‘’ 5th thing I learned : Seasons, timing and the in between’’ from Kessie Chadic

You will soon discover in your early days walking with God that you cannot walk with Him and be in hurry at the same time. Yes, God lives outside of time, but He moves in seasons and has a timing for everything when it comes to His relationship with us. It can be confusing sometimes when we think about how unlimited God and yet He still put so many boundaries for us, but the boundaries  allow us to be able to navigate our day-to-day life on earth peacefully and safely.

In my walk with God, I came to realize that I cannot rush the growth, the healing, the restauration, the blessings and promotions. I tried so hard to go ahead of God and this ended up putting a lot of pressure on me. I would always feel tired and exhausted, it always felt like I was trying to do this Christian life alone without the help of the Helper. Soon enough, God started teaching me that if I am to walk with him, I would have to learn how to slow down. Slowing down is the hardest thing to do when someone like me was used to do life at full speed all the time.

I started learning, I messed up so many times because to be honest, in my opinion, God’s speed was too slow for me. Can you imagine! I judged that the One who created time was not fast enough! But I came to realize that time and seasons are God’s gift to us, and a gift is meant to be cherished and appreciated but sadly I saw time and seasons as my biggest adversaries when really they were meant to work in my favor.

When God created us, He gave us dominion over everything here on earth, safe to say time is one of them. I know we cannot control time, we can’t go back in the past nor control the future but still we can have dominion over it when we choose to live everyday in the present. For to time work in our favor, to have dominion over it and make it an ally, we must live in the present, other wise it will just become an heavy burden. So every time you choose to live in the present, you have dominion over time.

I also learnt that understanding seasons is one step closer to understand the plan of God for one’s life. Each Season has to serve its purpose. We cannot reap when the season is for sowing, same as sowing when the season is calling for harvest would be nothing but a waste of time. God is  teaching me that seasons are there to keep me in pace and discipline, seasons are there to help us track our growth with God, seasons are real life report cards. How you move through this current season also determines how the next one will be. Some of us can remain in the same season for years just because we are not learning the lesson.

We try to rush our way out instead of learning, we try to determine how long or how short they should be. But the Holy Spirit is teaching me that seasons are not about how many years they last, it is more about how you move through them. You can walk a valley in one year that someone else has been stuck in for ten years, because the walk is not about the road itself but about who’s walking and how you are walking through it.

I am learning to be patient and live in the present, I am learning to find joy and contentment in God alone, just like the apostle Paul said: contentment in every situation. Seasons and spiritual valleys can become painful when we assume that we will only be able to have joy once we go past them and move to the next. God is teaching me that joy was never waiting for me in my next season, but joy is already here, in the present.

If we don’t have joy now, chances are we will not be able to have joy in the future neither because I can assure you that there will always be something missing according to human reasoning. Real joy is found in the now, in being present.Ecclesiastes 3:11 says God has made everything beautiful in its time. So do not be in such a hurry to enjoy tomorrow’s blessing today. Because what meant to be beautiful tomorrow can be very ugly and painful today.

You don’t want to enjoy God’s blessing without His yes and outside of His timing. Be patient in the season you are in right now, you are the one who’s limited by time, but the One who watches over you controls time, He has the power to make it works in your favor and He will do it every time that you keep on walking in His  pace and following His  instructions. The bible tells us that God makes everything works for good, so do not be afraid, do not be anxious or fearful of being behind, I know sometimes everyone looks like they are moving at the perfect speed and that their are life is blooming while you may feel stuck and buried forever.

Sometimes you will notice that everyone is getting the promotion, the car, the business, the marriage, the ministry, the degree and then there is you, everything God is telling you to do is wait, at times you even think that you did not understand His instructions because of the pace that everyone else is moving. Please follow His instructions and wait, rest assured if you are walking with God, you are always, when I say always, I mean always at the right time, always at the right place. He makes time works in the favor of the ones who wait on Him  and He renews  their strength.

Our waiting season can sometimes be painful when we see them as punishment rather than redirection and blessings. While you are waiting, He is working on your character, your personality, He is giving you directions, and aligning everything in your favor. Waiting on God will never be a waste of time if we are waiting with the right attitude and the proper mindset. Relax my brother, relax my sister, just like David said: I have never seen the righteous forsaken. If you are waiting in God’s presence, time and seasons are not working against you and they therefore have nothing on you. They are all working in your favor, everything is working for your good.

-Kessie Chadic

‘’Celui qui a tout changé’’ de Gaëlle Larissa Edmond

Cette semaine, je regardais la version américaine de Danse avec les stars et chaque star devait parler de l’année qui les a plus marqué dans leur vie. Je me suis mise à réfléchir, si je devais choisir une année de ma vie qui m’a marquée le plus laquelle je choisirai.

J’ai pensé à 2015 qui est l’année ou j’ai perdu mon père et ou tout à changé, j’ai aussi pensé a 2018 qui est l’année où j’ai accepté Jesus comme Sauveur et Seigneur mais en y réfléchissant de plus en plus 2021 est celle que je choisirai car c’est l’année ou j’ai été baptisée. En apprenant la mort de l’artiste, ça m’a ramené à 2015 et aux années de dépression sévère qui ont suivi. J’allais mal et je faisais tout pour garder la tête hors de l’eau et sourire. Derrière chaque “je vais bien” et chaque sourire mon cœur se déchirait de plus en plus et il m’était impossible de cacher ma peine, mon sourire et mon envie de tout lâcher. Après plusieurs séances de thérapie recommandée par une amie, je pouvais voir le bout du tunnel mais sans pour autant avoir la force d’avancer pour l’atteindre. J’étais fatiguée mais Jesus était là. Pendant la retraite de Dasotk en 2021 quelque chose a changé, j’ai commencé à ressentir l’amour de Jésus pour moi, l’amour pour mes frères et sœurs en Christ, l’amour pour moi même et pour la vie et j’ai décidé de me faire baptiser. Ce samedi d’avril 2021 en sortant de l’eau je me suis sentie légère, sans souci, sans angoisse et plus important encore sans dépression. J’ai tout laissé dans l’eau et je suis sortie une nouvelle créature en Christ. Donc si vous me demandez, 2021 est l’année qui m’a le plus marqué parce que en prenant la décision d’accepter Jesus et de me faire baptiser publiquement j’ai laissé derrière moi tout ce qui me tirait en arrière et qui m’empêchait de voir la beauté d’être en vie et bonne santé.

Si vous n’avez pas encore accepté Jésus-Christ comme Sauveur et Seigneur je vous encourage vraiment à le faire parce qu’avec cette décision de tout Lui laisser viens cette envie de vivre et de tout faire pour Lui plaire. Quoi de plus beau que d’être aimé par Christ!

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I am purposely waiting

The Word of God tells us that we, as His people perish for lack of vision (Hosea 4:6) . Other versions say lack of knowledge. It emphasizes the importance of knowing. We have to know what to do and what to not do and God delights in teaching His children. He delights in guiding His sheep but more importantly He delights in a surrendered and unhurried heart .

Without knowledge, we are certainly in a dangerous position. We are right where the enemy wants us to be, in ignorance. He is the father of lies and takes pleasure in deceiving us . The great news is that The Mighty One, Jesus, likes empty vessels.  He loves to find people He can fill with truth and knowledge. If you are in a position where you don't know what the next move is, where you don’t know who is who and who is not who, where you don't know what to think and what to not think : You are in the greatest place a human being can ever be. If you were Mr Or Mrs all-knowing, you would be God and not of a good use for Him. Rejoice in the unknown. Thank your Master because He is faithful to finish what He has started (Philippians 1:6). If He revealed Himself to you, that’s enough. Read Jeremiah 9 verse 24 with me : ‘’But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone, that they truly KNOW ME and understand that I am the Lord who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and that I delight in these things. I, the Lord, have spoken!’’. Let’s take a look at the Darby version too : ‘’mais que celui qui se glorifie, se glorifie en ceci, qu'il a de l'intelligence et qu'il ME CONNAIT ; car je suis l'Éternel, qui use de bonté, de jugement et de justice sur la terre, car je trouve mes délices en ces choses-là, dit l’Éternel.’’ Knowing Jesus is enough. Trust Him to reveal the rest of the plan later. Prioritize this moment. Prioritize the season you are in and the lessons you are learning in this class. Don’t worry about the next classes. Don’t compare yourself to those who are in an other season of their journey. You are not left behind. God created time, He is not in a hurry so neither should you. He wants you to know more much more than you want that  for yourself. He cannot wait to share the love and glory that your story contains with you. Trust Him to reveal more in due time. Make peace with the unknown being assured that Jesus loves you and won’t disappoint you. He never did and He won’t start now. Be busy reconnecting with the unhurried God during this season, with the God who created time and who knows how to manage and to restore it.

Daniel called Him the Ancient of days because He holds the present, the past and the future. He has everything planned. Rest in His arms. Don't let the enemy feed your desire to know everything "right here, right know" with his lies. Don’t let Him fool you with his counterfeits. Wait patiently. Wait and listen carefully. As you follow Jesus you won’t be too fast, you won't be too late, you will run in the perfect pace and the perfect  rhythm.

Prayer : Father, we are sorry for wanting to rush the beautiful process you have put us in. Teach us Your ways at Your own pace. We love You and we trust You. Help us to not choose disobedience. Thank you for  answering this prayer in Jesus’ name, amen.