Author: Didaskalos

“The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.”” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭40:8‬ ‭

Glad to come your way again. In my side of town, I am watching the leaves of the trees turn orange, yellow or brown. I am in a season where we have reduced time of natural daylight. It’s autumn.

Autumn is characterized by staleness, darkness, hibernation mostly, but it is also a great season of crops and harvest. For farmers, this is one of their most important times of the year.

I have realized with time that this season can sometimes mirror the seasons of life people also go through. It is a place where one doesn’t have clarity of things, lacks direction, has experienced stagnancy and staleness hoping for some form of improvement. This season can be a very dark time to whoever is experiencing it.

I just wrote this to encourage someone that in the midst of the dark and gloom, there is also a time of fruitfulness. It is quite interesting to note that crops are ready in a season of autumn. So don’t give up yet, and throw your hands in despair. It can only get better when we adjust our posture and perspective during that tough time.

In a season like this, trust in God whose word never fails- it endures forever. I will invite you to a place of prayer where you can have fellowship with a real and living God who offers hope to the hopeless, clarifies your vision and purpose, and will give meaning to “the madness”. Sometimes you will not get the answer in the immediacy, but until you have come to the end of the road.

God hears and responds to prayer, but it will be more beneficial during this time if you will commit to a real relationship than a casual one. Could it be whatever you are going through is, God trying to get your attention to tell you what to do? It is not just enough to cry for help in prayer, receive deliverance and then walk away. This time, let the relationship grow deeper than that.

We survive our autumn seasons when we have a vibrant relationship with God through the medium of prayer. So learn how to pray without ceasing. But it will first do you good, when you commit to serving Him FIRST.

May every burden you are going through in this season be lighter, and may every yoke that has confined you be destroyed and broken. I pray for your relief and freedom. May you have the temerity to breathe again. Don’t flood your pillow with tears again! Look up to the Lord whose word endures forever.

Thanks for reading.

May God bless us all!

Please share today’s post to encourage someone you know who is going through “it” presently. I will also appreciate your feedback in the comments section.

Till I come your way again…

Peace & Love

N.B. Make this commitment if you want to experience a real relationship with God.

Say after me, “Dear Lord Jesus, come into my heart. I thank you for saving me from my sins.I hereby confess every sinful deed and ask for your forgiveness. I thank you this very day I am assured of your love and assurance. May I experience God in a real and tangible way through you. Thank you for answered prayer. Amen”

After this, you can contact me here or look for a church in your local area to gain more understanding on what you just did. Congratulations!

Last week, we looked at the subject of a broken spirit. And then, we went ahead to look at the cause and effects of that on the human body or soul.

Today, we want to switch gears on that and talk about dealing with a broken spirit or how to overcome it. Brokenness is not a new phenomenon- it is common to man. We all experience it at one point or another. The thing is, learning how to not let a broken spirit break us to the point of not moving forward again.

With that in mind, let us arm ourselves with this keys on overcoming a broken spirit.

“A merry heart does good, like medicine…” Proverbs‬ ‭17:22‬ ‭

1. Joy– you will have to read my past article on joy. In this article, I defined that word, looked at certain features and how to experience it. It will take more than happiness to overcome brokenness and let me add this, joy and happiness are mutually exclusive. One of the many effects of joy is, you will have a merry heart which does good like medicine. Good, inner merriness is like healing to your body.

“Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, But a good word makes it glad.” Proverbs‬ ‭12:25‬ ‭

2. Your company– brokenness can also come from people, not just life. We have to be careful who hangs around us or keep company with. The last sentence of this verb talks about how a good word can prop you up. How do you think a word will come to you? By a person. If that is what will take to lift you up, don’t you think a word can also cause anxiety which leads to depression? For the sake of your health, form good relationships.

“Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty [conceited, self-important, exclusive], but associate with humble people [those with a realistic self-view]. Do not overestimate yourself.” Romans‬ ‭12:16‬ ‭

3. Humility– this virtue shows in your expectations and your self awareness according to this text. People are sometimes broken because of high and lofty expectations which are unattainable. Dream as big as you can and stretch your imagination far and wide, but also be realistic and have an awareness of self too. When you dream to the point of overestimating yourself, you are setting yourself up for a broken spirit. The problem is not about the size of your dream, but the overestimation of yourself.

Finally, let me leave you with this encouraging thought.

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.” Psalms‬ ‭34:18‬ ‭

The Lord doesn’t just sympathize to your plight if you are currently in a broken state, He also empathizes and is willing to rescue [heal] you. Call out to Him in prayer and reach out.

I pray for all my readers this day that may they experience joy and peace in addition to keep moving irrespective of the setbacks. May God be with us all!

Thanks for reading. I will appreciate it if you will like or share today’s post. Please don’t also forget to give me feedback in the comments section. I look forward to reading them and replying.

Subscribe to this blog too, if you haven’t.

Till, I come your way again…

Peace & Love

“A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones.” Proverbs‬ ‭17:22‬ ‭

Hello and glad to come your way again. Welcome to a new month.

Today, I want us to focus our attention on this topic of a broken spirit. What is it? My personal definition of this is, when you have completely surrendered to life’s fate and have no resolve to keep on living. To me, that is a broken spirit. I will like to read your definition in the comments section. From this scripture an effect is, it dries your bones- making you bone weary.

By this time of the year, many people walk around with a broken spirit. They are present, yet absent. It is my prayer, this will serve as encouragement to the down and weary. Let us look at a cause of a broken spirit.

“A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, But by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.” Proverbs‬ ‭15:13‬ ‭

Sorrow is the main cause of a broken spirit. In this life, we are promised trials, tribulations and tests and if not handled well, can lead to sorrow. When one becomes inconsolable beyond help, it degenerates into a broken spirit.

Now, let us look at three more effects of a broken spirit.

1. You easily become prone to sickness

“The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, But who can bear a broken spirit?” Proverbs‬ ‭18:14‬ ‭

It takes a healthy immune system to be healthy and fight off sickness. Secondly, when one becomes sick, the immune system will also play a part in the recovery process. So, an immune system is basically like a wall of defense. A broken spirit shuts our immune system down or weakens it. In as much it is good to take care of your body, place more value on the nourishment of your spirit and soul.

2. Your will is broken

“Whoever has no rule over his own spirit Is like a city broken down, without walls.” Proverbs‬ ‭25:28‬ ‭

This verse talks about a broken will. The preceding verse, which is 27 talks about gluttony. So the reason for gluttony is a broken spirit. It makes you a live a life of no boundaries. “Everything goes” becomes the motto. It is a sign of hopelessness. When we see people behaving like that, it means they are ready to ‘check out’ and have thrown in the towel.

3. Constant thoughts of death

““My spirit is broken, My days are extinguished, The grave is ready for me.” ‭‭Job‬ ‭17:1‬ ‭

People who are broken have no will to live again. They oversleep thinking by doing that, another day will not dawn. They overdose on pills easily and binge on anything harmful to their health. The thought of death is constant and a stronghold in their mind if they experience a minor setback. Anything at all can trigger that.

My heart goes out to broken people today and it is my prayer that, may you experience the peace of God which passes all understanding.

Next week, we will deal with overcoming a broken spirit.

Thank you for reading.

Please like, share and comment on today’s post. Subscribe to this blog too if you haven’t.

Till I come your way again…

Peace & Love

Lessons from our marriage II

https://abedi.blog/2018/10/29/lessons-from-our-marriage-ii/
— Read on abedi.blog/2018/10/29/lessons-from-our-marriage-ii/

Lessons from our marriage

https://abedi.blog/2018/10/15/lessons-from-our-marriage/
— Read on abedi.blog/2018/10/15/lessons-from-our-marriage/

“So David went out wherever Saul sent him, and behaved wisely. And Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.

And David behaved wisely in all his ways, and the Lord was with him.” ‭‭I Samuel‬ ‭18:5, 14‬ ‭

Hello and glad to come your way again.

Last two weeks, we left off with politics is rife especially among work. People can be quite surprised at that, thinking it should be the last place to be. Knowing that, you should be able to survive and thrive in such an environment. People have been shocked thinking changing jobs will eliminate that, only to find out it is the same everywhere.

Today, I want us to look at how David survived a wicked boss in King Saul. How come he didn’t end as a prey in his master’s kingdom? The two verses I shared explains why.

The first verse is after David’s conquest of Goliath which brought him notoriety. He made friends with the king’s son in Jonathan, he behaved wisely and was promoted. David didn’t lose his head after a major victory. It is interesting to note that when some achieve a personal victory, they just ‘go wild’.

The second verse was after surviving Saul’s attempted murder and been promoted. At this stage of his life, this was his second promotion.

I find it amazing that even after surviving an attempted murder, he still accepted King Saul’s promotion to being a captain.

So in between killing Goliath and David’s second promotion, two times the Bible quotes on David “behaving wisely”. The general definition of wisdom is “applying common sense or knowledge”, but in David’s case, wisdom’s definition is more that. It also speaks of sobriety in thought and been able to discern people’s thoughts and moves before they happen. It always gave him an upper hand. That is also wisdom.

David’s wisdom in this verse talks to me about emotional intelligence. What is that? It is generally defined as managing your emotions to communicate effectively. It has a lot to with empathy and also overcoming challenges (conflicts). David’s best friend was the son of his boss who wanted him dead, and also became a son in law to this same boss… let that sit with you for a minute. He managed relationships despite being in a ‘lion’s den’ . Some just alienate themselves from the whole team to be an island because of one bad worker. A posture like that won’t survive in today’s corporate world. Life is hinged and built on relationships.

The last thing I want to dwell on is, David’s focus at the job he was assigned to in the palace. I mean, how can you remain that resolute and calm in such a ‘workplace’? That to me speaks of wisdom. Don’t let politics in the workplace sway you away from the duties and responsibilities of your job. Some get easily distracted and form groups among themselves, which at times can be unfruitful. They do nothing but promote mutiny in an already toxic environment.

I am not criticizing but sharing an observation; today’s graduates (Generation Y/millennials) have very thin skin. They feel entitled and quit at the least pressure. They think just having ‘book knowledge’ on the job is just enough to succeed in today’s workplace. They have no life skills in dealing with problems and managing different personalities. Perhaps, they are products of their environment. I can’t tell but wonder aloud. Let your knees not buckle at the sign of the least pressure… life is hard! Four years of college doesn’t teach that fully, till you get out there in the work environment or experience life.

May I end on this note that, wisdom is not beyond us. I will leave you with this Bible verse.

“But maybe you need to know how to be wise. Then ask God to help you. He is ready to give everyone what they need. And he never says that it is wrong to ask. So, God will help you to be wise.” James‬ ‭1:5‬

Ask God in prayer- that’s it!

Thanks for making time to read today’s post. Please share and like it. Will also love your feedback in the comments section.

Subscribe to this blog too, if you haven’t.

Till, I come your way again…

Peace & Love

“When the victorious Israelite army was returning home after David had killed the Philistine, women from all the towns of Israel came out to meet King Saul. They sang and danced for joy with tambourines and cymbals. This was their song: “Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands!” This made Saul very angry. “What’s this?” he said. “They credit David with ten thousands and me with only thousands. Next they’ll be making him their king!” So from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David. The very next day a tormenting spirit from God overwhelmed Saul, and he began to rave in his house like a madman. David was playing the harp, as he did each day. But Saul had a spear in his hand, and he suddenly hurled it at David, intending to pin him to the wall. But David escaped him twice.” ‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭18:6-11‬ ‭

Hello and glad to come your way. I have been looking at the definition of work place politics and I think this is the best out of all by slideshare.net, and it quotes, “Workplace politics is the use of power and networking within an organization to achieve personal benefits.”

Our scripture reading for today captures the heart of that message. Before we get into the meat of our topic, you have to understand firstly that politics is everywhere- it doesn’t only pertain to electing government officials. Secondly, you have to understand politics very well, else you will be a victim. Thirdly, politics has to deal with people and power, so you will have to study the nature of humans too very well.

Politics has many branches, but for the purpose of this blog I will restrict it to work. When you read the Bible story, it talks about David coming home from battle to the cheers of women singing his praises. This didn’t sit well with Saul because in the chorus of the song, Saul was just ascribed thousands to David’s ten thousands. The nature of King Saul and David’s relationship turned political from that day.

Anytime, you excel at an assignment in your workplace, be on the lookout for politics. It is just a hard, cold truth. Excellence at something rears the ugly head of politics in people. Understand that the workplace is not like your home where perhaps love, care and nurture were the abiding principles. This is different- it is a concrete jungle where competition, performance appraisal, promotion, pay increases etc are the order of the day. Work is an environment where jostling for power is prevalent.

From this story, there are some noteworthy points I picked up.

1. Don’t be surprised at jealousy– when your praises are sang or say, you are promoted in the workplace, don’t be surprised at people you once had vibes with now give you the cold shoulder. As painful as it is, you can’t spend time crying at this or quit and look for another job. Friend, do you think it will get better in another workplace? I am here to disappoint you with my answer, IT WILL NOT! It is the same everywhere. King Saul became jealous of David when he was crowned the people’s champion.

2. Workplace is territorial, expect a fight– you were new to the job and the supervisor who even became your lunch mate, showed you the ropes till you ascended to the same position as him. Now, you are confused as to why he doesn’t like you anymore. You have invaded his territory and expect a pushback. In Saul’s mind, David could be a king so he had to protect his territory hence his jealousy. I have come to know by experience that ideals such as teamwork and collaboration are only preached, but not TRULY practiced and believed. No wonder, it is only an ideal but not a realism.

3. You could be eliminated, eyes open!– the jealousy of Saul caused him to throw a spear at him. The intent was to eliminate him. In the workplace, you can be eliminated by rough tactics. In some cases, people have even gone as far as murder. This is where the studying of people comes in. Don’t be naive because subtlety is real. Some will not exhibit Saul’s jealousy, but they will smile towards you thinking otherwise. You have to be vigilant to survive and also thrive irrespective of the odds stacked against you.

I will end on this: you can’t eliminate work politics. It has come to stay and it is part of the fabric and culture of work. The only thing you can do is, learning to survive it. That is something colleges will never teach you.

I wish you a strong finish to this month and a blessed upcoming new month.

Please like and share today’s post. Don’t forget to subscribe to this blog too if you haven’t. I look forward to your feedback on this as always.

Till, we meet again…

Peace & Love.

Hello! Hope you had a great weekend? Today, we will wrap up on this topic by looking at one more little thing.

We have been gleaning wisdom from unconventional places by observing.

Over the the past three weeks, we have been informed through Proverbs 30:24-27 that:

The ant is a symbol of industry.

The rock badger is a symbol of borrowed strength.

The locust is a symbol of teamwork.

Let us look at our text again for today’s lesson.

“The spider skillfully grasps with its hands, And it is in kings’ palaces.” Proverbs‬ ‭30:28‬ ‭

The Hebrew rendering of this text suggests lizard- in fact a gecko, but it is not conclusive. Although, when you look at other versions of this text, the word lizard is used. The description there is not consistent with that, because the gecko doesn’t really use its hands.

So from this passage, what I personally observed from the spider is skill. That word jumped at me. Everybody is born with talent, but not all have skill. When talent is fine tuned and goes through a refining process, it is called skill.

The take home from the spider is, its skill of spinning webs or cobwebs lands him in places like a king’s palace. You will never go to places of prominence with talent.

As annoying a cobweb can be, appreciate the skill of a spider. So with this, let us learn a few on skill.

1. Talent makes you mediocre at best– talent can be overrated. Everyone has it! Talent at times is like crude oil. You can’t do much with it, though its price value on the market is high because of potential. Talent speaks of potential. You may have great prospects of “making it”, but you won’t quite get there. If we function on raw talent, we won’t have the best results.

2. Skill speaks of consistency and diligence– you don’t become skillful by dreaming or wishing. It comes through honing in your craft and that takes a lot of work- something you are prepared to do over a period of time. Developing a skill means you have to be married to a routine. In the world of sports, the difference between a superstar and a regular player is skill. A superstar has paid the price through hard work in developing raw talent.

3. Skill will take you places– the spider’s annoying craft has taken it to a place of prominence in the king’s palace. Sometimes, it is not so much about the craft, but how well you excel at the craft that will speak volumes. If it speaks volumes, it will then takes you places.

I pray to God, we will all work on our skill to be polished for the benefit of service to humanity. It has a price though, but may the spider’s inspiration spur us on. We can’t be of quality service with just talent.

Thank you all for following along over the past month. I appreciate every feedback I have received. It has greatly encouraged me and added more fuel to the fire to keep getting better. Thanks again!

Please like, share or comment on today’s post. Subscribe to this blog too, if you haven’t.

Till, I come your way again…

Peace & Love

Hello and a good day to you all! We are continuing on finding wisdom from unconventional places hence our series, four small things.

The text we are using in Proverbs instructs us to go beyond the face value of an ant, a hyrax and learn from them. So far, we have seen the ant as a symbol of industry. And then, the hyrax, that of borrowed strength.

Before we focus on the third, let us look at our foundational text.

“The locusts have no king, Yet they all advance in ranks;” Proverbs‬ ‭30:27‬ ‭

The third small thing today is the locust. Known to be very destructive in nature. The mention of the name locust in the Bible evokes terror. This is the first time something praiseworthy has been noted.

They don’t have a king meaning, they have no kind of appointed leadership or structure, yet advance in ranks.

The lesson gleaned is teamwork. But before that, I also observed other things.

1. The ability to work unsupervised– they have no leader, but stuff gets done. In this world where there is a leadership void, chaos is present. The locust rewrites that story that “I may be in a disadvantage, but I advance…” We should all come to that sense of self governance. The locust teaches us that inspiration can also be inward as outer. As you start this work week, be determined to finish your break on time without your supervisor coming to tell you- that is the wisdom of a locust.

2. They embrace the odds, yet advance– they don’t run from the challenge that they have no king or system of governance. They advance irrespective of that. Who learns from a locust? Their destructive reputation precedes them, yet they advance. The locust rewrites their story despite these odds. I pray you are encouraged to fight any odds this week to rewrite your story.

3. They believe in collaboration– that is the main takeaway. They believe in teamwork. “Teamwork makes the dream work” is their mantra. Bruce Waltke, a professor wrote this on the teamwork of locusts, “They are well known for their amazing ability to form gigantic swarms that can wreak devastation of a scale almost beyond imagination. Highly reliable eyewitness accounts of modern locust plagues border on the incredible.” No matter how gifted you are, believing in the essence of a team will not dim your light, but brighten it.

I am shocked to know there is a wealth of wisdom in a pest like a locust. We will not just learn, but apply them.

God bless our week and may we be fruitful.

Thanks for reading.

Till, I come your way again…

Peace & Love

“Rock badgers—they aren’t powerful, but they make their homes among the rocky cliffs.” Proverbs 30 : 26

Hello and blessed to come your way again! Last week, we started a journey on some unusual creatures who have been made the epitome of wisdom in our deliberation. We looked at the ant.

Today, we want to focus on the rock badgers or hyrax as they are called. Pay particular attention to how their weakness is first spotted- they actually have no speed or strength rendering them powerless against large predators with sharp teeth such as leopards, servals and caracals.

But the Bible admonishes us to glean some wisdom from a weak animal as that- they make their homes among the rocks.

Two things stand out from this to me:

I. They make the strength of the rock their own strength.

II. They find refuge among the strong.

The lesson driven home to me is borrowed strength. It takes humility to practice that principle, knowing you are not “all that” and you are handicapped in one way or another. Unfortunately, some believe their own hype too much not wanting to concede to that truth.

It will take being realistic to honestly assess yourself in your areas of strength and weakness; where you have great expertise and where you are totally inept. The hyrax has no problem admitting, it doesn’t have the speed of a rabbit or the strength of an elephant. It rather focuses on ‘networking’. That is, being among others to find inspiration in the things that you lack.

Another striking point is, they don’t easily expose themselves knowing their limitations. Most times, it is not wisdom to tell people what you are weak at or lacking. You can, but be very discerning with the company you are vulnerable to. The hyrax rarely ventures in the open knowing it could be a meal for another. It is why they are a scarce breed. They spend most of their time among the refuge of the rocks. That is their safe haven.

Which brings me to my last observation- who inspires you? Who has your ears, time, energy and attention? The badger’s inspiration is the rock hence the name rock badgers. What you pay attention to, what you invest in, you suddenly become!

It is okay to have shortfalls or weaknesses, but it is not okay to be a prey. The hyrax today serves as our lesson that instead of lamenting over our weaknesses, we can practice the concept of borrowed strength for our survival. Go to the hyrax and learn!

Thank you all for reading and also for helping bring traffic to this site. I truly appreciate it and I am humbled!

I will like to read your feedback on this. Like and share today’s post too.

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Till, I come your way again…

Peace & Love.