By Funmi Komolafe

Perhaps you do not realize it but today is the end of the first half of the month of October.  Let’s appreciate the goodness of God in our lives.

As we often say, the year is fast running out. That may be true but what is your speed in your spiritual life.

Are you crawling or running and this has nothing to do with age.

If you’re  running, what is the direction of your race, are you running from challenges? Or are you running to the Deliverer

Brethren, you are in a position to answer this question yourself.

Some people run away from the economic challenges of Nigeria to other countries in the name of Japa but the challenges that they are confronted with over there are worse than what they faced in Nigeria.

That is speaking about the physical.

In the spiritual, it is also similar. When you run away from challenges, you are most likely to face bigger challenges.

How do I know?  If you had a particular unresolved challenge and you begin to cry, looking like a mourner daily, other demons will prey on you.

Let’s go practical.

Consider a woman who has been married for years waiting on the Lord for children.  Naturally, we’ll conclude that she is unable to conceive.  That would be a source of worry.  If she and her husband are not in a position to pay medical bills for the usual tests, then her degree of worry is raised.

It wouldn’t be long before she is declared a hypertensive patient.  

From that point, other medical issues would show up and she would begin to look so aged and unattractive even to her husband.

Should this happen to any one male or female, the person may never testify to a miracle as he or she would also collapse spiritually.

What do I mean? When a Christian ceases to pray or fails to pray fervently, or stops fasting, because he is unable to overcome a challenge, that person has become a crawling Christian.

However, when we are confronted with difficult situations that seems to remain with us for long, what is expected of us is to intensify prayers.  Pray with more vigour, devout more time to prayer and make yourself a partner of Jesus.

No wonder the Lord Jesus said in Matthew 11 vs, 28: “ Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”.

He said, “ come” not crawl.  You have to be firmly on your feet to go to the Lord.  It’s either you run to him or walk confidently to him.   When you walk confidently, you are doing so with faith, belief and trust that God is able to help you overcome that challenge.

When we speak about running to the Lord, there are certain things that you may need to hasten the pace at which you are running.

You need to be focused.   There is also the need to be determined to put an end to that challenge.

A case in point is that of the woman with the issue of blood.

Her story is recorded in Mark 5 vs. 25-34 ( KJV).   For our purpose, we’ll consider, verses 25-29.

“ And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years,

And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse.

When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment.

For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.

And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague”.

She was determined.  She believed that the solution lies in Jesus. 

Note that the challenge had been with her for 12 years.   How long have you been waiting on the Lord that you consider too long. Probably not up to 10 years.  Even if more, what is important is not how long the challenge has been with you but your determination to see the end of the challenge.

Beloved, monthly period is a kind of bleeding.   It only stops when the woman conceives.  It is God that makes conception possible not any human being.

Ecclesiastes 11 vs. 5 lends credence to this. “ As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, now how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh them all”.

It is further confirmed in Psalm 127 vs. 3: “ Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward”.

Brethren, we are still discussing the need to run towards God.

It is someone that is tired of a challenge that runs to God.

For as long as you choose to crawl to God by praying when it is convenient or praying without the knowledge of the relevant Holy Bible passages, you remain a crawling Christian.   The more you crawl, the more the challenge sinks deep into your life.

Brethren, the importance of faith in your race towards the Lord cannot be over-emphasized.

The Lord Jesus said to his disciples in the story of the fruitless tree, Matthew 21 vs. 21 & 22:

“ Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.

And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive”.

Do not tolerate the shame of being called a fruitless tree any longer.

Begin to race towards the Lord in the remaining days of this year.  Run with  prayer as your trainers. Show mercy to the less privileged, worship the Lord with songs and praises.

Make meaningful vows that you can fulfill to the Lord.  

My prayer is that the Holy Spirit leads you and God gives you the grace to obey completely.

Brethren it shouldn’t matter to you what others say about you.

What should be of concern to you is what God says about you.

God commanded you to be fruitful.  Genesis 1 vs. 28: “ And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth”.

God said.  When God speaks like he did here, it is a command. So you must   bear children.

As the Lord lives before this year ends, you will have a result that will make you leap for joy in the name of Jesus.

Brothers and Sisters run to God in prayer.  Do not allow the devil to hold you hostage with barrenness.

Let’s key into the testimony of a lady whose had suffered series of miscarriages.

She had an ectopic pregnancy that resulted in the removal of one fallopian tube.

According to her, she fasted for 3 days, the result was that she conceived but she experienced bleeding for two weeks as a result of fibroid but she remained with God in prayer.

God kept the baby despite all attacks of the enemy.

She finally gave birth to a baby girl.

Brethren, do not be discouraged.  

God is available to help you if only you run unto him.

It is well in Jesus name.