There are two other titles I could give this blog post
- Complaining through a meeting with Jesus
- Sleep walking through seasons
Read it with all three titles at the back of your mind.
One of my most favourite preachers did a series on this particular story a couple of weeks back, just as he launched his book with the same title…
Seven-Mile miracle by Steven Furtick.
That series reminded me again of the reason that story strikes a chord for me, quite different from all he preached about…
That sometimes, we can be right bang in the middle of a meeting with Jesus and sleepwalk through it all, oblivious of whose company we are in. You should read the entire story in Acts 24v13-35 for more context but I would highlight a couple of verses…
- In the middle of their talk and questions, Jesus came up and walked along with them. But they were not able to recognize who he was…
17 He asked them, “What are you discussing so intently as you walk along?” They stopped short, sadness written across their faces.
So this two dudes were walking to Emmaus after the sad crucifixion of Jesus and they were just sad all the way. Sad that Jesus was no more, sad at how he died, and above all, sad that the hope they had was gone with his death. And then JESUS appears right in the middle of their conversation and they don’t recognize him because they were more interested in being sad.
These dudes were right bang in the middle of a meeting with Jesus BUT missed their moment with complaining, griping and whining the loss of what wasn’t even lost.
Then Jesus graciously starts to give them gist and signs to even make them know that the situation was not as hopeless as they thought but my brothers didn’t get it. Thankfully they were wise enough to invite him home, and it was only at the end of that encounter, where they broke bread that they GOT IT and in that instant, HE DISAPPEARED.
29…but they begged him, “Stay the night with us, since it is getting late.” So he went home with them. 30 As they sat down to eat,[b]he took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them. 31 Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared!
These dudes sleepwalked through 7 whole miles with Jesus. Wow!!! Imagine the kind of correct revelation and conversation these dudes would have enjoyed with Him if only their negative emotions didn’t blind them. But let’s leave Cleopas and his friend for two seconds and bring it home.
How many of us are sleepwalking through our seasons not knowing that God is right bang in the middle of it with us. We complain, we gripe, we compare, we pity-party and all of these blind our eyes to the miracles that could have been birthed in that season.
Let’s put my life on the platform for another 2seconds. I was like these two friends (Steven F thinks it may have been husband and wife lol). I was bang in a season of my life some two years ago that didn’t make any sense to me. I had quit my dream career with the United Nations and Abuja, found myself in Bonny island, now a full time SAHMom. I hated everything this season held in store for me, and I envied every other person’s life because I always judged them better. I share a lot of that story and my victory here
I was right bang in a season where Jesus was taking a 7mile walk with me but I was willing to gripe, complain and bitch about my life instead of fully immersing in that season and seeing what God wants to birth in me from there. Thank God for the movie WAR ROOM. It somehow set the stage for my bread-breaking moment, and then thank God I then discovered Priscilla Shirer who made me see God in my season as a SAHMom, and finally for Christine Caine and Propel Video 1 that further cemented it all for me. Until I realized that God was with me even as a broke stay at home mom, and He wanted to use this season to birth something beautiful FIRST IN ME, and then THROUGH me, my people, only God knows what my life would have been like today. But when I got up from my slumber, and fully immersed in that season, no longer envious, ashamed, discontent or full of comparison, I started to be very thankful for my portion as a mom, began to see it as a privilege and high calling to serve both as a wife and a mother, get into incredible depths with the Word both through the Bible and several sound teachings from His many children and my 10.000 teachers, then my life began to change.
Today, CoachE’ is the baby of that season.
Can you guys just imagine???
You guys, like I always say, each time meaning it more than the previous… I COULD NOT HAVE THUNK UP THIS LIFE FOR MYSELF. God took what was the lowest seaon of my life after I surrendered it to Him, and birthed something beautiful from it.
I have had the privilege of spending a better part of this last year speaking strength to women in seasons that look bleak for them. I have encouraged, prayed with and shared from my own story to them, and thank GOD for the testimonies we have had. GOD IS RIGHT BANG IN THAT SEASON and until we wake up and fully immerse in it – challenges, brokenness, discontentment and all -, we would totally waste it and that would be such a shame.
I don’t care how bad it is – Stay at home mom, single mom, older single, mom-in-waiting, jobless, broke ass, homeless, parent-less, etc. – God is right in that season with you and YOU CANNOT AFFORD TO SLEEPWALK THROUGH A 7MILE MEETING WITH JESUS.
Let me share some practical things that helped me navigate my own season…
- Shut out the world. And by that, I mean social media for most of us. Let me tell you, I shut down social media. I didn’t need its nudges anymore. I didn’t need to see what was going on in B’s life and their mamas. I was tired of being discontent and jealous. I HAD TO FIERCELY AND BRUTALLY GUARD MY HEART (Thanks Christine) and so I signed out of social media. I also kept the TV off. I used to be a TV Queen, spend hours and hours watching AfMag and all those shows that talk about stars and all. I would then get on blogs and fill my heart up with ratchet news that would make me feel worse about myself after comparing. Oh my darling, I shut them all DOWN!!! I’m saying TOTAL LOCKDOWN!!! I also cut out friends and relationships as God led me.
- I OPENED MY BIBLE. No seriously, you can’t be full of the world and have room for the Word
James 4 v 4 You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.
I had been adulterous because I abandoned my first love and gave all that attention to the world. But as I repented, and shut the world down, I started to spend incredible time in the WORD. I had a real hiunger and desire for God. I would spend hours and hours in deep Bible study, prayers, and watching my fave Preachers. I recall my son would wake up and my regret would be that GOSH, I can’t have this uninterrupted time with God again. That was also why losing weight was relatively easier for me. Once you are full of God, you realize that you are even less hungry for physical food. The Word really does fill us up. Like I couldn’t get enough of God and His Word. You know, today as I prayed, I was just telling God that I literally have THREE DEVOTIONALS (The third is dropping this week) and ONE regular book, and I was just laughing that He keeps making me write about prayers and the Word. All of that was birthed in that season. I slept on YouTube. I would sacrifice food money for data cos at the time, my subscription cost N10k for the month. I leaned in to Lisa and Heather and Joyce and ‘Silla and of course Christine Caine. They were my tribe, Squad and GOALS!!! Then of course, I started to hear Him more such that when He turned seasons for me, I was along for the ride… Oh and we can’t forget the impact of my Pastor M and DDK too on me.
- I CONFESSED… No, I confessed like my life depended on it. Hunnay, I had confessions for EVERY AREA OF MY LIFE, it was ridiculous. I literally had colorful stickers every where in my home reminding me of what the Word said about what I was believing for. You guys I was like a crazy old lady. Maybe that is why I am so deep sometimes. If you talk to me for two minutes, I punctuate a lot of what I say with scriptures and ‘God told me…’ and that foundation came from that season where I almost sleepwalked through a meeting with Jesus. I fear for what my life would have been if WAR ROOM wasn’t a tool for my deliverance.
And because this is 6 pages long on my word doc, I am going to drop my ‘pen’ and run to the gym lol. I can’t even add pictures sorry lol.
But I feel led to ask you to email me if you truly are in the middle of a meeting with Jesus, are sleepwalking and would like to wake up and fully immerse in that season wide-eyed. I want to pray with you.
I might not get to call everyone but I definitely will pray for yawl as your emails come in. I am tired of the devil messing with my sisters and because I KNOW that he is DEFEATABLE, like easily sef, I will keep doing what I can to whoop his butts…
Like we learned in WAR ROOM, the devil is a liar but he is LOUD. Lets hand in hand shut down that bastard, In fact, I like what I heard John Bevere say in a podcast today as he taught us how he whoops satan…
Satan, I have a sword and you are DISARMED. I will cut you down into pieces, and then cut your pieces into pieces until you run in terror away from me…
Ladies, that’s how we should roll ooo, swords and err’thang.
Cheers to NEVER sleepwalking through meetings with JESUS!!!
With love
E’
This is so timely. I’m also in the process of learning that God takes us through seasons. And we are (sadly) sometimes too busy complaining to even realize the lessons He has for us. Most importantly, and this is something I myself still deal with, it’s crucial to surrender our plans for His plans. That’s what I think I have learnt most this season. Also that God is there; if you seek Him, you WILL find him. Moreover, the hunger and thirst for God this season is just inexplicable. I feel like I am able to now completely LEAN on Him and Him alone. Sorry for the long story; it just was so tough initially this summer, until God really began to turn things around in my spirit. My prayer is that this fire in me for God never quenches, that I continue to so desperately seek Him with all of me.