Salvation -

WAit Until IT IS FINISHED

Stephanie — Mon, 25 Aug 2025 17:28:22 +0000

There’s not a mountain too tall
There’s not a problem too small
That Jesus can’t resolve
In time He’ll get involved
Our God He cares about us

So wait on the Lord
Wait on the Lord
Wait on the Lord
And He’ll renew your strength

There’s not a light too dark
A journey too long to embark
Jesus will see you through
In time He’ll make you new
Our God He cares about us

‘Cause He’s ordering, He’s ordering your strength
You’ve got to wait, you’ve got to wait

Wait on the Lord – Brandon Wilson

This is what my fiancé said to me, “This has taught me patience.”

The background story?

It was a simple renovation to a small apartment God had blessed my fiancé and I with. Or so it seemed. Our initial plan was to change all the windows and also give all the ceilings in the house a facelift. We wanted to change the ceiling from the original-styled plywood to a Plaster of Paris styled (P.O.P) ceiling.

I once heard someone say that construction work is never within budget. Can that usher over there hand that someone a microphone to repeat it?!!

I am convinced that two things never ever stay within a budget; a wedding and construction project budget. Lol.

The renovation project started small, and the plan was for it to stay small. However, before I could finish sipping my non-alcoholic sparkling wine, the budget for the project grew like a disrespectful forehead pimple that suddenly appears gets bigger when you have a hot date in a few days. No matter how much we sulked, the cost stayed and grew.

The good news is that the ceiling designs we chose for all the rooms including our small hallway were absolutely beautiful designs. But there was bad news as well. By the time the work was done, the ceiling in our hallway like my fiance put it, looked like “a monstrosity”.

Considering how small the hallway was, it looked like the Hulk in Bruce Banner’s clothes after transformation. It looked like “too much” in the small space.

The Hulk in Bruce Banner’s clothes

The inflated balloon of our expectation for that hallway design popped so hard it was probably heard in the “multiverse” lol (I need to lay off this Marvel comic imagery). The other rooms had turned out perfectly. We expected that this last part (the hallway) of the project would be the final crowning glory, especially because it was the entry point into the house. But alas! the monstrosity stole our laughter.

The Monstrosity that stole our laughter

I am not throwing my fiancé (now husband) under the bus but he entered into complaint mode. We started exploring all the options to remedy “the fault”. We considered removing the parts of the design from the ceiling that made it look ostentatious. “What do we do?” was the question. We were scared that we would be laughed at. We saw what looked like our dreams of a beautifully decorated place go down the drain. But like the pimple I spoke about, this too we could not remove. So we took comfort in the fact that we would own our mistake and brave it out as hardcore-we-don’t-give-a-hoot-what-you-think gang. lol. But we actually cared. Don’t buy our fake bravado.

Eventually, we just thought to ourselves, “you know what? perhaps the aesthetic was disrupted by the ghastly yellow and black wallpaper on one side of the wall and the wine-painted color on the other part of the walls” – features we intended to change but constituted the final stage of the entire project. So we decided to execute “Plan Mitigate”. We consulted with each other and some interior design blogging sites. We finally decided to go all white for the walls to match the white of the ceiling.

Good news! It turned out fantastic in the end. Once the ceiling lights were fixed, the distracting wallpaper and paint scraped off, and a new rich coat of all white paint applied, Voila! The true beauty of the ceiling popped. It stood there without all the distracting factors and it was a work of art. No more the monstrosity we had initially judged it to be.

Then my fiancé said, “I am so glad we waited. Imagine what we would have lost had we decided too quickly and interfered with the design. THIS HAS TAUGHT ME TO BE PATIENT.”

We learned a big lesson that day.

Anyone can be in such a place in life. In the small hallways of our lives, our issues, problems, projects, dreams and like matters may like the ceiling appear monstrous. They seem to overshadow the entirety of our existence. It can be a person who doesn’t behave the way we want them to. Or a season of pain, hurt, disappointment, and all the craziness of this life. A situation that looks ghastly at the beginning. Often, it becomes all we see. Yet, the beauty of that situation or person may be obstructed by all the other things happening around us. Unfortunately, we may judge too early. Act too fast. We sometimes act based on the fear of the opinion of others; scared to be laughed at. Sometimes it simply looks bad from certain angles from which we look at it.

But! If you would give it time. Wait. Wait till the end. The diamond in the rough will shine ever brightly. The value of patience is indeed great. Our perspective is oft times the main issue and not what we are facing. We need to consider our perspective.

It is not easy to be patient. Especially in our present world where everything and everyone is on a fast track race. Our perspectives are so limited. We can only see from where we stand. Unfortunately, where we stand is not always perfect. We can make wrong or hurried choices if we do not learn how to wait. The right attitude matters. The right motive matters. The right perspective also matters.

With our humble ailing project, a little bit of patience saved us from a mistake. We managed to avoid a greater destruction. Yet often, the issues of our lives are much more complicated than this ceiling problem. They are the stuff that can make or break us. The stuff that stretch us to our breaking point. And we often want to resort to our own ways to resolve them.

When Abraham moved too quickly, relying on his own ways ahead of God’s time, he made a choice that has had generational impact. He bore a son out of works. He bore a son out of his impatience instead of waiting in faith.

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land

Psalm 37:7-9

God wants us to wait. At the place of indecision, wait on Him. Why should we wait on God? First of all, he is not in a hurry. His timing is right. Secondly, he has the right perspective. He decides and designs all things from a position of perfection and so we are assured that we cannot get it wrong with him. We cannot lose when we trust wholly and completely in Him.

We have a perfect example; a perfect man who did not rush. He patiently endured having foresight of the end from the beginning. He already had a clear view of the grand design and the finishing of it. Therefore, He was unperturbed by the agitations happening all around Him. He trusted in His Father in Heaven – wholly and completely. He was unmoved by false accusations or praises. He did not judge by external appearances nor loose sight of what He knew to be the perfect end for Him. That man is Jesus Christ. He was never a step out of time. Every Christian is called to be conformed to His image; to focus on Him and imitate Him.

When He followed God faithfully until the very end, not seeking His own way, He finally declared “It is Finished”. Now His name is exalted above every name, having fulfilled the will of God for Him on the cross.

The post WAit Until IT IS FINISHED first appeared on .

Secret Hiding Place: A Bunny Found His. Have You?

Stephanie Asante — Thu, 21 Jul 2022 01:56:06 +0000

You are my hiding place. You always fill my heart with songs of deliverance. Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You. Let the weak say I am strong with the strength of the Lord.
Michael Ledner – You Are My Hiding Place

When I was little, I had the opportunity to own a story book specially bought for me. I remember going out on a special gift date with a lovely lady from my church to choose a story book as a gift. Entering that bookshop, I felt like I was in paradise. I was surrounded by all those stories I could dive into. The world of books was a wonder for me and I loved to go there. To be honest, faced with all those storybooks, my choice was for Hercules. Trust me. It was not because of his muscles! Lol.

Even though in my heart, I would have chosen the ‘muscled guy’, the giver got me “Toby Bunny’s Secret Hiding Place.” I can tell you for a fact that I never would have picked that book among the popular ones on sale. It was way cooler to own books on other more popular fictional characters like Aladdin, Cinderella, Snow White and so on than the unknown one I got. Well from my limited perspective as a child. But I love books and so I gladly read it. And perhaps, I got that book for a time such as this. God works in mysterious ways for sure. I read that book so many times too.

The story was pretty simple. I can remember it till this day. It became quite dear to my heart. Unfortunately, my family moved so much in my childhood that I eventually lost it. Anyway, let me get right into it.

We are introduced to a young bunny named Toby who sometimes wishes that he can have some alone time where He can be in solitude. For a little bunny, that is impressive grown up behaviour. One day, he decides to go out searching hard for places he can hide. Unfortunately for him, wherever he went, he found that it was just not right for him. In one particular scenario, he hid under a table yet, his older sisters found him there and tried to play games with him. All his efforts thereafter to find his hiding place were futile. Ultimately, he found a hole in a bush and determined that it was perfect for him. He entered the bush headfirst – happy with his find. Initially, he seemed comfortable there but soon he realised that he was stuck in it. He could not come out on his own. Unfortunately, he stayed stuck in the hole until evening time and that was when he really became afraid.

We are introduced to his father later in the story when he realised that Toby is missing. He found him stuck in the bush late at night all frightened and tired. He rescued him from the bunny-eating bush. lol. The next day, when His dad found out why Toby was hiding in the bush, he showed Toby his own secret hiding place. The story ends with Toby going there often as well to enjoy some solitude with and without his dad.
The End!

I do not know if you enjoyed the story but for me, remembering it makes me smile now. It carries such fond memories of my childhood. And the Holy Spirit inspired me from the story.

A few weeks ago, I learned about ‘rest’ in a women’s fellowship group I am part of. The subject of rest we discussed, reminds me of Toby’s predicament. Like him, ever so often, there are times that we just want to shut the world away. We are looking for a place of solitude where we can find strength and gain perspective. But the places we look for this solitude often falls flat on its face.

We find that the more we want a place to hide, the more exposed we become. Hiding in our jobs doesn’t help. Hiding in an addiction gets us stuck headfirst in a bush we can’t escape from. Hiding in earthly relationships only gets us more entangled in expectations we cannot fulfil. Hiding in food makes us crave even more and more. Hiding in money leaves us with a hole in our hearts even though our pockets are full. Hiding in things never seems enough. And before we know it, it is nightfall and we get lost – alone, and in a dark place we can’t get out of on our own. We want to escape the world through the things of the world yet we become lost in the instability it gives us and the circles it throws us into.

In Psalm 32:6-7, David learned a great thing when he contemplated all of God’s grace and mercy towards him. “You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.” In the beginning of the Psalm, David remembered how sinful he had been. He recalled how he had tried to hide his sinfulness from God hoping it would be dealt with. But he realised that the more he did, the more he said that his soul dried up within him. He needed a place of rest. A place of cleansing, and a place of restoration. David shares with us how he turned to God and how God restored him. From that, he joyfully declared a truth he had learned – that God was His hiding place. A place to hide from all things and people that sought after his life. A place away from the floodwaters of life. A place away from sin and evil. A place away from anxiety and worry. A place away from fear. In that situation, He learned that a hiding place is our Father – where deliverance dwelt. A place of complete rest.

In our story of Toby, when he was stuck in the bush till night. Hungry and lonely because he wanted a place of solitude, the one who went out to find him and rescue him was his father. And I love the response David also receives prophetically in the next verse after his declaration in verse 37. “The Lord says, I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.Psalm 32:8

God never takes His eyes off us. He wishes to show us the best way for our lives. The best path out of trouble. The way of rest. And do you know where that is? It is in Him! When Toby let his dad know why he was hiding in the bush, his father showed him the best hiding place. Right where he was. In a secret hammock that he had prepared. When Toby with his childlike heart and strength tried on his own, he failed miserably. His heart was right but his execution was wrong. When his father stepped in and showed him the place he had prepared for himself, Toby found a secure place to be. And now Toby had the privilege of going there when his father was or was not around to enjoy some solitude.

The story of Toby’s hiding place is beautiful. But we (and by we, I mean children of God) have an even more beautiful story because ours is real. We have a good Father who wants to be our place of hiding. Our place of rest. He desires to be the place where we come and lay down our burdens and take on His which is light and easy. A place where we have peace and joy. A place of love. A place without worry and anxiety. A place to put away the cares of this world and the weights that easily entangle. This place is real! This God is real. His invitation is real. His Son Jesus Christ said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28-30. Your burden is heavy. His is light. Your burden is difficult, His is easy. You are weary, He has rest to give you. Are you still hesitant?

The Father, Son and the Holy Spirit call us to rest in them. To rest in fellowship with them. To cease from all our labours. Are you searching like Toby? Hoping to find that place where you can shed the heavy load and find solitude but it seems elusive? Then look to the Father. Look to the Lord Jesus Christ. Take comfort in the Holy Spirit. Rest awaits you if you will take the invitation. The call of Jesus is to believe and you will receive. Do you know Jesus Christ? The opportunity is here to accept Him; to take His offer of rest and cease from all your labours. The opportunity is here to find your hiding place.

Please enjoy this wonderful rendition from Selah. Love.

The post Secret Hiding Place: A Bunny Found His. Have You? first appeared on .

Stew or Righteousness

Stephanie Asante — Sun, 26 Jul 2020 18:25:38 +0000

Righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.
That is the Kingdom of God.
Don’t you want to be a part of this kingdom?
song by Ron Kenoly – Righteousness, Peace and Joy

https://spiritawakenings.blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/AUD-20200725-WA0013.m4a

Once upon a time. There was a man who once lived many many many many years ago. You can actually add a few more “manys to the count. Because really, he lived many years ago. He was a man in his prime. Ginger haired, sturdy and strong. Willful and determined. A man of the world. He was a first born.

This man went out to hunt for meat. He loved to hunt. You can say that he was a man of the wild. Skilled in his craft. He was gifted. His success ratio was often guaranteed. Failure, close to nil. He returned home one day from a hunt, exhausted and famished.

And that is when he saw it. Bubbling on the fire. Dispersing a lovely aroma. Filling his senses. The pot of lentil stew. He saw its Cook stir the pot. And his empty belly yearned for a taste.

But the Cook presented the stew at a price. Not a price in gold, or in silver. Neither a price in wheat nor in barley. But rather, a price in rights. Interesting isn’t it? At what price will anyone be willing to sell their rights?

Let me first state a few rights I learned and probably you may have also learned in Junior High School.

The right to move
The right to faith/religion
The right to speech
The right to education, and ultimately;
The right to live

There are many other rights. I have just named a few. In fact I realize that humans are passionate about rights. We in no way tolerate anything that attempts to impede, intrude, take away or steal them. Nothing should come in the way of our freedom to do x-y-z. We are ready to fight for them. Defend them. Keep them. Many past and present movements are wheeled on the concept of equal rights. Yet I dare say, some of these rights we intensively agitate for are not important in the greater scheme of God’s blueprint of life. I believe the most important to God is right-eousness.

However, this sturdy, red haired, skilled man made a fatal choice that day as he sat and stared at a bubbling pot of stew. In the seconds of time in which his mind and heart weighed and processed the value of the “right” in question, against the value of the mixture of perhaps tomatoes, onions, garlic and some lentils, the stew tipped the scale.

And in that moment, he gave up his birthright! Now in modern times, the system of birthrights are slightly different, especially with laws that divide inheritance equally and so on. But at that time, your inheritance as a first born meant that the whole of your father’s estate belonged to you at his passing. His blessings and all its associates were handed to the firstborn son as a custodian.

This man named Esau gave it all up for a bowl of stew to fill his stomach one hot afternoon. Mind-blowing right? He devalued his inheritance without once considering the repercussions of his actions. It’s unfortunate to think that many centuries before him another man bit into a fruit in exchange for his inheritance. But that is another story for another day.

Just like Esau, too many times, we exchange things of value for things of no value. Too many unfair and unequal exchanges in our lives. Too many unwise decisions. Too many ungodly choices. I have made a few exchanges of my own. Exchanges that have cost me. Sales that have led to shortfalls in my life. We make them one too many times. But it must stop.

Paul said in Hebrews 12:16 & 17. “Watch out for the Esau syndrome: trading away God’s lifelong gift in order to satisfy a short-term appetite. You well know how Esau later regretted that impulsive act and wanted God’s blessing- but by then it was too late, tears or no tears.”

Take an account. An account of your; life. Open the balance books. Examine your inflows and outflows. Critically assess your assets and value them. What is eternal? What is temporal? Where have we exchanged our birthrights for stews.

Do you have eternal life in Jesus Christ? If not, what you have is a bowl of stew. It will finish, and very quickly too. Then, what you’ll have is nothing. No eternity.

If you have eternal life. Check your trades. Your futures and your spot buys. Invest and trade in what will last.

We have in us an inheritance of eternal value.

A vineyard of grapes, a field of wheat in which we must plant seeds of eternal value and harvest fruits of eternal value.

A fishing company of eternal value. Where we fish men from the darkness of the sea to the light of the boat.

A search and rescue mission. Where we seek and find the lost to bring home.

We have a baking company where forever bread is produced. Manna which one eats and never hungers again.

We own a well which springs living water that men drink and never thirst again.

We have an eternal inheritance! Righteousness! We cannot exchange it for the flimsiness of temporal bowls of stew which have great instantaneous taste. No lasting flavor. For it fills us now but not forever. We eventually get hungry again.

The eternal inheritance is different. Look at all the assets listed above. That is 0.166666 of the whole. Such a small fraction. The total value of our eternal inheritance is so much more. Priceless.

Eyes have not seen; neither have ears heard the things that God has prepared for those that love Him.

Choosing Jesus is a wise choice. Submitting to the will of God is a good standpoint. Following the purpose of God is the right direction. Choose wisely.

This is an old one. But definitely a classic. Enjoy!

The post Stew or Righteousness first appeared on .