You’ve done your part – you believed, you took the risk, you worked hard, yet nothing good came out of it. It’s so easy to doubt, lose faith and eventually give up. But in doing so, we accepted that we failed.

For an independent person, it’s never easy to ask for help. Pride goes in the way as they got so used to being self-sufficient. But what if GOD never meant for us to be self-reliant? You see, The Lord takes delight whenever we seek his guidance and assistance.

We are his children; Our Heavenly Father wants us to remain with him. Submitting to GOD’s will does not mean being passive. Whenever we do the best that we can and admitting our limitations, it teaches us the right posture of humility.

Surrendering everything to the Lord means we trust him enough that from his infinite resources and omnipotence, he will provide for us and act towards our situation according to his will – which is always the best for us.

We recently finished watching the Adaptation of Joseph the Dreamer, Jacob’s 10th son. If you’re familiar with this Bible Story – it’s inspiring.

His character experienced a lot of hardships, yet the Lord never left his side through it all. In our own lives, we probably experienced a lot of trials, just like Joseph, we might have hoped for the best which made us resilient.

Perseverance is not easy to apply especially if you are wallowing in self-pity. But through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we will be able to endure the difficulties until the end.

Because GOD can turn our sorrows into joy, what was meant to harm us will be used for our own good and for his own Glory. Only he can rewrite the crooked line into a straight one.

All of us are carrying some sort of burden. Some are visible and most are not. There are people who carry their problems well that you won’t noticed they are going through a lot. While there are those who can’t hide what they are going through.

There are a lot of us who were so used to difficulties to the point of being immune. It numbed them so much that they no longer care for others. They learned to switched off their senses, so they won’t be hurting anymore. While there are also few who gave up easily and blamed everyone and everything that they became perpetual victims.

If we will just rely on our own, we won’t be able to carry our own crosses. But in the Bible, GOD has a beautiful promise. He says that in this world, we will experience trials and tribulations. But the Lord also said that we should not worry because he had overcome the world and whatever season we may be, he will always be there with us.

Such a beautiful reminder, right? It means that we won’t be carrying our crosses alone in this life because GOD is helping us carry it.

If you have experienced living in a dark place for quite some time, chances are, a little flicker of light will dazzle your eyesight. But if you are the kind who longed to get out of that darkness, you will be enchanted by the brightness and probably walked towards it.

In our lives, we sometimes find ourselves in a dark path – whether it’s of our own doing or because of a conspiracy of events. We might have done a lot to get out of that situation before seeking help. By that time, we probably have exhausted ourselves and if we’ve been through a lot of unsuccessful attempts that we resigned to the idea that we will never escape that rut anymore no matter what we do.

In those moments, a miracle is most welcome. For us to encounter a divine favor, we need to believe first that we are a finite being. We need to acknowledge that we need a savior to save us, to pull us out of that pit. Breaking through is only possible if we’ve been through the breaking – because only then we will be able to admit to ourselves that without GOD, we are nothing.

Having a 20/20 vision nowadays is already a gift worth celebrating for, especially if you’re already in your late forties like me. A good eyesight gives a lot of advantage, but of course, maintaining it that way takes a lot of discipline and care. It makes it easier for a person bestowed with it to function well in any given task.

People who can see things in just a glance and remember them immediately are impressive. So does someone who can react instinctively based on what they see in side view. We all know that GOD gave us an eyesight to aid us in seeing things clearly. But sometimes, we prefer to view things “sideways” which often, clouds our judgement.

Physical eyes are good to view things just the way they are. But if we want to discern things in a wiser way, it would be advisable to ask the LORD to open our minds and heart to see the essential – which is invisible in our eyes.

In some ways, we all have experienced discouraging situation in our lives. The kind wherein you hoped for a favorable outcome, yet what you get was only disappointments.

If you have been fighting for good on the battles of this life and never got a fair result, you will get tired and probably cease striving anymore or give in to the corrupt system.

Daydreaming for deliverance from struggles is much easier to do than get up and try again. It’s comforting to know that in the Bible, there are numerous stories about the faithful ones who remain steadfast and in the end, GOD rescued them.

Even in the last book of the New Testament, it was revealed that our resurrected Saviour will come again to redeem us and restore everything the way our Heavenly Father has always intended it to be. What a wonderful plot twist – a happy ending worth looking forward to.

Most of us have different definition of Freedom. For some, it’s not being restricted, for others it could mean having a lot of choices.

But what if being free meant staying within your limits? Of not going overboard? Our Heavenly Father has always given us free will. Part of that gift is an expectation that we will choose what’s right.

If we will think about it thoroughly, obeying his will meant having protection everywhere we go. We no longer have to please other people or choose ourselves. It should never be burdensome if we truly desire peace – because it’s the prize we will gain if we remain in the confines of GOD’s loving boundaries.

When we were young, it’s so easy to be true to ourselves, to choose between yes or no. Life was so simpler back then, less worries to handle. But once you get older, there are so many things you need to put into consideration. It’s quite tough to answer directly. You always need to weight a lot of things before making a final decision.

As we consider the feelings and opinions of other people, we sometimes have to forget about ourselves. There are also instances wherein we really must sacrifice. But when we are alone and having a private moment with our Heavenly Father, we can be transparent. Because we know that we will not be judged and he understands us. We never have to hide in a mask. We already know that we are accepted and loved from the start.

GOD desires for us to be true to ourselves and not to compromise just to fit in. He knows us thoroughly. In his presence, we never have to be an “in between” or a “maybe” just to be acknowledged or to fit in. In HIM, we have freedom to be who he created us to be in the first place.

We already know that our life here on earth has different stages. When we are young, we are in learning stage and must depend on someone to raise us. During adolescence, we discover a lot of things about ourselves and somehow it causes confusion.

At middle age, we experience midlife crisis and question ourselves if what we believed and pursued before still matters at that season of our lives. By the time we reached senior citizenship, clarity is more defined and if we were lucky enough, at that stage, we are slowing down and no longer joining any form of proverbial race.

We must admit that those shifts are not easy. They are scary, much more if we don’t know where help would come from. But as we transition in that season of our lives, there is someone constant and unchanging – Our Heavenly Father who accompanies us in those chapters and who never left our side.

Because of him, we were able to shift from one stage to another after surpassing the trials involved in those transitions. In GOD’s own timeline, we become the better if not yet best version of ourselves.

It’s easy to obey if you were given the full picture of why you should do so in the first place. But what if the instructions are vague and you have lots of doubts? The Old Testament in the Bible is full of stories of GOD’s chosen people who had a lot of questions when the Lord spoke to them and ask them to do something for him.

The said characters were imperfect yet somehow through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, they managed to fulfill the task. And because they do so, Our Heavenly Father made sure that their names are forever part of HIS story. Fast forward to these modern times, it’s quite confusing to discern if the calling that we hear really came from GOD. We need to confirm it through testing. As we go through the challenge, our character develops.

We learn to be patient, persevering until the end. We transition from doubting to trusting. While our trust is stretch, we are slowly developing faith. As our faith deepens, we become more flexible and courageous. We learn to face our fears and bravely surpassed the trials. In the end, we will see that GOD was there with us through it all. We will then experience breakthrough as a reward for the tiny effort that was once called Obedience.