TREPIDATION….. Is 2015 Really Over??

If you are like me, then this subject should not be alarming. If you are different, permit me to explain what the subject depicts.

As humans, we are prone to set goals and make plans as we journey through life. Most times we intend for our set goals and plans to be achieved at a certain period of time. Naturally, we begin to get anxious and depressed when our plans do not come through at our set time. So yes, Trepidation (a feeling of fear or anxiety) actually occurs… As the year comes to an end, you might find yourselves asking questions like ‘What did I achieve in 2015?’, ‘Did my career blossom?’, ‘Did I progress in my earnings?’, ‘Did I spend less?’, ‘Did I add value to myself?’, ‘Did time pass me by without any tangible achievement?’ Or maybe you planned to get married, have a child, or any of those life goals we humans have. Normally, if my set goal over a course of time is not achieved, I feel discouraged or sometimes depressed. Yea, depression is a strong word but when you imagine how things should be with you and they turn out entirely different than you expect, you actually feel down.

The good news is there are multi-dimensional perspectives to how we view life. For instance, we can chose to look at the things that are not yet present in our lives and feel depressed, or chose to look at what we have and rejoice. I know a lot of Christians have gone through tough times in this year. A lot of people lost their jobs due to the oil price crash, eventually leading companies to downsize. Infact, current financial reports depict the sorry state of the economies of most countries that are actually in debt. Everywhere you turn, there’s some story out there which kind of reflects on your own circumstances.

However, our hope lies in the fact that we are overcomers because Christ has overcome the world. Although, we are in the world, we are not of the world and we actually belong to a different economy embedded in the kingdom of God. If you have gone through tough times this year, I urge you not to feel down or discouraged even as the year comes to an end. As Christians, we are to consider it pure joy whenever we face trials of many kinds because we know that the testing of our faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that we may be mature and complete, not lacking anything James1:2-3. Irrespective of our various life goals, our end goal is to live a life worthy of a higher calling and honestly our trials develop and prepare us for eternal life with our king. Yea, it's okay to have earthly life goals but our ultimate goal is eternal life, so do not be discouraged and lose hope. Remember, if you faint in the days of adversity, your strength is small Prov24:10. Hence as long as we are living, we are obligated to remain hopeful. Besides, there’s no time in eternity. So if you believe in miracles like I do, you would know that God can work marvelous things within 24 hours.

Let me remind you of a story in the book of Esther. Haman hated Mordecai who was a Jew, because he refused to bow to him despite knowing how high ranked he was. One night he decided to build a gallow to have Mordecai hanged on, with the encouragement of his wife and friends. That same night, King Xerxes decided to open the book of remembrance and chose to honor the same Mordecai for saving his life in time past. Haman proceeded to go tell the king about hanging Mordecai, but God twisted the entire plot in such a way that Haman became obligated to honor Mordecai in the entire city based on his own recommendation to the king. It turned out that Haman dug his own grave, as he and his ten sons were hung on the gallow he built. If you think this is an old story, I’m pleased to announce to you that God is not a man and he can never change and He’s still in the business of working miracles.

Why not take a good look into your life and your experiences this year, I bet there’s a lot to be thankful for despite your list of 'yet to be achieved' goals and 'feelings of unfulfillment'. Shift your perspective from what’s not done, to what is. Make a list if you want of your victories from January till date. I bet you would marvel at the many things God has brought you through this year. If you have life, God still has you encrypted in the palm of his hands. So, there’s no need to feel depressed. If making a list seems hectic, post what you’re thankful for in the comment box. It would encourage me and other readers J.

I’d end this post with a story of a little girl born in India who suffered from congenital insensitivity to pain (CIP). The first time her mother discovered this disorder was when she met her little girl making red marks on the wall. On a closer look she realized it was her finger she had bitten off and used to make the said marks. They got to the Doctor who was extremely shocked at the little girl’s insensitivity to pain. While he undressed upon getting home, he discovered his right toe bleeding without him feeling any sort of pain. He pressed a pin into the said toe, leading to an out pour of blood, yet he felt no pain. He became very worried and wondered if he had contacted the said disease from the little girl, while sweating profusely. The next morning when he woke up, he pressed the wounded toe very hard. This time he felt pain, and whispered 'Thank You Jesus for the ability to feel Pain!!' Afterwards, he never stopped thanking God for the ability to feel pain.

Choose to be thankful, Choose to rejoice, Choose to be hopeful, Choose to be positive, Choose to be cheerful because the path of the righteous glow with light, the longer they live, the brighter they shine. Prov4:18

God Bless You!!

INTRODUCTION

Yaaaay!! I'm so excited about this blog and hopeful about our audience. It is my prayer that everyone who comes across this blog would find some encouraging content that would add value to his or her life. Amen.

So why Tzedek Terebinth you ask? It is the Hebrew word for 'Righteous Oak'. One of God's promises to me as an individual is that I would be called an oak of righteousness. Our profile picture reflects the image of an oak. Moreover, I thought rather than put my name out there I'd prefer to write using 'Tzedek' as an alias.(the 'T' is silent so it's just pronounced zedek :) )

As an individual I have always loved to write. From poems, to research papers, to agreements, to articles, and all sorts of activities requiring the penning down of thoughts. In my journey as a christian, I pen down my thoughts a lot, even while going through challenging phases. Most times you realize that you feel kind of alone while facing challenges, due to the fact that it could be difficult to share what you feel or you just can not put it to words when you try to describe it. This was my dilemma for a while, so I resorted to writing down how I feel, countering the negative feelings with the Word of God I know and reading it to myself aloud. This greatly encouraged me even at times when I went back to read what I had written, even though the said challenge that prompted the write up was over.

After God revealed his purpose for my life to me, I began to wonder how I could put to fruition what I'd found out about me. And then boom!! it hit me, why not start a blog? If my write ups encourage me greatly, why not put it out for a larger audience? So I thought to start this blog. I did a lot of research as to domain hosting, website owning and all the techy gibberish. But hey, prolonging the commencement of  a task such as this as a result of not understanding techy stuff might just lead to lost opportunities. Yea, I'd just pitch a tent here and see how it goes.

With time, we hope to feature content that would encourage everyone in their walk of faith, outsource content from my fellow believers in Christ, encourage people through the comment section, and be available to be contacted by anyone going through challenges and requiring prayers. I sincerely desire that this blog would be a blessing to everyone and we would be encouraged to make a difference in our world by what we would read, while living up to the fullness required of those positioned in the kingdom of God.

God bless you!