What To Do When Life Happens...

Evidently many of us have made mistakes either in our careers, relationships with our friends, parents, former significant others, spouses and even during the course of parenting but to one who is not headstrong, these seeming mistakes are only an opportunity to learn to do the right thing the right way and if it appears to be too late, the chance to warn others not to make the same mistakes, presents itself.

God permits us the possibility of development and equips us with all the talents necessary for us to fulfill the purpose for which He made us. One who is spiritually awakened is aware that whatever crosses his or her path is for his or her own good and development and it does not matter whether the experience bring joy or sorrow.

A man might be tempted to find a mistress because his marriage is on the brink of collapse or is just disinterested in his wife due to previous events. Enticement will always come, but it is my conviction that God has equipped man with the ability to overcome temptation, it is our choice to succumb. Succumbing to the temptation to use a wrong to deal with a preceding wrong, leads to utter chaos, as can be seen in the case of a wife slapping her husband because he upset her and him slamming her head against a wall in return, WW2, Hiroshima, Boko Haram etc-It displays a total lack of intellect and desire to please God.

Yes, life happens, but we are in the driver's seat of our lives, not victims because GOD imbued man with all the talents to be a child of God. That many of us succumb to temptation is our own fault. An extremely talented student will score as with just a little effort but will fail his exams if he refuses to put any effort at all. He cannot blame God who, ab initio, blessed him with an excellent brain nor blame his wayward peers who lured him to a life of no effort. He only has himself to blame and he can change his circumstances again if he so desires, for the talent that God gave him is still there

A man who is focused and aware of the purpose for which God made him is filled with the power of good volition and absolute trust in God is enough to overcome any temptation including that of an extremely enticing, pink lipped, curvy "Channel O" girl. Love, silence and the unquenchable urge for what is good in the sense of the laws of God will sooner rather than later discover how blessed he is and that everything Jesus Christ ever said was true.

The urge for good is hardwired in us by God. We just need a little effort to wash away the dirt covering it. God has provided the detergent for us and taught us how to use it. It is left for us to wash away our sins using the detergent (laws of God) that God has mercifully put at our disposal. Yes, we you and you spouse might have grown apart, a lot of water has passed under that bridge, but you can turn things around not all at once, but little by little. If you have a pile of rubbish which you want to remove completely without a trace, then packing them and throwing it way is not the correct solution as you are merely changing the location. One can incinerate the rubbish by lighting a flame. No matter how big the rubbish, it will completely be incinerated if one keep fanning the flame. Of course, this is a crude analogy but hopefully it will help you to capture the picture I am trying to convey.

A greater portion of humanity are doomed, as a result of sin or pure indolence but we have a choice to join of those who are doomed or those who will find their way back to the eternal will of God. I pray that many of us muster all the strength and find God before it is too late.

Ijeoma Olujekun