Wonderful or Wonder-empty

"Behold, You [God] desire truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom (Psalm 51:6).

Some people you meet are very warm, genuine and connected. Others seem to be cold and distant. Their life seems rather flat line, dull, and even boring. I'm not talking about times of sickness, sadness or sorrow but this is how they are pretty much most of the time. Why are some people like the latter group? One of a number of reasons is because they are repressed in their emotional life. Chances are that they grew up with a sense that emotions—especially negative emotions—were not acceptable, so they learned early in life to bury and deny them. Or they may have been hurt deeply as a child and found that they had to stuff their emotions in order to survive. It may sound crude but it is a fact of life that the stuff we stuff stuffs up our lives. This can cause all sorts of emotional, physical, relational and/or spiritual problems.Emotions are God-given and are a vital part of a healthy, mature life. We are not talking about emotionalism which is a cover of true emotions. We are talking about being connected to our inner self and being in touch with all of our God-given emotions. If my emotions are buried and I am disconnected from them and my inner self, I cannot be truly connected to anyone else or to God at any kind of intimate level. At best, my relationships will be very shallow. Furthermore, when emotions are repressed, instead of life being wonder-full, it may be wonder-empty. As such I will characteristically be bored with life.

If one's life is wonder-empty, how do we overcome? How do we get connected to our inner self? Go to God. If we commit and trust our life to God and ask him to confront us with our reality so that we become fully connected to our inner self, we may go through some very painful experiences (that are often needed to break through our defenses) but, in time, our pain will pass but the beauty of our life will last forever.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, in keeping with your desire please help me to be connected to my inner self and always be honest with myself and with you and thus grow up into the fullness of my salvation. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

Seek Ye First....

Text: But seek ye first the Kingdom of God and its Righteousness
and all other things shall be given unto you.. Matt 6 : 33

Reading: Matt6 : 19 - 34

To 'Seek' is to look for, to try to obtain or achieve something, to make an effort to find that which is in existence. Our God rewards those who diligently seek Him.
'First' is God's place in the affairs of those who are His. It should be in the affairs of all He created.
***In His Law to Israel, the very first called for a unique honour for Him, a positioned incomparable to that we give anybody or thing.
In sacrifices and offerings, it was the firstborn and firstfruit that was dedicated to Him.
No other position fits God in the affairs of men. When He occupies this position in ourhearts and lives, every other thing falls into place.

A kingdom is a domain or territory under the rulership of a king. The citizens are subjects of a king.It is a monarchy. That the Kingdom is of God means that God is its King.
To seek that kingdom is to yield one's will to Him who is Supreme.

**Would Abraham have sacrificed Isaac if God was not first in His scale of preference?
Would Joseph have missed the pleasure of Mrs Potiphar if God was shifted to second place?
Would Moses not have been stupid to deny himself of his princely status in Pharoah's house?
How about Daniel and his three friends in Babylon who defied lions and furnace of fire?

When God takes His place, life becomes for us as it should be...beautiful and satisfying..


***excerpts of a Bible study by Bro. Young Nkwocha at the Church of christ, University of Ibadan, Ibadan.