The road to doubt is paved with sweet temptation
Zvakapressa, pakaipa, hazvibudi, apa hauna cash, zvakadhakwa..it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see the trend of dominant thoughts at the moment. We’re all economists these days able to analyse the inflation rate and project risk into the coming months. We are vigilant to share any and all manner of information that pops up in our circles so that in less than 24hrs at least half of connected Zim knows the hottest scoop or threat that day.
There are a lot of details going around but I wonder if anyone really knows the facts or its become a country wide game of broken teller-phone. We are broken and beat down and we’ve set our hopes in systems that have always failed. Scripture reminds us that “what has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun” [Ecclesiastes 1:9 NIV].
The problem with our current overshare is that we are only feeding a furnace of doubt and fear aggravated by adding our own. It’s like toddler mob psychology at a candy store once one starts crying for the next best sugar rush they all do. It suddenly becomes a life altering necessity for them to each have this outrageous tooth-decaying sticky pinkness (I don’t know if it’s just me but I feel like if its pink it somehow translates to super destructively sweet – Don’t get me wrong I am all about sugar but jussaying).
The thing about sugar is that the rush is exactly that uncontrollable bursts of excitement that defy reason and often give us wings when we haven’t acquired the art of flying. All we know is that we want to be high, high-earners, highly favoured and higher still with double anointing. This is all well and good until the cape that starts off flickering in the wind as you take off on your conquest soon becomes the noose that puts you in a choke hold as you become the next viral video of an unglamorous landing. It may be that you were led astray by prophetic word dropped on you unexpectedly and though you had been freed from the bondage of guess work this same word had you wondering how YOU were going to bring it to fruition.
Side note: prophecy requires wisdom, if this is your gift then be wise with its use, God gives wisdom freely if we are humble enough to seek it from Him. There a lot of trigger happy prophets out there these days stirring up trouble by revealing certain aspects of people’s lives which they are not yet ready to handle and so those people find themselves on a carnal drawing board trying to see how they can bring God’s word to life. 1 Corinthians 8:9-13 puts it so well,
“…be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak”.
It may be that you were just plain stubborn and didn’t listen when you were warned but the bottom line is that you just can’t make it on your own understanding. You just cannot rise enough to take significant flight above your weaknesses just because you have good intentions and know all the rules this is a clear instance of hazvibudi.
“Help” is the prayer that never fails
After many years of grossly misinterpreting the gospel I now see as clear as day how important it is to understand the essence of what is being said. The gospel is not about disqualification of those who don’t fit the Ten Commandments criteria or misguided self- exaltation of those who have successfully abstained. The gospel is about teaching the truth in love about the reconciliation that was purchased for us ALL by a lamb of lion proportions.
There is help from above just waiting on standby until we call it forth and it’s not obtained through countless hours of much speaking or on loud speaker for everyone to hear but in the deepest silence of our screaming hearts. As long as you stay tough and keep trying to make your own plan your actions say you can handle it and block your help. If you’re tired of tough go ahead and dial for help on 0800submit-It-to-God-in-Prayer and see if your situation stays the same.
I love the song “Help” by Vanessa Bell-Armstrong because firstly the woman can SANG and secondly she really captures the essence of this amazing prayer. From the first time I heard it the concept made instant sense to me, from then on it’s become a favourite on my playlist please have a listen it’s pretty deep. I’m almost tempted to make another side note about the power of operating in your ministry.
God knows who needs to hear the good news exactly the way you put it across but if you are too busy trying to be your own help then the system doesn’t work. The kingdom operates on a system of (paying and praying it forward) putting our own worries aside to relieve those of others and while we are about our Father’s business He gets a chance to work on ours (without our obstruction and constant demands for pop up notifications).
About the author
Sharon Rateiwa is a lover of art with a natural flair for the artistic. When she isn’t sharing inspirational pieces with the world, she designs and performs as a singer and poet. Sharon believes that we of God’s generation have a mandate to take up Godly arms in the fight for a meaningful existence. She gives encouragement by sharing her own colourful encounters.
