Susanne Showers
Jimmy Gathu once had a show on KTN…I think.. called what it takes. I was once his guest! But that’s not my story for today. The objective of the show was to interview super-achiever’s (Now I wonder why he hosted me) in hope of gleaming from them the secrets, wisdom and reason of their success. Verbs like ‘hard work’ ‘vision’, ‘purpose’, ‘goal-oriented’, ‘intelligence’, ‘smarts’, and the occasional ‘God’s blessings’, were common in the show. But have you ever wondered what makes us ‘successful'(‘Faithful’ in Christian lingo) followers of Christ?
Last week we were reminded of the fact that since we are Christians, we should be given to hospitality. It should be our propensity and in our new nature to be kind and generous to strangers. We should learn ardently on how to be hospitable with our time, our food and water, our money and even our clothing. The NIV says “Practice hospitality.” meaning it is a discipline that is learnt and undertaken over and over again. It is not in our basic human nature to share but we can, by the help of the Holy Spirit, learn this new attitude.
This week, we will continue with another reminder from Romans 12. In fact these entries, will be, for a time, based on this chapter that teaches us new attitudes now that we are in Christ. This time it comes from verse 12. Three things are required of us in this verse. They all have to do with how to conduct ourselves especially when in trouble.
The first is “Rejoicing in hope:
” We are known to be Christians and are effective when we make it our business to be joyful. We are to shake off sadness and rejoice. How can we do this? No matter how bad things are, we have a hope. We have hope that God is, forever. He is always there no matter what we are going through. He is everlasting. He is present. We also have hope that He loves us. He already showed His love once for all when He gave His only Son, a whole part of Himself, to take the punishment of every human being’s sin. If He already did this for us, went into Hades and rose again from the dead, His victory complete, why should we worry or be anxious? We have hope too that He is God over the future. He has promised us He is preparing a place for us to call home for all eternity. He has promised that we will resurrect in Him even if we face death. When we think on these lines, we have much to rejoice in.
Secondly, we are urged to be, “..patient in tribulation”
NIV says we are to be “patient in affliction.” As I write this, a dear woman in my local church has been struggling with a heart issue for several years. She is the picture of patience in affliction. Though she herself is suffering greatly, her spirit is strong. She is still concerned with the welfare of others. Her hope in God is strong. She still believes He is the healer but also has resigned herself to His sovereignty. Patience includes knowing that God is working out a bigger and better plan even though we don’t understand what it is.
Thirdly, we are required to be, “continuing instant in prayer” which NIV (New International Version) states as being “faithful in prayer.”
Prayer is the living breath of a believer. It shows that a believer is alive in their faith. When our faith takes a hit, our prayer life plummets. We are to harness our faith and keep it well watered with faithful prayer which includes supplication, thanksgiving, requests, intercession and petitions. These are the three habits we are reminded of this week that will keep us going in God’s direction.
So, what does it take? I’m not quite sure but a great place to starts is, rejoicing in hope, patience in tribulation and continuing in instant prayer. Have a safe and happy week.
Catch my segment every Tuesday on ulizalinks.co.ke
