Toyin Poju – Oyemade, wife of the senior pastor of Covenant Christian Centre, Lagos took to her Instagram today the 21st June to share an article tagged;When the darkness is deepest.
The article talked about moments where it seems like everything and everywhere is dark and the light seems to be very far away. Mrs Toyin went on to encourage all those who are in the darkest point of their lives, advising them to trust God and not give up:
“I haven’t written in a while. In fact it seems I’ve had the writers block for the longest time (although I don’t even consider myself a writer, I just have these bursts of inspiration:-). .
But early this morning, this was strongly impressed upon my heart and it all came pouring out. There are seasons when it all just seems the darkness is darkkkkkk, and there is no light piercing through from anywhere.
If you find yourself in this situation right now, I do hope this blesses you.
IT IS SURELY WELL!
ARTICLE EXCERPT
In certain seasons, the darkness around can seem very dark. It might seem like a certain situation(s) you have been trusting God for is(are) just not changing.
In fact, you felt you were making progress, things were beginning to look good, encouraging signals all around, you could tell the tide was turning, you could feel your season had arrived. Your confession was on point, your praise was at its peak, your Joy knew no bounds.
And then suddenly, just as you are riding on that high, a wave comes that washes it all away. In a split second, it all comes crashing down, all the hopes you had built collapses. The bad news comes, waves upon waves, the complete opposite of what you had expected after this whole faith journey.
You had it all figured out, you had it all timed perfectly. But alas it didn’t turn out that way.
You look around, nothing encouraging, it’s all just bleak, sheer discouragement and utter pain… And at this point you seem to have no strength to continue, in fact no desire, you just want to give up.
Sound familiar???
I want to encourage you today. Don’t give up, NEVER GIVE UP OR GIVE IN!!!
Why things happen this way, I can’t say. Why the journey can be intense I can’t answer, but what I know is this;
- There is God o!
- This God Loves you o!
- This God is for you o!
- This God is committed to you o!
- No matter how it looks, it’s all going to work out for your good o! (though it does not look or feel like that now)
So what to do in these moments?
These are the moments when you should run to God and His word and ‘tabernacle’ in them like never before. I know the irony is, this exactly what you don’t want to do, because it feels like after all you’ve already done, the situation didn’t change.
However, no matter how hard it seems, no matter how painful it feels, no matter how senseless you think it is ( because you feel I’ve done this before and no result) STAY THERE!
Fight off, cast off, bind, resist, refuse every lie the devil presents to you in your thoughts, or in what you see around you. (James 4:7)
Let the light of the word shine in you, as you place it before your eyes.
Let the truth if the word fill your heart as you spend time in it and speak it
And let the Love of God envelope you as you wait on Him.
Remember Romans 8:35-39;
“Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?
(As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.
No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Also Psalm 27:14 says;
Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!
And Psalm 30:5b;
Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.
Yes weep if you need to, it’s allowed, but don’t dwell there for too long. After you let the emotions out, then rise up and continue in your fight of faith, wielding the sword of the Spirit, taking the word of God on your lips and filling your heart with it.
Always strive to think the right thoughts, because in these times the enemy will wage a war in your mind trying to fill you with thoughts of failure, despair, loss, defeat etc. But remember Phil 4:8 says;
Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.
Remember what God has done for you in the past, remember the many places he had delivered you from, remember His goodness to you in time past, when you were in hard places, and it seemed you would not get out from there, but you did. Begin to thank Him from those places. Remember the altars you built from your past, go back to those altars and WORSHIP!
You might say, this particular situation seems like it’s not changing. I have done this over and over again. I have waited for years, I have prayed, fasted, confessed, believed, pleaded etc.
Lets take a cue from Paul, he also found himself in a situation where he begged God;
2Cor 12:7-10
“Even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.
Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
First surrender to God, surrender to the process and find Grace! Grace is available, Grace is abundant, Grace is your portion. Just like Paul, change your perspective. See your cup half full and not half empty. Make your boast in God and His word.
One last thing I’d advice- Go and help someone else in need. No matter how bleak your situation might seem, you are the answer to someone elses prayer. Don’t let you condition blind you to the needs of others around you. This is the time to pour our yourself into others. I will give you a classic example from the bible;
Remember the story of David in Ziklag, when the Amalekites raided their camp and took away all the women and children. (1Samuel 30- PLEASE READ IT). It was a terrible time for David. Even his men turned against him, but David ran to God finding his strength in God.
But let me point out something he did in Verse 11-13;
“Then they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David; and they gave him bread and he ate, and they let him drink water.
12 And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs and two clusters of raisins. So when he had eaten, his strength came back to him; for he had eaten no bread nor drunk water for three days and three nights. 13 Then David said to him, “To whom do you belong, and where are you from?”
Though David was on a journey to find the wives and children of himself and all his men, they came across an Egyptian on their way, and they decided to stop and help him. They didn’t have to do that. They could have been so consumed with their pain, and in their rush to solve their own problem, ignored the Egyptian. But they didn’t. They helped him and nursed him back till he was strong.
Little did they know that this would be the answer to their prayer…
So what’s the point I’m making? In your time of need, sow a good seed in the life of another person. Seed sowing is not only financial, it’s helping to meet a need in the life of someone else which can be a wide range of things. It can be as simple as giving someone a lift, a smile, a listening ear, a helping hand, a gift etc.
In conclusion, stand tall, stay strong, fight back, trust God, hold on to His word, praise Him. The Egyptians you see today, you shall see no more in Jesus name Amen.
God bless you.
TPO
