WritersCorner

Showcasing Writer’s Pieces

The Art of Waiting on God

| Flo

Waiting for anything has become a lost art in this modern world that we live in today. What with the advent of cell phones that enable you, in a matter of seconds, to talk to someone across the globe, jets that can take one to distant continents in hours and microwaveable instant meals. The need for waiting has dimmed.

I have noticed that even for Christians, the idea of waiting on God for answers has become something outdated. We want to approach God like an ATM machine, punch a few buttons (mumble a few words in prayer), out pops our answer and off we go to run errands that we deem more important than sitting at the Lord’s feet and hearing what He has to say to us.

Back home in Zimbabwe, the shortage of basic commodities taught us the art of waiting in long queues to get what we need e.g., salt, sugar, fuel etc. The amount of time and the patience you exercise will depend on how much you value the thing you’re waiting for. In the same way, waiting on God is about commitment and the value we put on what we are waiting for. 

It’s also about fellowship, relationship and trust. Waiting is not a waste of precious time nor is it idleness. It’s a show of trust. What you are saying as you wait is that I have made my requests known to my Heavenly Father, and now, in expectancy, I’m waiting for an answer. It’s being fully persuaded that God will come through for us, no matter how long it takes. As we wait, we do not complain, grumble or murmur. We offer the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving for that which we are fully persuaded that God is preparing for us. 

Genesis 8:22 talks of seedtime and harvest time. After planting a seed, there is time that lapses before a harvest. We do not plant in the morning and expect to harvest in the evening. It would look ridiculous for a gardener to plant kale seedlings in the morning then in the evening, place a pot on the stove and head to the garden to harvest the kale for a meal. Yet, at times, this absurdity is reflected in how we pray as children of God. We are impatient for answers and expect them in timing that suits us.

At times, our answers come and the angels do not find us at our posts waiting on God for the answers. We are like a man who goes to draw money at the ATM, places his card in the machine, punches the buttons then walks away in frustration because there has been some delay in the cash coming out. Waiting on God is something we learn as we mature in Him. In this regard, we have an advantage and that advantage is the Holy Spirit, our resident tutor. He teaches us how to pray and imparts the patience to wait on God for the answer.

I have had many chances to learn waiting on the Lord as I have matured in my walk with the Lord. I have prayed for many issues concerning my family or myself. After prayer, I sense a peace in my heart or actually sense that God is saying, “It is done.” However, the physical evidence does not become tangible there and then. I have learnt not to petition God again and again about the same issue but to continue in thanksgiving for the answer until it manifests.

In conclusion, I just want to point out that our God us all-wise and all -knowing. He understands emergencies. There are some one-word or one-sentence prayers we send to God in cases of dire emergency and He responds immediately. For example, in Nehemiah 2:4, while Nehemiah was standing before King Artaxerxes and was asked what he wanted, he sent a quick prayer of guidance to God and was rewarded with an instant answer. Walk in the Spirit and He will be your guide in all you do.

about the author

Esnath Boora – A humble and loving woman of God. Bible-believing pastor. Mother of four. Spiritual mother to many.

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Peace through praise

| Flo

Obedience is key
To Jehovah our King
Great is your name
Holy are you, Lord
Hosannah in the Highest
Blessed are you, Oh Lord

Peace to all men
Peace to the nations
Those who call upon find rest
They find healing in Your Name
We find peace in Your Ways, Jesus

Father of nations
Hero among heroes
You are mighty in battle
Mighty to save the needy
Blessed are we who need You

You descend from heaven
To dwell among your people
You live within Your children
Our hope and delight are in You
Defender of the weak and lowly
Ruler of kings and King of rulers

We call out to you, Jehovah
Our cries reach Your ears
You are attentive to our needs
You care for Your beloved
Test us, know our ways
Lead us in Your ways

Blessed are you, Oh Lord
We find peace in Your Ways, Jesus
Blessed are we who need You
Ruler of kings and King of rulers
Lead us in Your ways



About the author

Flo Boora

Jesus follower; lover of life; story teller; adventurer; foodie; natural-born motivator; perpetual learner.

Déjà Vu

| Flo

A vessel without purpose
Hands without work
A beautiful mind atrophying
Something within longing to be birthed
Day in day out the clock ticks; it’s all circular
Round and round it all goes, starting where you stopped
Onwards and upwards, arriving right back where you started

What is the purpose of life? 
Wading through the muck and the mire
Won’t you please remind me
What is the point of existence?
On and on it goes; it’s all déjà vu
Rising to fall to rise again
Phoenix from the ashes
Methinks the phoenix exists to burn and rise in turn

Hope refuses to die
Stubbornly, it rises when it has no reason to
Peace grabbed hold of this vessel, won’t let go
A soul searching for something beyond itself
There has to be much more to it all
It refuses to give up much as it wants to
It was birthed for something more
The soul knows this deep within

Unshakeable hope and peace rising to take a stand 
But why rise? 
Why keep putting one foot in front of the other? 
On and on it goes; it’s all déjà vu
Rising to fall to rise again 
Phoenix from the ashes 
Methinks this life was set upon a rollercoaster
Destined to ride until the clock runs out

Or was it? Was it really?
Clock, who are you? What is your power?
Destiny, to whom do you answer?
Why should a life answer to you?
All bow to a greater King, the King of kings
He provides a vessel its purpose
Hands find their work in Him
On and on it goes, into eternity
Rising to greater heights, upwards into glory

About the author

Flo Boora

Jesus follower, lover of life, story teller, adventurer, foodie, natural-born motivator, perpetual learner.

Endowments

| Flo

Joyful obedience
This is what I yearn
Humble submission
This is what I long for
Grant me these gifts
Spirit of the Living God

An audience with my King
This is what I need today
Intimacy with my Saviour
This I exist for every day
Grant me these joys daily
Lord, lover of my soul

Knowledge of You
This is what I search for
To love and honour You
That’s why You created me
Help me with these things
Holy One, ever-present aid

Life in abundance
Full of lavish praise
I live to worship You
Beloved, You’re exalted
Shower me with more
Exceedingly more of You

Companionship without end
Leadership through the ages
Transformation into glory
These are your promises
You are Faithful and True
I wait patiently upon you
You who my heart loves

About the author

Flo Boora

Jesus follower; lover of life; story teller; adventurer; foodie; natural-born motivator; perpetual learner.

Faith

| Flo

It’s really hard to understand or grasp the concept of faith, how it works and how one has to maintain a mindset or attitude of faith in order to receive everything they want or to just believe before they obtain it. Faith in the bible is described as “having confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Hebrews 11 vs 1 (RSV). Faith is one word we ought to firmly believe in. It brings what we want into existence. Unfortunately, not everything we want happens, and that’s a topic for another day. With faith you are able to reach far and achieve all that you have set your mind on and even more. As the bible says, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” 

Faith carries us through difficult moments such as moments of fear, self-doubt, anxiety and stress. Faith is a gift that God has given us all and has to be activated through reading the word of God, praying, fasting and trusting that God has the best for us no matter what we are going through. It’s only by faith that we are able to withstand the arrows of the enemy towards us as we wait in Christ. We see this in the book of Ephesians where Paul encourages us to have the shield of faith always to block the darts of the enemy. Ephesians 6 vs 16, “In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” In the old testament shields were used in war to block the stones, arrows, knives and spears of the enemy and were important in times of war. Shields are made with strong iron so that during the times of war, soldiers will be protected as they use it. As you can imagine when going to war, you don’t carry just a normal shield made from any material. In this case, faith occludes the attacks of the enemy. We ought to have faith.

We see great stories of men and women who had faith and received what they prayed for, received God’s promises and also did miracles. Look at the story of Hannah in the temple, praying unto the Lord for a child. It is through faith that Hannah gave birth to Samuel; she believed and received. Hannah cried unto the Lord in prayer and she had faith that if I just pray and plead, it will happen. This shows another level of faith where you just believe it, no matter what is happening around you; you keep holding on to His word. Hannah later had Samuel who became a great prophet. 

Abraham became the father of all nations despite him and his wife being of old age. Let’s have a look at the story of Sarah and Abraham. Many of us behave like Sarah. Sarah looked at the circumstances and felt it was impossible. Many people in our generation have become like Sarah, looking and silently laughing at the current situation. Sarah even doubted to the point that she had to ask Hagai, who was the house help to bear a child with Abraham. At times we doubt and decide to assist God as we feel it’s too late or look at our circumstances which can be discouraging. Well, I am here to encourage you to keep holding on to his promises by faith and wait on Him (God).

Fear can delay us from reaching our destiny until we go back to the Father and wait in His word, and by faith we will reach the destiny. We look at our circumstances and age and have a good laugh. We must always walk by faith and not by sight, recognizing that nothing is too hard for God. Look to Christ more than you look at your situation, and believe it is done. At such advanced ages, Sarah and Abraham had a baby and named him Isaac. Now, that is faith in action; they believed and acted. We often lose trust because we don’t believe that God is not going to do what He promised. We operate on low levels of faith. Faith can be obtained through reading the word of God, meditating on His word, prayer and fasting. 

We moan and groan in pain caused by our own deeds, looking down upon ourselves, laughing at the words that have been prophesied to us. Having that seed of faith budding in our lives can become difficult because we want the seed to grow instantly. We go around personifying our suffering to the extent that it has subconsciously become our everyday language. We can become so accustomed to negative thinking that we cannot see change. Change begins in the mind and this is through prayer, meditating on God’s word, fasting, confessing words of affirmation from His word, and having the greatest tool – faith. It’s easier said than done but call unto the Lord and He will answer you and give you faith.  Change is accepting that you are a sinner and need God’s help in every area of your life. It’s never easy but He makes it easy once you talk to Him. He is always ready to listen and answer. He says, “Come,” to those who are weak, and, “I will give you rest”. 

Are you in doubt or fear? Are you losing faith? Remember this, We cannot eat in the palace with the King without knowing how to use the keys he has given us which are faith and action. Use the key of faith to open the door to enter into your answered prayers in Christ. The bolts to the door need to be oiled with God’s word, and polished with prayer and meditation to smoothly open it as you are willingly turning the key and waiting to open the door. Pray to God that he may reveal the areas you need faith, and may it grow, in His name. You will definitely laugh, cry, smile and be surprised at some of the areas He will show you. No matter how in-deep you are or how far you are, His love is too good to let you drown in sorrow or doubt. He’s waiting for you to call Him to water your faith and let it bloom into miracles.

about the author

Dorcas Kwaramba – Encourager! Chosen by grace; saved by his mercy. A firm believer in God’s word and his ever-present love. A lover of life and humankind. Story-teller, adventurer, natural-born motivator and perpetual learner – always sharing the echoes of life that God places within her soul.

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A Compelling Invitation

| Flo

From rags to riches

Consider a transient living on the street in a desperate state
Matted hair clinging together with filth
Skin darkened with dust and grime 
Overgrown nails on gnarly fingers and toes, days or weeks of dirt caked underneath
Hands are rough and worn-out; heels are cracked and dry
The clothes do not reflect a specific colour, a shadow of their former selves
Head bowed; shoulders slumped; it is a sad and sorry sight to be sure

Most of us would not associate ourselves with that person
Yet, outside of the saving grace of God, that person is us
We were in a desperate state, filthy with sin
We had nowhere to call home and lived under the darkness of our transgressions
We’d lost sight of our identity until we were a nameless and faceless transient
We found whatever work we could, working very hard to save ourselves
But that was not our saving Grace…

An eternally wealthy Man knew our plight and came to our rescue
He invited us from the filthy places we tried to call home to His home
A wondrous mansion that has everything one could ever need
In place of rags, He would robe us in finery fit for royalty
He would wash away all the dirt and grime until not one speck remains
He would trade the most luxurious perfume for the stench on us
A stench we’d become so accustomed to
Not only that, He would adopt us!

He would adopt us into His family, giving us a name
He would give us an identity, a future and a hope
From a grey existence, we’d be ushered into a colourful one
Celebration is the order of the day with much singing and dancing
The past would be a distant memory, a shadow. Had that really been us?
The weight of the world we would carry no more
He would have us live a new life with Him, lavished with rich and unfailing love
The price we pay? It is but an invitation after all, so just a yes!
Say yes to being His – His child (John 1:12), His treasure, His precious possession (1 Peter 2:9)
And you get to live a joyous life with Him forever and ever (Psalm 16:11)

What say you?

about the author

Flo Boora – Jesus follower, lover of life, story teller, adventurer, foodie, natural-born motivator, perpetual learner.

Walk with me by Flo Boora

| Flo
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All at once, the walls crowded in on me
You are mine, my hand is ever upon you
Closing in from the back and the front
I hem you in behind and before
From the left and the right they edged in
Have I not given you rest on every side?
I desperately needed to find an escape
I make a way where there seems to be none

Like a thick fog, the darkness crept in
To me, the night shines as bright as day
It descended on me like a dark cloud
I formed you in your mother’s womb
The sun couldn’t seem to break through
I know you and I know your concerns
Desperately I sought to catch some light
I am the light, your salvation. Come to me

I made the earth, placing much beauty in it
You created me in your wonderous image
Yes, I placed my divine beauty within you
Come walk with me, I’m here with you
I shall match your steps and your direction
I, myself, have set eternity within your heart
Then that shall be my destination, my destiny
Can two walk together, except they be agreed?

Walking in harmony with you is what I yearn
Place your trust in me; I’m the anchor that holds
Who am I that you show concern for me?
I AM the Lord who made and adopted you as mine
Truly I am blessed and favoured by the Most High
You’re like a tree planted beside a quiet stream
I shall bloom and be fruitful where I’m planted
You shall never wither, prospering in all you do

About the author

Flo Boora – Jesus follower, lover of life, story teller, adventurer, foodie, natural-born motivator, perpetual learner.

Design Work of Art by Flo Boora

| Flo
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I am the blank canvas
You’re the Master Artist
You’re the Potter I’m the clay

Slowly, surely, I’m becoming
Becoming a masterpiece
A design work of art
Perfected by You

Excitement wells up within
At times apprehension
Yet I give myself fully
Fully unto my Master

About the author

Flo Boora – Jesus follower, lover of life, story teller, adventurer, foodie, natural-born motivator, perpetual learner.

At the Table by Rowyn Coetzee

| Flo
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Human being. A term we often use but we fail to exercise the latter part of the term, being. To me, being means, to breathe, to enjoy, to live, to be at peace, to be open. It is something we do not actively pursue every day. It is not something we think about in order to walk and live in but it is a state of heart and a way of living. Sadly, this is not the narrative for most people and I ask myself continually why this is.

I would imagine that when we were born, we were born pure. No walls built. No coping mechanisms to cope with trauma. No protection from the possibility of pain. We were just being in the purest form of what living could look like. But we were born into a world that is filled with broken people who end up hurting others and we grow up learning what it means to protect ourselves instead of growing up to enjoy community. I think we ought to protect ourselves with healthy boundaries within community, but we can tend to hang on to safety so much so that we isolate ourselves or keep everyone at bay because we do not trust. We think this helps but we were never meant to live life in isolation from community, but we were made for the community.

GIF by Kimberley A on Giphy

I grew up loving God and people and I am talking about deeply loving God and people. I soon came to realise that not everyone was as open to vulnerability within community as I was. Truth is, many people were hurt before and so asking them to come near a flame that could potentially burn them is like reawakening a pain that we ought not to bear. But it is important to remember that vulnerability is something that we need to cultivate within our relationships.

It is like the secret glue within communication that brings so much success to relationships. And may I also add that this has been the key to unlocking my deepest friendships to date. I have learned that I am a communicator and that incorporating vulnerability in my relationships are of utmost importance, especially if I view the particular relationship to be long term. However, even to someone who enjoys communication, vulnerability does not come easy. This is because it is an opening of oneself that can sometimes be accompanied by being uncomfortable and hesitant just because we generally do not give people access to these spaces.

Photo by Marco Bianchetti on Unsplash

There is so much more to community than just gathering around some food and chilling together. To be within community is to do life with people, and we all know how life can get some days. But doing life in community celebrates both spectrums of pain and joy alike and I feel as if we only want people to have access to the joys. But they will never truly appreciate the weight of the joy you carry if you do not allow them into those spaces of pain and sorrow. Not everyone is out to intentionally hurt us or break our trust. Some just don’t know how to do relationship or community. But like my good friend, Lauren, always says, we need to teach people how to love us. Sometimes people hurt out of ignorance and not malice, but we need to be willing to journey together to create healthy two-way relationships.

I remember in Psalm 23 that God prepares a table for us in the presence of our enemies. So often I have heard this scripture being shared but somehow, there is always a focus on the table being prepared in the midst of our enemies and not the table itself. This year the Lord gave me this word as an encouragement for 2021. He started revealing to me that it is at the table where we share pain and joy alike. It is at the table where we are celebrated. No one is invited out of obligation to the table but everyone who is at the table is wanted. There is community at the table and we serve one another at the table. What am I trying to say here? I am saying that as we live life from the table in fellowship with God, we must not forget that there are others seated at the table as welcomed as you are. This is family. We were made for this.

Photo by Wylly Suhendra on Unsplash

So journeying through your life, who are the people that you can call community? And once you have identified them, can you say that you have opened up to vulnerability to take those relationships deeper? There is so much more, beloved. People are gifts sent to the earth and we ought to explore and cherish those we love and value.

About the author

Rowyn Coetzee is a creative, lover of people, music and laughter. Pursuer of childlikeness and not childishness. 

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