The Working Word

Your relationship with God is not an isolated part of your life. It is at the centre. It is the substratum that supplies and feeds all other aspects of your life.

It doesn’t mean you have to turn your office or business into a church or religious centre but at the heart of everything you do is an understanding that apart from Him, you are nothing.

Good morning!

Olufemi Babalola

As we set sail into the uncharted waters of a new year, I can't help but think of our lives as a grand voyage—one where we're all given a ship with sails made of dreams, and the weather forecast predicts a chance of cosmic storms and unexpected waves.

Now, imagine you're the captain of your ship, navigating through the seas of uncertainties, and every wave seems to insist on doing the tango with your vessel. It's in these moments of nautical chaos that we all yearn for an anchor—something to keep us from drifting too far into the Bermuda Triangle of existential confusion.

Sadly, people are drifting. Many have lost their anchor. The times have become delicately perilous and people are being shaken. People are dying. Businesses are shutting down. There is mass immigration and emigration of people from nation to nation as people search for survival. Marriages are breaking. Inflation is rendering people's income useless. It is quite a challenging time.

Spiritually, some people are losing their faith in God. Financially, people do not have enough to meet their numerous needs. Psychologically, people are losing their mental health as they have a lot to deal with.

But in the face of all these, God wants you to remain unfazed, calm and unmoved. God wants you to remain stable. He doesn't want you to be at the mercy of trends and the instability in the world around you.

Psalm 62:5-6 says, “𝑀𝑦 𝑠𝑜𝑢𝑙, 𝑤𝑎𝑖𝑡 𝑠𝑖𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑙𝑦 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑒, 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑦 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑠 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝐻𝑖𝑚. 𝐻𝑒 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑖𝑠 𝑚𝑦 𝑟𝑜𝑐𝑘 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑚𝑦 𝑠𝑎𝑙𝑣𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛; 𝐻𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑚𝑦 𝑑𝑒𝑓𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑒; 𝐼 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑏𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑑.”

The Psalmist seems to be in a situation that is seeking to shake and move him but he resolved, I Shall Not Be Moved.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐈𝐬 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐧

You see, it is not about what is happening around you, it is about what is happening within you. It is not about the crisis, it is about your spirit. The target is your inner man. It is a fight for your mind. As long as you can maintain your inner stability, the external and environmental upset will soon submit to your steadfastness.

So, the goal of the enemy is to move you, to shake you and destabilize you. He wants to make you restless. He wants to get your mind so agitated, anxious and distracted that you can become weakened in your spirit. He knows that when your spirit is weak, he can gain entrance into your life and perpetuate his evil agenda. You must not allow him. You must not be moved.

𝐁𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞!

To be moved is to be shaken, disturbed, troubled, confused, restless, confounded and agitated. When you are moved, you are unstable and you don’t know what to do. There is an emotional imbalance. You are stressed!

Jesus in John 14:1 said, “𝐿𝑒𝑡 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑏𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑏𝑙𝑒𝑑…” In other words, you should not allow your heart to become disturbed or agitated. Jesus’ words here indicate that you can determine the state of your heart. How your heart functions is within your control.

You can decide whether it will be troubled or not. Jesus said don't allow it to be agitated. Instead, “...believe in God.”

Paul wrote to the Corinthian church encouraging them to “...be steadfast, immovable…” (1 Corinthians 15:58). God knows there will be happenings seeking to shake and move you but you must remain steadfast and immovable. You must be like Paul who in Acts 20:24 said, “But none of these things move me…”

Paul was dealing with some things at the time yet he resolved that none of them would be potent enough to move him. In Romans 8:35, he asked, ‭"𝑊ℎ𝑜 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑠𝑒𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑢𝑠 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝐶ℎ𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑡? 𝑆ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑏𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝑜𝑟 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠, 𝑜𝑟 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝑜𝑟 𝑓𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑒, 𝑜𝑟 𝑛𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑑𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠, 𝑜𝑟 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑙, 𝑜𝑟 𝑠𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑑?"

I don’t know how many things you are currently dealing with. I wouldn't know if what you are grappling with includes tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril or sword. Paul said, "𝑌𝑒𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑤𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑟𝑜𝑟𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝐻𝑖𝑚 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑢𝑠" (Romans 8:37).

Most of us wouldn’t count ourselves as victors or conquerors while we are going through challenges. We always wait until the moment we are finally out of them. Paul had a different perspective. He believed that he was a victor while he was still “in all these things.” If you are not a victor while you are going through your challenges, you probably won’t feel like a victor when you are out of them.

Paul was simply saying these things are not strong enough to move me. "...𝐼 𝑎𝑚 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑢𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑛𝑒𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ 𝑛𝑜𝑟 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒, 𝑛𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑙𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑟 𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑖𝑝𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑟 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑠, 𝑛𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑛𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒, 𝑛𝑜𝑟 ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑛𝑜𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑡ℎ, 𝑛𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑒 𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑒𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑢𝑠 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑐ℎ 𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝐶ℎ𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑡 𝐽𝑒𝑠𝑢𝑠 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝐿𝑜𝑟𝑑" (Romans 8:38).

Make a list of the things seeking to move or shake you and speak to them as Paul did, "But none of these things move me…”

Job faced tremendous trials and tribulations from losing all his properties, his children, his health and the support of his wife, yet Job remained steadfast. He was unmoved in his faith in God. He said, "𝑇ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝐻𝑒 𝑠𝑙𝑎𝑦 𝑚𝑒, 𝑦𝑒𝑡 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝐼 𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝐻𝑖𝑚" (Job 13:15).

Joseph was betrayed by his brothers, they tore his coat of many colours, threw him into a pit, and sold him as a slave to Egypt. In Egypt, he was falsely accused and thrown into prison. But he was unmoved!

This is the disposition, the attitude and the spirit that God wants you to adopt as we begin a new year. You must be that person who is unmoved no matter what happens.

𝗞𝗲𝘆𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆

The question is, How were all these men able to remain stable in the face of tremendous trials and troubles? How can you also maintain your cool when everything around you is becoming uncool? How do you remain stable despite the instability all around? Here are three things to consider if you will not be moved;

𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝑴𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝑹𝒆𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒗𝒆 𝑵𝒐𝒕 𝑻𝒐 𝑩𝒆 𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝒐𝒓 𝑴𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅

Maintaining your stability despite the instability in the world begins with a strong resolution. You need to make up your mind where you will be irrespective of what happens. When the Psalmist said "I shall not be moved" in Psalm 62:6, he was resolving never to be disturbed by whatever happens. He has decided where he is going to be no matter what happens.

Most times, we leave room for negative options! If you will not be moved, you must resolve not to be moved in advance no matter what happens.

One of the things that helped Job through his season of gruesome trial was his resolution. He seems to have made up his mind that he would never deny God no matter what happens to him. Even when his wife advised him to curse God and die, he stood his ground.

‭‭Habakkuk‬ ‭3:17‭-‬19 is one of my favourite scriptures. It is about someone who has resolved not to be moved. It says,

"𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘨 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘮, 𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴; 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥𝘴 𝘺𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥; 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴— 𝘠𝘦𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘫𝘰𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩; 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘵, 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴."

Your resolution will give you stability no matter what's going on around the world. Make up your mind like the Psalmist and declare, "I shall not be moved."

Look at another resolution of the Psalmist in ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭46:1‭-‬3‬,

"𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑖𝑠 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑢𝑔𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ, 𝐴 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑝 𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑏𝑙𝑒. 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑤𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑓𝑒𝑎𝑟, 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡ℎ 𝑏𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑑, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑠 𝑏𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑖𝑑𝑠𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑎; 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑟𝑜𝑎𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑏𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑏𝑙𝑒𝑑, 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑠 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑠𝑤𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔."

What if things get worse? What if the prices of goods didn't come down? What will happen "even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling?" The Psalmist said, “...we will not fear..” In other words, we will not be moved.

It is up to you! As for me, I have resolved, it is either I win or I win. It doesn't matter what happens in the new year. These are my options. I have made up my mind that I shall not be moved. What is your decision?

𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝑴𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝑯𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝑨𝒏 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝑹𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑮𝒐𝒅.

An Intimate relationship with God is indispensable if you will not be moved.

You will never be stable except you are constantly in tune with God. You need to hear God's voice daily if you will not be overwhelmed by the noise from the world around you.

When the Psalmist said, "I shall not be moved" in Psalm 62:6, it wasn't just a statement coming from an unfounded courage. There is a jurisdiction for that declaration.

"𝑀𝑦 𝑠𝑜𝑢𝑙, 𝑤𝑎𝑖𝑡 𝑠𝑖𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑙𝑦 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑒, 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑦 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑠 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝐻𝑖𝑚. 𝐻𝑒 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑖𝑠 𝑚𝑦 𝑟𝑜𝑐𝑘 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑚𝑦 𝑠𝑎𝑙𝑣𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛; 𝐻𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑚𝑦 𝑑𝑒𝑓𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑒; 𝐼 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑏𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑑" (Psalm 62:5-6).

He was speaking out of the confidence of a strong, stable and consistent relationship with God. He waits on God alone.

Friend, "...𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑡ℎ𝑠 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑓𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑏𝑒 𝑤𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑦, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑒𝑛 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑢𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑙𝑦 𝑓𝑎𝑙𝑙, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑤𝑎𝑖𝑡 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐿𝑜𝑟𝑑 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑤 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ; 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 𝑢𝑝 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑒𝑎𝑔𝑙𝑒𝑠, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑟𝑢𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑏𝑒 𝑤𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑦, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑤𝑎𝑙𝑘 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑓𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑡" (‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭40:30‭-‬31‬ ‭NKJV‬‬).

You cannot survive in the energy of the flesh. Don't put your trust in your money, your pedigree, your smartness or your connections. They can and will fail you. Psalms‬ ‭125:1‬ says "Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever."

This is not a time to hustle harder but to pursue God even more. This is the time to invest quality time imbibing God's word and communing with Him in prayer.

Isaac would have been moved when the famine hit Gerar where he was. He was planning to run to Egypt just like his father but because he had a flourishing relationship with God, he could discern God's will and he stayed even though there was famine.

What was the result?

"𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑏𝑒𝑔𝑎𝑛 𝑡𝑜 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑟, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑒𝑑 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑙 ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑠; 𝑓𝑜𝑟 ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑑 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑘𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑓 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑑𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑠. 𝑆𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑃ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑠 𝑒𝑛𝑣𝑖𝑒𝑑 ℎ𝑖𝑚" (‭‭Genesis‬ ‭26:12‭-‬14‬).

Your ability to walk intimately with God, hear His voice and obey Him is one of the secrets of this season. Those will wait on Him will renew their strength and remain stable.

𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝑴𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝑩𝒆 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒖𝒓𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒅.

The times are bound to shake or move you if you don't have a sense of the purpose of God for your life. Purpose gives you a sense of stability and focus. Purpose fixes your heart.

You will make decisions because it is what seems trendy or reasonable to take if you don't know the purpose of God for your life. You will be at the mercy of environmental forces. You will be tossed to and fro by everything or anything that comes your way because you don't have a sense of direction.

In Acts 20, Paul was giving a farewell speech to the elders in the Ephesian church. Then, he began to talk about the trials and troubles that awaited him in Jerusalem. They even pleaded with him to not go to Jerusalem later in Acts 21 but Paul said, "...none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself…"

Why?

Paul said, "...𝑠𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐼 𝑚𝑎𝑦 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑠ℎ 𝑚𝑦 𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑗𝑜𝑦, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑦 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑐ℎ 𝐼 𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑒𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐿𝑜𝑟𝑑 𝐽𝑒𝑠𝑢𝑠, 𝑡𝑜 𝑡𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑓𝑦 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑙 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝐺𝑜𝑑" (Acts 20:24).

Paul was not moved because he saw something bigger - the ministry he received from the Lord. The troubles of these times are bound to move you if you don't have a sense of purpose that is bigger than life itself. When troubles and challenges hit, you will have nothing to stabilize you.

You need to have a reason for living such that you are unfazed irrespective of what life throws at you. This is the time to find out the reason for your creation. Your purpose in life is the ultimate reason your life is going to have stability.

1 Corinthians 15:58 commands us to be "... steadfast, immovable,.." The question then is this; how are we going to be steadfast and immovable? The answer is right there in the second part of the verse, "...always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."

In other words, a commitment to the work is one of the secrets to being steadfast and immovable. Have you found your work? Have you found your purpose in life?

You are not created to make ends meet, God created you with an end in mind. You are not supposed to be working for a living, you are expected to be living for a work. Find the work and your life will experience stability irrespective of what is happening around you.
I ask the God of heaven to keep you this season, to stabilize your heart. May grace be released to you to remain faithful and unmoved. May you have the courage to stay when everything around you is giving way.

You Will Not Be Moved!

God has promised to uphold you as you take heed to His word. He promised you in His word,

"𝐹𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑛𝑜𝑡, 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝐼 𝑎𝑚 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑦𝑜𝑢; 𝑏𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑚𝑎𝑦𝑒𝑑, 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝐼 𝑎𝑚 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝐺𝑜𝑑. 𝐼 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢, 𝑌𝑒𝑠, 𝐼 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑝 𝑦𝑜𝑢, 𝐼 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑢𝑝ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑀𝑦 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑒𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑" (‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭41:10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬).

You will not be moved because He will uphold you. You need to believe His word because it works when all other things fall. Wishing you a stable and successful 2024.

𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫!

Olufemi Babalola

PS: The Working Word is a monthly prophetic bulletin of The Word Bakery. It is designed to inspire and help believers keep hope alive in the face of daunting life challenges. To receive it via your email, kindly check the link in the comments.

GO FORWARD

There is this toy that our twin boys have at home. When we first get it, they will fight over it. One will not want to leave it for the other. We often have to intervene for peace to reign.

But I noticed with time that the toy that was once the reason for contention no longer holds their attention. They got bored with it. Children need to be constantly supplied with a new set of toys to keep them excited.

From that experience, I learnt something profound;

The human spirit is not designed to stay in one place for so long or live with a particular kind of experience for a long time. We get bored. We get tired. We want new experiences. We want progress.

Don't blame the Israelites for murmuring or desiring to eat meat or longing for the goodies of Egypt until you have to eat the same kind of food, morning and evening, for 40 years. You cannot even eat rice, morning and evening, for one week not to talk of 40 years.

This is why you want a new house, a new car, and a new phone even though the current one is not that bad. You want a new professional experience; you are bored with the current routines of your current job.

It doesn't matter the level of success we have attained, there is always that desire for more. Your current level was once a dream. You probably thought you will be satisfied once you got to this level but I bet that you are currently not satisfied. You have seen another horizon; another goal that you want to achieve.

God wants you to keep going forward. You should never reach that point when your heart is not desiring to do more irrespective of age. You should be like Caleb who, at 80, was taking up the challenge of possessing another mountain (Joshua 14:6-13).

But here is what I have discovered, God's people can find themselves in situations and conditions that look like stagnation. One can feel confined and stranded. In Exodus 14:15, the Bible says,

And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward:

My concern here is that the people to which this word was directed were the children of Israel, God's own people. They were trapped between the impassable red sea and the merciless army of Egypt. It was at that time that the word of the Lord came that they should go forward.

So I inferred that it is possible to be God’s favourite like the Israelites and still find yourself in a difficult situation like them. Things can come to a standstill despite all you are doing to keep them moving and this is why God is sending this word to you that it is time to move forward.

The following are some of the signs and signals that show that you need to go/move forward;

● You Have a Sense of Arrival.

It is time to go forward when you reach a comfort zone. There is no longing, no desire for something more. You are settled down. You are satisfied with what you have achieved or where you have arrived. Look at what the Bible says about Moab in Jeremiah 48:11;

"Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed."

By verse 12, look at what God said he would do to Moab: "Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will send unto him wanderers, that shall cause him to wander, and shall empty his vessels, and break their bottles."

God hates it when you feel comfortable with where you are. And He will often challenge you or send challenges to you so that you can move forward. You either take up the challenge or expect challenges if He loves you.

This is why God in Amos 6:1 says,

"Woe (judgment is coming) to those who are at ease and carefree in Zion (Judah) And to those on the mountain of Samaria who feel secure…"

There is nothing bad in feeling safe and secure in a place but what are you using the safety and security to do? This is why God told the Israelites in Deuteronomy 1:6, "You have stayed long enough on this mountain." God was trying to get them out of their comfort zone. While they were on that mountain, verse 7 tells us that there were mountains ahead of them.

"Turn and take your journey, and go to the mountains of the Amorites, to all the neighboring places in the plain, in the mountains and in the lowland, in the South and on the seacoast, to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great river, the River Euphrates".

When you settle in your comfort zone, you are denying yourself the divine possibilities; you shut the door to all the things that God has in store for you.

Imagine that the Israelites settled on “this mountain” when there were “mountains” and “places” ahead of them.

What’s this mountain that you have settled in? Why have you lost your hunger and the desire for making an impact, a difference and change your world since you got married, got the multinational job or travelled out to a new country? God is saying it is time for you to get out of your comfort zone and go forward.

● You Feel Stuck, Stationed, Stranded or Stagnated

Feeling like you are still at a spot despite all you are doing is another sign that you need to go forward. When it seems like no matter what you do, you cannot go beyond the level that you currently are, then you are being called to go forward.

You have desired to break through into a new experience in your walk with God but all you have is this boring religious routine that has lost its life and vitality. Your income just cannot get beyond a particular level. Your business, ministry, or profession is just at a point with a particular kind of result. There is activity but no productivity. There is motion but no progress.

What God said about the Israelites is true of you, "You have dwelt long enough at this mountain" (Deuteronomy 1:6).

● You Feel Denied of the Things That You Deserve

You can see the things that you deserve in your heart, but you are too helpless to bring them into reality. Life is denying you what belongs to you.

Hebrews 5:11 says, "of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing." The author had so much that he wanted to say/write to them but he couldn't because these people were stagnant in their spiritual experience.

Perhaps, we would have had more chapters of Hebrews had it been that these people were not stagnant. See, it takes another version of you to enter the things that God has planned and prepared for you. If you remain the same person, you will not be able to access the things that God has in store for you.

● Your Manifestation is Not Commensurate to Your Age or Experience

Hebrews 5:12 says, "For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food."

The critical statement here is, "by this time." Is this who you are supposed to be by this time? There was a significant disparity between who the audience of this letter was and who they were supposed to be.

If you feel that what is happening in your life right now is far less than what you ought to be experiencing then it only points to the fact that you need to go forward.

● You Keep Stopping and Starting

You are always going back to the foundation, starting something new. You really do not have a considerable progression about a particular thing. You'll start, give up and then come back later to start again.

The writer to the Hebrews said, "Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation…" (Hebrews 6:1).

God doesn't want you to always go back to lay again the foundation; always going back to start again. No! He wants you to go forward.

If any of the signals or signs that I have listed above reflect in your life, the next question that should be in your mind is, “How then can I go forward?” The following are some of the things you need to work on to experience the kind of shift that you desire;

● Renew Your Mind

God was planning a promised land for the Israelites but their mind was still fixed on Egypt. They told Moses,

"Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness” (Exodus 14:11-12).

It doesn't matter where God is planning to take you, if your mind doesn't align with it, it will be difficult for God to take you there. Your first responsibility in going forward is to get yourself to start thinking at the level of what God is thinking about you.

You don't want God to say concerning you that "...My thoughts are not your thoughts…" (Isaiah 55:8).

Romans 12:2 says we are transformed as we renew our minds. In other words, when your mind changes, your situation will change.

Renew your mind through reading and meditation in the Word. Renew your mind by reading good and godly books. Renew your mind by visiting new environments that look like where you are going. Renew your mind through new and better associations.

● Connect and Provoke the Prophetic

One consistent way God has used to bring people out of stagnation and get them to go forward is the prophetic. See, you can feel so tied down that it will take the hand of God by the instrumentality of an anointed prophet to help you out.

Hosea 12:13 says, "By a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet he was preserved." And that was Moses. The widow of Zarephath was preserved in famine by a prophet - Elijah. The children of the widow of the prophet were delivered from the creditor by a prophet - Elisha. Hannah's delay in conception came to an end through a prophet.

The fact that there are a lot of fake prophets today does not invalidate the authenticity of the prophetic. May the Lord connect you with the anointed edge that will get you ahead in Jesus’ name.

● Pray Through.

I know you have been praying but have you prayed through? The reason most of us are not reaping the fruit of prayer is that we are unwilling to pay the price of praying through.

Praying through is praying until you get to either a tangible or intangible answer. By tangible, I am talking about answers that you can see. The intangible are the ones you cannot see but which have already been settled.

For example, the answer Hannah got from Shiloh was intangible. At the time when she received God's word through Eli, there was no Samuel but God's word said, "So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad" (1 Samuel 1:18).

One way you will know that you have prayed through is that you will no longer feel sad. It is what Philippians 4:7 describes as "the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding".

If you don't have peace about it then you have not prayed through. If you still get anxious, worried, sad and depressed about it, you have not prayed through. And you must continue to pray like Hannah until you pray through. You must become persistent like the woman in Luke 18 until you get justice.

● Take Action.

Act on God's word. Do what you need to do. Break free from indolence and the spirit of procrastination. Taking action is the only way to set in motion the things God has promised to you.

It seems to me that God is incapacitated to help you until you act. I was surprised at what God told the Israelites in Exodus 14:15 in the Living Bible translation. It says, “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Quit praying and get the people moving! Forward, march!.”

The critical word here is, Get moving irrespective of the fear, challenges and obstacles that you might have on your way. It was when the lepers at the gate of Samaria moved that God had a chance to turn the sound of their little feet into the mighty noise the Syrian heard that made them leave their tents.

As you trust God for forward movement, find out actions that you need to take now to create the divine momentum that will birth your breakthrough.

● Speak.

The command the Lord gave Moses was to "speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward" (Exodus 14:15 KJV). You can also speak to your spiritual life, your business, your ministry, your finance, your health and anything or any area where you experiencing stagnation.

By the words of your mouth, you can change the course of your life for "death and life are in the power of the tongue" (Proverbs 18:21). Speak and push that situation out of the mud into which it is stuck. It is time for you to go forward.

Hebrews 6:1 says;

“Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God.”

I want you to take note of two things in this verse;

The first is the word, “Leaving”. To go forward, there must be a leaving. The only way to know you have moved forward is that you can look back and see what you have left behind.

And that is what I see you doing after reading through this. I see you leaving where you currently are to where you are supposed to be. I see you leaving that bad habit, lifestyle, lukewarmness, fruitlessness, etc. I see you leaving your current status.

This brings us to the second thing in that verse. It says, “Let us go on to perfection”. In other words, you are not just leaving where you are, you are going on to something better.

And it is a “going on”. In other words, you will not stop again. Your ministry will go on, your business will go on. You are receiving the power and grace to be steady and consistent.

I also took note of the word “us”.

The writer understood that when one is going forward without the other, it will eventually impede the progress of the one going forward. It has to be collective and holistic progress. Your finances should not be stagnant while your spiritual life is moving forward. Your siblings should experience progress as you move forward too.

I want you to look at all those aspects of your life that have remained in a spot. Hold your business, ministry, spouse, sibling, etc. in the spirit and speak to them. Tell them, "Let us go on…" Let no aspect of your life stay behind.

And look at where God said you are going to - PERFECTION. I know you have heard people say it cannot be perfect but here is God's word telling you that perfection is a possibility. Romans 12:2 says you can prove God's good, acceptable and PERFECT will. Your health, family, spiritual life, and business can be perfect. Your life can be crisis-free. You don’t have to have something wrong that you are dealing with. God’s word says we can go to perfection.

Finally, Genesis 26:13 says,

“And the man waxed great, and WENT FORWARD, and grew until he became very great.”

This is what people will begin to say about you. This is what will become your testimony after today.

Your life, your spirit, your business, your ministry, and your finance will wax great and go forward. It will grow until it becomes very significant in Jesus’ mighty name. Do you believe in God’s word? It works when other things fail.

Happy New Month!

Have a great August!

Your Friend,

© Olufemi Babalola

-----------------------------------------------

The Working Word is a monthly prophetic bulletin of The Word Bakery . It is designed to help believers keep hope alive in the face of daunting life challenges.

To receive the next edition of The Working Word in your mail, kindly follow the link in the comments.

The Word Bakery is committed to shifting false paradigms to writing and publishing of content that promotes the Truth.

We train Christian Writers to fulfill their callings as writers. We also help pastors, church leaders and busy Christian professionals fulfill their writing dream.

Send us a mail via [email protected] or call us on +2347030869385.