Tag: Hope

Poem of Hope & Restoration (storytelling series): God brings dreams to Pass

Up and down the land she walked, as a wanderer seeing naught and feeling lost, she sighed and cried “I have stalled ‘cause of the fog and drought”.
Even within, she felt barren and dry wanting to pray but too weak to try. Then came a light so bright before her face, but looking around she saw no one in that place. Within her heart, she heard a voice say loud & clear

“I am the Light of the World who loves you, my dear”. Then he placed a fountain in her heart and said “Out of you shall flow rivers of living water to quench your thirst, so you shall never falter”.

Then suddenly her heart became a well watered verdant land, from her mouth was a melodious waterfall, and her eyes were awash with God’s salve to never falter or fall.

 The bright ray of the morning sun hit her face so hard she covered her eyes and exclaimed “my, what a dream so real!”

The dream spoke of God’s Light, His love and the River of Life, a picture of what is to come, a revelation of God’s delivering might and abundant promises day and night. 

Now strengthened, newly enlightened, no more doubtful, newly hopeful, she knew that she could cope with every trial whatever the scope, for her heart was now full of hope, because of Him who said

“I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.(1)”

(Scriptural references:John 8:12, 7:38-39, Biblical quote Isaiah 46:11 KJV)

©Deborah E. Nyamekye 21/04/2016

Poem in soon to be published book: A Divine World: Purposeful Christian Storytelling in Poetry & Prose

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The Caged Bird’s Escape

Poetic Redemption Storytelling

5C0F8006-8EDD-4F47-95B1-9E2BADA2D3D3Introduction
After watching CEO and inspirational speaker and best selling author Lisa Nichol’s inspiring video (check it out on the Gold cast Facebook page or You Tube) of a life transformed after suffering domestic abuse by her fiancé, I felt inspired to engage in some scribal indulgence telling a story of redemption but from a view point that considers the abuser’s mindset and triggers, not as a means of justification but shedding some light on some of the “hidden demons” in play in such situations.

The Caged Bird’s Escape:

Desired with his enticing eyes, colourful words and decorated with roses and alluring scents she felt on top, the executive of his heart, the CEO of his life.

In one night her dreams had come true; from reams of beauties she was chosen by one of the Hedge-Fund crew.

To him she was just meat, one of many slaughtered for devouring, bought in a club in one of many spending sprees he called sport.

A business man, bonus acquiring sharp talker in the square mile by day and by night a gigolo, a Casanova in clubs he called “cattle markets” bidding with his eyes for the best cow.. he laughs “that’s the woman- A COW!”

Flashes of his mother often appeared before his eyes, waving to him, a 6 year old “mummy is going to the shop, I will return” She never did.. “liars all of them”!

Sly as a fox, an expert in his game, he waited until the image of her was locked in him, he, a mirror that defined her significance. Now he had god-like relevance, the Fowler’s cage was her home.

One day was as living in a romantic play pen; his voice soft and soothing and to love songs they were waltzing.

Another was life in a torture chamber under a man-child’s bitter verbal whip and slaps with hate-filled vomit until she suffocated in fear and self hate. Every morning she braced herself for what was amiss, the ready for work psycho’s bullets of abuse and punches in her abdomen with a goodbye kiss.

A cycle of confused voices reeled in the cage “I love you”, “I love you not” as the battered bird wailed without a sound. In his “you are to blame! blame! blame! she felt grief and shame! shame! shame!

A rude awakening was the uncontrollable pain in her abdomen. The day of reckoning had come for from the abyss of farce living she heard the voices of many women thundering “call the ambulance or die!” The freedom fighter from deep within joined in, beckoning.

“How are you today, my dear?”
Startled, she opened her eyes and saw a face beaming at her “I am Claire”
“Claire?”
“Yes, I am your nurse, you called the ambulance, they broke in ‘cause you fainted after the call. Julie, your internal wounds and bleeding were serious. Thank God you came on time! You will be fine”

Julie shut her eyes. Smiling the risen woman within spoke:
“Yes thank God!
To a “A just in time” God: thank you!
I was that woman destined for a bright future based on scripture, even the prophetic word, then I lost my way and met a trickster and by him I became nothing but a caged bird in a home any woman would dread.

I was able to walk away, escape from the snare of the Fowler, but for him in compassion I daily kneel to pray and for caged birds unlike me who for reasons choose to stay, I shall sing a song of deliverance, that one day sunshine shall overtake the dark clouds of their circumstance.”

”Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped.

Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.”
(Psalm 124:7-8)

©11/11/2017 Deborah E Nyamekye

(Pictures of Grenfelll Tower (burning) London, terrorist attacks in Manchester, Westminster,London Bridge and Borough Market)

With tears streaming down our faces we say “how much more tragedy can we bare?”

“How many more shall come our way?”

We have seen human carnage in succession, our trauma deepens day by day as a sore that cannot heal. 

Walking the streets, fulfilling our mission, we are targets for a terrorist’s ambition in what he calls his religious tradition. 

Who can we trust?

Our burnt tower stands as a stark monument to inequality and a mark of injustice.

Burnt ’cause authority heads deemed trustworthy ignored poor residents complaints of safety hazards in their stead. 

Their voices treated as mere clanging cymbals until now when there are injured and some are dead. 

Where can we turn!

Even homes we call safe go up in flames faster than lightening strikes.

When? we cannot even tell. It is what the vulnerable calls frightening.

Beyond our British Isles our wails can be heard, but can escape come from yonder if not from within ? 
Our hearts are broken daily, the shattering sound and scattered pieces spell tragedy.

Across the seas our tears are seen, but even if they turn to blood what can the foreigner do, if no help is found in our land ? 
There is only one we can trust, who hears and sees. He is “our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (1). Futile is life without Him. 

One who saves and raises His voice saying “enough is enough”. One who can melt hearts of steel and open blind eyes to fight for our cause. 

It is to Adonai we yield, to God we kneel and by His Spirit, we raise our voice and wail.He is our only hope and salvation. 

©160617DeborahENyamekye

Quote (1) Psalm 46:1

Psalm 85:7-9

7Shew us thy mercy, O LORD, and grant us thy salvation.

8I will hear what God the LORD will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly.

9surely his salvation [is] nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land;

Happiness is knowing… Faith in the unseen combined with praying in the Spirit guarantees answers (Romans 8:24-26)

The whole of creation groans and travails, including us, the “first fruit of the Spirit” awaiting the glorious manifestation of the children of God (Romans 8:18-23 KJV). Many are waiting for the coming of the Messiah.

Saints or believers in Christ are living to please Elohim God by forsaking all to live according to His plans and purposes as well as partake of evangelism and discipleship in preparation for Jesus’ Second Coming. In different areas of our lives we are waiting and hoping for one thing or another to happen.

The Apostle Paul wrote “For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, [then] do we with patience wait for [it].”(Romans 8:24-25).

Hope that is seen is not hope! Indeed! If we have hope in something we cannot see this means we have faith in God for it and so “with patience wait for it”

The writer of the biblical book of Hebrews states “…faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Heb. 11:1 KJV).

As a believer in Christ Yeshua (Jesus), you are trusting God that whatever you are waiting for will come to pass. You do not see it, but you have faith for it.

Brethren, it is worth noting that the Apostle Paul ties the whole discourse about having hope in what we cannot see and waiting for it in patience with prayer. He connects verses 24 and 25 with verse 26, by starting verse 26 with “Likewise”. Verse 26:

“Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”

We activate our faith in God by praying to God about what we believe will happen. Let us remember that we cannot pray apart from the Holy Spirit. Praying God’s will, as opposed to our own results in prayers being answered. When we are hopeful for something we cannot see, inevitably we desire to have more information about it.

In Romans 8:26 we are clearly encouraged to take comfort in the fact that the Holy Spirit indwelling us is working for us.

Here is the truth; 

-not everything that we desire or hope for is God’s desire for us, 

-God may have given us a desire personally or we could have it based on a prophetic word. We have no way of knowing within the confines of our limited human ability how God intends to bring to pass His Word or inspired desire.

-we do not know what God’s timing is to fulfil what we are waiting for.

The Spirit of Elohim, Holy Spirit knows all that we do not know or we are unable to perceive or “see” in our minds eye about God’s will, plans and purposes concerning something we are anticipating or hoping for. This is because the Holy Spirit knows the mind and will of God and imparts His wisdom (1 Corinth. 2) to us, born again believers in Christ, when we commune with him in prayer. 

If only we would commune or have fellowship with the Holy Spirit more! For if we do, we can rest assured that the Holy Spirit indwelling us, as scripture states (Romans 8:26) will stand in the gap or make intercession for us so that we will be enlightened about what to pray and how to pray.

By the Holy Spirit, we have more wisdom, knowledge and understanding concerning things happening around us and those to come. If we fellowship with the Holy Spirit, we are likely to know whether our hopes and desires however sincere are truly God inspired. We are given revelation about precisely what to focus on as genuine plans of God for us and can be confident as we pray about them. We are therefore delivered from false hopes and time wasting as well as distraction and led to effectively pursue God’s agenda for our lives. 

In addition, the Holy Spirit graciously helps us to surrender all to God if we respond to his conviction and teaching. Therefore “letting go and letting God” have His way by faith results in the glory of God manifesting in and through us even as we partner with Him for the full manifestation of what we are seeking from Him in prayer.

Brethren let us always remember that God is not only interested in answering our prayers and imparting knowledge about what we ought to hope for or pray that is actually God’s will, He desires a relationship with us. Therefore the fact that as born again believers we have within us the attitude of anticipation, hope or faith in things to come is God given.

As we wait on God for our prayers to be answered, God’s desire is that we would not only pray in the Spirit but also stay close to him intimately through His Word.

Regular prayer is a spiritual exercise that takes us into deeper realms in God or into the secret place of intimacy with Him where we know Him on a deeper level.

After all, our ultimate happiness in life is knowing Him who created us and then redeemed us through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 

We give Almighty God Praise!

©15-May17DENyamekye

The Weekly “Happiness is knowing… ” Series are brief scriptural based devotionals on a specific topic to encourage and uplift the reader. 

A Circus in the Dead of Night

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The world is a circus in the dead of night with bestial ways abounding
as men display their skills and talents
to an audience preferring the vile and dangerous feats in life’s parade.

The hypocrite and deceiver is the masked mocker, the clown who
manipulates and seduces the crowd for loud laughs and reverence, but strikes when one’s guard is down.

The broken and maimed form a continuous procession along the streets as on a carousel.
A people whose fate is for the gain of the owner of keys to their chains.

Fearful and oppressed nerves jitter as on a roller coaster,
Confused and worried minds dizzy in thought as on a merry go round.

Well suited masses are a shadow of their true selves, each a reflection of someone else.
The living dead, consumed with self are performers in the concert of life. As circus artists in camouflage they dance the jive of death to the tune of funeral criers and church bell chimes.

The world is a circus in crises in the dead of night, will it welcome broad day light and the appearance of the healer, a true giver of life?

©Deborah E.Nyamekye 18/09/2016