We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters,  about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. – 2 Corinthians 1:8 (NLT)

I remember receiving my high school examination results. These weren't just ordinary results. The results I had determined whether or not I'd be accepted into a university. I love learning and gaining knowledge. I believe that knowledge brings light. Even in the bible, what makes people "perish" is not sin. But a lack of knowledge. What we do and what we don't do is a measure of what we know and what we don't know.

I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. Ephesians 1:16-17 (NIV)

Of all things Paul could have prayed for, He chose to pray for the church to have the spirit of revelation which makes us know the Father. What we know makes us live our lives in a certain way. And our relationship with God depends on our personal knowledge of who He is.

The beauty of having a personal relationship with God is that you get to know God for yourself. I don't mind learning about God through my pastors and my friends. I absolutely love it! But, our personal revelation of who God is makes us appreciate Him even more.

Paul didn't pray to have the wisdom he'd need to teach the church who the Father is. He rather prayed that they discovered the heart of the Father for themselves. The minute it becomes personal, our lives begin to change.

Failing is not something that is new to me. I fail more times than I can even admit. And maybe, it's the same for you. While I have a different attitude towards failure now, but when you do fail, it's still very shocking. There's confusion. And that's when we feel inadequate and lack confidence even in the things we can do.

When I failed my exams in the 12th grade, it was a big deal. I wasn't worried about how people thought of me. I was just disappointed in myself and I worried about how my mom and dad would feel about my failures. I failed math and all my sciences. I questioned many things. In one aspect, I was a failure. And in another, not so much.

I was apart of an inter-denominational fellowship known as scripture union. I was the evangelist leader. My role was to invite as many people as I could to our services. I don't say this to make myself sound so spiritual, but just to share why I felt so overwhelmed in my failures. While in school, I honestly had a great time serving God at the capacity that He enabled me to.

There were times I'd speak to my whole class about Jesus. I started out with just two friends. The only people I really hang around with. We chilled together. We watched movies together. We even shared a desk in class. Those two guys were my only friends. And they heard so much about God.

That little sharing led to having three more people join our bible studies. And it came to a point where I was sharing the word of God to as many as 30 people in one seating. I have never cared for numbers in terms of reaching out to people. I really never even tried to do it. God worked many miracles! Think about it. How often do you hear teenagers and youths hearing the word of God? And they didn't attend seminars hosted by a great revivalist. Oh no! They were stuck with me! Another teenager who didn't know anything.

Learning to rely on God

9 In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead – 2 Corinthians 1:9 (NLT)

I understand why sometimes non-believers think God is mean and angry and unjust. I don't understand everything there is to know about God. Trying to understand God is not something we need to bother ourselves with. God is just God.

13 Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?"
14 God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'" Exodus 3:13-14 (NIV)

One of the most interesting characters in the Bible is Moses. I don't know if you have ever studied his life. Especially how he communed with God. It's one of the most beautiful things you could ever see. The way He could convince God to change His mind on many occasions. Who is God? And His response to Moses was, "I AM WHO I AM." What does that mean?

It's hard to understand God. He has so many names. And each name reveals an attribute of who He is. Learning to rely on God especially happens in our moments of defeat. I am not suggesting that we always have to get defeated before knowing God better.

I am only saying that, God is constant. In the good times, He is there. In the bad times, He is also present. Even when we are struggling to figure out the next plan for our future, we can find confidence in knowing that God is with us.

One of the most exciting things you can know is that God is with you. We don't need to see Him. We don't need to feel Him. And even if we have such privileges of being able to see God physically and being able to hear Him audibly, it doesn't change the fact that He is with us.

Do you know what Jesus promised us? He promised us the active presence of God. And we have to learn to be aware of God's presence. It's something we can learn.

16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. John 14:16-17 (NIV)

It has been given to us to know the Holy Spirit. If we don't know the Holy Spirit, life will be more challenging than it already is. Honestly, life is hard. But it is harder not knowing the Holy Spirit. He is called a helper. He comes to make our lives easier. There's nothing we are missing out on. I know being a young person, we always feel like we are missing out on all the "fun". And it depends on what fun means to you. The world might be able to give us the things we want. But only Jesus can give us what we need.

Even though I am in mid 20s, I know with my whole heart that there's nothing good that the world can give us. I learned to sin quite early, and thankfully, I found God at an early age as well. At 12, I knew how to drink alcohol. I knew how to search for the wrong websites on the internet. I knew how to date. And I even dated older girls. That is enough for me to say that the world cannot give us what we need.

In my moment of defeat, I learned to rely on God. And here's the little story. I worked hard. I did my very best. At the time, I lived with my grandmother. I left for school at 6 every day and classes usually started at 7:40. I was usually the earliest to arrive and in some cases, I was the last to leave school. I studied even on weekends. Only on Sundays did I rest from my activities. This is also not to make myself sound so hard-working, which I am of course.

A lot people work hard but the outcome of their results is almost fruitless. It's not like we don't put in effort and time. That's why we can get overwhelmed. We know that we did our best. Gave our deepest commitment. But still, it just ends in failure.

The Scripture above says, "we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely on God." We can rely on God. God loves us to depend on Him. And do you know why? Because He has everything within Himself to sustain us.

Cast your cares on the LORD
and he will sustain you;
he will never let
the righteous be shaken. Psalms 55:22 (NIV)

Do you know what it means when God sustains us? It means: To bear. To contain and to make provision. So maybe it's emotional problems we are having or something that is beyond description. Which human could ever understand something we cannot even describe? That's why God is the right person to go to.

In our moment of pain, we can release all of that hurt unto God. Cares are the things that keep us anxious. The things that are beyond our control. When we cast our cares. We throw our anxiety unto to God. Where we are unable to comprehend the circumstances that we face, that's exactly when to ask God for help. He should never be our last resort. We come from God. He knows exactly what we need.

4 The Spirit of God has made me;
the breath of the Almighty gives me life. Job 33:4 (NIV)

How can someone that made us not have a plan for our sustenance? And we must remember that God our Father provides more than our physical needs. He makes provision for our emotional, spiritual and mental needs.

Place your confidence in God

10 And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us. – 2 Corinthians 1:10 (NLT)

Fathers are men that we can entrust our lives to. I have always known that my father loves me and He shows it in the way He speaks to me and the choices that He makes that concern me. I have had the privilege of knowing who a father is.

My dad not only makes provision for my physical needs. He makes provision for my emotional needs as well. In that moment when my future seemed obscured by my failures. My dad comforted me and told me he was proud of me. That meant so much to me in that moment.

My dad has told me many times that he is proud of me. But, there was nothing to be proud of at the time. He encouraged me to give it another shot. I did re-write my exams and that got me through to university. If my earthly father can make such a great impact in my life, how much more can God the Father?

16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." Matthew 3:16-17 (NIV)

Before Jesus started ministry, His Father cheered Him on. He hadn't done much. Jesus was ushered into ministry with words of encouragement. I only imagine what that meant to Him!

God is just as much our Father as He is to Jesus. Whatever provision He makes for Jesus, He can make for us as well. That's another reason why we need to know God personally. I have three sisters, and if one of them had come to tell me that my dad was proud of me, that would have been nice. But, hearing my dad say it to me meant much more. Maybe some of us don't have fathers or father figures. And I wouldn't be able to understand what that is like.

But I understand what God's love means to me. And you can also choose to place your confidence in God. Even if we are more than competent enough to do the things we know how to do. We can choose to place our confidence in God. We should choose to boast about God working in us.

Prayer

Father, we thank you and magnify you. Lord, you are so good and your mercies uphold us. Because of your mercies and your lovingkindness, we are not consumed. Lord, we choose to rely on you. We refuse to rely on our strength. We refuse to rely on our giftedness. We refuse to rely on our intelligence. But we choose to see that you enable us to do everything that we can do. And Father, we cast all our burdens unto you. May you make provision for the things we need now. Be it money. Health. And things that we may not be able to describe. Thank you for being our Father. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen

Note: Hey Readers. I am so sorry for not updating sooner. I am truly grateful for your comments, votes and reads. May God bless you in ways unimaginable! Shalom