Zdraveĭte (Здравейте) victorious! Bwanj the one whom GOD raises up! May the LORD pour upon you an oil of joy and may He grant you discernment. May your failures be teachings and your victories be prophecies for those around you. Never forget that all the keys are in the Word.
"To acquire good sense is to love oneself; to treasure discernment is to prosper." Proverbs 19:8 (CJB)
"Where there is no vision [no revelation of GOD and His word], the people are unrestrained; But happy and blessed is he who keeps the law [of GOD]." (Proverbes 29:18, BFC)
I started coaching four years ago. I was not yet a certified coach, but I volunteered to help new converts take their first steps and climb the first staircase of the journey with CHRIST. First steps to understand the Word and first staircase to win their battles and stand firm.
I had created a WhatsApp group with all the women I was accompanying. Every Friday morning, each of us had to share in the group her meditation on a verse or a song, supported by one testimony or one practical example. Once a month, I organised a call, during which I invited each of us to pray based on these verses. It was also an opportunity to discuss on a subject that seemed appropriate for them in this season. Every two weeks, I would talk to them individually. Either on the phone, in a restaurant, or after a church service. In individual meetings we prayed, talked about their challenge, their mediation, and various other topics. I wanted them to know (without my saying) that I was not calling them as a formality. These were not interrogations about whether they had attended all the church events, or whether they were tithing. They were real times of exchange. I'm one of those people who believe that relationships are not imposed, they are built.
EA was one of the first I accompanied. She was in her final year of high school when we met. After her baccalaureate, she signed up for a year of civic service in the south of France. The first few months went really well. She was discovering her new region and took advantage of her free time to go out with one of her best friends, Déa, who was doing a civic service in a nearby town. There was no local church near them. So on Sunday mornings, they would meet at each other's homes to watch worship together online.
One Friday, she calls me and says, "I have something to tell you. I need you to pray for me, I've started smoking again. Right now, I'm only at one cigarette a day, but I'd rather tell you, so I don't slip up." I feel two emotions at the same time. I am delighted that she took the initiative to call me to tell me about it, and surprised that I didn't notice. Calmly, I asked "Since when exactly? How did it start? What happened the day of the first cigarette?" To be real, I was addressing both her and the HOLY SPIRIT.
In the course of the discussion, I learn that for the past two weeks, her team's schedule has been changed. She is on duty every other Sunday and will no longer be available on the same days as her friend. This means that she has the choice of spending time with her team members or staying locked up in her room trying to learn English and rereading the books I gave her. Her teammates were nice, but they were not the company she needed. She was one of the youngest of the group and with a few exceptions, they were all smokers. Learning a language just by reading books is possible, but it is better to combine it with interests. Since she moved, I sent her a book every month, but to pass the time it is not enough. Also, she didn't have a computer, so she only watched videos on her smartphone.
It was then that I realised what was going on: she was bored and had no plans or vision for her future. Obviously, the devil, who "prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8-9), wanted to take advantage of this to "steal, slaughter and destroy" (John 10:10). I also understood that I needed to reorient our conversations. We needed to talk more about how we win our battles, how we keep our victories, why it is important to give meaning to what we do and to have a vision for our lives. I believe that beyond discovering GOD's plan for our lives, we need to realise why this plan is dear to him.
I had a hybrid tablet that I wasn't using. I was wondering why the HOLY SPIRIT asked me to buy it. My Samsung hybrid PC was fine for me (I still have it). The tablet wasn't as powerful as the hybrid PC, it wasn't a big brand, but it was good enough for watching videos and taking notes. I said to Ea: "I have a new tablet that I don't use. I'll send it to you with a book by Joyce Meyer. I will pray for you and with you. I believe there is a gap that GOD will fill through your personal communion with the HOLY SPIRIT. Being delivered from a sin, a bad habit or a demon is not an end in itself. The finality is that you become what GOD wants and that you flourish by doing what He expects of you."
Ea stopped smoking the day she received the tablet. She never smoked again. I accompanied her until the end of her civic service. I was careful not to make her challenges our only topic of conversation. A few months ago, she and Déa were at my house for dinner and a movie. Ea is diagnosed with sickle cell disease. When we met four years ago, she had at least one attack every month. Since the tablet, she has never had an attack. She is doing a work-study to become an HR (Human Resources Manager) and serves at the local church. Is her life perfect? Like all of us, she's growing, getting back up, learning, climbing steps. I did not anoint this tablet with oil. One of my calls is to the Prophetic ministry, but surprisingly I never gave her a prophecy. I insist, never, not once. I don't even think she uses it anymore. She has a laptop and if I remember correctly, the tablet doesn't exist anymore. She needed the Word to renew her thoughts. How did she receive the Word? Through e-books, teachings, sermons, testimonies, read and watched on the tablet. In one article, I wrote that you shouldn't accept every gift. In another one, I wrote sometimes it takes a little to inspire. Today, I tell you: your gifts can allow the HOLY SPIRIT to act in people's lives. When GOD asks you to give, give. When He asks you to sow, sow.
The lesson ⬇
"8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world." (1 Peter 5: 8-9, KJV)
There is no unshakeable faith without the Word and the testimony. Every time you intercede, give, sow, testify, serve, and rise up, someone gets a word and a testimony. Never stop doing what GOD asks you to do.
To meditate
John 8:31-32, KJV ____ "Then said JESUS to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
Revelation 12:11,KJV ____ "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death."
** Zdraveĭte (Здравейте) = Hello in Bulgarian
**Bwanj = Hello in Nyanja (Zambia)