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As the days of her delivery drew near, Emuna wondered about her unborn child and whether the baby would be a boy or a girl. Living in uncertain times, with a scarcity of God’s word in her nation, made life quite uncomfortable for her people. They had always been guided and governed by God’s presence. They had always experienced His constant protection, except when their stubbornness led them away from Him. The consequences had always been dire.

Emuna, a young woman who had grown up living according to the ways of the Lord, married the prophet’s son, who was the presiding priest at the time, along with his brother. She always knew that her husband’s way of life was not pleasing to the Lord and that his heart had strayed from Him. As a woman of her era, there was little she could do. However, she continued to hope for a complete turnaround in her husband’s heart toward God, as she could hardly bear the reports of his actions.

Emuna had heard whispers and reports about her husband and his brother’s detestable actions and how they continue to defile the house of God without fear. She held onto the hope that her father-in-law would reprimand them and counsel them to repent and return to God’s ways, but as days passed, that hope began to fade. Knowing full well about his sons’ atrocities, Eli only cautioned them about the reports of their misdeeds rather than rebuking them to repent.

Is this ever going to be addressed? she pondered. Have they not heard of God’s wrath in ancient times when His people walked in iniquity? Why has the fear of God become so rare in her nation? Why are the people who should teach and admonish God’s people to live righteously the same ones living in unrighteousness and needing admonishment? Who will correct them? Are the people not afraid of the prophet’s sons? Who would dare chastise and rebuke them to repent?

Oh my Lord, the God who sees, when will you arise and cleanse your house and your people? We have become so comfortable in our sins that we have lost all regard for the fear of God. How long, Lord? My soul is weary of the ways of my people. Who will turn their hearts back to You?

Then the news of war reached the nation. Their number one enemy had vowed to battle against them. Emuna’s heart skipped a beat at the news. She immediately sensed that the Lord’s vengeance was looming and that it was time for them to put on sackcloth, cover themselves in ashes, and humble themselves in repentance, pleading for God’s mercy. Who would listen to her cry for mercy and repentance? As a woman, she had little voice; all she could do was plead alone.

With her faith in the Ark of the Covenant, it broke her heart to see the symbol of the Lord’s presence treated with such disrespect. There was no fear of the Ark’s presence in her husband, as he was too engrossed in his sinful ways, including adultery and the mishandling of the offerings and sacrifices brought into the Tabernacle.

As the scent of war drew closer, Hophni and Phinehas presented themselves with the Ark of the Covenant in the camp, regardless of their evil deeds. The mere acknowledgement of the Ark sent a great shout that shook the earth and almost paralysed their enemies. However, because they were not upright in their walk with God, they were not only defeated, but the Ark was also stolen in battle. An abomination!

The deaths on the battlefield, including his sons, led Eli, the prophet, to an untimely end. The shockwaves from the outcome threw Emuna into sudden labour. How could the Ark of the Covenant be stolen? How could their only covering be removed and taken away by the enemy? Where would they go from here? They had been left naked and exposed without the symbol of the Lord’s presence. Their sins had caught up with them. Who could digest this news and find peace? The Lord had left them.

With these thoughts racing through her mind, the agonising pain of childbirth overtook her. Pushing with every ounce of strength left in her, the baby finally came. “ICHABOD!” she announced as her breath left her lungs before she passed out. ICHABOD! Meaning “The Glory Has Departed.” Indeed, the glory had departed from her people. The Ark of the Covenant was stolen!

Emuna died after childbirth, naming her son ICHABOD.

In today’s spiritual climate, amidst so much noise and shouting that can shake the earth, voices are amplified everywhere, competing for loudness, visibility, and impact. Can these sustain our symbol of the presence of the Lord? Whatever your symbol represents—whether your prayer life, the study of the Word, or dwelling in His presence—know that all the shouting in 1 Samuel 4:5-6 did not secure their victory over the enemy. Instead, it reinforced the enemy’s determination to attack and defeat them.

So, my question for us is: with all the noise around us, including the noise we make in boasting about God’s presence with us, does it have depth rooted in Christ and His Word, accompanied by clean hands and an upright heart, to sustain our victory and paralyse the enemy of our souls and faith journey? If not, I have another question: has the glory departed? Has His presence left us, or have we wandered away from Him? Are we living in alignment with His will? Are we praying without receiving answers, or are we praying amiss?

Note: Emuna, which means ‘faith’ or ‘faithful’ in Hebrew, is a fitting name to illustrate her faith in the Ark of the Covenant, as mentioned in this article. The Bible does not provide a name for Phinehas’ wife, who is also Ichabod’s mother.

Telling a story from this nameless woman’s perspective (Ichabod’s mother). Inspired by the woman we all knew a little about from 1 Samuel chapters 2, 3, and 4. Though we read only a few verses about her, the weight of the name she left with us sparks deep reflection on our walk with God today. ICHABOD—has it departed?

Comments are welcome.

Broken, lonely, and vulnerable, she covered herself while walking to the well. Why did she choose this time of day when people were home attending to house chores and commitments? Was it the perfect time to escape to the well without being seen, heard, or noticed?

Hurrying to the well, she thought it would be easy to quickly fill her pitcher and head home quietly without drawing any attention. However, things did not go as planned.

At the well was the Master, patiently waiting for her. She must have been stunned to see someone there at that time of day—a man? He looked nothing like her tribe; rather, he seemed to be a stranger. Did he lose his way? What was he doing at the well, wandering around? Filled with many questions, yet choosing to ignore him, she moved to fetch water, not expecting to be interrupted by an unknown man sitting alone near the well.

As she drew water and filled her pitcher, he asked her for a drink. “Will you give me a drink?” Startled that he would ask her for water, she pondered, Did he really ask me for water? Can he not see that we are from different backgrounds? He looks like our neighbors from the other town, and they do not like associating with us. They consider themselves the true children of God and despise anyone not from their tribe and clan. And here is one of them asking me for a drink.

“Sir, may I remind you of our differences? You have no business talking to me. Your people and mine are not on good terms. We do not associate with one another, so how can you ask me for a drink? And perhaps explain why you’re at the well at this time of day.”

He answered with a smile, “If you knew the gift of God and the person asking you for a drink, you would have asked him to give you living water.” She couldn’t believe her ears. “You do not have anything to draw water with, and now you’re talking about living water? Where will you get that living water? Even our forefathers, who gave us this well, could not provide such water. Are you saying you are greater than our forefathers?”

The Master replied, “This water you’re drawing from will never quench your thirst, but the water I give is a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”

Curiously, she asked, “Sir, please give me this water you’re talking about so I won’t have to come back to this well for water.”

“Go and call your husband,” he said.

“What? Did I hear right? How come he asked for my husband just because of water?”

“I don’t have a husband,” she replied sarcastically.

“You are right for saying you don’t have a husband,” he replied. “The five husbands you’ve had were not your own.”

Stunned, she let go of her pitcher and suddenly felt seen and known by this stranger sitting by the well. “Who told you so? How do you know? Are you a prophet? El Roi!”

He sees you even when your neighbors don’t, even when your household and loved ones can’t perceive the burden and weight of your circumstances that bind you to your situation.

May the Lord God Who-Sees speak to those hidden areas of your life, erasing the shame, humiliation, and every poor life choice that binds you. May His living waters flood your life, washing away all that restrains you, and may you be planted by the rivers of His ever-flowing fountain, bringing forth fruits in every season.

Do you think you can quietly hide away? I tried, but I never succeeded.
Even at the well, no matter the time, El Roi will find you.

Comments are welcome.

Have you ever been scared of what might, or what if, and you just could not stay still? And the best way you think of dealing with it is to keep going even when your heartbeat is moving faster than a ticking clock and your mind is racing faster than the fastest 100-meter marathon champion. Well, that is the type of environment we live in currently, and it can cripple you if you let it. The media is not helping but amplifying the heat of the electric tide of our current atmosphere, wiring us to keep going so we don’t miss out rather than stop and deal with our scary internal narratives limiting us.

The question of ‘what is driving us like a moving force?’ needs an answer to determine the cause. Is it fear of missing out, or is it purpose-led? Fear of missing out is the current atmosphere. However, purpose beckons us to move with grace and intentionality for the consummation of destiny.

Surrounded by what-ifs and what-might is a very unsettling place in any season. They paralyse your ability to move and take action, lock you in a suspicious box of fear, and silence the purpose-led instincts telling you to move irrespective of the surrounding notices.

Being scared is not a bad thing, but letting it cripple you to the point of lameness is destructive to your inner man and your ability to move into purpose.
What are you scared of?
What is trying to maim your ideas even before they get formed into destiny-shaping initiatives?
Let this 2024 propel you to get up and take action, digging out the long-buried ideas and taking back abandoned plans and initiatives God has laid in your heart long ago.
Let procrastination be the Goliath you must slay this year. No, I take it back. It has to be slayed right NOW! Enough of procrastination.
So join me as I jump on the moving train of purpose fulfilment and allow God to perfect His Will in our lives. Scared or not, I am moving with God!

What are you waiting for?
Do not let another year pass you living in scary-land.
He is rich in MERCY and abounding in GRACE!

What is your Though?

Job said this, ‘though he slay me, yet will I praise Him.

I have many ‘thoughs’ in life, and sometimes it looks like they will never end. The list grows long every time I get hit by life’s choices or my faith gets challenged with questions beyond my capability to handle.

Yes, I know life can get surmounted with unexpected seasons that challenge our ‘though’ statements, and if we are not careful, they can rob us from focusing on God’s ‘Almightiness’ and Sovereign rule over all. But it takes an intimate relationship with The Father to make ‘though’ statements and stand by them while passing through a stormy season or getting hit by the unending life turbulences.

This season, I’ve been focusing on finishing the last books of the Old Testament, and some of the passages have hit me right in between my eyes. One I can’t shake off is Habakkuk 3:17-19.

“Though the fig tree may not blossom,

Nor fruit be on the vines;

Though the labour of the olive may fail,

And the fields yield no food;

Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,

And there be no herb in the stalls – Yet I will rejoice in the LORD,

I will joy in the God of my salvation.

The LORD God is my strength;

He will make my feet like deer’s feet,

And He will make me walk on my high hills.”

Wow! That is enough assurance for me to hold on to God, though I haven’t seen the manifestation of all my prayers as we draw close to the end of 2023.

What are your ‘though’ moments?

I don’t know what your season looks like. Perhaps you are still lingering in a situation waiting for deliverance or answered prayers, and it all seems far from happening. Don’t lose hope. Faithful is HE!

Whatever the promise God has given you, though it tarries, wait for it; because the vision is for an appointed time; and it shall surely come to pass.

As for me, chapter 1:5 of Habakkuk is the assurance for my ‘though’ statements no matter what I am going through now or how long I have been waiting.

“Look among the nations and watch. Be utterly astounded! For I will work a work in your days which you would not believe, though it were told you.”

How about you? What is the anchor holding the vows you’ve made to God?

Have a blessed 2023 Christmas and a purpose-filled 2024!

Amid all the celebrations for this festive season, don’t forget the real meaning of Christmas. It is JESUS! May you encounter His unconditional love and salvation.

Thank you all for following and supporting my writing journey!

God’s blessings!

Oh, The Beauty and Selflessness of Intercession.
The act of interceding always leaves me in tears.
It takes a selfless heart to let down or let go of their desires and problems and pick up the burden of someone else unselfishly.

Most of the time, we have no idea of the knees hitting the floor on our behalf every day or occasionally, lifting you and me in prayers and constantly bombarding the Throne of Grace for our salvation, deliverance, welfare, healing, wellbeing, and so much more.
It’s not that those people don’t have anything else to do. No, they have other matters to attend to, but the burden for others placed on their hearts beckons them to pour their hearts ungrudgingly before God’s Throne of Mercy. And that burden can only be lifted by their selfless intercession before His Throne.

Have you ever wondered who’s on their knees for you?
Whether it’s an occasional or an ongoing act, it takes a heart of compassion to stand in the gap for another.
I have been tremendously impacted and blessed with a community of people standing in the gap for me at different seasons. In the stormy weather, through the waves, under the rain, through the fiery darts seasons, on the dry valleys of life, and in the joyous moments of my life. A community of selfless intercessors are life-impacting and a groundmoving destiny-shifting force that no mountain can contest.
Not even hell and its forces can stop them.

We are called to be our brothers and sisters’ keepers. What better way to do this ‘keeping’ than to fall on our knees and raise thunder-moving intercession on their behalf to strengthen their weak hands and make firm the feeble knees? And to say to those fearful in heart, ‘Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God; He will come and save you.’

Now, over to you and me, who are we lifting in prayers in our quiet time?
Imagine a chain of compassionate hearts giving selfless attention to the heart-cry of many through intercession and their ongoing floor-hitting knees of love before the Throne of Grace. What an overwhelming experience for the ears and a grateful atmosphere to behold!

Who are you standing in the gap for in intercessory prayers?
You don’t have to wait until something terrible or challenging hits them. We can lift them before God’s merciful and gracious throne now.
Would you join me in standing for our families, our loved ones, our friends, our colleagues, our neighbourhood, our communities, our nation, the Church and the community of believers around the Globe, our leaders, those in places of authority, and for ‘Salvation’ for all?

Comments are welcome.

It’s one of the things we don’t talk about much or give enough attention to match its worth. But the birthright defines our identity while linking us to our future, and without the birthright, our heritage and connection to our genealogy remains unknown. There is a reason for that birthright, but if you are ignorant of the purpose, you can trade it for anything you find more desirable.

Birthrights may not look fancy to treasure if your desires are on something else more appealing to the eyes.
But remember, not everything appealing is right for you.
Some facades are bare glitters imposing to be gold when the inside is clay, though covered with sparkling glitters to entice and attract for exchange with the most valuable ‘your birthright’ though you may not know it.

Esau learned the bitter truth of the priceless value of his birthright after losing it to exchange for the desirable in his eyes. Though he sorted for it again with deep regret, unfortunately, it was another man’s right.

What have you been given or promised by the Lord, and you feel it’s taking too long to manifest? Instead, you put it on the trading table for an exchange. What are you trading your birthright for?
What are you trading your gifts and calling for?
What are you trading His temple for? What’s the counteroffer?
Is it, or are they worth the trade? I hope it’s not for a bowl of stew or some perishables. Even if it is for gold, do you think that’s what your birthright or calling costs?

P.S. What is motivating you to do the trade? Or rather, who is pressuring you to take a bid?

Comments are welcome.

I can still remember my first encounter with Ezekiel Chapter 1. I was stuck, speechless, captured in a revelation moment I had never experienced reading this book. How did I read past this chapter before? The images became alive, and for days it felt like I got caught in a scene right before the four living creatures. I began with writing the descriptions in my imagination, the majesty in their movements, the way they sync from one direction to another, the detail and awe in their features, and the beholding wonder of everything around them. Their 360-degree multi-dimensional vision and the mind-blowing awe of the wheels around them all moving in a whirlwind.

The sound and sight of an approaching whirlwind engulfed with raging fire and a great cloud, radiating with the brightness of amber, and within, the awestruck living creatures with appearances and demeanour that one can’t put into words but stare with trembling reverential fear of the Creator. It’s understandable why John the beloved fell to his keens as though dead when he encountered the countenance of The King of Glory in Reve 1:12-18 which would have been more wondrous to behold.

My question became, who could fathom the greatness of our Creator?
Such detail and beauty, wonder, awe and unimaginable comprehension of their chef-d’oeuvre is a lifetime encounter to behold!
Yet, unworthy still, He beckons me into a journey of deeper fellowship and intimacy with Him. The One who has the power to create such beings and ride upon the clouds calls me His very own beloved.
It takes me back to Isaiah 40:28
‘Have you not heard
Have you not known
The everlasting God, The Lord,
The Creator of the ends of the earth
Never faints, nor is weary
And His understanding is unsearchable.’
Truly who can comprehend His greatness and the wonder of His marvellous works? The works of His hands are unimaginable, and the extent of His creation unreached by any human mind. The One who creates the earth and all its fullness, yes, the world and all who dwell in it. He founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters. His is Majesty!
What a privilege to walk with the Great Creator and get direction for life!
If you have never done so, for this second half of the year, may you surrender to His leading and watch His Majesty unravel the greatness of His will and purpose for your life. For me, there’s no questioning. Jesus is my Majesty!
Is He yours? Would you let Him be?

Comments are welcome.

He was among those sent to arrest Him.
The warrant must be executed.
They went armed to seize Him.
What they didn’t know, no fight or force was needed to take Him.
He gave himself, willingly, to fulfil the prophecy about Him and the Father’s will.

Running towards Him to carry out the arrest, he watched Him stand still, unmoved by what was about to happen; not that He couldn’t stop it, but the fulfilment of prophecy was greater than the pain He bears.
Before he could lay his hands on Him, he felt a sharp cut running off his right ear. The adrenaline rush of pain and agony racing through his brain was inexplicable. Feeling his heart stop and his body trembling, he fell to his knees as the pain became unbearable for Malchus.

Malchus! When hate and rage met with LOVE!

Afraid to confirm what he knew, placing his hand on his right ear, but it was gone. With his hand covered in blood, he screamed in pain.
Right there, the Master reached him and fixing the unconditional gaze of love into his eyes, He placed His hand on the right ear and restored it.
His gaze penetrates the heart of a broken yet redeemable soul.
Speechless, he couldn’t stop looking into His eyes.
Malchus felt seen and known by the eyes that locked with his soul.

Why was his ear restored?
Why is his heart burning with inexplicable sensations?
Why such love from a Man he received orders to arrest?
Why show him compassion and mercy when he had come to exercise the grip of the fierce law of the accusers?
Why was the warrant made in the first place?

Though little is known and said about him to us, yet one thing I know, Malchus never recovered from his Gethsemane experience!
Gethsemane, a place of encounter and surrender!
May this Good Friday unveil the REAL meaning of His surrender Life to save humanity, especially, You.
Wherever you are, Jesus’ LOVE can reach you, and He is waiting for your surrender to His unconditional Love and Sacrifice.
The Gethsemane event written, prophesied, and brought into fulfilment for you.

Thank You, LORD, for loving us this much.
Malchus! When hate and rage met with LOVE!

Would you receive His Love and Sacrifice today?

Have a Blessed Good Friday and Easter!