The Pressure is for a reason.

 

With my mouth will I make it known:

From the rising of the sun to its going down,
I will sing of the mercies of the Lord.

It is by His mercies that we have not been consumed. If it were left to the enemy, we would have been destroyed. It displeases him to watch us walk in our God-ordained purpose. That is why he keeps pressing—seeking to make us fail. His mission is clear: to steal, to kill, and to destroy. Yet, what he does not realize is that God allows pressure for a divine reason.

Just as in pottery, the more the pressure applied, the stronger and finer the clay becomes. In the same way, when life presses us, God is waiting for us to run to him. He is building in us the strength to carry what He longs to pour out. These blessings may manifest in our careers, academics, businesses, families, and relationships.

Each of us is a unique dimension of God that He desires to reveal to the world. Yet, in moments of trial, we often forget our true identity. Scripture declares in Psalm 82:6: “I said, ‘You are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High.’”

God continually reminds us of our position in Him. But when we fail to recognize this, we fall into the enemy’s deception, embracing lies that lead us into darkness and instability.

It is time to return to God—acknowledging that we cannot help ourselves. We were never created to do life on our own strength, but by His grace. Until we truly understand who we are in Him, the light we think we enjoy may in fact be darkness. Only one Light has the power to illuminate our lives: Jesus Christ. When He comes, He quenches the darkness, silences the chaos, and brings peace, serenity, hope, and faith.

By faith, we draw from His presence, and step by step, we come into the full knowledge of our divine mandate. Then we realize: the troubles of life were never meant to destroy us, but to awaken within us a deeper cry for more—more than what the eyes can see.

Stay revived!

THE WEIGHT OF THE BLESSING

Hey, The Blessing,

I listened to a message recently, and when the minister prayed for a certain woman, she said, “May the Lord give you the capacity to bear the blessing.” Of all the powerful words spoken, that line stuck with me: “May the Lord give us the capacity to bear the weight of the blessing.”

For every blessing, there is a weight attached—constraints, consecration, discipline, sacrifice, daily dying to self. And still, we are blessed. We are the blessing.

I had to call us the blessing so we don’t forget. It’s easy to look in the mirror and forget the image we saw. It’s easy to hear God call us into blessings, but harder to accept that He has renamed us as the personification of blessing. So, I affirm today: I am the blessing.

Because I am the blessing, I posture myself to sustain the blessings I have entered into. If God gives me the marriage I’ve prayed for, I must seek Him for the guidelines to keep it a blessing—not a burden. If the land God gave to the Israelites could later become a place of bondage, then it makes sense that He gave them the Book of the Law. In God, there is order.

 Yes, we live in grace, but grace still calls for posture—one that proves we don’t take His blessings for granted. If I’ve received the business I prayed for, I must still learn the principles to build and sustain it. If God gives children, He also gives instruction: “Train up a child in the way they should go.”Proverbs 22:6 (KJV)  

God's children needs to be trained in the way they should go.

God said to me in worship today, the relationship I have brought your way isn't for you to leave everything and build your life on it but you can weild it and allow me build you through it.

Blessings often come as seeds. Satan tried to corrupt the seed God brought to earth—and he’s still looking for whom to devour. God’s strategy for us is vigilance. The enemy wants your blessings—will you build a defense, or let him steal, kill, and destroy?

He’s not just after the marriage, the business, the children, the family, the career—he’s after you. But you can boldly say, “No place for you here.”

Don’t forget—you are The Blessing.

Stay Revived!

The Face of the Blessing

Does the blessing have a face?

What if the blessings we receive from God are acts of favor that, on the surface, don’t look favorable?  

Maybe it’s because I am African, but whenever we speak of "the blessing," it must be something good—favorable, shiny, that takes us from zero to hero. The whole world must hear about it and turn to the God we serve. But blessings go beyond that. They include the trainings and dealings of the Spirit. That’s why the Bible says:

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds..."  

(James 1:2-4, NLT)

I often pray, "God, bless me," and I know that’s your prayer too—even the prayer of someone who doesn’t fully know God yet. But when we ask God for the blessing we are also giving Him permission to prune our lives, to refine us, and to balance our very existence.

Just like God’s words to Abraham—He didn’t just bless him, He also instilled the weight of the blessing. And because Abraham took the posture of willingness, he didn’t just become a blessed man—he became the blessing.

I want to be blessed in all things—just like you—in marriage, family, career, business… in all things. But God's response to our desire for blessing is often this:  

"I don’t just want to give you blessings; I want to give you the capacity to carry the weight of the blessing."

I want to give you the marriage, but I know that the opposite of the blessing is a curse. So there’s a posture you must take to carry this blessing, so your marriage itself becomes the blessing.

If our goal is to become like Christ, then our hearts must be tuned to Him. The blessing doesn’t mean there will be no warfare. Scripture says:  

“No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.”  

(Romans 8:37, NLT)

So every blessing assigned to us is also a call to warfare.  

The enemy—the thief—comes to steal, kill, and destroy our possibilities (John 10:10), but Christ—the Eternal Blessing—came that we might not only receive blessing but become partakers of Him and become the blessing.

Today, we declare that Jesus is the face of our blessing, and we take on the posture that enables us to walk in it.

I’m not just blessed…  

I AM the blessing.

Stay Revived!

Who owns you?

There are moments when we reach a crossroads and begin to doubt if God even remembers our existence.

Have you ever gotten to that point?  

Most times, we may not say it aloud, but we act it out—living in silent frustration—until it becomes a full-blown crisis. Then we finally phrase the question: “God, do You even know that I’m still alive?”

This morning, I woke up with this song in my spirit: “Amaram Onyewem”—an Igbo phrase from Nigeria meaning “I know the One who owns me.” “Amaram” translates to “I know,” and “Onyewem” means “the One who owns me.”

There is no question as to whether God knows us or considers us His own—unless we consciously choose the way of the enemy and reject Him. Yet, even in such moments, God extends mercy. He still says, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” There is always room for redemption in Him.

But the bigger question is: Do you know the One who owns you?

Someone once said, “More people talk about prayer than actually pray,” and I believe the same goes for knowing God—we often speak of Him more than we truly seek to know Him.

 Do you know your God?

Not just the God of heaven and earth in theory—but the personal, intimate, ever-present God. Because Scripture says, “Those who know their God shall be strong and do great exploits”(Daniel 11:32). Not just those who know about Him—but those who truly know their God, it could be any God but if you have chosen Yahweh do you know Him?

Have life’s situations given you a distorted picture of who God is?  

Has the enemy caged your mind and limited your sense of what’s possible in God?  

Has constant struggle made you doubt the power and love of your Father?

Let me remind you today: God knows you.

That’s the truth you must anchor yourself in. You may have forgotten Him for a season—or maybe even longer—but He has never blotted you out of His sight. His eyes still roam the earth, and just like He encountered Saul on the road to Damascus, He can find you again.

Here’s the good news: The God who owns you—your true Owner—longs to be gracious to you.  

He promises you perfect peace.

And you know what beloved God in the building doesn't mean they won't be wars, it is just our victory sound, our victory chant, our victory posture,our ultimate victory song. 

I AM OWNED BY GOD.

Stay Revived!