It is winter in South Africa, and we had very cold temperatures the past 2 weeks. I am not a winter person… I generally love the outdoors, and will spend most of my time outside, but saying that, I also don’t like warming mechanisms; I will never have a warm water bottle or an electric blanket… I have a gas heater that only get switched on when my daughter come to visit me… I will shiver when I get into bed, but short lived, 5 minutes in and I am in lala land (praise God, I am a good sleeper, nothing will keep me up at night, if anything it will be the Holy Spirit that wants to chat). My car’s aircon is always on, blowing cold air. I don’t like wearing gloves, beanies and scarves. But I am always cold… LOL… suffer in silence, and that is what I am doing.
I got a thought one morning earlier in the week… my normal morning routine is as follows; when my alarm goes off the first time, I will snooze it, the second time it goes off I will get up and switch the kettle on, I then switch the TV on and put gospel music on YouTube and get back into bed, I very quickly fall asleep again. By the third time my alarm goes off the kettle would’ve boiled. I then get up and make my first cup of coffee, and fill the flask for cup 2 and 3; with music already playing in the back ground, I will then sit in front of the TV with my favourite “seasonal” Gospel songs playing on the TV… “Good Morning Holy Spirit…” sitting in silence, thinking about very little of the life we are in, but rather focus on things above as I sip on my first cuppa… either reading or praying, or sometimes I get caught up in writing if I remember dreaming about something, or if I went to bed the night before with loose ended thoughts. I will then have my 2nd cup of coffee, after which I will go and shave, and just before I take the last stroke of the blade on my face, I will open the shower tap to heat the water up…
It was VERY cold Tuesday morning… the warm shower was really goooood and I didn’t want to get out… “Just a little longer… just a minute or so…” and as I told myself this the Holy Spirit planted a thought…
Over the last 2 years God has been preparing me, and I am very attentive to it… All Parise to the Holy Spirit. God is such a gentleman and have so much patience with me.
I mentioned it in a few posts already, but I started my TRUE relationship with God alone in Saudi Arabia, me, myself and the Holy Spirit. I had 2 friends that would join me twice a week for home cell, but most of the time I was alone. The Holy Spirit very subtly started removing me from the “world” as I knew it; on my arrival back in South Africa I walked into a home cell group less than 2 days after my arrival back in South Africa, not knowing a single person there, but I was referred by a Pastor friend of mine, which I contacted while still in Saudi and God was present in every way. I then started attending church on every occasion possible, at more than one church, where ever there was a service or gathering I went, always alone, not knowing anyone, but I was not there for anyone but Jesus.
With the choice I made to devote all of my time to God I lost most of my previous friends, it was just not the same anymore, I did not fit in, neither did I make any new friends. I was, and probably still is a lone ranger… God isolated me for Himself, building my relationship with Him and my faith within Him. And I know for that specific season it was the best thing that could happen. Covid hit the South African shores and we went into lockdown, more isolation, alone time with Pappa, used to the fullest… Glory to God, my relationship has grown so much that I will never ever walk away from Him, NEVER.
I think if I had to jump back into “Normal” early on I would’ve have lost, or at least not be where I am today spiritually. Keeping in mind, my “Normal” work career always demanded 7 days a week of me, most of the times 12 hours a day, I was not ready for this. Everyone I had contact with was strong in FAITH. I had 24 hours a day I could spend with God, and if there was a sudden shock to this routine it would most likely have affected my relationship with God.
The Holy Spirit taught me sooo much in this time; that I could seek His presence and touch where ever I was… I can recall one night sitting alone at a restaurant having dinner and I could feel it coming, Him demanding a visitation… I asked for the bill, paid without eating and left, I went to sit in my car and had the most awesome time in His presence… Me, Myself and the Holy Spirit, in a dark parking lot… no bells and whistles, no worship leaders setting an atmosphere, just His raw presence. And ever since He has been my best friend, I can call on Him anytime of the day and He will come sit with me.
I started a job earlier the year at a company where everyone is VERY strong in their faith, and me being introduced to this family was God’s way to slowly preparing me for “Normal”… I could still spend a whole lot of time in God’s presence… then one day I got a call for an interview back into my “Normal” career. In less than 24 hours I got an offer… “God, is it time? Am I ready?” I haven’t told my then boss of the offer, it was her birthday week, and I couldn’t get myself to do that to her. The same week we had a discussion in the office and she quoted a message she received… “There is no greater miracle than God taking an unholy person out of an unholy world, make him holy and put him back into the unholy and keeping him holy…” I almost burst into to tears when she said this, but had to contain myself as it would have been out of context for them at that point in time… but for me it was “Yes, my child, it is time…”
“Just a little longer… just a minute or so…” as I was dreading to get out of the warm shower into the cold. But reality was, I had to step out and get out into the cold, it was my obligation to be at work, it was a requirement, I could not stay in the warm shower the whole day… and as I told myself this the Holy Spirit planted a thought…
There are sooooo many of His children that just want to stay in His warm presence every second of every day, children that don’t want to face the cold world outside. God told me “Step out, you are clean, washed and justified by the blood of the Lamb, get warmly dressed with My Armour and go represent Me in this world, My glory will shine on you.”
The same night, Tuesday night, at our prayer meeting with my family in Christ, God confirmed this again. One brother shared a scripture that really meant a lot to him in the past week, in a time he needed to get motivated by the Holy Spirit; Isaiah 60:1-2.
‘ ARISE from the depression and prostration in which circumstances have kept you–rise to a new life! Shine, be radiant with the glory of the Lord, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you! For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and dense darkness all peoples, but the Lord shall arise upon you, and His glory shall be seen on you.
A few minutes later as we started getting quiet to start praying the electricity went off and we sat in darkness, there was a sudden shuffle for candles and confusion on what to do among us. The Holy Spirit had me sit quietly, not moving an inch, nothing I chose to do at that point in time would make a difference… “Carry on as you were, wait upon Me…” He told me, I did, and He pitched up in power.
My dearest friends, the world is dark and cold, it is rough and tough out there, but it is our obligation, it is a requirement of us to go into the cold, dark world and represent Jesus… He will prepare you; He will guide you; He will not send you into a herd of wolves as a sheep if you are not ready… the Lord shall arise upon you, and His glory shall be seen on you. He is your strength in your weakness, the light in your darkness… You can call on Him anytime of the day and He will pitch up; I promise you that… as much as we want to sit still at His feet 24/7, reality is that He called us to have dominion and multiply… Dominion over circumstances of coldness and darkness, and multiply Jesus’ representatives.
The world is hungry, and the sad part is that they don’t know what the hunger is for? It is our responsibility to show them that the only way to feed this hunger is through the Bread of Life, Jesus, the Word that became flesh and dwelt among us… Him and only Him. Go and feed His people.
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