Learning To Live In Contentment

Learning To Live In Contentment

  To live in inner contentment, the entire focus of your life must be the Lord Jesus Christ. 

  I’ve had short periods in my life when a particular problem or situation would cause me nights of tossing and turning, hour after hour, unable to sleep. I’ve discovered the best thing I can do when I can’t seem to let go of thinking about a particular problem, conversation, or criticism, is to get out of bed, get down on my knees, and cry out to God: “Please help me through this. Help me focus on You alone.

  Sleep comes when my focus is on the Lord and on how He’d have me think or respond in my emotions to a particular situation. Sleep is elusive when I allow my focus to shift to what others have said, all the things that might happen, or the difficulty of a challenge that lies ahead. The choice is quite simple think about the Lord and His abundant provision, protection, and love, or think about all the people and circumstances trying to rob you of provision, destroy your life, or heap hatred upon you.

  Thinking about the Lord brings a person peace. Thinking about anything else is usually a shortcut to anxiety, fear, or worry. 

 When you focus on the Lord, it’s important that you see Him as being in your situation with you, right at that moment. Too many people think of God being far away. They don’t see God as being accessible or available to them in the immediacy of their lives. The truth is, He’s present with us in every moment of every day.

I can remember the most peaceful place I’ve ever been the Sea of Galilee. Years ago, I was at a spot by the sea that seemed to me the very definition of peace and tranquility. However, in today’s world, most people probably wouldn’t think of that area as being peaceful. It’s only a few dozen miles to Syria and Lebanon from there. People tend to think of Israel as a hot spot in the world, a place of virtually no peace.

But I felt great peace there. Why? Because I felt the Lord there. I sensed His presence.

It’s easy for me to close my eyes and see the Lord walking right beside me along the Sea of Galilee. I also find it easy and beneficial to envision the Lord walking right beside me in any number of beautiful natural settings I’ve experienced around the world.

It’s not these environments that give peace. It’s the awareness of God that I feel in my heart when I’m in these environments that produces peace. It’s that sense of “God with me” that’s important for me to recapture, envision, to see with spiritual eyes, when times of trouble hit my life.

Friend, no matter where you are at any given time, Jesus is the source of your contentment. See the Lord walking with you in peace. Sense His presence. Become aware of His awesome power and authority over your life. When by faith you enter into a personal relationship with Christ, living with the assurance of His presence and provision in your life, I promise you will experience true peace.

I Didn't Hand Over A Collapsed Nation To Buhari Dr. Goodluck Jonathan

 I Didn't Hand Over A Collapsed Nation  To Buhari  Dr. Goodluck Jonathan

 Former President, Goodluck Jonathan has replied his critics who accused him of handing over a nation at the verge of collapse to his successor, President Muhammadu Buhari.

   Jonathan recounted the achievements of his government to include, handing over a country that produced the richest man in Africa.

  Jonathan said, “I took over a Nigeria that was the second largest economy in Africa with a GDP of $270.5 billion in 2009,

   I handed over a Nigeria that had grown to become the largest economy in Africa and the 24th largest economy in the World with a GDP of $574 billion.

  I handed over dollar exchange rate of N187 per Dollar official rate in our banks, compared to their N360 now official rate for a Dollar

  I inherited a Nigeria in which the trains were not working, and handed over a Nigeria in which citizens can safely travel by trains again.

  I also inherited a country where illiteracy rate particularly in the Northern part was alarming. 

  I handed over a country where every state in the North and indeed all the states had a Federal University. 

I inherited a country where there was total infrastructural decay in all the unity schools and colleges of education. 

   But I handed over a country with massive infrastructural improvement in almost higher institutions.

  I inherited a country where agricultural inputs and production were almost zero.

   But I handed over a country where a bag of rice was sold for N6,500 to N7000.

  My regime since the establishment of ecological fund office did more irrigation dams in the North and other parts of the country than other subsequent administrations put together.

  I inherited epileptic fuel supplies resulting to endless queues at the filling stations. 

I maintained despite enormous challenges of fuel subsidies and handed over a relatively stable fuel regime and also at a managed local price of N87 per litre.

   I inherited a Nigeria that was a net importer of cement, and handed over a Nigeria that is a net exporter of cement.

  In 2009 the richest Nigerian was the 5th richest man in Africa, but I handed over a Nigeria that produced the richest man in Africa. 

 The former President further stated " I inherited a country where people were almost losing hope on the credibility of its electoral process but I noticed that  democracy will continue to grow in the African continent if leaders value the process of elections more than the product of the process. I handed over electoral process that engendered fairness in its conduct and conclusiveness ".

  He said, “Even in the 2015 general elections in my country, Nigeria, there was potential for major crisis if I was not a President duly elected by the will of the people.

  The campaigns leading to the elections almost polarized the country into Christian vs Muslims and North vs South divide.

 Most World leaders were worried that our elections will result into major crisis.

Some pundits even from here in the United States said that those elections would spell the end of Nigeria and that we would cease to exist as a nation because of the polls.

   That is where the leadership question comes into play.

  As a leader that was duly elected by the people, I considered the people’s interest first.

   How do I manage my people to avoid killings and destruction of properties?

 

  With the interest of the people propelling all the decisions I took, we were able to sail through.

  Indeed, we sailed through because I refused to interfere with the independence of the Independent National Electoral Commission, 'INEC' having appointed a man I had never met in my life to run it. We sailed through because I maintained and still believe that my personal ambition, interest is not worth the blood of any single Nigerian.

  My philosophy was simple. For elections to be credible, I as a leader, must value the process more than the product of the process. And the citizens must have confidence in the electoral body.

  Please circulate it for them to know. The deceit is getting too much