Google images
Kwabena Eddie Mankata (c) 2016
Tell Jesus
Hope
WHEN I DIE
Google images (c)
When I die
Cry not
I’ve done my part
Perhaps not enough
Yet brought some hope
Gave legs to dreams
And wings to ideas
When I die
Cry not
I rest peacefully than rivers
I sing better than birds
I shine brighter than stars
I run faster than lightning
I live longer than earth
When I die
Cry not
Before God I sit
Among elders I eat
Within angels I worship
With Jesus I stroll
When I die
Cry not
I’ll understand if you do
Yet soon
Resurrection morning come
When we reunite
Never to part again
When I die
Cry not
Kwabena Eddie Mankata (c) 2016
don’t give up
actscommunitychurches.com
I have heard it. I have read it. I have seen it. I have said it. So many times, I can’t remember to number.
Don’t give up. Life can punch those words out of your spirit. Make them evaporate under intense heat. So much that you wouldn’t find the D that begins the Don’t but you have to press on.
Here’s what those words mean. Actually.
You would be misunderstood. Not because your vision isn’t clear though you explain with the simplest words. But it won’t make sense to them. They would think you don’t have what it takes. They would think you are crazy but don’t give up. Maybe you need to quit explaining and start doing.
You would be disappointed. Yeah you would. Sometimes, the same people who profess love won’t be available to help. Even those who promise and swear to help wouldn’t, sometimes. They have pressing issues too. They have assignments too. No hard feelings. But don’t give up. Fold your sleeves and get it done.
You would fail. Lose a lot if not everything. To believe in a dream is to channel all your energy and resources there. It can go south. The plan can fail. You might run at loss and be in debt. You will be scared to try again. It will make sense not to. It will but don’t give you. No amount of money lost in pursuing a dream goes waste. Not in the long run. Look for resources elsewhere.
You would be discouraged. One insensitive slur thrown. One piercing look cast. And your steam might go off. Your fire extinguished. Depending on whose words and looks, recovery can be near impossible. But don’t give up. We are here to glorify God. He neither slurs nor sniggers at our loss. Press on.
And everything that can go wrong; can go wrong. Even what you think mustn’t, can go wrong. You would feel trapped in a cell with the walls closing in. Light and darkness would mean same; darkness. But don’t give up. Fight back. Create a hole in the tumbling walls for light. Keep the light in your imagination on. Don’t give up.
shutterstock.com
Death is the only accepted reason to give up. Fear isn’t. Failure isn’t. Disappointment isn’t. Loss isn’t. Needless to say every dream cost. But idleness cost more. Giving up cost more. Keep trying. Don’t give up. Be inspired.
Kwabena Eddie Mankata (c) 2016
Martha, is Jesus here yet?
etc.usf.edu
The physician had declared him clinically dead. He was sent home for the inevitable. Every joint and nerve mounted a rebellion as he tried to move. He called out to Martha. The sound was like an echo. Maybe so from emptiness within. He did shout but it came out as a whisper. Thankfully Martha wasn’t far. She came to him.
“Save your strength brother,” Martha whispered. “Is Jesus here yet?” were the heavy words that emerged from his lips that barely parted. The look on Martha’s face answered him before her lips could. She closed her eyes but the threat of tears behind her eyelids couldn’t be dealt with anymore. They flowed freely. She turned to Mary who stood afar at the fringe like a stranger.
Mary overheard the question. She knew the answer too. She rushed passed the emotional Martha, picked Lazarus’ hand into hers, held it to her face and said, “Not yet, but He will surely be here.” Lazarus now saw the inevitable no further than his nose. His last hope; his sisters’ best friend; Jesus whose reputation even precedes Him had delayed in coming. Though it was day, darkness had almost engulfed him.
Thoughts walked in Lazarus’ mind, “Doesn’t Jesus care? Does the friendship with his sisters not mean anything? Has He forgotten the person in question? Or did the messenger not spell out to Him how grave the sickness was?”
Jesus delayed. He rather stayed two days more where He was though the news had reached Him (John 11:6). Lazarus’ hope faded. His life was fading as a matter of fact. The next blink. The next sigh. The next inhale. Lazarus died!
Whatever happened next he didn’t know. As to whether Jesus was on the way coming or not, it did not matter to him. He was dead. And sheets were wrapped around him. He didn’t feel that too.
But something happened. He felt sheet taken off him. Each sheet went off with a layer of darkness giving way to light. Last sheet off and he is alive. “Welcome back” came the greetings. Some were accompanied by hugs and handshakes. Jesus finally came! Nothing else mattered now.
Now let’s come to you. Yeah you! I bet you have been there. Or maybe you are in a certain situation right now calling on God. Perhaps you are wondering what you ought to do in order for Him to answer. Deadline is over. You have lost the contract. You have lost a loved one. You’ve been jilted! Jesus didn’t come.
You are finished. You know it. It is finished there is no need for Jesus to come. Nothing can be done. Well I got two things to say. First it is His timing that matters and second, there is nothing impossible for Him to do! Even if He comes a year later He can restore all you have lost. Trust me, I know so. Pray, believe and wait. Jesus is coming. Happy weekend! Be inspired!
Kwabena Eddie Mankata (c) 2014
on HOPE
The sun was disappearing behind the mountains and as usual I was caught in awe admiring it. It is one of the sure beautiful things I see every day at work. For four years working in this hospital, I have seen different people battle to delay the inevitable. Some win only to be back later to fight. Some don’t make it. I have seen many die on the same operating table others have survived. I have seen innumerable deaths at almost every hour. I have seen people cry until they had no strength to weep. They didn’t only lose a loved one. Death took along their confidence, comfort and dreams. I have seen the young and old. I have seen the rich and poor. I have seen the high and low. All come here to bargain with death.
What again I have seen? Hope. I have seen hope demonstrated by holding the hand of a loved one in coma. Reading to them daily devotions and bible verses and singing songs of hymns and praises. I have seen hope in the pacing of man as his wife goes into labour. I have seen hope in the tears of a mother whose child had just been rushed to intensive care. I have seen hope in hopeless situations.
And yesterday I saw a man on his knees in prayer, calling upon God to intervene in his daughter’s operation. I knew him from church. His wife died a decade ago in a motor accident. Since then he and his daughter have become sworn best friends. Their bond goes beyond family, it is a heavenly one. He heads the Evangelism boards whiles the daughter heads the drama group. They worked together both at home and in church. Two weeks ago the daughter was diagnosed with kidney stones. The church has been praying but the situation wasn’t improving.
She apparently fainted and he rushed her here. An operation was imperative. Whiles the doctors were on it, he was on his knees performing perhaps a spiritual one. I couldn’t watch but help so I didn’t stare at the sun’s disappearance for long. I went to the washroom and prayed. I hoped all would be okay.
And it was! When I came out I saw the man in a full hug with the doctor, then a firm handshake and I knew God had stepped in. He prayed and hoped. It worked for him.
Hope I believe isn’t a belief that all will turn out well, it is an assurance of a divine ending whether good or bad. It is an understanding that the eventual moment is what God wills. Hope works!
When sun refuses to shine
And stars give no light
When birds remain mute
And wind carries no message
Hope in the Lord
Who measures space with His palm
And collects the waters in the hollow of His hand
Hope in the Lord
Who defies nature
And mocks its laws
Hope in the Lord
Be inspired
Kwabena Eddie Mankata © 2014
HOLDING ON TO SOME PEOPLE
There are some people you hold on to. There are some people you don’t let them go. There some people you hang in there holding their hands despite all odds against you. Not because you want to. Not because you feel something at the moment for them. Not because they have something you want but because God asked you to. You hold on until God touch their lives. You hold on until God open your eyes to see beyond the ordinary. You hold on as long as you can because when God asked you to, nothing or no one else matters! You just hold on and wait for God. Be Inspired!
IT WILL BE OKAY
It will be okay
Four words
Scream them and they appear as whispers
To the one
Problems have cursed with insomnia
Bereft
To drown in tears
And breathe in ire
It will be okay
Four words
Amplify them to yourself
When need be
And they may seem fruitless
As loud shouts to the wonder of a deaf
Or rolling tears to the amusement of a tormentor
It will be okay
Four words
Yet said over and over again
Has the proclivity to fan to life
Dying embers of hope
With every repetition bringing
An unseen strength
And for certain they bolden
The arrival of God’s cavalry in due time
It will be okay
Four words
You say to
A soul in distress
A body in pain
A spirit in disarray
Be it yours or another
Knowing it isn’t about the four words
But the believe
In the certainty of God’s timely intervention
It will be okay
Inspiring Inspirers 