When Was the Last Time You Checked In On Your Friends?

 

Who’s in Your Boat? A Reflection on Friendship and Discernment

When was the last time you paused to ask the people around you how they truly feel?

When was the last time you made the effort to check on your friends, just to make sure they’re okay?

Too often, we get so caught up in the busyness and demands of life that we forget to look around, to notice the hearts of those close to us. Yet Scripture reminds us: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” This isn’t a command to obey only when it’s convenient. It challenges us to love even when it requires sacrifice, discomfort, or intentional effort.

Jesus’ friendship with Martha, Mary, and Lazarus offers us a profound example of genuine, sacrificial love. The Bible tells us that the Jews had previously sought to kill Jesus in Judea, so He left that region. But when He later received word that “Lord, the one you love is sick,” He didn’t rush back immediately. Instead, He waited two more days. Then He told His disciples He was going back.

The disciples were concerned and reminded Him, “But Rabbi, a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?” (John 11:8). But Jesus knew that this moment was destined to bring glory to God—and it wasn’t just anyone who was sick. It was someone close.

In John 11:11, Jesus said, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.” they didn't understand that He was speaking about Lazarus being dead, that's the sleep he meant. He was going to awaken a beloved friend.

Scripture also tells us that when Jesus visited their home, He would often speak with them about the Kingdom of God. Martha would be busy with so many things, choosing a different path from Mary. Their relationship was one where Jesus would come to their home

So, when Jesus finally arrived at Lazarus’ tomb, we witness one of the most emotional moments in the Gospels: Jesus wept (John 11:35). This is one of the few times Scripture records Jesus crying. Even though He knew He would raise Lazarus from the dead, the sorrow and grief in that moment—the weight of love and loss—moved Him to tears.

True friends are a gift, especially when they are God-sent.

That’s why we must be intentional about who we allow into the inner places of our lives. Not everyone is meant to stay. Don’t give a permanent position to someone who was only meant to be passing through. Don’t give a front-row seat to someone who belongs in the background.

Friendships have power. The people we surround ourselves with can influence our lives positively or negatively. Lazarus’ relationship with Jesus became a doorway through which he and his sisters experienced resurrection power and the glory of God.

We must be discerning. Some people come into our lives for a reason, others for a season, and a few for a liaison. The friends you keep can either open heaven over your life or shut it. They can either push you forward or cause your boat to sink.

As we walk through the different phases of our purpose and destiny, let us make it a norm to always ask the Holy Spirit to guide us in choosing the right people. Because sometimes, the very presence of the wrong person in your boat may be the reason you're struggling to stay afloat.

Stay Revived!

How Do You Deal with Your Issues?

When reading the story of the woman with the issues of blood, have you ever thought you could have those same "issues"?

This "issues" that might have been our burdens and reason for heaviness.

The beautiful thing about the story of the woman who battled with the issue of blood is that she recognized her problem. 

Matthew 9:21, she thinks to herself:

"...If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed."

She tirelessly sought healing, going from place to place in search of a potent source of healing for her affliction. Often, the very act of seeking help—from hospitals, counselors, or various places—demonstrates that, deep down, we possess enough faith to believe that one day we might receive our miracle.

It is far better to seek solutions than to resign ourselves to the belief that our issues define us, concluding that there is nothing that can be done about them.

I have often struggled with how to deal with my own issues. In an effort to avoid mockery or to seem weak, I would hide my problems away. It’s not that we should constantly display our struggles, but we must acknowledge that healing is available to us. We may not have found it yet, but there is still hope that something might work out. The greatest lie of the enemy is to make us normalize our issues, convincing us to accept them as the norm. "Oh, it isn’t a problem; it’s just a lifestyle," we might say. After all, the woman lived with her affliction for over thirty years, which is three decades. 

However, the truth is that God offers us freedom—freedom sufficient to bring us wholeness. We don’t need to get used to our bad attitudes, childhood traumas, or marital crises. We can draw closer to God, believing that if only we could touch the hem of the Master’s garment, we could be saved. This is what Jesus offers us: hope, even when the constant message from culture suggests that there isn’t any hope. Christ is our hope—not a hope limited by time, but one that transcends our present circumstances and reaches into eternity.

So, if we are unsure of how to manage our heavy burdens and issues, we can lift them up to the One who specializes in healing and wants to help us restore our brokenness. 

The enemy’s first strategy is to keep us in a state of brokenness, for he knows that when we are broken, we cannot see what God is offering us. The reality is that God heals the broken-hearted—those with shattered dreams, broken marriages, ruined businesses, broken bodies, and any other form of brokenness the enemy has inflicted. He walks with us through this journey of healing.

This process doesn’t happen in a moment; it unfolds as a journey, with God guiding us every step of the way.

What do you do with the issues?

Just like the woman, you can touch the helm of His garment today.

Stay Revived!

God Sustains What He Says

When was the last time you heard a word from God?  

When was the last time you received a word from Him?  

A respected minister once said, "God sustains what He says," and these words resonated with me. They can be timely reminders because, in moments of waiting, we expect God to speak to us. He often delivers personal words through dreams and revelations, and He has also given us His written Word. In His Word, He affirms that we should put Him in remembrance of His promises.

Psalm 119:49 clearly says:

"Put me in remembrance according to thy word unto thy servant, wherein thou hast caused me to hope." (YLT)

 The God we serve honors His Word even above His name; in His Word is His honor. So, when He gives us a promise, He is committed to fulfilling it.

To you reading this, beloved, I don’t mean to sound cliché, but have you discovered what God has said concerning your situation? Did God give you a word, and now it seems as if He is absent from your story? In every moment, even during downtime, God is there, prompting and beckoning us, saying, "I want to carry you through." 

As I type these words, it feels like what my heart truly needs. I wish God would stretch out His arms and carry me through this moment. When I got into my room, all I could think was, "God, help me. Dear God, You really have to help me." I know there are times when we want to express more, but there are no words to convey our feelings. Yet, we can choose to search the Scriptures and allow the Holy Spirit to articulate our pleas to God.

If you happen to come across these words in the midst of your day, I want you to know that God sustains what He says. In colloquial terms, "He won't lead you astray." You can join me in saying, "Lord, I need You to carry me through these moments."

Stay revived!

The Spiritual Womb: A Call to Women of Purpose and Power

When God desires to bring deliverance and sustenance to a generation, He raises a woman. Why? Because within every woman lies a divine capacity—not only to multiply but also to bruise the head of the serpent (Genesis 3:15). A woman’s womb is not solely for bearing children; it is a sacred chamber designed to birth purpose, business ideas, ministry, career paths, and every divine seed placed by God.

This isn’t just about physical birth. It’s about birthing destinies, visions, and generations.

When God sought to deliver Israel, He raised Jochebed, the mother of Moses. In the face of Pharaoh’s death decree, she saw something extraordinary in her son. She believed his life had divine significance and could not be extinguished. Her faith moved her to action:

“And when she could no longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink.”

— Exodus 2:3, KJV

That ark wasn’t just made of reeds—it was made of courage, vision, and maternal conviction.

When God planned to redeem the world, He chose Mary, a young woman willing to carry the Savior of humanity. She didn’t ask for validation from the world. She didn’t flinch, even when she knew Joseph might walk away. She simply believed:

"The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you..."

— Luke 1:35, NIV

In both cases, God entrusted the weight of deliverance to a woman.

Every woman carries a spiritual womb—a place where divine assignments are conceived. Tragically, many women are unaware of the treasures the Lord has deposited within them. Until that discovery is made, nothing can be birthed. Some are spiritually pregnant with God-given dreams, yet they’ve not brought them forth. Others have given birth to purpose but have failed to nurture what they’ve birthed.

Our capacity to nurture and mature what the Lord has placed within us is a sacred responsibility, empowered by the Holy Spirit.

To truly give birth, we must identify what we carry. Is it connected to your career? Your family? Your education, business, or ministry? Many of us have started projects with excitement and conviction, knowing the Lord led us. But due to challenges and obstacles, we left them halfway. Others are in a rush to “release their child” prematurely, without ensuring it’s the appointed time, or even if they are spiritually prepared.

Do not release your child too soon.

Timing is everything:

If it is truly yours, the tides will eventually turn in your favor.

So ask yourself:

• Have you aborted your spiritual baby?

• Have you groomed it?

• Have you neglected it?

• Or, like the servant who buried his one talent out of fear, have you hidden what God gave you? (Matthew 25:24–25)

Wake up.

The earth responds to women who are willing to pay the price for greatness. It takes power, foresight, and divine alignment to thrive in the world and the times we live in. There is no neutral ground—you are either advancing or retreating. There is no room for fence-sitting.

We are called to live out the divine pictures God has engraved in our spirits. With each passing day, those visions become clearer. What once felt like mere imagination now reveals itself as destiny. Deliverance and preservation lie in your hunger, your sacrifice, and your alignment.

Through one woman, a generation can be bound—or set free.

Women, it is time to go on a spiritual antenatal journey. Prepare to birth what God has placed in your spiritual womb. And for those whose time is now, I pray—in the name of Jesus—that the Holy Spirit breathes upon your spirit and leads you into a labor leading to the birth of visible, undeniable manifestation. May the world see it, and may they glorify God through your life.

May the multiplying grace of the Lord rest upon you.

Stay revived!