STOP! And Smell your Coffee.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Your alarm has gone off again. You get up, bathe or exercise or pray or snooze a little more or grab your phone for the latest social news, or do whatever it is you do routinely when the morning cry calls. The world is not waiting for you, you think. Work is calling, boo is calling, kids are calling, exam is calling, landlord is calling, everything is happening so fast, and life is demanding at an alarmingly increasing rate, you don't even have time to stop and smell the coffee you just gulped down, or appreciate the aroma from the plate of rice you just swallowed! And when you do squeeze out some pause time to breathe, there's always a tug in your heart; those ominous questions lurking around-"is anybody actually SEEING me?" "Did they notice the tears in my eyes?" "Did they see I dropped the ball BECAUSE I'm tired?" "Does anyone even CARE?" "Do they know my life is not as perfect as I want them to think it is because I'm scared of not being loved if they find out?" These days humans seems to be operating more like robots. Fast and automated. We accomplish things and move on to the next so quick that we don't even have time to appreciate everyday life and ordinary people. We hunger to be known as accomplishers of great things; more beautiful, richer, more influential, sexier, happier, busier. We want to be more. And social media doesn't seem to help. The competition is not smiling at all. Nobody has time again. We all seem busy living the dream life. Hanging out with the big wigs. Post-snap-post. Just won a big contract. Pose-snap-post. Off to Dubai for holiday. Pose-snap-post.
Giving money to the poor. Pose-snap-post. Planning a wedding. Pose-snap-post.
Too busy saving the other members of the world to have time to save you. Pose-snap-post. And so you too, you slap on some heavy make-up (brand name: 'Pretense'), gather what's left of your battered self-esteem and pose-snap-post.
Feelings of being lost increase, and swimming with the tide becomes increasingly harder to do. At a point you just stop fighting and let the current carry you wherever it wants...
...all the time unaware of that flickering flame within you; small but steady...the still small voice; quiet but consistent... patient...waiting for you every morning. Watching you as you sleep, wake, hustle. Sleep, wake, hustle. Sleep, wake, hustle. But God, steady and steadfast, and unrelenting, is THERE...
Meanwhile God who may not feel trendy and "current" to you, is not bound by pop culture, latest trends or time itself, or feeling lost in your rat race (Rev 22:13) He doesn't sleep or slumber. (Psalm 121:4) He is patient with His love for you. (Psalm 103:8) He is a bearer of ANY burden you put on Him. (Matt 11:28-30) He can account for every single tear you've cried. (Ps 56:8) He's not too busy for you because He's trying to save the world. He saved the world so He could have time for your little things. He can account for all the hairs on your head (Luke 12:7), and if you're bald, well He can account for every skin pore where hair could have been lol. He doesn't shrug you off, or take advantage of you, or need you to impress Him to love you (Rom 5:8) And when your clock goes beep-beep every morning, He is right there. Waiting with Words so powerful from His Word (Bible) to make your day full with purpose and light and grace and His joy. (Psalm 3:5). God is not bound by our cultures, and trends and technological advancement with all its good and bad effects. Thank God! No. He is God all by Himself. All powerful. All present. The All Sufficient One. Sufficient for you. And He's calling you this moment to draw from that strength made available for you. His love is not automated like the click-next-click shutter speed pace of our camera lenses. It’s steady and steadfast and sure. (Lam 3:22-23). Plus He knows much more about you than you know about yourself!
You, He knows by name long before your parents did the thingy that birthed you. (Isaiah 43:1) You, He has a perfect plan for. (Jer 29:11) You, He has a Word in season for. (Psalm 119:105) You, He knows your inner thoughts, even before you think them and He's not shocked by anything- gosh, trust me! (Psalm 139:2) You, He holds your tomorrow in His hands. (Psalm 31:15a)
You, He loves and showed the extent of this love when He went to the cross, defeated death and resurrected so that in and through Him you could have life abundantly. (Gal 2:20)
Why panic because life is going so fast, and social media superstars and superheroes are a dime and a dozen but none seem to have successfully saved your world? He's done that already thank God! Phew! (John 20:10)
If you haven't welcomed Jesus in your heart, He's one breathe away. Do it now :)
And If you have, know that He's never left you since. And He never will.
Next time your alarm goes off, beep-beep, open your eyes, smile and say "Hello Jesus. Thank You Jesus" and just talk WITH Him.
And He promises, He is ALWAYS there, patiently waiting and ready with a Word to bless your day...
Selah
©. Ijeoma Ozichi Omotade