NAVIGATING THROUGH THESE TIMES OF UNCERTAINTY
We thank God again for his faithfulness in providing and protecting us in 2024.
In 2024, I personally felt God was asking me to grow in my understanding of the phrase ‘the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you’. I tried encouraging the church in this. However, as we end the year 2024 and prepare to get into 2025, I strongly sense that the Lord would want me to continue to grow in the understanding and practice of the fellowship of the Holy Spirit but also to know that as we get closer to the return of our Lord Jesus Christ, we will observe more of the signs of his coming.
This coming year, 2025, there are going to be 2 major things happening among others. One is an increase in wars and rumours of wars. From 2022 to date, there have been several wars and this is likely to continue. We need to keep praying for peace. China is threatening to go to war against Taiwan, Israel will likely not allow Iran to continue with their nuclear programme, neither will they allow the Houthi rebels in Yemen have the freedom to fire long range missiles at Israel whenever they feel like it.
There is so much at stake. There is also the possibility of North Korea attacking their neighbours. The times are very uncertain.
The second major happening to look out for in 2025 is the likely increase in fake news, lies and deception especially as we fully move into the AI (artificial intelligence) era. At the moment people are unsure about what is true and what is false and there are lots of people that are confused and full of anxiety in the world and potentially in the church if care is not taken.
I spoke recently at our men’s breakfast meeting at church encouraging the men to fact check every information they get before passing or forwarding it to someone else as there is a lot of false information out there being peddled as truth.
It is important for us to know as God’s people what he is saying to us.
But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. 1 Thessalonians 5.4-6
The scripture above tells us who we are (children of light) and what we should be doing (be awake and sober). This is the key to how we should navigate this season. We are not to be shopping for prophetic words or living in fear, confusion or darkness. We are all children of light.
And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armour of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh. Romans 13.11-14
This scripture shows that even though we are children of light, it is possible to be in slumber and having the deeds of darkness on instead of putting on the armour of light or clothing ourselves with the Lord Jesus as we are encouraged to do.
Putting on the armour of light, in other words, clothing ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ allows us to remain awake, sober and behaving decently as in the daytime.
How do we do this?
As mentioned earlier, 2024 was about growing in the understanding and practice of ‘the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you. This coming year, 2025, in addition to fellowshipping with the Holy Spirit, there are three other things I believe the Lord would want us to take on board.
- Dwelling in the secret place
- Living in constant consecration
- Aligning with heaven and the programme of God
These three things will ensure that we are constantly clothed with the armour of light and able to navigate through these uncertain times and will also keep us in a place of bringing God’s light into areas of darkness.
In this write up, I will be summarising these three things but hope to speak about them in more detail throughout 2025.
- Dwelling in the Secret Place
..who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen. 1 Timothy 6.16
God is described as living in a light that is so brilliant that no human can approach him. The verse also states that no human eye has ever seen God nor ever will.
For us to put on and constantly wear the armour of light, we have to learn to not only approach this unapproachable light but to live in this light. But thanks to God, we do not approach as mere humans but as children of light, blood bought and blood washed. We approach in our new creation identity (1 Corinthians 5.17, 3.3-4).
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 1 John 1.5-7
God is already in the light, that is who he is and where he dwells. In Psalm 91.1, it’s also referred to as the secret place of the Most High. As we choose truth, transparency, honesty, openness, humility and repentance, we walk in the light. When we do this, we not only walk in fellowship with him, but with one another and the blood of Jesus automatically cleanses us from all sins and we get infused with light as children of light. This is the light we take into the darkness of this world.
I must emphasise the fact that we do not just visit the secret place from time to time but that we need to learn to live there.
He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91.1
This Psalm is not about visits but is about dwelling. We are to live, dwell or abide there.
Moses, in Psalm 90.1, reiterates this when he says, ‘Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.’ The question then is, how do we dwell in the secret place?. In a practical sense – by praying without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5.17). This is a phrase that means to have a constant awareness of God’s presence and to make prayer a priority in our lives by praying in every situation, praying everywhere (sometimes silently), praying often, being aware of God always, praying for others, being constantly thankful etc. Basically, creating a lifestyle of prayer. In addition, we need to have a regular time and place of prayer.
But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. Matthew 6.6
Our Father lives in the secret place. When we choose to live with him in that place through a lifestyle of prayer, we get infused with his light, power and anointing. The passage in 2 Kings 4.3-6 shows that the oil of anointing overflows in the secret place.
But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.1 Peter 4.7
Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed. Mark 1.35
From the above passages, we see that Jesus lived in the secret place through his lifestyle of prayer and we will not have it any different.
- Living a Life of Consecration
Consecration is the action of making or declaring something as sacred. It is a separation of something or someone for special or uncommon use. In the old testament, utensils or items used in the tabernacle (later the temple) were consecrated through being sprinkled with blood or anointed with oil and set apart for use only in the service of God.
We also see that priest, prophets and kings as well as people with special skills for the construction of the tabernacle or temple were anointed or set apart for the special purpose of serving God.
God through the sacrifice of Jesus has called us out of darkness into his marvellous light and also anointed us with his Holy Spirit and declared us holy and righteous. He wants us to continue to live a life of holiness and righteousness through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit within us.
However, just as dust settles on surfaces or just as feet get dusty as we walk around, we also attract and accumulate the dust of worldliness and the flesh as we interact with this world and so we need to constantly wash or allow Jesus to wash us with the washing of water with his word.
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. Ephesians 5.25-27
Jesus said to him, “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” John 13.10
This is a process the bible also calls sanctification It is the work of the Holy Spirit who brings conviction to our spirit and conscience. Presenting ourselves for this washing is a form of consecration. We give the Holy Spirit permission to search us and highlight anything that displeases God.
Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139.23-24
We repent of things the Holy Spirit highlights and receive cleansing and washing by the blood of Jesus and the word of God so we receive strength to live a separated life with God.
Apart from the dust of worldliness and the flesh, we have a tendency for our hearts to go astray and accumulate all kinds of idols.
Therefore I was angry with that generation, and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart,
And they have not known My ways.’ Hebrews 3.10
Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 1 Corinthians 10.14
Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen. 1 John 5.21
Consecration always helps us to stay in the light rather than wander back into darkness. In the old testament, any time God did something major in the live of his people, he would first call them to consecrate their lives. We see this in the following scriptures:
Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there; and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.” And Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments. Then let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me in the way which I have gone.” So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hands, and the earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree which was by Shechem. And they journeyed, and the terror of God was upon the cities that were all around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. Genesis 35.1-5
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes. And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. Exodus 19.10-11
And Joshua said to the people, “Sanctify ourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” Joshua 3.5
And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth. John 17.19
- Aligning with Heaven and the Program of God
Therefore I was angry with that generation, and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, and they have not known My ways.’ Hebrews 3.10
Here we see how easily our hearts can wander and go astray. We can suddenly move out from focussing on God straight into our own agenda. For instance, in Joshua’s time, out of all the adults that left Egypt, only Joshua and Caleb made it into the promised land. The rest died in the wilderness due to a lack of wholeheartedness.
For us to walk in the fullness of all that God has for us, we must learn to align with heaven and God’s programme by living like Jesus lived.
Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did. 1 John 2.6
The question then is, how did Jesus live?
I am going to answer this question by listing a number of passages that describe how Jesus lived.
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Philippians 2.6-8
“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. John 4.34
Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does”. John 5.19
“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” Luke 22.42
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Mark 1.35
The scriptures above give us a glimpse into the life of Jesus He lived totally dependent on the Father, submitting himself and his will to the Father and choosing to do the will of the Father instead. He lived in complete alignment with heaven and the programme of the Father. He maintained unbroken fellowship with the Father through his obedience and did not give room to the devil. Hence the devil could not place or put anything in his heart that could be used against him
I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me, but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me….John 14.30-31
Conclusion
To live and walk in the light and be a glory carrier as stated in Isaiah 60.1-3, we need to live as Jesus lived. This looks like living the beatitudes of Matthew 5.6-7. It looks like living full of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. It looks like dwelling in the secret place, living a life of daily consecration and living in complete alignment with the programme of heaven. This is how we navigate through these uncertain times.
Sam Onyenuforo