You Can Live Above Your Problems: Walking in Faith and Victory

By Rev. Chris Lekan Alawode

In tough times, we are more occupied with finding the way out of our situation, and we are prone to feel as if God has abandoned us. By that, we usually ignore His word and prayer; this is because most of our time is spent consulting our feelings instead of looking up to God for His direction.

This book, You Can Live above Your Problems, is intended to provide spiritual guideline and counsel with multiple biblical references to explore Gods directives on your problems. It enlightens you on how to cope when youre spinning on the Potters wheel.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris UK
• Release date: Aug 21, 2015
• ISBN: 9781514462744

Rev. Chris Lekan Alawode

Reverend Chris Lekan Alawode is the founder of Dayspring Evangelistic Ministries International in Africa and Europe. He is also the founder of MOGIIL: Ministers of God International Institute of Learning (a family-subsidized and nonprofit institution that helps the less-educated ministers of God in Africa). Chris is author of two books on relationships, a preacher, a teacher, a Christian counselor, and dynamic speaker at conferences in Europe and Africa. He is married, with children and grandchildren.

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Copyright © 2015 by Rev. Chris Lekan Alawode.

ISBN:      Softcover      978-1-5144-6276-8

                eBook           978-1-5144-6274-4

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

NKJV

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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Rev. date: 08/19/2015

Xlibris

800-056-3182

www.Xlibrispublishing.co.uk

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CONTENTS

Dedication

Acknowledgement

Introduction

Pray as it hurts you

Good things come to those who wait on the Lord

Embrace Change as a friend

Affliction is a symptom of an underline factor

Hold on to God’s promise

Success is a seed waiting to be sowed

The worthiness of your faith decides your fate

Your attitude determines your aptitude

Wilderness is a place where greatness is hatched

When God seems to be far away

When God falls short of your the expectation

Anger is oblivion to decorum

The save place to abide is under the shadow of God

Focus ignores distractions

A confused mind is one at a crossroad

Handle life Challenges with courage

Prayer and thanksgiving are the twin-aisle to heaven bank

When God seems silent

Your life purpose determines the sacrifice you pay

Don’t be dampened by your imperfection

DEDICATION

First and foremost this book is dedicated to my Lord Jesus who suffered on the cross for me. The Son Of God who surrendered His life to keep me alive and it is a privilege for me to live my life for Him.

And to my mother (of blessed memory) who told me when I received God’s call that testimony is more worthy than titles.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

My special gratitude goes to my darling, my wife and my best friend- Bolanle Olajumoke Alawode. I thank her for her understanding and co-operation which she demonstrated many times by giving space while I got consumed in my writing and typing my manuscripts. I appreciate her support which she demonstrates most by allowing me to concentrate, even when she had pressuring issues to discuss with me. I cannot also forget the part played by my beautiful children in encouraging me to carry on doing what I love doing most- Dr Damilola Adigun Alawode, and Dr. (Mrs) Wemimo Omotosho.

INTRODUCTION

You Can Live Above Your Problems is more or less a spiritual pathfinder containing the word of God to help in moments of trials, anxiety and spiritual frustration. It answers questions such How can I cope? Why am I in this situation? Where is God in this entire situation? I no longer dream and I can’t hear God, is He speaking to me? Is God listening?" You will learn how to cope; why you are where you are, and what God is saying to you.

This book contains God’s word that carries spiritual vitality that will be helpful in all situations of life especially when read with open heart. It contains God’s word that brings refreshment, and waters the soul. This book will assist in keeping thoughts and mind on the right path; and offer help in making decisive, confident; and it will also in living a focussed life.

You are reminded by this book of the reality of immediate presence of God wherever you are in this world full of distractions and conflicting messages. The content is about fixing your mind and your eyes upon Jesus; and it is helpful in taking captive negative thoughts during the rumble tumble of life. It will also be of great help in making right decisions and in choosing the right actions when knocked back through unanticipated life circumstances.

This book was written as guided by the Holy Spirit in the time when life becomes confusing and circumstances become overwhelming. It is a unique book in a way in that that its topics and related Scriptural verses will enable readers to breakthrough life-challenges. And again every page, topic, and chapter, all touch common life issues bothering the mind of every believer. You need to be flexible in reading and making use of this book; when you do not find your issue look for one similar to it and read the counsel.

One other unique thing about this book is that no matter how many times you read the book and its Bible references you will always imbibe new revelation. Therefore, accept this book as a handbook written specifically to counsel, convince and persuade you to have correct perception about God’s relationship with you.

As you are read this book you are being helped to adjust your relationship with God. It simply means that your intimate relationship with this book will make you become more willing to uncover the areas where you have been wounded and you will understand better the way to open yourself to receive God’s grace.

You will find it more exciting if you have your Bible by your side; this will make it more imparting; and you’ll become more empowered by God to become the person He envisioned you to be. The Bible verses will enable you dig deeper into God’s word as the Bible verses give you spiritual promptings to read the passages further

It is important to stress that you should pay attention to what the Holy Spirit will tell you with the Scriptural verses in this book. And do not read it like a story book in order to get the most of this book, but read to understand what the Holy Spirit says about every issue discussed in it. And you can also pick each specific issue mentioned or issues bothering your mind; and this book will serve its purpose of bringing the word of God from the Bible into your heart.

PRAY AS IT HURTS YOU

You don’t need to internalise your problems before your Father who controls everything, and every situation. And in this case He is a Father who already knows what is bothering your mind. No matter the magnitude of your need He will never put you to shame because every beast of the forest is His. And also the cattle on a thousand ills are His (Psalm 50: 10.) And apart from your material needs, also every other need; His Son, Jesus Christ says to all who believe: Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.

• Make sure that what you ask is exactly what you need or what is bothering your spirit. God doesn’t need packaging, or sweet coated word, say it the way it is bothering your spirit. And remember that an unexpressed prayer cannot be answered. His word says, For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groaning which cannot be uttered. Romans 8:26.

• Don’t underestimate the importance of righteousness in prayer; and this has to do with the relationship you’ve established with Christ. The epistle of James says, Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. James 5: 16.

• Prayer is not simply to make us feel better after we’ve expressed our fears. It is the foundation of our power from the Lord who hears our prayer. The Lord said to Zerubbabel: Not by might nor by power but by My Spirit. Zechariah 4: 6.

• You can only be helped by the Spirit when you come before the Lord’s throne with confidence; otherwise it may be impossible for you to obtain what you ask. You should remember what the Bible says about confidence. It is when you come to His throne with confidence that you can be sure that He will listen, and also be gracious to answer. This is why the Bible says, Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 4: 16.

• Prayer is the best alternative to anxiety; worry causes sleeplessness, and aggravates negative situations. Paul admonishes believers: be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4: 6-7.

• But you can only come before God with confidence when your relationship with Him is unobstructed. And it is then that you can pray in according to His will. This because you are able to come before Him with clean heart. But be sure that you are not asking Him to contradict Himself by what you ask Him – Deuteronomy 10: 17.

• Being in harmony with God means the motive or the reason you have in mind for asking what you ask must align with His righteousness. And it is that reason or reasons that will give or deny you the confidence – James 4:3.

• If truly you want your request answered, and not that you are just informing God; because there is a difference between asking and informing. Some believers pray as if informing God about their problems and not asking for solution. And this was why Jesus inquired from blind Bartimaeus, What do you want Me to do for you? And he answered and said, Rabboni, that I may receive my sight. Mark 10: 51 – 52.

• When you are sincerely with God in your heart and soul; the Bible says, No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Matthew 6: 24.

• When you learn to listen attentively to God’s word, then His voice will become audible to you. And by this you will grow in the Spirit to hear and walk in His direction – Your ears shall hear a word behind you saying, this is the way, walk in it, whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left" Isaiah 30: 21.

• You will need to surrender to God’s wisdom, and do away with your own wisdom; do away with your pride, and be determined to make yourself vulnerable – Trust the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil. Proverbs 3: 5 – 7.

• If you will learn from your or other people’s mistakes; because in most cases God may not instruct or direct you. Remember that He neither approved nor disapproved Abraham’s decision to take Lot with Him on his journey. He allowed him to learn from his mistake, and it was after then that God started to talk to Him – And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are-northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever. Genesis 13: 14 – 15.

• When you decide to take your attention; your mind away from whatever distracts you from seeing God’s face. Things that occupy your time, your passion or your love that takes the place of God in your life. And perhaps any other thing that obstructs you to run after God. Remember the story of Bartimaeus: And Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called. Then they called the blind man, saying to him, Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you. And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus." Mark 10: 49 – 50.

• You will receive what you desire when you distance yourself from the world, and immerse yourself into His word. God will care for His friends, though He will sometime give His love to those who carless about Him; but His friends will have His attention: Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God, or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously? But He gives more grace. Therefore He say, God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

• God will give you what you ask as you continually and consistently draw on His Word; and also listen to His Spirit within you. And also when you carry out His will, and you do not depend on the world system as an alternative for His resources. Remember the Levite who dwelt with Micah the Idol worshipper for monetary reward – Judges 17: 1 – 27.

• When you pray, not wishing, not mere desiring, but praying; because wishing is dreaming and it goes nowhere. Desiring is an internalising imagination and it stays in the mind. But praying is birthing one’s desire by faith. Hannah had wished for long, and desired for years; but later the Bible says, And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish. Then she made a vow and said, O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head."

• The book of Ecclesiastes says, To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven – Ecclesiastes 3: 1. It is yours to ask and it is God that will decide the time to answer. Therefore Jesus says, Men always ought to pray and not lose heart Luke 18: 1.

• Ask according to His promise, and do not quote Him out of context; speak His word to release His authority over what you ask. The Bible says, God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? Numbers 23: 19.

• God will answer you at the time He will be highly glorified, not when you expect to have the glory. He was able to deliver the three Hebrews before they went into the furnace; but He rather preferred to precede them in the fiery furnace. The king said, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God Daniel 3: 25.

• God will answer your prayer if you are not asking Him to do what He already gave you grace to do. In most cases He allows you to go through an experience in order to demonstrate to you that He is with you. Remember what Paul said when he prayed three times concerning a thorn in his flesh; he said about God: And He said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12: 9.

• He will answer you when you are serious about what you are asking; prayer is a serious business. Therefore except you are passionate in asking God may hear and not answer you because He says, And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart Jeremiah 29: 13.

• God sustains us whenever we call on Him in the time of heartbreaking and unpalatable circumstance. Even He heard and rescued Hagar and her little child, Ishmael in the wilderness. The Bible says, And God heard the voice of the lad. Then the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is." Genesis 21: 17.

• Your answer will come when you stop ruminating about your desire, or problem and you start asking God for support or solution. He will never respond to your thought until you put it into prayer; because He doesn’t respond to thinking, but He responds only to faith. The book of Hebrews says, But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him Hebrews 11: 6.

• God will answer you when you are confident in asking; it means when you do fidget spiritually. And no matter how loudly you shout He listens more to your heart and not your voice,. His word says, Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need Hebrews 4: 16.

• Waiting is a continual experience; because you will continually look up to God for all your needs. And it is God that determines when to respond; Abraham waited and did not waver in faith – the Bible says, For he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God Hebrews 11: 10.

• As you grow in faith and conversant in praying you will learn by practice how to wait without weary. The early Christians in the Bible knew what it means to wait without weary; they gathered in the house of one woman praying. They were praying for Peter the apostle in King Herod’s cell; though they were never sure if and when Peter would be released. But they kept praying and waiting, and later, we are not told how long it took, but he was released. The Bible says, He came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered praying. Acts 12: 12.

• Believers should find something spiritual to occupy the mind while waiting; it will take the mind off the problem until the Lord gives the answer. The disciples and the believers were in the upper room waiting. The Bible explained what they were doing in the room: These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers. Acts 1: 14

• There are three types of God’s answers to prayer; and whichever type it will be which will give Him glory. His No means well for His child, and in this case it means you have asked wrongly, and He will demonstrate His power in a miraculous way. He said to Paul, My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness. 2 Corinthians 12: 6 – 12. Paul perhaps had the fear his thorns could deter him from achieving his goal, but God assured him it would in no way affect his ability to succeed.

• When He says yes; it is also for His glory. When David lost his wives to raiders he inquired of the Lord, Shall I pursue the troop? Shall I overtake them? The Bible says, And He answered Him, pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all. 1 Samuel 30: 8. Before the Lord answered yes, He had already made way of his recovering his loses.

• Sometime God is silent, and when this happens there are two reasons: He had answered your request and yet to reach you. Answer to Daniel’s prayer was delayed for twenty-one days until Michael intervened. The Bible says, But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, and behold, Michael of the chief princes came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia. Daniel 10: 13. And in another case it could be the Lord had answered your prayer or request in His Word; therefore take time to read your Bible.

• You don’t get what you want but you get what you are passionate for; and you’ve got to ask for it. This is what the Lord says, And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me, with all your heart. Jeremiah 29: 13.

• God’s answer to your prayer comes at the time He believes you are ripe for it. This has nothing to do with age; Abraham and Sarah had Isaac at the time they were too old for child bearing. The Bible says, Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old bear a child? Genesis 17: 17.

• When what you ask what negates what the Lord has in mind for you be ready to receive what He has in mind for you

• Don’t ask for what you like to have sometime later; let the Holy Spirit lead you in asking what is good for you. The book of Ecclesiastes chapter five says, Do not be rash with your mouth, and let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven and you on earth; therefore let your words be few Ecclesiastes 5:2.

• Let your priority be having good relationship with the Lord, and not prayers being answered. God said to Joshua, This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Joshua 1:8.

• God isn’t moved by your eloquence or the multiplicity of your words but the burdens in your heart. Jesus says, And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Matthew 6:7.

• Your prayer may not be answered in the way you expect or ask; but God will give you what is best for you. Jesus says, Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you. Matthew 7:7.

• You need to ask and ask according to His will for you to obtain His answer. But this doesn’t mean He cannot do anything for you without you asking; He commands you to ask, and it is as simple as that. He said to Ezekiel that He was going to make the desolate land of Israel become like the Garden of Eden, but He said to him, I will also let the house of Israel inquire of Me to do this for them; I will increase their men like flock. Ezekiel 36:37.

• Your asking should always be based on your worth on God’s love, and acceptance; this is because nothing is too much for a child to ask from his father. The bible says, But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore, you are more than many sparrows. Luke 12:7.

• God wants our prayers answered even more than we do; and in as much as our prayer is aligned with His will. The Bible says, You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. James 4:3.

• Satan is threatened by truly spiritual prayer; and he will do anything to hold you back. Among many of his devices are sleep and anger. Jesus went to Gethsemane with Peter, James and John; He went up to pray and left behind the three men with an instruction; He said to them, Stay here and watch but when He came back to them He met them sleeping. The Bible says, Then He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not watch one hour?" Mark 14: 32-37.

• Bitterness can make you compromise God’s answers to your prayers. It makes you feel bitter even to yourself; and a troubled spirit can hardly pray passionately. At the Gethsemane Jesus said to His disciples, My soul is exceedingly sorrowful even to death. And later He said, Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak. Mark 14: 38.

• Breaking through barriers is the only way to pray in the spirit. Some of these barriers have to do with recurring flashbacks; awful thoughts and disturbing memories, all sorts of disturbances from surrounding, all which tend to filtrate into prayer. This is why Jesus says, "But when you pray, go into your room,