“So be careful not to let the light in you become darkness. If your whole body is full of light, and none of it is dark, then you will shine bright, as when a lamp shines on you”

(Lk.11:35-36 NCV).

Beloved, nobody can look down on you without your permission. Stay away from places where you are only tolerated. Go where you are celebrated. By this, I mean go where you are needed. Not everybody will need you. You are not designed to solve every problem. You are too small to assume the role of Jehovah Jireh or our El-Shaddai God! You cannot meet everybody’s needs. Don’t allow any man to snuff out the light of God in you. There are special people whom you are sent to reach, and a specific assignment attached to your purpose. There you will find rest and happiness for your soul. There you will find fulfilment with ease. There mountains become plains; obstacles turn to miracles, and weeping turns into laughter!

Treat yourself well when people refuse to do the same to you. Stop wasting your time and resources on people who do not value your purpose. Didn’t Jesus Himself admonish us not to go after such? He said: “Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you” (Matt. 7:6 NLT).

Beloved, stop waiting for your birthday celebration which comes around once a year before you treat yourself nicely. Moreover, if you don’t treat yourself well, who will? Nobody can treat you better than yourself. Place great value on yourself. Raise your self-worth and your self-image which is so important. The value you put on yourself is the same value people place on you.

Never let your acquaintance leave and come back to find you at the same level of knowledge they saw in you a few years back. It’s time to improve yourself and stretch your capacity by ensuring you add greater value to your life. Look inward and discover what is missing. How can you raise your standard?

Self-improvement: The journey to treating yourself well starts on the platform of improvement. The biggest room in this world, they say, is the room of improvement. Self-improvement is the secret to capability development. There’s nothing in this world that cannot be improved upon, except what God Himself created.  It’s very important therefore to improve upon your self-worth and image.

For example, if you don’t understand how to speak good English, or the official language of your country like me, then let’s start today! Let’s improve on it. Whatever you don’t know now can be acquired through learning. Don’t say you are too old to learn. We shall continue to learn as long as we live, only dead men cannot learn. Learn, unlearn and relearn. That’s the rule. That’s the key. And that’s the secret of self-improvement.  There’s nothing you cannot learn. There’s no skill you cannot acquire. Learning is a continuous phenomenon in this life. Be humble to learn, unlearn and relearn!

I remember some years ago, when the opportunity to serve in an interdenominational and multinational church in Cairo, Egypt opened. I was very much computer illiterate then because throughout my secondary and university programmes, we had no access to computers. What could I possibly do? I reached out to a young member of my church who had undergone computer training with a roadside computer school for everyday coaching. I did this for a few weeks before I left for the mission in Cairo.

The conditions under which I learnt were not conducive, due to power outages and the rickety laptop without an internal battery which my young computer teacher used. Nevertheless, the efforts paid off because the little knowledge I acquired from the young man got me started on the new job while I continued to improve even up until the present date.

Thanks and many blessings of God be upon you.
Peace! Shalom, shalom!

Pastor Sam Elijah November, 2023