By Funmi Komolafe

I begin today’s Joyful Homes with this cheering testimony sent to me with pictures.

Mrs. Ezenwa Esther        was blessed with a set of triplets; two boys and a girl.    She wrote: “A journey that would have taken me five to six years, the Lord    has decided to make it  in nine months”.

Apparently stunned, she went on: “ Where do I start from thanking God? God of signs    and wonders, God of miracle, I am short of words.    I never knew he would answer me this way.    Thank you Lord!”

In the mighty name of Jesus, in this second half of this year, your song will be, “ I never knew he would answer me this way”.

First,    we have some    lessons from the testimony of this lady.    Though, she didn’t say how long she    waited,      what is important to us here is that when Jesus      steps into that situation that has been    your source of worry, He will not only resolve the issue to your benefit, you can also overtake others.

Clearly, Esther, with the      birth of three children, has overtaken many of her friends.

Let’s for a moment imagine      what she must have gone through in the period of waiting.  Her friends or siblings must have been having children, many of them a child or at best      a set of twins. For others, they may have had daughters and desired to have boys. Others may have boys and  wished  to have at least a daughter.    I am not saying that a particular sex of a child is preferable to the other but, in this society, most people like to have both.

In the case of Esther, God gave her    male and female at once.    Just as she wrote,  what could have taken make many about six years to have three children, our merciful God gave her three children, male and female, in nine months.

Are you still in doubt about the awesome power      of God?      Esther’s testimony is enough to      cast out such doubt.

We give God all the glory.

Getting answers to our prayers –  This is an issue we cannot stop discussing especially when faced with challenges with spiritual      foundations.

How do we know that a challenge has a spiritual root? First is that if you have    taken every step that medical science has offered and there is no solution or if the challenge is tied to dreams or some strange occurrence that    cannot be explained physically, then you know that it has a spiritual root.

So, how then do we overcome such challenge?

I will share with you a sermon of Pastor Olawale, leader of the prayer warrior team of RCCG at Harken Unto Me O Lord.

Look beyond the physical –  Believers are advised to look beyond the challenge, which is also described as a storm.    Whatever is the challenge, a troubled marriage, a downturn in business or finances, waiting on the Lord for children or marriage partner, whatever name by which that challenge is called, to over come it, one must look beyond the storm.

Our assurance that the challenge has an expiry date is found in    Psalm 107 verse 28 :  “    Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and He bringeth    them out of all their distresses”.    Note ALL .      The word ALL    is an assurance that God is capable of taking care of all challenges without exception.

We are further    assured that    with God on our side, we are able to overcome all  challenges.

Joshua 1 verse 9: “ Have not I commanded    thee?    Be strong, and of good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed : for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest”.

This Bible passage      teaches us not to succumb to any challenge.      The one who wants to overcome a battle must be courageous.

Pastor Olawale simplified it when he said, “ Your mood      today determines your tomorrow”.      That one is waiting on the Lord for children,            marriage partner or a job    does not mean that one should always wear a mournful look.    Such physical disposition may even delay one’s miracle.

Focus on the one standing by you –      Pastor Olawale    suggested: “ Don’t look at the storm, look at the one standing by your side; Jesus.

Psalm 50 verses 14:” Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows to the most High.” Verse 15: “And call upon me      in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me”.

Our emphasis is on verse 15    since    in our previous editions we have discussed verse 14 .    Verse 15 itemizes the steps      to take and what follows.    The first is “call upon me”.  This call is followed with an assurance “ I will deliver thee”. This is followed by a testimony.

So, the word of God is      quite clear .    Take the steps and get the result.

According to Pastor Olawale, “ when you are surrounded by fire  (challenges),    there is someone by the fire    who cannot be consumed.    That is Jesus.    He is      our ever present help.

We find further assurance    in Isaiah 43 verse 2: “    When thou passest    through the waters, I will    be with thee; and through the river, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shall    not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee”.

This particular passage      assures that we have a God that does not forsake us.      It simply states that whatever we are passing through,      once we stand in one accord with our heavenly father, we’ll overcome all  the challenges.

Pastor Olawale also said “ when you are terrorized by lions    (frightening dreams), remember that the Lion of Judah,  Jesus, is by your side.

Are you facing a financial crisis? Look unto the one standing by you.    Those millions you desire to have may      seem    so difficult to obtain    but remember that the one standing by you has unlimited wealth.

Haggai 2 verse 8: “The silver is mine, and the gold is mine saith the Lord of hosts”.

Since our God is the custodian of gold and silver, your financial breakthrough is assured in the mighty name of Jesus.

Dealing with marriage storm-      For some couples, theirs isn’t about the search for children.    It is simply a breakdown of communication between them. For them, the wedding ring is shinning but the marriage is rusty.    This situation exists in some homes.  The reason for this could be that one of the partners has      failed in his or her marriage vows. A third party has been allowed to creep into the marriage and one of partners just begins to put on a non- challant attitude    while the other desires to keep the marriage.

In a situation like this, the one who desires to keep the marriage      needs to go the extra mile to be prayerful and patient.    He or she must      be determined not to be provoked    irrespective of what the other partner does.

More importantly, the willing partner must take prayer seriously.    At least an hour of praye is necessary everyday, asking God to intervene in the marriage and save it      whether or not children have been born into that marriage.

This is so important.

A troubled marriage is like  a boat on stormy waters but please remember  that once Jesus steps into the      boat, it will not sink. We have an example in St. Matthew 14 verses 30    to 32 .      It’s the story of    our Lord Jesus and his disciples on the sea.

It states: “ But when he saw the wind boisterous , he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried saying, Lord save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught      him and said    unto him, O thou of little faith wherefore didst    thou doubt?

Verse 32 “      And when they were come into the ship , the wind ceased”.

In the name of Jesus, every storm in your life shall cease.

You shall testify soon.