Get Hi5 Falling Hearts Monday 21st March 2022
No One's Perfect, But They're Worth It
Hey guys, I hope you have been well.
Yeah I know I haven't been the most consistent - I haven't posted on this page for a month. The last time I did post on here in general was just over two weeks ago now.
Two weeks and one day 😏
I did say I'd post every two weeks, but it won't be promised in case unforeseen circumstances had happened. I was supposed to post yesterday but didn't because I was socialising with my amazing church friends and left later than I expected.
I promised God I would post today. This morning I even said that I'd post tomorrow (Tuesday) until God reminded me that I said I would post today yesterday.
Today's topic will be called
No One's Perfect, But They're Worth It
It is also the last topic that I said I would be talking about on this page. So I guess after this post, I will have to do Posts of Encouragement, Part 4. Posts of Encouragement will have multiple posts on it. My main posts page will only have one at a time.
Without further ado, let us begin.
It's used so often that it would be surprising if someone hadn't heard about it. But this might not be such a bad thing after all, as in not being perfect. It can be used to your advantage.
Before I really get into things, I would just like to differentiate between the term flawless and perfect. Whilst they are technically synonyms of each other (and no one is either of them) I realised recently that they are different.
If something is flawless then it is (made or done) without mistake. The item may not be complete, it may not be the best fit for its purpose. If something is perfect then it is complete. No one nothing can make it any better do its job.
Why I'm telling you this?
Because I don't want you thinking that the two of them are the same thing.
For example, a pizza could be made flawlessly. It was made without mistake. If it was a person, it would be very satisfied.
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Every topping is the same amount of centimetres apart from each other. They are all the same size, and the pizza is not burnt, everything is made well.
However, the pizza is not very nice, despite the fact that it looks nice.
Sure whoever had cooked the pizza didn't screw up when they had to put everything together, but the pizza does not taste the best. This is why inner beauty is more important than outer beauty, which you can coincidentally read all about on this post:
It can even be the same for food, but let me not get into that.
In this case, the pizza is flawless, but not perfect. It has been made without mistake, although it is not the best fit for its purpose.
A pizza looking nice is nothing if it doesn't taste nice. After a pizza is eaten, its beautiful outer beauty will be long forgotten.
God is perfect and flawless. I'm not sure if someone or something can be both, but God can.
Even though we know that no one is perfect, the problem lies when you use that to justify all kinds of wrongdoing in your life.
So if you lie about something, I don't know, about doing work when you didn't, and you "justify" lying by saying that no one is perfect...
A: You lied about studying when you've been procrastinating all day.
B: *shrugs* Oh well, no one's perfect.
You're in the wrong.
People like this may also have the Romans 7:14-17 mentality. Some people are like this.
14 So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin.
15 I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. 16 But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good.
17 So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
I normally use the NIRV version, but I liked the NLT version.
Realistically speaking, you shouldn't even be lying in the first place. The Bible is against this, and it's even part of the things that the Lord hates in Proverbs 6:16-19.
In fact, he hates seven things.
17 The Lord hates proud eyes,
a lying tongue,
and hands that kill those who aren’t guilty.
18 He also hates hearts that make evil plans
and feet that are quick to do evil.
19 He hates any witness who pours out lies
and anyone who stirs up conflict in the community.
You know God seriously hates lying if it was mentioned twice - at the beginning and at the end of the verses.
"The Lord hates ... a lying tongue ... and any witness who pours out lies."
Ellipses were used to show that I didn't copy everything that was mentioned in the aforementioned verses.
There are many other things God hates (ie those that love the world more than him, or they love the world and not him), although I feel like these are the main ones.
You being imperfect should never be an excuse for doing wrong.
Likewise you shouldn't think that God can't, won't or shouldn't use you because you've had an extremely sinful past. He can use anyone.
As I always like to say:
So never think that God can't use you!
God knows nobody is perfect, but that doesn't stop him from loving us regardless, whereas some people would run away from you as soon as you make a small or big mistake.
Or if they don't run away from you, they use your mistakes against you.
The fact that God loves you regardless of your imperfections shows much he loves you. Also, people that are only there for you when it is convenient for them aren't really your friends.
Let's get into why being imperfect is a good thing.
We live in a sinful world, which had all started when Adam and Eve had sinned in the Garden of Eden. You can find this in Genesis 3, all of it. I only referenced 13 verses, there are 24 in total.
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.”
6 The woman saw that the tree’s fruit was good to eat and pleasing to look at. She also saw that it would make a person wise. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her. And he ate it.
6 The woman saw that the tree’s fruit was good to eat and pleasing to look at. She also saw that it would make a person wise. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her. And he ate it.
7 Then both of them knew things they had never known before. They realized they were naked. So they sewed together fig leaves and made clothes for themselves.
8 Then the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking in the garden. It was during the coolest time of the day. They hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
8 Then the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking in the garden. It was during the coolest time of the day. They hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
9 But the Lord God called out to the man. “Where are you?” he asked.
10 “I heard you in the garden,” the man answered. “I was afraid, because I was naked. So I hid.”
11 The Lord God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten fruit from the tree I commanded you not to eat from?”
12 The man said, “It’s the fault of the woman you put here with me. She gave me some fruit from the tree. And I ate it.”
13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What have you done?”
The woman said, “The serpent tricked me. That’s why I ate the fruit.”
10 “I heard you in the garden,” the man answered. “I was afraid, because I was naked. So I hid.”
11 The Lord God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten fruit from the tree I commanded you not to eat from?”
12 The man said, “It’s the fault of the woman you put here with me. She gave me some fruit from the tree. And I ate it.”
13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What have you done?”
The woman said, “The serpent tricked me. That’s why I ate the fruit.”
Then God had punished them, with other things happening in the verse.
The truth is, God already knew that they were going to eat from the tree before he had even found out, because he knows and sees everything.
Adam and Eve didn't just fall into sin though, they had fallen into temptation. I will do a separate post, maybe even series on temptation, look out for it.
Even if they didn't sin, someone in the Bible at a later time most likely would have, so we would still have lived in an imperfect world irrespectively.
Being imperfect is a good thing because if everyone was perfect, and if life was perfect, then everything would be boring.
If life was perfect, then you'd only have good times in life, and you would get everything you want, even if it's not necessarily good for you. We appreciate things more if we had worked hard for them.
This was on another post I mentioned this year, which I referenced below. I didn't notice I would be cross referencing my previous posts a lot for this topic.
If everything came to me easily, even if I didn't work for it, as happy as I would be at first, I know that the novelty would soon wear off and I would be bored.
Likewise, if everyone was the same, where is the fun in that?
I was singing this Christian song I know, until I realised that I could use it in this post. It's called Lane by Kierra Sheard.
The lyrics for this section say:
Everybody wanna be rich and be famous, rocking on the guitar
What if that tha that that that
What if that tha that that that
ain't your ya your your your lane?
Jus be you, oh no no, don't be anywhere you know you shouldn't be
Jus be you, oh no no, don't be anywhere you know you shouldn't be
stay in your lane
But that's where you are in your lane, your lane, your lane, your lane
But that's where you are in your lane, your lane, your lane, your lane
And then some.
Some Christian songs don't talk about God or Jesus, using their names, but they are about Christianity. Kierra Sheard is also an American gospel singer. This song I guess is about not loving the world, by being yourself and not who you are expected to be by society.
If you ever want to be someone, just remember that you are trading everything about yourself with everything of the other person. Do you really want that?
I'm sure you don't.
You don't just get what you want out of someone you might want to trade lives with for some reason, you have to take everything. The good and the bad.
I would never wish to be someone else anymore. I mean I have, mainly when I've had a bad day or was younger and feeling low on confidence.
Not anymore. I am a very creative person. If I was someone else, everything would change.
My friends would change, my talents, hobbies, family, strengths, I wouldn't have this website and even my birthday may be different... I would not really like to be born before July, or after. July is the middle of the year, and a great birth month.
There are loads of great birth months, but I am grateful for mine.
1 Peter 2:9 However, you are chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, people who belong to God. You were chosen to tell about the excellent qualities of God, who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.
We are all unique. Some people might be like you in several aspects, ie you have the same interests, but, here's one important thing...
They are not you!! 💖💖💕💕
That's why some relationships or friendships don't work even if two people have everything going on well for them. Some things about one person someone accepts, but if someone else did it, it wouldn't be the same.
Here's an example. Say A is a dance teacher and he is looking for new dancers to hire for this upcoming competition.
B is a very good female dancer, and she lip syncs when she dances. A finds that very endearing.
I lip sync when I dance in Dancing Stars, and when I do my own dances on Whatsapp. Assuming I know the lyrics to whatever song I am dancing too. That's probably where I got the idea from.
But then, B starts to fall short. She's not as consistent with dancing, becoming more absent minded, and forgetting moves easily, so A fires her, on good terms.
They remain friends after that, although unanimously agree that B leaving is the best option for them. B is also going through a lot.
So A finds another female dancer by coincidence. This is C. C lip syncs when she dances too. Both B and C like to do that because it helps them remember dance moves better.
However... When C lip syncs, it's not the same as when B did it.
A doesn't find it as endearing for some reason. C is a better dancer than B but A does not feel the connection, even though C is by far a better dancer than B, and she lip syncs too, which A found cute in B.
So lip syncing was cute for B but not as cute for C.
B is re-hired when she is dealing with less problems in her personal life. A doesn't want C after a while. C argues that she is a good dancer but A doesn't want to hear it.
B and C are different people. Yes, they were both dancers, but they were dissimilar. They both like to lip sync, but it's attractive for B and not for C.
A lot of friendships or relationships don't work because the new person someone is with is not as good as the old person. Or they are good, there's just not the same connection, even if the new and the old person are similar in some aspects.
That's why you need to embrace your uniqueness. No two people ae the same, even if they look the same or have the same profession.
Another reason as to why it's okay to be imperfect besides being unique (as if everyone was the same then there's no uniqueness whatsoever) is so that you can learn from others.
You might admire a trait that someone has which you don't.
If we were all perfect, and the same, then there's not as much characteristics for you to admire in someone else as we'd all more or less have the same ones.
1 Thessalonians 5:11 says So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.
It's good to admire someone for something inspirational that they are doing and you are not.
Someone might even be admiring me for this website - I'm not sure. I can't see who reads it (I also disabled comments) but I know people do.
For instance, someone could be very intelligent, and you're inspired by them.
They almost always get good grades, and whilst your grades aren't bad, they're not always as good as the person you look up to. By everyone being imperfect and unique (but worth it), we can all learn a thing or two from the other person.
You don't even have to know a person physically to be inspired by them. You can also read about them, or watch videos with them in it.
As long as it doesn't get to the point where you make them your idol.
Leviticus 26:1 “Do not make idols or set up carved images, or sacred pillars, or sculptured stones in your land so you may worship them. I am the Lord your God."
The person you look up to is not perfect, so don't think they are.
After I talk about temptation, I will be talking about how you can stop putting people on a pedestal (assuming that someone is perfect), and why.
Speaking of this, never assume that anyone is perfect. People are good at pretending, and you don't know what is going on behind the scenes.
The happiest person via their public persona could be the most depressed person behind closed doors.
Just because someone is smiling doesn't mean that they are happy.
You know how I like writing stories? Here is another one.
I normally use unique names, but today I will use more normal ones, though still uncommon. I would never use the name of someone I know though. Or if I do, it will be someone I don't speak to.
So Kasey (a boy, it's a gender neutral name) and Jayda were best friends. They are in Year 10.
They gradually drifted away from each other because Kasey went on holiday and ever since he had come back, he had become popular. He posted about his holiday on social media. He is very attractive.
This will talk about everything I've mentioned. Not assuming people are perfect, being unique and how God can use you regardless of your imperfections. These are why being imperfect is good.
I've decided to make it longer for you guys.
It was about lunchtime at school and Jayda was talking to her friend Aaliyah. They had just come to the canteen, where there were a lot of people there as always.
Since Kasey had gone on holiday to the United Arab Emirates for his mother's 50th birthday, and Jayda didn't want to be alone, she had befriended new girl Aaliyah from Vanuatu, which was a country in Oceania.
They had just finished Maths class together, surprised to find Kasey sitting by himself. Except, nobody would have known it was him. He was deliberately wearing sunglasses, had his hood up and was furiously texting someone for some reason.
"Say Jayda," Aaliyah had whispered after they had gotten their lunch - macaroni and cheese on a Wednesday. "Isn't that Kasey?"
"It can't be Aaliyah. Kasey's in Abu Dhabi celebrating his mum's birthday. He came back yesterday evening. I highly doubt he'd be at school today. Too much jet lag."
Unless Kasey was dead and they were seeing his ghost, Aaliyah was 100% sure that was him. He was wearing a dark blue Adidas tracksuit with white Adidas converses. Today was non school uniform day.
The United Arab Emirates was four hours ahead of the UK in terms of time zones. If that was Kasey, Jayda didn't know how he had still come to school despite arriving home last night.
When she had realised that yes, it really was Kasey, she had gasped in astonishment.
"Weren't you two best friends at some point? What happened? Did y'all fall out?"
"We didn't fall out, but ever since Kasey went Abu Dhabi, he's been extremely popular. I've tried talking to him but he's unintentionally been ignoring me. Guess that what happens when you're well known all of a sudden."
Aaliyah didn't reply, because she had noticed that Kasey was leaving and he was making his way to where the girls were.
It was July and they were eating outside.
Summer holiday was around the corner. Kasey might as well have stayed at home - there were five more days left of school.
Aaliyah had suggested Jayda had talked to him.
"Are you serious?" Jayda had frowned, almost choking on her food. "You must be crazy!"
"Kasey might have missed you, you never know."
If he did, surely he would have called or texted or something.
Until Jayda had remembered that they hadn't spoken to each other for so long that she had gotten a new phone number without Kasey knowing.
Sighing, as it had seemed like Aaliyah wasn't taking no for an answer, Jayda had gone over to talk to him after she had finished her food.
For someone that was seemingly popular, Kasey didn't have a lot of people on his case today.
Either they weren't his real friends, they're not in today or Kasey told them to give him privacy. Don't blame him. Jayda had thought to herself.
Kasey had been suspiciously alone for most of the afternoon, much to Jayda's advantage. She had found him by the water fountain, yelling at someone through the phone.
And don't you call me ever again! I hate you even more!
She didn't know what Kasey was going through, or who he was talking to in the first place, but she knew she had to help him.
Taking a deep breath, because she didn't know how Kasey would have reacted if he had seen her, she had called his name.
If Jayda was a normal person, then she would have known that now definitely wasn't a good time. But she had been kind of secretly following Kasey for so long that it would have been a waste of time not to talk to him.
"Kasey. You okay?"
She didn't know what else to say, with Kasey having to stare at her for a while to figure out who she was.
"Jayda. Long time no see."
He hugged her, which had taken her by surprise. She had done the same.
"I could say the same for you. How have you been?"
Kasey didn't reply, his face falling. He sighed, before saying anything else.
Jayda didn't know how she had done it, but she had kept thinking that Kasey was somehow offended by that question. So she had asked him how Abu Dhabi was, and he opened up.
"The worst trip of my life. I kept arguing with my dad. He was the one that told me to come to school today. My mum was acting spoilt. You were the only person I wanted to talk to half of the time but I couldn't because everyone kept blowing up my notifs on social media. I became popular. Everyone except a few were fake people, only liking me for my looks. At first I liked the attention, then I resented it. I deleted all my socials."
Jayda would have never guessed that just by looking at Kasey's Instagram. He had been smiling a lot. He seemed to have had it all. She thought he had it so good.
"You never know what's going on behind the scenes. My sisters were driving me crazy." He had two sisters. One older, one younger. "I had never hated my family so much. Never assume anyone has the perfect life." He then face-palmed himself as he had slowly reminisced about something else.
"Not just that. I sinned so bad in Abu Dhabi that I don't think God can forgive me."
"Don't say that, God loves you regardless of your past or imperfections. And he will always make a way where there seems to be no way."
"No, Jayda. You don't understand," he had deadpanned sternly, standing up and frowning. "I really messed up."
She wanted to know what he had done. Kasey didn't reply.
Then he told her.
"You shoplifted in Abu Dhabi?!"
He didn't intend to. Thankfully, she yelled quietly. She didn't want Kasey to land in trouble.
He had splurged his money without his parents knowing. He was almost out of overdraft too. Nobody knew he had shoplifted, however Kasey had been in trouble with his parents long before that.
Kasey also didn't want to turn himself in. It was in a different country for starters, he was too scared to do so, plus GCSEs were right around the corner.
However he knew he would have been caught eventually.
"I'm so imperfect. I've never screwed up this badly. Help me, Jayda."
Then he had started singing off tune helplessly.
Help me o Jehovah
Plenty people dey envy me
Dey wan make I die o
Jehovah
Yesu mogya nka wenim o (Jesus is like a mother)
[Something I Get: Miklez]
She didn't know what to say. She was too stunned. They were probably still finding him - it had also explained the disguise.
She had just repeated how God had loved him regardless of his past. He just needed to confess his sins.
They had done so together through a short prayer. After that, Jayda had also noticed that there was an Asian girl called Tahira who was on a lot of Kasey's posts in Abu Dhabi before he had deleted his Instagram.
"She was my best friend when we weren't talking. I had known her before my shambolic holiday."
"Are you still best friends?"
"We stopped speaking. We had gotten along so well. You'd love her if you had met her, but I had to end friendship."
Perplexed, Jayda didn't say anything, contemplating what he had just said.
"I don't understand, if Tahira was an awesome best friend then why did you end friendship with her."
"Because she's not you. She will never be you. You are one of a kind and I don't think anyone can replace you."
That's it!
Not just for the story. For the post.
So the story said that God will love you regardless of your imperfections. And even though Tahira was a fantastic best friend towards Kasey, she didn't have the same uniqueness as Jayda did.
So yes. Love your imperfections, you are unique and don't ever be someone you are not.
Being imperfect is also beneficial so that you can learn from your mistakes. 1 John 1:8 says that if you say you are without sin, then you are deceiving yourself and the truth is not in you.
I know many verses on how no one is perfect, which I will reference the next time I am here as I believe this post was long enough already.
If you are perfect, you won't ever learn from your mistakes. You should use your mistakes as stepping stones at all times.
You are not perfect, but you are worth it. Psalms 139:14 says that we should praise God because we are fearfully and wonderfully made.
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This took longer to write, almost 3 hours, no distractions. It was worth it. like you are.
Have a good day or night! And I will hopefully see you next time.
Sunday 20th February 2022
Can You Handle It?
Hey guys, I hope you have been well. I certainly have.
God has been urging me to post today. I can't lie when I say that I've been a bit reluctant to do so because I literally posted just last week.
But it's almost been a month since I've posted on the Posts of Encouragement page, aka this one. Not on the main posts page, so here we are again.
Here are the next two topics we are going to talk about on Posts of Encouragement.
If I crossed it out, it just means that I have already done it.
Alternatively, you can just go on the Posts of Encouragement, Part 2 Page instead, if that's better for you. 😊
3. No One Is Perfect - And Why This Is A Good Thing
Why it's okay to make mistakes. And why having flaws is a good thing. I have many but I'm not going to reveal them. Okay maybe one - impatience. But I'm gradually working on that.
4. God Will Never Give You More Than What You Can Handle
Going in depth about 1 Corinthians 10:13, which says You are tempted in the same way all other human beings are. God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted any more than you can take. But when you are tempted, God will give you a way out. Then you will be able to deal with it.
So we are going to have two little switcheroos today if that is okay with you.
Ideally, we are supposed to be doing the No One is Perfect Post today, but we are going to save that for the next time I am here, which I can't guarantee when right now.
Today though, if you remember the title?
We are going to be talking about how God won't give you more than what you can handle. Which was supposed to be the title however I have changed it to Can You Handle It? because that's shorter.
I will also be going in depth about 1 Corinthians 10:13, which is the main scripture for this post today. I feel like I haven't analysed a scripture in a long time.
Inevitably, 1 Corinthians 10:13 most definitely won't be the only scripture for today, but it will be the most significant one.
That's why I have decided to switch things up a little today.
Because I haven't really analysed or gone in depth on a Bible verse in a long time, or at all. I changed the order of things and I changed the name.
So without further ado, let's begin!
As humans, most of us, if not all of us want things that are against God's destiny for our lives.
And when you somehow get that thing, you may ask yourself:
Even though Romans 11:29 says that God doesn't take back his gifts, I did say earlier on this website that he can actually deal with the person that he had given the gift to.
Here is an excerpt from the Stop Wasting Your Time post where I mentioned this. it's also below but I wanted to save you guys from scrolling because I am a kind person.
//
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 11:29.
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. As in God can deal with the person who he gave a gift to.
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.
//
I almost wrote Romans 29:11 instead of 11:29.
I know the address of the verse but not the postcode -- which is what is often said in my church if we know what a verse says but we may not know exactly where the verse is. 😆😅
When God gives you a gift, first of all, just know that it will make you happy.
In fact, happy is not even the right word. It won't give you happiness - it will give you joy instead. Happiness is temporary but joy is everlasting.
Also, in this case, when God gives you a type of gift, it's because he knows you can handle it.
I did say that I will make reference to the 1 Corinthians 10:13 scripture above. I just read over a little bit of 1 Corinthians 10, and I feel like I should add verse 12 in as well, which says the following:
12 So be careful. When you think you are standing firm, you might fall.
13 You are tempted in the same way all other human beings are. God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted any more than you can take. But when you are tempted, God will give you a way out. Then you will be able to deal with it.
Wow. Did you read that?
When you are tempted, God will provide you with a solution. Just know that temptation comes from the devil, however a way out of temptation comes from the Lord instead.
Like I said in the previous post on this page:
You'd be kidding yourself if you have said that you have never procrastinated before. Whether you've done so on purpose or by accident, procrastinating happens naturally.
Just like you'd be lying if you said that you haven't procrastinated before, whether on purpose or unintentionally, you'd also be lying if you have said that you've never been tempted before.
I was just about to say that temptation comes naturally. But it doesn't.
It shouldn't either, actually. If it does then that's kind of a cause for concern and that means you may need to reassess your entire relationship with Christ.
Being tempted is one thing, although genuinely acting on that temptation is another. Acting on a temptation can not just hurt you, it can also hurt the people around you.
So if I were you, I'd try not to be tempted at all.
If Jesus had overcome temptation, so can you. Satan had tempted Jesus in Matthew 4:1-11, although if I'm being honest, he should have known he had set himself up for failure because Jesus is flawless so there was no sure-fire way he would have fallen for any of Satan's tricks.
We shouldn't either.
2 After 40 days and 40 nights of going without eating, Jesus was hungry.
3 The tempter came to him. He said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written, ‘Man must not live only on bread. He must also live on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” (Deuteronomy 8:3)
5 Then the devil took Jesus to the holy city. He had him stand on the highest point of the temple.
6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. It is written,
“ ‘The Lord will command his angels to take good care of you.
They will lift you up in their hands.
Then you won’t trip over a stone.’ ” (Psalm 91:11,12)
“ ‘The Lord will command his angels to take good care of you.
They will lift you up in their hands.
Then you won’t trip over a stone.’ ” (Psalm 91:11,12)
7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written, ‘Do not test the Lord your God.’ ” (Deuteronomy 6:16)
8 Finally, the devil took Jesus to a very high mountain. He showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
9 “If you bow down and worship me,” he said, “I will give you all this.”
10 Jesus said to him, “Get away from me, Satan! It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God. He is the only one you should serve.’ ” (Deuteronomy 6:13)
11 Then the devil left Jesus. Angels came and took care of him.
I may have also forgotten to mention that this topic will have cross references with other topics, such as temptation, which I have just mentioned.
Don't think it's solely based on God not giving you more than what you can handle.
One very good thing about the Bible is that most verses will have links to others (hence the cross references in the passage above, credits to the NIRV version of the Bible which I use). Whilst some verses do work or function respectively, most have links to others.
Even the main scripture for today has cross references, which I will mention later.
As I have mentioned quite a few times on here, I like writing stories for a hobby.
Creative subjects are my strong point, but even then, I'm not good at all creative subjects and I don't want to be. Not all creative subjects might be part of God's destiny for my life.
I'm not revealing what I write. But I do write. Nothing bad or ungodly of course, but it's just really personal and I don't like sharing it.
So we're going to have a little scenario, or a mini story about God not giving you more than what you can handle. It's not in the Bible, I made it up.
There might be some made up stories I will use in this website. Just infrequently.
There are going to be three random people and their names are: Saniyah, Sevastiani (or Tiani for short) and because I'm Nigerian, let me add a Nigerian name. Jidenna.
I like using unique names for my stories because I like standing out. Just never the names of people I know personally. I didn't make up these names either: I encountered them somewhere.
In this story, the three fictional people are cousins. They're all 21. Tiani and Saniyah are sisters who visits Jidenna. Jidenna has a lot thrown at him and he feels like he can't go on.
It was around one o'clock in the afternoon on a Saturday and Jidenna's parents had gone shopping. One of them anyway, the other one was no longer with him. His mother had died last week.
Because it had been a while since Jidenna had seen his cousins Sevastiani and Saniyah, he had therefore decided to call them over. He had a lot of problems right now, and he didn't know who to talk to.
He was impatiently waiting for them, and this didn't seem like something he could have talked to them about on the phone.
In person conversations were more meaningful, which was something his mother had told him before she had died.
Eventually, the two of them had arrived, meeting them in Jidenna's dining room. They were coming for a sleepover anyway - their parents were going on a honeymoon. And they didn't want to stay at home alone either.
"So why did you bring us here?" Sevastiani wanted to know, sitting down on the chair opposite where Jidenna was lamenting over his life, after he had let them in.
Saniyah had sat down right next to Tiani, but Jidenna's silence was speaking volumes. There was a term called silence is golden, which the three of them were all familiar with. In this scenario though?
No.
Silence was concerning.
"Jidenna, is everything okay?" Saniyah had double checked, with the two of them staring at him in a disconsolate way.
Once again, he didn't say anything for quite a while... until he had cried unexpectedly.
Then he had mentioned his problems, which he had too many of right now.
"I have so many problems. Too much for me to handle. I can't handle it. My mum died last week, and she died with my siblings in a car crash." He had three of them. Now he was an only child. "My family is falling apart completely. I don't get along with my dad at all. My dad and I are getting evicted tomorrow, and he went shopping because we are almost out of food. My grades are slipping and I got fired from my job. I have insomnia and have barely been sleeping straight...."
And then some. He had gone on and on. By the time he had finished ranting about his problems, they had seemed 81 instead of 21.
His problems had seemed endless. Like an insurmountable amount that was just piling up and was never going to end anytime soon, or at all, much to Jidenna's expense.
Everything thought he had it all. But in real life?
He had nothing at all.
Long story short, before I become too immersed into the story and forget the purpose of this post 😅, let me quickly re-iterate what Jidenna said before he had very vehemently ranted about his problems.
I have so many problems. Too much for me to handle. I can't handle it.
God does not give you more than what you can handle.
We are the ones that think we can't handle it!
So if someone wants a fancy house, a fancy car, a fancy life, with a lot of money -- you have to ask yourself if:
1. It's worth it
2. If it's a part of God's destiny for your life
and 3. If you can handle it.
The next post I will talk about on the main page will be about how you can tell if something is according to God's purpose for your life or not.
Before I mention some cross references on the main verse for today, let me just quickly say something.
God does not call those who are qualified. He qualifies those he calls.
And if you are called and qualified by the Lord, just know that you will be able to handle anything that God gives to you or life throws at you.
Here are 2 Cross References of the main verse for today (1 Corinthians 10:13).
2 Thessalonians 3:3
But the Lord is faithful. He will strengthen you. He will guard you from the evil one.
2 Timothy 4:18
The Lord will save me from every evil attack. He will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. Give him glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Essentially, the Lord will save you from every evil attack and temptation that the devil might use against you.
If the devil has dirt on you (as in past mistakes and sins -- especially big ones), best believe that he can do anything and everything he can to turn that against you.
But don't worry, because with God, you will overcome!
This whole post today was about God not giving you more than what you can handle.
Alternatively, if you know someone that's dealing with a lot right now, then definitely help them out! I learnt in church today that you can sow a seed of helping. Just like Sevastiani and Saniyah had helped Jidenna in the made up story 😊
He may have called them but they still helped regardless. Don't wait to help someone, do it out of your own free will.
Lastly, don't be jealous of others that have what you want. What you want can hurt you for starters, not just that but just because someone can handle something doesn't mean you can too.
Also sometimes not getting what you want can be a wonderful stroke of luck. Don't forget that.
God finally wanted me to post my Gospel Playlist on here too so here we are. I don't really like posting it on Whatsapp. I'd rather do so here. I feel more comfortable.
That's it for today, I hope you were blessed! See y'all later, by God's grace.
Most likely March.
I also want to say a huge thank you to God for helping me out - I was stuck on what to say for a while but he delivered as always.
And a huge thank you to you guys -- Supernatural Superstar is on its way to 2K views, all thanks to you! We're growing :)
We getting bigger everyday! Bigger everyday ... no limitations, we taking over, we're getting bigger everyday! ♫
Saturday 22nd January 2022
Stop Wasting Your Time
Happy New Year!
This is the first time I will post on this page this year but this will be the second time I've been here since the start of the year.
As this is the first time that I am posting on my pages section this year, I have therefore decided to start it off with an extemporaneous (done without preparation) Post of Encouragement - Part 3!
It's unprepared because I wasn't planning on doing a Posts of Encouragement, Part 3. The idea just came to me now.
I hope you have been well.
And in case life has been throwing a lot of things at you and you feel like you can't go on:
I haven't been feeling the best lately (I've been unwell) but I don't want to go into how. God wanted me to post today so here we are. I just woke up from a nap, which I have been taking a lot of lately.
Thankfully I'm feeling better so I'm very grateful. I have placement on Monday where I have to go to a primary school (I love babies and young children), so I was praying to feel better before then.
As I love babies so much, here is a picture of one I found online.
My course is literally based on them and I couldn't be happier.
Today we are going to be talking about how you should stop wasting your time and how you should stop procrastinating.
You'd be kidding yourself if you have said that you have never procrastinated before. Whether you've done so on purpose or by accident, procrastinating happens naturally.
That's alright though, because today we are going to talk about how you can overcome it.
If it is done too much, then procrastinating could unfortunately become a force of habit. It should never be a force of habit.
But don't worry. To quit procrastinating isn't impossible, although it might be hard, depending on who you are.
Here is a list of what we're going to be talking about in these Posts of Encouragement. If it has been crossed out then it means I have already done it.
I would remove it completely but that means that I will have to redo the numbering again which I don't want to do. If you want links to the post then I will do so below.
Alternatively, you can just go on the Posts of Encouragement, Part 2 Page instead, if that's better for you. 😊
2. Stop Wasting Your Time - Today's one
This is going to be talking about laziness and procrastination - and why you should stop doing it.
3. No One Is Perfect - And Why This Is A Good Thing
Why it's okay to make mistakes. And why having flaws is a good thing. I have many but I'm not going to reveal them. Okay maybe one - impatience. But I'm gradually working on that.
4. God Will Never Give You More Than What You Can Handle
Going in depth about 1 Corinthians 10:13, which says You are tempted in the same way all other human beings are. God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted any more than you can take. But when you are tempted, God will give you a way out. Then you will be able to deal with it.
This is the order that we are actually going to do things in, so today we are going to be talking about procrastination!
Queen Aaliyah 💗
Normally when I finish Posts of Encouragement, I would go straight to Underrated Bible Scriptures again, but I wanted to get all four of these topics done before I do that.
So what is procrastination? And what are the dangers of it?
Procrastination is delaying something until a later date.
From Bible Reasons - Procrastination
Procrastinating about anything is not wise especially when it becomes a habit. It starts off first by procrastinating about one thing then it leads to procrastinating about everything. When you know you have things to do it’s best to organize yourself and make sure those things get done. Pray for help if you’re struggling with this area in your life.
This isn't directed towards anyone, so you shouldn't feel bad if you are a procrastinator and you do procrastinate. This isn't supposed to catch you off guard or offend you in any way. More so to help you.
This is for me as well, I can't lie.
Whilst I don't procrastinate too much, I can't say that I haven't done so before. I'm not a saint. This week has been an exception because I haven't been feeling the best.
Not just that - if you actually can't do something you said you wanted to do, for example say you are seriously unwell or you are grieving over the loss of someone (I pray that won't happen to you in Jesus' name) then in that case, procrastination is understandable.
However
If you have no good reason as to why you can't do something then procrastinating isn't a good thing, especially if you have deadlines coming up or even more importantly, you're doing something for God.
God wanted me to do a testimony in church the last Sunday of December at university (December 12th). He had been wanting me to do so all week, but I was procrastinating.
I didn't want to do it because I don't like talking in front of people. I should have prayed for God to give me the courage to do it, which I did after I had visited a friend there.
You know sometimes God doesn't answer your prayers because you still haven't done something that he has told you to do. This isn't always the reason as to why God might not answer your prayers of course, but it's most definitely one of them.
If God tells you to do something, he knows you can do it. Also, never forget Philippians 4:13, which says that you can do all things through Christ that strengthens you.
This is why God told me write this website. God knows I love writing stories as a hobby so he wanted to use my writing hobby for the greater good.
Bible reasons also mentions ways that you can procrastinate:
Ways you can procrastinate.
- “Because of fear we procrastinate about sharing our faith to people at work.”
- “Because of slothfulness you wait for the last moment to do something that needs to be done.”
- “We try to wait for the best time to do something rather than doing it now.”
- “God tells you to do something, but you delay.”
- “Delay in healing a broken relationship and apologizing.”
The green texts are actually another link from the website itself, you can have a look if you wish. Not by force though. ✨❇
I just mentioned God telling you to do something but you delay it. I just talked about procrastination in terms of God, now I'm going to do so in real life, using the second example.
“Because of slothfulness you wait for the last moment to do something that needs to be done."
What is slothfulness?
What is a sloth?
They are very slow creatures. In fact, if you put a sloth and a snail in a race, you wouldn't know who would win. It would probably take them 80 years to do a 200 metre lap.
So slothfulness in this case is being slow in something --> or delaying something. It means to be lazy, or not really being affected by any activities that are going on around you.
I just made up a poem right now about how you shouldn't be like a sloth.
When you've had enough
Still don't be like a sloth
'Cause they're slow and you know
They will never get tough
There's this quote I know that says "tough situations don't last but tough people do". If you are slothful, then you would never really be a tough person, as like I said, slothful means lazy.
Sometimes life throws things at you that requires you to be tough.
But you can't really do that if you are a slothful person because you'd most likely delay trying to find a solution to getting out of said tough situation.
You'd most likely have a whatever happens happens mentality which can become very dangerous within time, more so if you keep on having that kind of mentality- another thing I'm going to get into one day.
I'd do that this year, not sure when this year. Maybe Feb - March.
Being slothful spiritually could not just be about being lazy. It could also be about seeing bad things as good and vice versa. Isaiah 5:20 is strictly against this:
How terrible it will be for those who say
that what is evil is good!
How terrible for those who say
that what is good is evil!
that what is evil is good!
How terrible for those who say
that what is good is evil!
How terrible for those who say
that darkness is light
and light is darkness!
How terrible for those who say
that what is bitter is sweet
and what is sweet is bitter!'
I learnt something last year and it was just because the world approves of something doesn't necessarily mean that God does.
I'm not even going to mention things the world approves that God doesn't approve of, but just know it's mainly bad than good. It's not always good.
When Jesus says yes, nobody can say no.
Listening to this version of the song as I typed this
Think of it this way.
Slothful --> lazy --> backsliding --> potentially forgetting what is wrong and right
Please, don't be slothful. That's the main takeaway of this.
Not this post. What I'm talking about right now. This post is about how you should stop wasting your time.
Here are some scriptures about procrastination from Bible Reasons again. This isn't everything. They used 22 reasons; I am only going to use 5.
After I've mentioned these scriptures and analysed them in turquoise (as that is my favourite colour and also one of the main colours of this website's theme), I'm going to mention some dangers about procrastinating then I think I will end it there. If it's in red writing, I think Jesus said it himself directly.
Ecclesiastes 11:3-4 “When clouds are heavy, the rains come down. Whether a tree falls north or south, it stays where it falls. Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant. If they watch every cloud, they never harvest.”
Whilst the weather can be perfect, don't dwell on the weather to do anything.
There's this thing in English called "pathetic fallacy" which is when the weather affects your mood. In this scenario, it could also mean that the weather affects what you do.
When planting crops, you shouldn't just wait until it is sunny or until the weather is flawless. I mean, how many times has the weather reporters predicted the weather, only for them to be wrong because God had other plans entirely?
What is the weather is far from perfect for 2 weeks? I'm talking thunder and lightning. That doesn't mean you shouldn't plant your crops for two weeks. If anything, the two weeks you spend waiting could ultimately hinder your progress.
It would be two weeks behind in growing.
Proverbs 12:24 “The hand of the diligent will rule, while the slothful will be put to forced labour.”
The word slothful came up! Remember what we were talking about earlier?
This can link to Galatians 6:9 which says that you will reap a harvest if you don't give up.
But you won't reap a harvest if you don't even start to sow anything. It doesn't matter how long it takes for you to do something, and just because others are moving quicker than you doesn't mean that you are failing.
It's best for you to go slowly in the right direction than for you to go quickly and to stumble backwards.
Ephesians 5:15-17 “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”
Even if every one around you isn't behaving properly, that doesn't mean that you shouldn't either.
Beware, bad company corrupts good character. 1 Corinthians 15:33
Deuteronomy 23:21 “If you make a vow to the LORD your God, do not be slow to pay it, for the LORD your God will certainly demand it of you and you will be guilty of sin.”
Like I was saying before, when God tells you to do something, you must do it. I feel like this one relates to me the most.
He will also never give you more than what you can handle - 1 Corinthians 10:13
You are tempted in the same way all other human beings are. God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted any more than you can take. But when you are tempted, God will give you a way out. Then you will be able to deal with it.
I'm going to do a whole topic on this verse one day, don't worry. It's on the list of what I'm going to be talking about next on here anyway.
Ecclesiastes 10:10 “If the iron is blunt, and one does not sharpen the edge, he must use more strength, but wisdom helps one to succeed.”
Like I said, I'd be talking about dangers of procrastination. Then I'd mention some solutions and we will end it there for today.So without further ado, here are the dangers of them that you should most definitely be aware of.
From this website: Dangers of Procrastination
1.Anxiety
The stress of juggling deferred (delayed) tasks increases the risk of mental health challenges in susceptible individuals.
2. Fatigue
Sleep deprivation and rushing to keep up with deadlines lead to both physical and mental exhaustion.
3. Lowered self-esteem
Procrastination often causes underperformance, in turn triggering feelings of self-doubt and worthlessness.
4. Damaged Relationships
Missed deadlines and appointments can wear on both personal and professional relationships.
5. Career setbacks
Chronic procrastination keeps individuals from realising their full professional potential, delaying – if not derailing – career progress.
I've also decided to add my own one in there, which is guilt.
You could start feeling guilty, also tomorrow isn't guaranteed to anyone.
Life your life to the fullest, you don't know when God is going to call you home.
Tips for Beating Procrastination - from the same aforementioned website before
Procrastination can be overcome. We can short-circuit our natural impulses to delay tasks, and direct our minds towards being productive and proactive.
Here are some simple tips to beat procrastination and be a proactive leader:
They mentioned ten but I didn't want to do all of them.
A. Find your power hour
When do you do your best work? There really is such a thing as being either a morning, afternoon, or evening person.
A. Find your power hour
When do you do your best work? There really is such a thing as being either a morning, afternoon, or evening person.
Find the hour that makes you feel at your very best, at your most optimal mode of functioning, and set aside the time to do your most urgent and demanding tasks then. The power hour could simply be one hour of intense focus and productivity.
B. Set specific goals
Tasks seem threatening when they are broad and vaguely-defined. Deciding to “Complete the review of business plan” is just another way of saying, “I’ll review that business plan when I can.”
Make your goals specific, and set a deadline while you are at it. “Set aside one hour to review the market analysis of the business plan by 3:30pm today before meeting with senior management” makes the same goal more precise and appealing.
C. Disconnect
I think I’ll just check the news, or my Facebook feed for a bit. That brief lapse and redirection of your attention could very well stretch out into another full hour of non-productivity.
Try limiting your distractions – and that includes people who draw your attention away from the task at hand.
I don't know about you, but my screen time is 3 hours.
It's not always 3 of course, sometimes 4-5, but mainly 3. If yours is above 4-5 then that's slightly a cause for concern.
Don't let your phone cause you to procrastinate.
Disconnect from the internet, put your phone on silent, and tell others you are not to be disturbed during this time. Your brain will look for reasons to pull away from that important and demanding task; don’t give it an opportunity to do so.
D. Devote time to getting the right information
Decision-making time should be part of every proactive leader’s schedule.
Don’t underestimate how much time it will take to make a good decision. Excellent decisions take even longer.
This important time slot could be devoted to simply searching for the necessary information, consulting with those who have the data you need, or setting aside an hour to collate and summarise facts before to committing to a course of action. That said. . .
E. Don’t try to be perfect
Perfectionism is the partner-in-crime to procrastination. “I won’t start because it won’t be perfect until I say it is.” Wanting to do a good job is great, but striving for perfection rarely helps.
Paralysis by analysis occurs when we absolutely must have every single instance of information before making decisions.
Economists will tell you instead that our rationality is bounded – we can never have all the information needed to make the optimal decision.
This important time slot could be devoted to simply searching for the necessary information, consulting with those who have the data you need, or setting aside an hour to collate and summarise facts before to committing to a course of action. That said. . .
E. Don’t try to be perfect
Perfectionism is the partner-in-crime to procrastination. “I won’t start because it won’t be perfect until I say it is.” Wanting to do a good job is great, but striving for perfection rarely helps.
Paralysis by analysis occurs when we absolutely must have every single instance of information before making decisions.
Economists will tell you instead that our rationality is bounded – we can never have all the information needed to make the optimal decision.
Decisions may not be made at all if we only ever spent the time searching for information.
F. Reward yourself
F. Reward yourself
Celebrate small victories for having completed your tasks.
The reward may be a short conversation with a colleague, a stroll to a nearby café for a coffee pick-me-up, or maybe a larger reward such as treating yourself to a movie.
Let your brain know that you will reward it for focusing and being attentive.
G. Don’t punish yourself
We will still end up procrastinating on occasion.
G. Don’t punish yourself
We will still end up procrastinating on occasion.
It happens to the best of us. Don’t punish yourself when you do.
Re-evaluate your goals, do a bit of self-reflection on the times in which you work your best, and try again. Your leadership responsibilities and demands are challenging enough. Cut yourself a little slack.
And biblically, you can confess your sins to God (Psalms 55:22), you can pray for him to help you and you can set limits on your phone.
I try not to procrastinate too much, if so it's normally by 20 minutes maximum. But henceforth, especially as I have posted this, I'm going to stop for good.
Occasionally I even procrastinate on this website. Last time I said I refused to update because I didn't want to. But today God said I should update sometime today and I did.
I hope I helped you today and encouraged you to stop wasting your time. To stop procrastinating might take a while for some of you, but that's okay, I believe you can do it!
See you next time! And I know it was long today but I believe it was very important.
Till next time
Lola xoxo
