Greetings everyone and welcome to today’s edition of …
Learn & Grow with Jesus Every Day
Today’s Topic is: Have You Found It Yet?
Date: Wednesday, April 14, 2021
Bible Reading: Luke 17:20-21 NIV
Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.”
Luke 17:20-21 NIV
Discussion Question: Have you found it yet?
Have you ever been caught up with mind-boggling anxiety and desperation, turning the house upside-down, looking for something so important to you, and all the while it has been right under your nose? I will never forget the day I was looking for my car key fob. I was already running late for my appointment, and I just couldn't find my key fob. With each passing minute, my anxiety multiplied, desperation and anger set in, I was sweating because it was an appointment that I could neither miss nor reschedule. In my frustration, I beat my chest and felt a very sharp pain. The key fob had been in my shirt pocket all this while and I was going crazy looking for it.
Most times we go to great length and put in an astronomical amount of work and effort, in pursuit of one thing or the other. But if only we could take a moment and calm down, we would find that all that work and effort weren't really necessary. What we have been looking for has always been within arm's length, well within our reach.
Anxiety and desperation breed subjective blindness, and unbelief amplifies that blindness by multiplying our mental blind spots. The cumulative effect is the more you look, the less you see; the harder you pound, the more difficult it is to crack, and the closer you get, the faster it disappears, just like a mirage. Subjective blindness can lead to streaks of failures, frustrations, and losses. You cannot take a hold of what you cannot see, neither can you see what you don't believe. Have you ever heard the saying, Seeing is believing? The bigger problem is if you don't believe it, you won't even see it at all. It is first of all your belief that enables and empowers you to see.
Why is it that we can't seem to find things sitting right in front of us? One reason is that we look everywhere but within. We run, searching everywhere but our immediate environment. That great opportunity you have been searching for all your life could be sitting right next to you in church or seminar, or standing right in front of you at the grocery store or the subway. The vital key you need to unlock that opportunity is RELATIONSHIP. The power of a relationship is unfathomable. People rise and fall by relationship. The wisest man that ever lived once said, "A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother" (Proverbs 28:24 NKJV). A business card might be all you need to rise to your next level of success. A good word or reference might be all you need. A worthy mention of your name at a meeting might be the miracle you need. But you must first be friendly and nice to others. The ball starts rolling with you, and only you can decide the momentum and impact.
Much the same way, that seemingly persistent issue in your life for which you have traveled far and wide searching for a solution - stop and look within. The enemy within is the absolute worst and most lethal. Look within, look around you, take a second look at your relationships, your friends, your acquaintances, your associates, your partners, your buddies. And it will surprise you to find that cancer eating you alive has been starring at you all along, faking empathy, care, and concern.
So, look no further, it is in your midst. It is within you. It is around you. Believe and experience the joy of seeing what’s right in front of you. As a matter of fact, it just called you, but you can't decide what to do with the call, because you’re not sure if the person on the other line is the voice of an opportunity or mayhem. Either way, it's your call.
Stay uplifted in Christ always and live cheerfully every day.
Leader Chinedu Nicholas Obodo for Exolom Fellowship, Maryland, USA.
Find us at exolom.com