Use Your Talent(s) For God

 Thursday 27th January 2022

What's up?

I'll be honest, I wasn't planning on posting today. 

I mean I had a topic in mind as always, and I even have a topic for the next time I post on this page (which I'm not going to reveal right now hehehe) but God wanted me to post today and who am I to disobey him?

It's been exactly 15 days since I've posted on this page last so that's probably why God wants me to post. I don't mind posting today, even if my next one wasn't really planned until February.

As you can see, today's topic is called:

Use Your Talent(s) For God

There's a specific reason as to why I have decided to choose this topic today.

Except from it being God inspired like every other topic, I feel like this one is also coming personally from the Heart.

All my posts are from the Heart, but I have a feeling I can relate to this one the most. And I hope you guys are blessed as I speak to y'all today amen.

This post might be a little bit different in the sense that I'm going to be talking quite a lot about myself, which isn't something I really do on here, or like doing much in real life.

So if you don't know really who I am, or if you do but not fully, I suppose in this post you get to find out more about me. 

So why have I decided to choose this topic?

♫ In fact

Me I don’t know where to start
Me I no fit solve the maths
E dey blow my mind dey go o ♫

(Nosa - Why You Love Me)

I'll start from here. Have you guys ever really thought about why I have decided to start this website?

Yes, it was an instruction from God. 

But God wouldn't have just told me to start it for no reason, or if I wasn't capable of handling or doing it. In 1 Corinthians 10:13, God says that he will never give us more than what we can handle. He knew I could handle it.

God wanted me to start it because he wanted me to bless you guys reading. Also he knows I have a talent / hobby in writing. 

So I am using my talent to tell you guys to use your talent. A chain of events 😁

Let's begin!

What is a talent?

A talent is something you are good at, although it should be differentiated from a hobby because a hobby and a talent are two different things. I mentioned this on here last year, so let me just quickly copy and paste what I said. 

It's in a different colour so you know I got it from somewhere else.

//

Making a nursery is my purpose in life. You ultimately need to discover what yours is.

But let me tell you something.

Just because you are good at something does not mean that you have to pursue it as a career. Likewise, there is a difference between a talent and a hobby.

Let me use myself as an example.

Playing the keyboard is most definitely one of my talents. Maybe my only one for now, along with looking after babies, if you could count that as a talent anyway.

Would I ever consider a piano career though?

Probably not. Because I'm very introverted, depending on who I'm with, I only really play the piano at home. Never in public - maybe because I'm afraid of screwing up.

Plus A Level Music was apparently not what I thought it was when I said I wanted to do it. So I heard that it's not really about music. More so the history of music.

I love music but not history.

Drawing, dancing and writing stories / updating this website - those are all my hobbies. I guess I'm talented at them, minus dancing although I see them more as hobbies. 

And that brings me to the difference between a talent and a hobby.

The difference between hobby and talent - from this website

Never referred to a link as this website before but there's a first time for everything!

A “hobby” is an activity that one enjoys doing in one’s spare time and “talent” is a marked natural ability or skill. 

Some things can be both, don't get me wrong. They're not mutually exclusive events.

 For example, my piano talent I was talking about.

Just because something is for someone else doesn't mean it's for you. ie like I've been saying all this time. I could never be an actress, but someone else, maybe someone more extroverted and is more comfortable being on TV can.

The same thing can be reversed too - someone out there could hate looking after babies, probably because they may cry too much or because it's too much work but like I said, I love them.

That's why you shouldn't compare yourself to others. Everyone's journey is different.

Also, just because you're moving slower than your friends doesn't mean that you're failing. Besides, slow progress is still progress, even if it doesn't seem that way.

From my post This Is Your Life

//

The post I just referenced was about finding your purpose in life. Talents and hobbies came up by coincidence and I'm glad it did otherwise I wouldn't have been able to copy and paste.

No one is good at everything, but everyone is good at something.

Proverbs 22:29 says Do you see someone skilled in their work? They will serve before kings; they will not serve before officials of low rank.

I used that verse there and I'm using it here.

So I just told you guys what I'm good at. Now let me tell you what I'm not so good at instead. 

But inevitably, as this post is about talents, I will be taking more about my strengths than my weaknesses, as I want (to hopefully encourage) you guys to use your strengths for the Lord. 

I even wanted to do Creative Writing at Nottingham as a replacement for Computer Science, until I found out that it has aspects of drama in it. I can't act to save my life.

What I'm not good at, I don't really mind not being good at as I may not even like it in the first place.

So I'm not good at science. Then again, I guess I don't really like it, especially Biology.

I'm not against those who like Biology. It's just not for me. Biology made me very unhappy.

I'm not good at Geography, History and Maths etc ... long story short, my strengths lie in a majority of the creative subjects. 

I can't say that I am good at all the creative subjects because I am not and I don't want to be. My destiny for my life might not even include all of my talents anyway. But it's certainly down that road.

What I'm good at, someone else might not be good at. Whereas what someone else is good at, I might not be good at. Either way, you should use your talents for God and for the greater good.

As Miklez would say:

Souls are perishing, do the work!

I used to think that what I was good at or liked doing wasn't of anything beneficial to me because I didn't really use it in my daily life. I mostly thought this at secondary school.

I didn't really use the piano for anything, and back then I didn't really use my writing hobby either. I wasn't good at dancing back then either. I didn't even dance in general.

Colossians 3:23-24 says 23 Work at everything you do with all your heart. Work as if you were working for the Lord, not for human masters. 24 Work because you know that you will finally receive as a reward what the Lord wants you to have. You are slaves of the Lord Christ.

Please be aware that when it says slaves, it just simply means that we work for God. God's work will never go unnoticed. You can even ask God to bring what you've done for him to remembrance.

You can find this in Isaiah 43:26

Review the past for me, let us argue the matter together; state the case for your innocence.

This is God talking to you. God wants you to bring to remembrance what you have done for him. I mean, he already remembers, but it's simultaneously a way of you communicating to him. 

God wants to hear from you as much as he can - we just don't always do that.

I originally typed that God wants to hear from you 24/7, and whilst he does, I'm also aware that it might not always be possible for you to speak to God. 

Actually - now that I think about it, I don't think that there is any situation in life where you can't speak to God. Nevertheless, he does still want to hear from you as much as he can.

If anything, you speaking to God will definitely make things better.

It took me ages to find that verse. I was kind of panicking because I really wanted to use it. It's like one of those verse where you partially know what it says but you forget where it is from.

I said partially because I thought I knew what the verse said but I didn't really. Changing a couple of words of a verse you're trying to remember really makes a difference on the results you get.

Inevitably, I wouldn't be telling you guys to use your talent(s) for God if I haven't been doing so myself, and I have.

If you are blessed like me, you could have more than one talent or hobby.

When I was in Nottingham, I used to be an instrumentalist because of my piano talent. I also remember playing the piano in church coincidentally in front of everyone. It was a coincidence because I didn't intend for it to happen.

I actually didn't expect that to happen. I was so scared. I don't like playing in front of a lot of people. It was Sunday October 4th 2020.

However I guess I did like the experience.

I played Grade 9 Maple Leaf Rag which I don't remember much of anymore. If you're curious as to what it sounds like, I linked it here:

I don't use that talent much, but I genuinely did play the song. I would show evidence but like I said, I don't remember the whole song anymore. There are gaps in my knowledge. 

I'm definitely not Grade 9 piano. I'm self taught. I just learn what I want to learn.

I am now in Essex, where I am a Dancing Star, and occasionally Pulpit Star too. I was inspired by the Dancing Stars and I thought if they can do something for God, so can I.

Am I the best dancer there? Of course not.

Does it matter? No it doesn't.

I would never compare myself to any of the other dancers in Dancing Stars because I know that a majority of them have had years more experience than me. Even if we have all been dancing for the same amount of time - I still wouldn't compare because everyone dances differently.

As long as you put in energy and work hard for God, no one will know that you're not the best dancer there - or how much dance experience you've had.

I love dancing. It doesn't matter if you are the best at something, all you have to do is try your best.

If you know me, sometimes on Whatsapp I do post videos of me dancing (very rarely though), sometimes more than I do with Dancing Stars. 

WhatsApp is more or less the only social media I have that I use. I have another one where you write stories but that one is private and personal. I had Instagram and Snapchat but I deleted them both. 

I have decided to upload my favourite dance that I have uploaded on Whatsapp before below. I'll explain why it's my favourite later.

This was my favourite dance for a number of reasons:

1. My favourite Gospel song

2. First and only time I have used a prop. That notebook thing had to be done flawlessly. It was a lot harder than it looked, more so when I actually wanted to open it.

3. I like my braids 😍 which I didn't want at first but it really grew on me.

With these videos, I normally speed them up and make up the choreography myself. If I don't speed them up, they'd be too long and too slow. But when I dance with Dancing or Pulpit Stars, it's always normal speed.

I don't always dance to Gospel music, sometimes non Gospel music, inevitably careful of lyrics. 

I generally mix  it up.

I'm grateful because before I joined Dancing Stars, I would have never done something like that. 

I would have never really uploaded a video of me dancing. But due to me using my dancing hobby for God, I guess it soon turned into a talent.

When you use a hobby for God, goodness knows - it could turn into a talent.

I have another hobby which I don't really talk about or use. It's not a talent though - what I can do with the hobby is very limited.

I can draw. I drew this the other day.

I didn't say I could draw accurately. I just said I can draw 😅

I prefer piano / dancing to drawing so I'm not really fussed about not being too talented in this hobby. 

I can only draw with pen and pencil anyway. Anything else, not really. Also I can never really draw accurately. So I'm very limited.

I'd say I'm semi-talented at art.

That's enough about me, like I said I don't really like talking about myself unless I don't really have a choice.

Here are some scriptures on using your talents for God.

1 Peter 4:10-11

10 God’s gifts of grace come in many forms. Each of you has received a gift in order to serve others. You should use it faithfully. 

11 If anyone speaks, they should do it as one speaking God’s words. If anyone serves, they should do it with the strength God provides. Then in all things God will be praised through Jesus Christ. Glory and power belong to him for ever and ever. Amen.

Romans 12:6 

We all have gifts. They differ according to the grace God has given to each of us. Do you have the gift of prophecy? Then use it according to the faith you have.

Now you may feel as though you don't have a talent, or you can't really use it for the Lord because it "isn't big enough".

I mentioned this in the testimony I intermittently talk about on here. The one I did at church.

However, since it's kinda long for me to crop it and upload it here, I will just summarise what I said.

There's no gift or talent that is too small for the Lord. Don't think that there is.

Even if your gift isn't like dancing or singing or being an instrumentalist,  if you can do something like media then that's still something big for the Lord.

Besides, when using your talent for God, you don't necessarily have to be good at it straight away. You can always learn. 

For example, I'm learning to do media despite the fact that I'm in Dancing Stars.

If you want to join choir for instance but you can't sing to save your life (like me) - you can always learn!

I'm not too fazed about not being able to sing as I do prefer dancing. That said, I do love and respect people that can sing well, especially for God. And I'm obviously not against anyone that can sing. 

I think Gospel singers are wonderful.

 When I first joined Dancing Stars, I didn't really have any serious dancing experience.

And do you want to know what one of my favourite things about the Lord is?

It's the fact that he doesn't take back his gifts, which you can find in Romans 29:11.

God doesn't take back his gifts, but he can deal with the person that he gave the gift to. Assuming that they're using it incorrectly.

Matthew 6:5 And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.

Not just praying, anything in general. Including using your talents for the Lord.

Don't just use it for the Lord to impress others. Do it to serve and inspire others.

That's not what the scripture says, however my pastor from my home church did say that one day and I was just quoting them.

Everyone has a talent, even if you don't necessarily think that you do. You most likely haven't discovered it yet, and that's okay.

There's this quote I know that says there are two great days of your life: when you are born and when you discover why.

So for me, I'm born July 9th 2002, and my purpose in life is to serve God and to own an international nursery! 

Not be part of or work in, own! And I know with God, that will happen!

I didn't know what I wanted to do in the future for a long time, and it took me changing courses and universities to figure it out.

As I close today, I realise that I mentioned Romans 12 earlier. Here is what I wanted to say from there:

3 God’s grace has been given to me. So here is what I say to every one of you. Don’t think of yourself more highly than you should. Be reasonable when you think about yourself. Keep in mind the faith God has given to each of you. 

4 Each of us has one body with many parts. And the parts do not all have the same purpose. 5 So also we are many persons. But in Christ we are one body. And each part of the body belongs to all the other parts. 

6 We all have gifts. They differ according to the grace God has given to each of us. Do you have the gift of prophecy? Then use it according to the faith you have. 

7 If your gift is serving, then serve. If it is teaching, then teach. 

8 Is it encouraging others? Then encourage them. Is it giving to others? Then give freely. Is it being a leader? Then work hard at it. Is it showing mercy? Then do it cheerfully.

Encouraging others can also be a gift. 

So if you don't do this already, always use your gifts to serve the Lord, and if you already do that, keep doing it for the rest of your life or until you are old and can no longer do it anymore.

I certainly will.

That's a wrap for today - and because I am an extremely nice person, I have decided to give y'all a heads up about the next post on this page. Post of Encouragement and Underrated Bible Scriptures are on separate pages.

The next post in February will be all about how inner beauty is more important than outer. I have decided to do this because we live in a  society that places looks above personality.

And whilst I don't blame them as you can't fully see personality but you can with looks, I'm also not taking sides either. Either way, the Bible focuses on what's inside, not outside. 

But I'll go in more depth about it all in due time.

So I hope you were blessed today and I also hope that you learnt more about me! :)

Normally I'd use a GIF to say goodbye, but here is a picture of yours truly.

I took it on Christmas Eve. See you angels next time!

Lola xxx

What Comes Easy Doesn't Last & What Lasts Doesn't Come Easy

 Wednesday 12th January 2022

Happy New Year!

This is officially my first Post in 2022. It would have come earlier but unfortunately I've been procrastinating - which happens sometimes although I'm here now so it doesn't matter!

God has been telling me to post for a long time since the New Year but I refused. I just didn't feel like it. But today I decided that it was time to post something once and for all.

 I would have felt guilty if I didn't, especially how I have been slacking behind on this website for almost a couple of weeks now.

I hope your New Year has been off to a good start. Mine has been decent, I can't complain about anything. I'm still at home at the moment so I was at home when I posted this. I'm going back to university on Sunday.

As you can see, today's topic is called: 

What Comes Easy Doesn't Last & What Lasts Doesn't Come Easy

There was no way I was going to write that again, so I just copied the title from the top. There was a specific reason as to why I chose this topic. It's even a quote.

In life, there are going to be ups and downs. Why? 

Because on a heart monitor, our heart goes up and down.

If life was only full of downs - I'm not sure about you but I would find that very depressing! Nothing would go your way ever and every day would more or less be a bad day. 

Whereas if life was only full of ups, we wouldn't have to work for anything because things would just come to us. Everything we want, we would get.

I would love that at first, then it would get a bit boring. That's exactly why life is full of ups and downs, so as to balance everything out. If you don't experience the bad, then you can't really appreciate the good.

My favourite gospel song (Darwin Hobbs - The Thank You Song) has lyrics in the second verse that says this:

Wanna thank you for the hope that you bring

Wanna thank you for the joy and the pain

'Cause if I never really knew you in my rain

Then my sun would surely be in vain!

It took ages to find this song, I can't lie. It was on this gospel CD I liked, but I forgot the name of it as it was like 10 years ago. But I'm glad I did find it, and I also hope that YouTube doesn't get rid of it as the link was the only version of the song they have.

The lyrics say that they want to thank God for the joy and the pain together.

Not joy respectively. 

Some people only thank God for the good things in their life. Whilst I don't blame them, I'm also not saying that thanking God for joy alone is the right thing to do. You should thank God for the joy and the pain together.

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

So yes, anytime you have a problem - ♫ take it to the Lord in prayer! ♫

The last bit of the lyrics says this:

'Cause if I never really knew you in my rain

Then my sun would surely be in vain!

Which just simply means that if you didn't really know God or turn to God when you were going through something bad, and then something good in your life happens to you -- it's kind of in vain as you didn't turn to God when you were experiencing a dark time.

Do I make sense? I hope I do.

On to today's topic, which links to if life was good all of the time.

Like I said, if life was good all of the time, you wouldn't have to work for anything. Things would just come to you naturally. 

[Davido - If]

I would love 30 Billion in my account as well as Versace and Gucci - but if I didn't work for those things, then it wouldn't really be worth anything. 

You understand where I'm coming from?

I mean, these things aren't worth much anyway because you're not supposed to love the world or anything in it... but that's another story for another day.

I even did a series on it a few months back, which I will reference when I'm done with today's topic.

Besides, money can't make you happy; it's even the root of evil - which you can find in 1 Timothy 6:10.

Love for money causes all kinds of evil. Some people want to get rich. They have wandered away from the faith. They have wounded themselves with many sorrows.

If things come to you easily, they won't last. This isn't always true- depending mainly on how you handle something, but most of the time it is.

Ever heard of the term 15 minutes of fame?

It's essentially when you are famous for a short time. And believe me when I say that there are a lot of people like that, whether they've accepted it or not. 

These people, not speaking for everyone though, maybe they were just unlucky - who knows? 🤷 -- yeah, these people probably got their fame quickly. 

Whereas the people who are still famous now most likely worked harder than those who lost their fame quickly.

I'm not saying the people who were famous for a short time didn't work hard, nor am I disregarding any efforts made that made them famous. I'm just saying fame probably came to them easy. 

Most of the time anyway.

Let's look at some Biblical examples of the title in action.

I'm going to be looking firstly at those who had things come to them easy and they didn't last, then I will contrast this to three very important people who had to wait a long time for something good to come, but it came.

And it lasted!

There are more examples but let me just do five for now.

Coming Easy; Not Lasting

Adam and Eve & the Parable of the Rich Man.

In Genesis 3, the serpent had tricked both Adam and Eve into eating fruit from the tree that God said they shouldn't eat from.

You can find this in Genesis 3 vs 1-5...

The serpent was more clever than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. The serpent said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat fruit from any tree in the garden’?”

2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden.

3 But God did say, ‘You must not eat the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden. Do not even touch it. If you do, you will die.’ ”

4 “You will certainly not die,” the serpent said to the woman.

5 “God knows that when you eat fruit from that tree, you will know things you have never known before. Like God, you will be able to tell the difference between good and evil.”

The serpent knew what he was doing. He had probably planned this beforehand; the devil is very strategic.

I ordered a table for my room earlier this month, and this week my family and I helped to build it.

The very last screw that was needed to fix the table wasn't going in properly, which had happened for about 20 minutes. It could have only been the devil. He had waited until the very last minute, literally, to mess everything up.

Which was to his downfall as my table is flawless now, and I used it to type this message anyway.

The serpent had tricked Adam and Eve into thinking that the fruit would have given them wisdom. And I guess it did, temporarily.

That was until God had realised what had happened, cursing all three of them. Why?

Because they got the wisdom easily! If they had worked for the wisdom, then that's a completely different story. But God did specifically tell them not to eat fruit from the tree in the Middle of the garden. 

But they disobeyed him.

The next example of someone I had thought of who had gotten something easily but it didn't last was the rich man in Luke 12 vs 16 to 21.

16 Then Jesus told them a story. He said, “A certain rich man’s land produced a very large crop. 

17 He thought to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have any place to store my crops.’

18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones. I will store my extra grain in them. 

19 I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain stored away for many years. Take life easy. Eat, drink and have a good time.” ’

20 “But God said to him, ‘You foolish man! Tonight I will take your life away from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

21 “That is how it will be for whoever stores things away for themselves but is not rich in the sight of God.”

What came to him easily? Probably the very large crop that his land had produced. And goodness knows how he became rich, I don't think it mentions it in the Bible.

But the Bible did say that he was a rich fool.

I guess in this scenario, nothing really came to him easily that didn't last - however his life got taken away from him because he was taking life for granted.

 I have been reading this story a lot in the Bible this week.

Actually, now that I think about it: this version says that the rich man wanted to take life easy. God just dawned that on me. The rich man wanted to live an easy life, and the ending result was for God to take away his life.

John 12:25 says this:

Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

This isn't saying hate your life. It's just saying that you shouldn't be too materialistic. Which is something I need to work on myself.

God condemned the man for what he was planning to do with his crops, not just for thinking. Jeremiah 17:10, probably my favourite verse in the Bible says:

The Lord says, “I look deep down inside human hearts.
    I see what is in people’s minds.
I reward each person in keeping with their conduct.
    I bless them based on what they have done.”

So God looked inside his heart, and realised that he wanted to live his life selfishly. Not just that, but God gave him the crops. He didn't say that, he said it was his.

It wasn't his, it was God's that he gave to him.  Anything God gives you is his, so therefore you should thank him for it.

Not Coming Easy But Lasting

There are many examples of this in the Bible, but due to limited time, I'm only going to mention two. Job respectively and Abraham and Sarah, collectively.

Let's read Genesis 21 vs 1 to 7.

The Lord was gracious to Sarah, just as he had said he would be. The Lord did for Sarah what he had promised to do. 

2 Sarah became pregnant. She had a son by Abraham when he was old. The child was born at the exact time God had promised. 

3 Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah had by him. 

4 When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him. He did it exactly as God had commanded him. 

5 Abraham was 100 years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

6 Sarah said, “God has given laughter to me. Everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” 

7 She also said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would breast-feed children? But I’ve had a son by him when he is old.”

Abraham was 100 when Sarah had given birth. Sarah was 90.

She had to wait 90 whole years to give birth to a son, when other women she knew would have probably given birth in their 30s or 40s. Maybe (late) 20s. 

That's why you shouldn't give up when something bad is happening to you and it seems like the end of the road. Or when it seems like others are moving ahead of you but you're not really going anywhere.

God knows exactly what he is doing. Plus who said you can handle what your friends are handling?

 1 Corinthians 10:13 says that you aren't given more than what you can handle, and when you are tempted, God will always provide a way out somehow.

God will never give us more than what we can handle, we are the ones that think we can't handle it.

If Sarah could never handle having a child at 90 years old then be rest assured that God would have never given her one. Luckily, her, Abraham and Isaac too for that matter had lived a long life, which I wish for y'all, in Jesus Name!

A long life with meaning though; not just any long life. Those that live long doesn't always live life well.

Last but not least is Job, who lost everything in Job 1 vs 13 - 22.

13 One day Job’s sons and daughters were at their oldest brother’s house. They were enjoying good food and drinking wine. 

14 During that time a messenger came to Job. He said, “The oxen were plowing. The donkeys were eating grass near them. 1

5 Then the Sabeans attacked us and carried off the animals. They killed some of the servants with their swords. I’m the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

16 While he was still speaking, a second messenger came. He said, “God sent lightning from the sky. It struck the sheep and killed them. It burned up some of the servants. I’m the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

17 While he was still speaking, a third messenger came. He said, “The Chaldeans separated themselves into three groups. They attacked your camels and carried them off. They killed the rest of the servants with their swords. I’m the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

18 While he was still speaking, a fourth messenger came. He said, “Your sons and daughters were at their oldest brother’s house. They were enjoying good food and drinking wine. 

19 Suddenly a strong wind blew in from the desert. It struck the four corners of the house. The house fell down on your children. Now all of them are dead. I’m the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

20 After Job heard all these reports, he got up and tore his robe. He shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground and worshiped the Lord. 21 He said,

“I was born naked.
And I’ll leave here naked.
The Lord has given, and the Lord has taken away.
May the name of the Lord be praised.”

22 In spite of everything, Job didn’t sin by blaming God for doing anything wrong.

Job went from having a lot of things to losing everything in a short amount of time. I can think of one person like that: Kobe Bryant's widow, Vanessa.

She had everything, but then on the fateful day of January 26th 2020, both her husband and daughter died. Her life fell into pieces after that had happened because losing one person was enough, but two?

That's was unbearable.

The same thing had happened to Job. He lost everything. But he got everything back at the end of Job, even when his life had seemed hopeless.

I don't know how long it had taken, although he didn't sin by blaming God. We shouldn't blame God for anything bad happening in our lives either. God never promised us happiness 24/7.

 He promised that he would give us happiness, but he didn't say that life would always be happy. Life is hard for everyone, regardless of who you are or where you come from.

So what did Job get back?

He got back more than what he had lost. And God can do that, he works in mysterious ways after all.

You can find this in Job 42:10-17.

10 After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord made him successful again. He gave him twice as much as he had before.

11 All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came to see him. They ate with him in his house. They showed their concern for him. They comforted him because of all the troubles the Lord had brought on him. Each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring.

12 The Lord blessed the last part of Job’s life even more than the first part. He gave Job 14,000 sheep and 6,000 camels. He gave him 1,000 pairs of oxen and 1,000 donkeys. 13 Job also had seven sons and three daughters.

14 He named the first daughter Jemimah. He named the second Keziah. And he named the third Keren-Happuch.

15 Job’s daughters were more beautiful than any other women in the whole land. Their father gave them a share of property along with their brothers.

16 After all of that happened, Job lived for 140 years. He saw his children, his grandchildren and his great-grandchildren.

 17 And so Job died. He had lived for a very long time.

If you are dealing with something hard and it seems like there's no way out, always think of Job! He lost everything but he got it back. That's why a rainbow comes after the rain and not before.

 Hopefully today you have learnt that what comes easy doesn't last and what lasts doesn't come easy.

I did mention that I'd make reference to my series on not loving the world, so here it is... Have a look if you so wish! :)

25 Reasons why you shouldn't love the world - first 5

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Last 5

It's harder than you think to make references to my previous posts -- but I'll see you next time and I hope you have a fantabalous week and year ahead!

Till next time!

Lola xx