New life, new hope, new dreams...

To God be the glory for all of the wonderful things He has done, and continues to do. Today I celebrate yet another year in my life, and I am excited- not because everything has fine and dandy, but only because I have come to the realization that truly the power of life and death is in my tongue. God has given me dreams that I can either speak life or death to. Unfortunately, many of us sabotage our destinies with our own tongues. God forbid that it should be your story. Regardless of the odds, speak life into whatever vision God has accorded you. 

Take my hand, and let’s walk down memory lane…there was once a young man by the name of Ezekiel, trained to be a priest in the kingdom of Judah. As fate would have it, his hopes and dreams were shattered by the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar. Alongside other Jews, Ezekiel was taken captive to Babylon. I have often wondered whether this changed the course of his life. Did Ezekiel still qualify to be a priest, or was all his training wasted? Would God choose another person to take his place? Where was God in the midst of Ezekiel's disappointment? Thinking back I feel sorry for Ezekiel, a slave boy with big dreams that seemed as though they would never amount to anything. 

But the story does not end there. You need to understand that God was building in him the capacity to endure. This was a process of preparation, and no experience was wasted. I recently learned a very important lesson on pain; that it is actually a gift from God. Now I know that many of us will roll our eyes at this, and say that pain is a gift we would rather do without, but let me break it down a little. Pain is an indicator that something is wrong, and without it, we cannot be fixed. Do you realize how dangerous it would be if we never had the ability to feel pain? We would injure ourselves and not even know it. But pain sounds an alarm for help; help that God is always ready to give. Pain is not only unavoidable, it is essential. There is purpose in your pain.

Ezekiel endured his season of pain, loneliness, and desolation until something most peculiar began to happen. God started to give him visions, one of which I want to remind you of. The spirit of God took him to a valley of dry bones, and upon God’s command Ezekiel began to prophesy to them. He spoke life, and breath into them. The bones responded and began to resurrect, filled with life. They were so many, enough to form a great army! God did it! He used Ezekiel, to speak life where there was only dryness; where there was only desolation…death. 

Just like Ezekiel, we all go through seasons of pain and wonder whether our God-given dreams will ever be realized. But in spite of all that is working against you, you must keep on pushing; you must believe in your dreams. Believe what God says about you. Believe that he has a plan for your life. Believe that he will bring it all to pass. Don’t hem and haw, waiting for another ‘sign’…just believe what He says.

I am so thankful to God that I have lived to see the start of another year in my life. I look back on things that once caused me pain  and realize that God used them to strengthen me. I see how he skilfully takes away the sting from every painful event and leaves only indelible marks of what his saving grace can do. No matter what comes my way, I will hold my head up high and remain hopeful. I will purposefully speak life to everything I set out to do. 

Beloved, I hope that you too will start to give your pain a voice by speaking victory into your situations. May your season of pain and loneliness be the most pivotal, propelling you to your destiny. Remember that storms never last forever; they always blow over. In those times you find yourself in the wilderness, doubting the call of God on your life, remind yourself that God is not a man that He should lie. There is joy after pain. Sometimes God will allow you to go through desolate times where you get tempted, tested, and tried, so that you can depend on him fully. God loves you so much that He will allow you to be stretched, but never beyond your limits. 

Thank you God for a new year. Thank you for new dreams, and new territories. For new life, and new hope, I thank you God. 

Kambua M.