Shunammite woman in 2 Kings 8 of how God is able to restore lost time. After having vacated her country as a result of Elisha warning her about the pending famine, she returns seven years later to request that her land be returned to her. But before she could even plead her case, the King was already in conversation about her, particularly about the time God restored life to her dead son. The King made sure that she not only got back her land but that she received all the income from her land. This means that the time she lost, the time she could have spent ploughing, sowing and reaping, was being returned to her. God knows how to make up for lost time.

“I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten – the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm – my great army that I sent among you. You will have plenty to eat, until you are full and you will praise the name of the Lord your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed.” – Joel 2:25-26

God is not only able to make up for lost time by restoring the harvest lost during that time, but God can also restore resources we lose. We see this through Job’s story. Job’s righteousness and obedience to God lead to him losing resources he had worked hard to obtain. In one day, he lost all of his stock in its variety together with his servants and children. His economy and future collapsed in a single day. After a long and painful season of loss, God restores all that Job lost. Not only does God restore it, but he doubles it in it’s measure (see Job 42:10).

God restores strength. Living takes a lot of strength, so the more we live (which is not just a matter of years but the more challenges we face), the more we lose. God has the ability to restore our soul, to replace lost strength, causing us to keep on even after dealing with the worst burn-outs.

“He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.” – Isaiah 40:29

But how can we hope in God’s restoration where we’ve lost our loved ones? I think David best demonstrates this in 2 Samuel 12 after his child’s death. He reveals that the only hope he has is that the child will be restored to him when he one day goes to him. God’s restorative power is not only seen when he restores life through resurrection – which he still is very much in the business of doing – but we have hope in God’s restorative power that will one day bring us together with our lost loved ones who believed in him.

“Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.” – 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14

So in the midst of all the loss that surrounds us, we rest in the hope of our God’s ability to restore everything that has been lost.

Gugulethu Ndlovu

A struggling adult (where’s the reset button???), part-time student, and natural hair fanatic. My life is dedicated to edifying Christ’s bride and assisting brides and grooms with their earthly marriages. In my spare time, I enjoy reading anything by Francine Rivers, lazying around with my two sisters and parents, or penning down (well, typing out) my thoughts on my blog Thoughts and Other Things.

www.betterangelthoughts.blogspot.com/

The post Dealing with loss appeared first on Cup of Faith.

We’re living in times where it truly feels like we’re on a battlefield. It has made me grateful that we don’t have to scramble for weaponry and armour, as God makes his amour available to us to use in times like these.

“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything to stand.” – Ephesians 6:13

 

I’ve been particularly fascinated by one piece of this armour – the shield. A shield, in this context, is one of the handheld weapons amongst the body armour and serves a defensive purpose. It was a metal barrier protecting the body from harm. The shields used by Roman soldiers were made of metal, rectangular and long enough to cover the entire body. Now Paul describes faith as this shield.

“In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” – Ephesians 6:16

 

Faith is our shield, our defence and protective barrier against all harm. Faith is what we hold up, to defend ourselves when we are under attack. Faith has the ability to protect us by blocking off and putting out the enemy’s flaming arrows, making them ineffective in harming us. This gave me a new understanding of Isaiah 54 where God promises us that weapons formed against us won’t prosper.

“’See, it is I who created the blacksmith who fans the coals into flame and forges a weapon fit for its work. And it is I who have created the destroyer to work havoc; no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me,’ declares the Lord.” – Isaiah 54:16-17

 

I always thought that the weapons don’t prosper because God does some miraculous act to stop them, basically without my participation in the act. But I’ve learnt that God performs the miraculous act with and through me. He provides me with his weapons to fight and when I stand and use them, whatever the enemy sends out against me, fails. God’s weapons and armoury are better than any weapon the enemy has up his sleeve. This is also because God says in this text that he created the blacksmith who forges the weapons, so God knows exactly what the enemy is capable of forming, and outdoes him each time.

Another thing God reminded me of while going through this portion of Scripture is that arrows are mostly used when an enemy can’t come close to its target. The evil one uses arrows to attack us because of the distance between us and him. As we learn through Job’s story, he can’t come near us without God’s permission.

So, faith is stronger and greater than anything the enemy targets us with. No wonder God says the righteous would live (remain alive) by his faith (Habakkuk 2:4). In another place, he says it is our faith that overcomes the world (1 John 5:4-5). This makes it so important for us to keep believing during this time. We need to be certain that God and what he says is true above what we are seeing and experiencing.

So, as you pick up that bottle of sanitizer, don’t forget to take up your shield. Your faith is your protection but it can’t protect you laying down, you’ve got to take it up!

Gugulethu Ndlovu

A struggling adult (where’s the reset button???), part-time student, and natural hair fanatic. My life is dedicated to edifying Christ’s bride and assisting brides and grooms with their earthly marriages. In my spare time, I enjoy reading anything by Francine Rivers, lazying around with my two sisters and parents, or penning down (well, typing out) my thoughts on my blog Thoughts and Other Things.

www.betterangelthoughts.blogspot.com/

The post Taking up your shield appeared first on Cup of Faith.

I’m certain I’m not the only one who started 2020 with a clear vision board, loaded with goals and plans. Having learnt from failed resolutions in previous years, I made sure to be prayerful in making my plans. I submitted my plans to God so I had his approval and so I was absolutely certain that they would succeed.

So you can imagine my shock and frustration when everything literally came to a standstill. There I was staring at my daily planner with a major event I was organizing two weeks away, listening to my president declare a state of disaster as the pandemic hit our shores. One question resounded in my mind as I thought of my vision board: ‘Now what?’

I was sure everyone was as uncertain as I was, so I turned to the one ‘person’ who remains certain in times of uncertainty. I turned to the Bible to learn how God handled his plans being interrupted. As much as God’s plan can not be thwarted (prevented from being accomplished) as Job teaches us in Job 42:2, our disobedience can interfere with it.

I studied how God responded to having his plan interrupted by looking at the story of Adam and Eve in the garden (Genesis 3), the prophecy of the potter at his wheel (Jeremiah 18) and Jonah’s story (Jonah 1). The first thing I picked up is that God doesn’t change nor abandon his plan when it’s interrupted. He didn’t destroy Adam and Eve when their disobedience resulted in disturbing the plan he had for humanity, nor did the potter (who represents God) discard the clay when it marred in his hands. God had ordered Jonah to go to Nineveh because his plan was to save the city. When Jonah chose to go to Tarshish instead, God didn’t give up on his plan to save Nineveh.

Instead of letting go of his plans when they are disrupted, God finds a way to rescue them. Instead of destroying Adam and Eve, he covers them (verse 21) and begins the redemption plan that will culminate in Jesus coming to die for our sins so that man can live the life God had purposed us to live from the very beginning (see John 10:10). God rescues his plan for the pot by returning to wheel with the very same piece of clay, shaping it anew as he sees fit.

My favourite is how he rescues his plan for Nineveh’s salvation. He doesn’t let Jonah go off easy when he offramps to Tarshish, but he pursues him. He doesn’t change his plan to align with where Jonah prefers to go but instead, he follows him to win him back to his purpose.

In each of these cases, it takes God longer to get his plan to be accomplished, but time doesn’t deter him. He is determined to finish what he started, even if that means the hundreds of years between Genesis and Matthew.

What does all of this mean for our 2020 plans? It means we don’t stop, we re-adjust. We don’t abort the mission, we redeem it. It might take us longer to achieve our goals, but achieve them we will.
If you are certain that your plans align with God’s will and that you are pure in your intentions, don’t let go of your plans for this year. Don’t lose heart, trust God to bounce you back up from this setback with Godspeed.

“So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.” Hebrews 10:35

Gugulethu Ndlovu

A struggling adult (where’s the reset button???), part-time student, and natural hair fanatic. My life is dedicated to edifying Christ’s bride and assisting brides and grooms with their earthly marriages. In my spare time, I enjoy reading anything by Francine Rivers, lazying around with my two sisters and parents, or penning down (well, typing out) my thoughts on my blog Thoughts and Other Things.

www.betterangelthoughts.blogspot.com/

The post Now what? appeared first on Cup of Faith.

I’ve been studying and teaching a lot on Abraham since the year began. I’m learning and relearning a lot of truths from the father of faith and God’s BFF. One thing that struck me and that I keep coming back to in my thoughts is how God deals with our detours.

Abraham detoured by hooking up with Hagar and having a son through her. It wasn’t part of God’s plan for his life, but God’s plan seemed to take longer than expected. Ten years after God had spoken to him about making him into a great nation, his wife Sarah thought it wise to make the promise happen themselves. She was barren and Abraham wasn’t getting any younger, so it made sense when she suggested they have a child using Hagar as a surrogate (see Genesis 16). But things got complicated once Hagar knew she was pregnant because she began giving Sarah a tough time. She began to despise Sarah.

“He went in to [the bed of] Hagar, and she conceived; and when she realized that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress [regarding Sarai as insignificant because of her infertility]” Genesis 16:4 (AMP)

Frustrated, Sarah complained to her husband, blaming him. Escaping the blame, Abraham pointed out to Sarah that she had the authority to do as she pleased with Hagar. So, she mistreated her, resulting in Hagar fleeing.
‘Good riddance’, Abraham must have thought. He was in a difficult position being caught in the middle between his wife and soon-to-be baby momma. We can tell it came as a sort of relief to him because we do not hear of him sending out a search party for her. But God was not about to let him off the hook that easily. An angel found Hagar and encouraged her to return.

I couldn’t understand why God was bothering. We know that Hagar and Ismael will have to leave eventually. God lead me to understand that He had to do it this way for Abraham to learn. If he let Hagar easily get out of their lives now, he would never know the impact of detouring and interfering with God’s plan for his life. Abraham and Sarah had to see how their human efforts couldn’t fit into the divine scheme of things God had planned, how it would actually hinder what God had promised. In Genesis 21 they come to the realization that that which they accomplished by their own doing couldn’t co-exist with what God had accomplished. They wouldn’t see this if Hagar ran away for good, they wouldn’t know that the honour to fulfil a promise rests on the One who made it, their role being only to believe.

“Now [as time went on] Sarah saw [Ishmael] the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, [b]mocking [Isaac]. Therefore she said to Abraham, “Drive out this maid and her son, for the son of this maid shall not be an heir with my son Isaac.” Genesis 21:9-10 (AMP)

This was a very difficult thing for Abraham to do. He even questioned Sarah’s advice but God pointed out that Sarah was indeed correct. He had to experience the pain of letting go so that, like a lamb that once strayed and was harmed, he’d never keep too far a distance from the Shepherd.

From this, we learn that when we offramp from the route God has destined for us, God will intentionally give us the opportunity to learn from the experience. He will not make things easily go away, even after we confess and repent. We see this with King David as well.

“Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan replied, “The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the Lord show utter contempt, the son born to you will die.” 2 Samuel 12:13-14 (NIV)

God forgave David of his sin of adultery and murder, no question. But David still had to experience the pain that comes with disobeying God. He spent days in prayer and fasting for his young son but like Abraham, he too had to let go of a life and relationship that was deeply connected to him.
This is a very uncomfortable truth about how God deals with our waywardness, but it is only out of love that he takes us the painful way around. In the process, we learn to trust him and his ways, we learn to wait on him to fulfil our hearts desires instead of trying to do it ourselves.

The main reason I appreciate these narratives so much is because they prove that God’s plan for our lives truly cannot be thwarted, even by us. When we choose to return to the path of obedience, no matter how far we strayed off, God is faithful and just to fulfil the promises He made us. So take heart, your disobedience is not the end of the road, just a detour, you can still return to the right path, and God will meet you there.

Gugulethu Ndlovu

A struggling adult (where’s the reset button???), part-time student, and natural hair fanatic. My life is dedicated to edifying Christ’s bride and assisting brides and grooms with their earthly marriages. In my spare time, I enjoy reading anything by Francine Rivers, lazying around with my two sisters and parents, or penning down (well, typing out) my thoughts on my blog Thoughts and Other Things.

www.betterangelthoughts.blogspot.com/

The post Detours appeared first on Cup of Faith.

While scrolling through the timeline of one of my favourite celebs, I had a little shock: she was born in the same year as me! Even though she looked my age, I just never realized it, because … well… she had her life together. She was literally living the life that I had planned for myself; She married the love of her life at 25 and was now nursing her first child right at the age that I had planned to have mine.

I quickly rebuked my thoughts. After God had so many times warned me about comparing myself to others, how was I here, again? I knew very well comparison was the thief of joy, yet here I was, willingly opening the door for the thief. God then graciously led this slow learner of his to 1 Samuel 8 to learn, yet again, about the trap comparison was.

“So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. They said to him, ‘You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us such as all the other nations have.” 1 Samuel 8:4-5

I believe there was nothing wrong with asking for a king, after all, God had intended to give them David as their king, but what was wrong is that they wanted a king because the other nations had one. They wanted a king so they would be like the others, so they’d fit in, which meant that they had compared themselves to those other nations, and wanted what they thought they didn’t have.

That’s the thing with comparison, it blinds us and stops us from seeing what you already have. The Israelites had a king in God. That’s why God told Samuel that the Israelites had rejected him as their king in their request. God was the one who lead them, the one who went out before them and fought their battles. But they were blinded, by their obsession to have what others had.

In their obsession, they were also blinded by the consequences of having a human king. They were looking at the grass that was greener on the other side, not knowing the hours of labour that went into keeping it green. God, in his kindness, warned them of such things.

“He said, ‘This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plough his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots.” 1 Samuel 8:11-12

These were all things Israel didn’t have to worry about with God as their king. All Israel had to do when they were faced with a nation waging war against them was to pray to God and He would give them clear instructions on what needed to be done. They didn’t really have to worry about horses, chariots and weapons as God would give them victory in the most unconventional ways; just like the time they were led to war by Gideon, only having trumpets, empty jars and torches in their hands.

God goes on to tell them about things they would lose as a result of having a king.
“He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use.” 1 Samuel 8:13-16

They would lose relationships, their inheritance and even resources they used to secure provision for themselves. All of this, just because they wanted something someone else had.

This is the trap we land ourselves in when we fail to be content with what we have and instead covet after what others have. We lose what we already had in the process. It might not always be something tangible like in the case of the Israelites, but we might lose our peace and joy in the process of chasing after what others have.

So, I might not have a loving husband and precious daughter (yet), but I have so much to be grateful for. I have my independence, the opportunity to further my studies, a loving and supportive family, irreplaceable friends, and a vocation and job I love.

So ladies, as you scroll, like and share this week, avoid the trap. Be happy for others without wanting what they have, and don’t forget to count your blessings while you’re there!

“You shall not covet your neighbour’s house. You shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour.” Exodus 20:17

Gugulethu Ndlovu

A struggling adult (where’s the reset button???), part-time student, and natural hair fanatic. My life is dedicated to edifying Christ’s bride and assisting brides and grooms with their earthly marriages. In my spare time, I enjoy reading anything by Francine Rivers, lazying around with my two sisters and parents, or penning down (well, typing out) my thoughts on my blog Thoughts and Other Things.

www.betterangelthoughts.blogspot.com/

The post The Trap of Comparison appeared first on Cup of Faith.