On Being Free And Fearless

Don’t you just love it when you’re free? When your soul feels like soaring and achieving the ‘impossible’?

Recently, I boarded a bus to town. The bus looked all rickety and worn out, but I had just missed a bus going to my destination and the sun was at its best. So to avoid waiting and sweating in the heat of the sun, I boarded the over welded looking bus. I got in and sat right behind the driver’s seat and you could tell he wasn’t even sitting comfortably behind the wheel. His seat was a little too far from the steering wheel, so he had to arch himself forward.

At one point, something from the dusty looking compartment fell heavily to the rusty floor of the bus as it moved on the pothole filled road. I got a little alarmed but decided to overlook the condition of the bus. It rattled and made ear shattering noise with every move forward. And all the time I silently prayed that the horrific sounds wouldn’t put out my hearing. This vehicle wasn’t road worthy in the least but you see, I got on it because of its convenience rather than its quality.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to be on a better and much comfortable bus, I simply didn’t have the patience to wait. So I endured the clink-clank noise of the bus until I saw sparks coming out from the battery beneath the driver’s seat. Did I get super alarmed now? You bet I did! Thankfully, I was wearing jeans so I couldn’t feel the sparks on my legs. The sparks became more frequent and I decided that I was getting off at the very next junction. I couldn’t deal with it any longer. So I did exactly that, praying that the vehicle wouldn’t fall apart before it got to the junction. It was so wobbly and people in cars that passed us by gave us looks that clearly said “Really? Who on earth boards a vehicle like that?” And some even laughed at us in the midst of the pathetic glares they offered.

Eventually, the bus slowly and dangerously made it to the junction. Boy, was I glad I got off that wrong bus! Funny thing was that after I got off, the vehicle couldn’t move again. The driver kept turning the key in the ignition, trying to revive the sick engine to life. But it seemed the vehicle was saying “Urm, no. I need a fix, now! My cable connections are really rusty.” It was as if my getting off was some signal, warning the other passengers on board to get off. Well I don’t know what happened next with this bus because a much more road worthy looking vehicle stopped and I got on it. All I saw was the driver getting out of his seat to check what was wrong with the battery beneath his seat. Feeling safer on the new bus, I continued my journey to town.

You may be wondering where I’m heading with all of this. My simple message to you is this; live fearlessly. Be free. Imagine what could have happened if I didn’t get off that bus. I didn’t like how the bus made me feel so afraid with every move. I didn’t like how it made my heart race and have irregular beats. I sure didn’t like how it made me hold my breath and had my tummy in many unpleasant knots. So I got off! I left it behind so that could feel peace and fearlessness surround me. Fear is not of God and you shouldn’t want to endure any situation that steals your peace.

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” 2 Corinthians 3:17

In life, we often get impatient and get ourselves into all sorts of craziness. We see the warning signals that tell us a particular thing is not best for us, but we go for it all the same, just like my impatience led me to that horrible vehicle. Other times, we feel weak to protest against people who rob us of our happiness and endure the pain in silence. This is sadly not the best.

Perhaps you’re in a wrong relationship, dealing with some guy who disrespects you and even goes as far as to hit you. You know you deserve way better, but your impatience to wait for that better led you into this harmful relationship in the first place. You keep seeing signs that he’s cheating on you...he feeds you varying shapes of lies, but you’re still with him. Why??? He’s clearly a wrong bus. Please, love yourself enough to leave! Walk away from that messy relationship. Love and peace does not dwell there. Sweetie, your life will go on even better without such a person. Don’t wait till it gets worse. Get out, heal and practice some patience. Trust God with your relationship and He’ll write a beautiful and healthy love story for you, not a toxic and depressing one.

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and he who fears is not perfected in love.” 1 John 4:18

Or maybe you’re a child or wife being abused. Don’t keep quiet. Speak out now! Reach out to a trusted friend to help you escape this horror. Be bold, know your worth. Never listen to the crap he says about nobody believing you. People will believe. You need to speak out first. Be heard and get the help you need. Remember that “The lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble; He cares for those who trust in Him.” Nahum 1:7

And perhaps you find yourself in a job which brings you no fulfillment, a job which makes you all grumpy. Well, do what is required of you to get a job that makes you wake up feeling enthusiastic about your day and leaves you feeling alive. Discover your talents and you could make a living out of them. (I’ll write about this extensively in another post.)

Or maybe, it could be that new course you’re taking in school. You’re dreading how it’ll go and wondering if you can survive it and ace it. Believe in yourself and go for it fearlessly. Talk to God about it and He’ll strengthen you and grace you with the wisdom and knowledge you need.

“The Lord is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise Him, my father’s God, and I will exalt Him.” Exodus 15:2

You were not born for a life of bondage. You were made to live a free and happy life, to fulfill your purpose. How do you live your fullest when you’re letting a mere human or some situations dictate your life? Be conscious about choosing to be fearless and happy today.

“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1

Let us work hard and work on ourselves to be better. Remember to live while you wait for that something better to come along. Let’s keep at the back of our minds that God never withholds good things from us, so let’s stop putting ourselves in demeaning situations. Let’s pay attention to the warning signs and avoid wrong decisions.

“For the Lord God is a sun and shield; He bestows favor and honor. No good thing does the Lord withhold from those who walk uprightly.” Psalm 84:11

                                                 Image taken by OAB Photography

Step into the future fearlessly. Is it an instrument you want to learn, a book you want to write, a career you want to pursue? Or is it an adventure you want to take? Go ahead. Trust God with it and don’t let anyone discourage you. Remember that this is your life and you have to chase after your dreams. Yes, even the ones that scare the wits out of you. Be bold. Be free. Be fearless.

Jesus loves you! xoxo

Delali.

New Year, New You?

So it’s a new year ...again and most of us have decided on some changes that need to be made in our lives. These changes could be in the area of how we are, our attitudes, our spiritual lives, careers, education, relationships, health and the list goes on. We’re all determined to make the best out of this New Year and that’s a good thing.

Some map out things that are attainable within their capacities while some people get so carried away with all the excitement and make over the top goals that do not look close to reality. It’s good to make changes and want to be better. And yet some don’t even make an attempt to set goals for the year because they have this mentality that people never really change and that’s a rather sad and pessimistic way of thinking because change, and I mean good change does really happen. With such mentality such people find it difficult to embrace anything good because their minds are in this dark, gloomy place and their attitude can unfortunately dim the hopes of others who genuinely want to change for the better. To the cynics and pessimists out there, stop believing and spreading that lie that people can't change, because they do change by the grace and help of God.

A new year does not mean you automatically transform into this whole new person in a blink of an eye or achieve all these things you want in the year without any hitches here and there. No, that’s some fantasy. In fact for the new year I didn’t get me a new hairdo or some new look. I look like the same ol’ me but I have a renewed mind. Moreover, the only sure time we will change in a twinkling of an eye is at the sound of the trumpet. 1 Corinthians 15:51,52. So till then let’s keep working on sticking to our plans for that change that we so desire because change can happen when we are deliberate and conscious about it.

A new year gives all humanity a whole new slate to write on, it’s a chance to somehow get it right this time. Change can be a gradual and stressful process and needs utmost commitment. We shouldn’t expect any of our plans to see fruition when we’re still so lazy, making excuses and keep postponing things we ought to do.

We start the year with so much energy and enthusiasm but as the days slowly pass by, that fire and passion slowly dies out. You may be wondering why. Well have you spoken with God about the plans you have? And what did He say? God speaks to us through His Word. 2 Peter 1:3 says “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.”  So are your plans for the year in accordance with the Bible? Are they godly plans or a bunch of selfish, ungodly goals? God put us on this earth for specific purposes so we must seek Him and be sure what we plan is endorsed by Him. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10

We must not lose that passion we commence the year with. We must keep it burning anew each day. A vision board might as well help you focus on these plans. Here's my vision board for the year.

I don’t want to be getting mad all the time so I write boldly “SLOW TO ANGER”. Also, I want to learn how to drive this year (I know, I’m such a late bloomer, lol better late than never.) So in view of that, I put an image of a car on my vision board. I've also decided to write and blog more often this year in working towards being a professional writer soon so I put there “Writer”. Seeing these visual representations of my goals helps me remember what I need to be doing. If you’ve not yet come up with any goals, do some soul searching and find what you really need to do this year. It’s not too late, you can create your own vision board too, plus we’re only a week into the New Year. :-)

We must continually pray about our goals throughout the year and ask God for the strength to stay on track. We must be patient in Christ for all that we pray for. “Yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.” Isaiah 40:31 Lets not try to do it all by our strengths but rather put all our hope, dreams and goals in the Lord.

Don’t be like Nahor who didn’t even start the journey to Canaan by being all pessimistic about change. Don’t be like Terah who stopped midway in the journey because he got into a comfortable zone. Don’t be like Lot who strayed from the right path because the beauty of the Jordan valley caught his eye when they were so close to stepping into Canaan that he decided to settle in Sodom where there were wicked men and great sinners. But rather be steadfast to your goals like Abram (later Abraham) who obeyed God and stayed committed to the journey and in return God was faithful and gave all that land to he and his descendants. Genesis verse 11:31,32; verses 12 and 13.

We must not expect God to turn our lives around when we fail to do our part. He’s ever willing to help you but are you willing to sacrifice time to help you? Are you going to stay new throughout the New Year?

Jesus loves you for real. xxx

Delali.