Continue.

#grow.

About a week ago, one of my close friends had sent a voice note to my DM, stating some nice things about me. Amongst the compliments she had given, the very one that stood out to me was; “Ede, you hear God’’.

Immediately I heard those words, a sense of fulfillment settled over me.

Only God and I understands the gravity of this particular statement. We’ve been at this relationship for three whole years now and as at the 13th of January this year, it clocked three years since I made the decision to stop playing church, but to rather chase an intentional relationship with God.

I can still remember how un-rosy those beginning days were. Very specifically, I can recall the day I had almost fought with one of my close friends during an indoor bible study meeting because she kept talking about receiving the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The more she reiterated her point, the more my anger heightened. From what I was hearing, I was basically doing all that was to be done to get these gifts and yet, every-time I found myself in the midst of other tongue-speaking believers, I would be feeling out of place.

The opening statements for such prayer meetings was always; “let’s begin to charge ourselves in the Holy Ghost’’, and immediately, an avalanche of diverse tongues would erupt in the building, leaving me more frustrated than ever and in an even more distressing state of envy.

The most distressing part of these said meetings was when we would be asked to pick a partner and then get a word for them.

Such immense pressure. I promise you, it wasn’t funny.

For the majority of those cases, the word I had given was “Peace’’. Whether I had received it or not was now the issue, but at least, a word was given.

Another example of my not so rosy beginning was the period when I had initially joined the Sanctuary keeping unit of the Chapel. At that time, we used to meet on Saturday mornings by 6am for our monthly unit prayers. Unfortunately for me, no one had preformed, or warned me that in Sanctuary unit, they pray like as though it was Prayer unit.

My problem had begun with the timing of these prayers. The avid lover of sleep that I was couldn't just fathom why people will intentionally wake up by 6am on a Saturday to pray.

I was all but ready to give an excuse for my absence, but my persistent friend, Davida, had other plans. She would annoyingly keep waking me until I would eventually wake up and then we did go for the meeting together, with me most definitely wearing a frown on my face.

During one of these meetings, my present Mentor was invited as a guest to minister to us. During his ministration, he mentioned that those who wanted to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit should wait behind.

You guessed right, I didn’t wait behind.

My frustrated and sleep deprived self was just too proud to receive anything by that time of the day. Angrily, I had waited for Davida to finish up with them, and once she came over, I straight-up told her that I wasn’t returning to the unit. Till this day, I thank God that I hadn’t gone through with that rash decision.

It has actually been over four years between this last example and the day my friend had sent that compliment to me. No one needs to tell me that I have grown. By myself, I can see how far I am from where I had started off.

Right in this moment, God is more real to me than ever before. Our relationship is of utmost priority to me, and by His grace, I strive to live a life that makes Him happy.

So today, my little advice for you reading this is; “Continue’’.

For you that wants a real relationship with God, I’ve been sent to tell you that you’re on the right path, just keep at it. Yes, there are still heights to attain in Christ, there are depths of Him that will be revealed to us as we strive for a deeper relationship with Him, but just for a minute, I want you to see that you are actually a far cry from your previous state.

You are not where you used to be, praise God for that, and so, to get to where you need to be, you will have to continue. You'll have to keep showing up in your quiet place even when tired, to keep studying the Word for your personal growth and even to continually show up for your unit meetings and Church services amidst the pressures of life. All these and more, although they may look insignificant outwardly, but best believe, the interests are compounding and in due season, the fruits will speak.

As much as you have a desire to grow, I want you to keep it at the forefront of your mind that God desires growth for you, even more than you do for yourself. You have a great destiny that will warrant more capacity to carry it, so please, stay and build; stay and grow.

These are the days to work out your salvation with intentionality. The days that you’re making out time to deepen your relationship with God amidst your busy schedule. Times that you’re fine-tuning your ears to the rhythm of your Lord and also sharpening your discernment of His voice by including Him in every little detail of your life.

You do this now so that when the time comes to make those big, destiny ordaining decisions, you won’t be without direction.

Continue in the path you’re already in and keep moving forward towards the bright light. Keep showing up in God’s presence, even on the hard days and my God will definitely reward your diligent seeking of Him.

#Shalom.

Signed: Abba’s Handpiece.

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