Resonance

Category: Compassion

  • Edification, Exhortation & Comfort : God’s Architecture of Grace

    We all get tired. Even the strongest believers sometimes feel drained. Some feel stuck. Others begin to gradually lose interest and give up. Many get sick and tired of being tired and sick. Even leaders and pastors who spend their lives strengthening others can often find themselves empty. God, in His wisdom, has built a spiritual system to keep His people from collapsing in the vicissitudes of life. He designed a divine rhythm for the soul; edification, exhortation, and comfort. It is God’s healing system for the whole person (spirit, soul, and body) and the whole Body. It is how He keeps His family standing, growing, and enduring until the end. Next week, we will talk about the Mystery of Encouragement but for now, let’s establish the doctrinal side of it.

    Edification: Increasing Our Capacity

    The word edify comes from the Greek oikodomeō which means to build up. It is the act of strengthening, forming, and maturing until a life becomes stable. Spiritually, edification is God’s way of stretching our capacity to carry His life. When you are edified, something within you expands. Your faith deepens, your understanding widens, and your endurance strengthens. You become more capable of carrying divine weight.

    “And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up.” (Acts 20:32)

    God builds us through teaching, truth, and time. Like a master builder laying one stone after another, He establishes your inner man until you can contain more of His strength, more of His wisdom, and more of His people. We do not grow by accident. We grow because the Spirit keeps laying stone upon stone, truth upon truth, grace upon grace. Edification is how God turns the fragile into giants.

    Exhortation: Increasing Our Expectation

    Once you have been built up, you must be stirred up. Exhortation comes from the Greek paraklēsis which means to call near, to urge, to appeal. It is the voice from Heaven that says, “Do not give up. Lift your eyes again.”Sometimes you know the truth, but you no longer expect it to happen. You are built up but not stirred up. That is when the Spirit exhorts. He calls you near, speaks courage into your heart, and rekindles anticipation for what God will yet do.

    “Let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works… exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:24–25)


    Exhortation raises your expectation. It awakens the dormant parts of your faith. It moves you from “I know” to “I believe again.” Through a message, a friend, or the quiet whisper of the Holy Spirit, God exhorts His children to rise. The fire may be small, but exhortation breathes upon it until it burns bright again.

    Comfort: Increasing Our Threshold

    Comfort is not about removing pain. It is about raising the threshold to endure it. Comfort comes from paramuthia, meaning to speak closely, to console, to strengthen. It is the tender voice of God in the midst of trial.

    “Blessed be God, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, who comforteth us in all our tribulation.” (2 Corinthians 1:3–4)

    When life feels unbearable, the Comforter sits beside you. He does not scold you for weeping. He stays with you through it. Comfort increases your threshold, your ability to face tomorrow without collapsing today. The comfort of God is not sentimental. It is strengthening. It restores your equilibrium, renews your peace, and brings sanity back to your soul. Comfort does not make life easier. It makes you stronger.

    God’s System for the Prosperity of your Soul

    This threefold process of edification, exhortation, and comfort is God’s divine therapy for the believer. It is how He balances spiritual maturity with emotional wellbeing. It is how He keeps your spirit sharp, your faith alive, and your heart tender. Built up, stirred up, and held up. That is the full rhythm of what I call God’s architecture of Grace.

    God never intended anyone to walk alone. From Eden to the early Church, His answer to human needs has always been another person. He builds through teaching and discipleship. He stirs through encouragement and prophecy. He heals through companionship and compassion.

    > “Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.” (Proverbs 27:17)
    “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2)

    When you isolate yourself, you disconnect from this system. Isolation dries the soul. Even pastors need edification. Even prophets need exhortation. Even apostles need comfort. God’s love often comes disguised as a friend who refuses to give up on you, a mentor who speaks correction where you don’t see one, or a circle of friends who simply sits with you in silence. His help usually comes with a human face. A true Word from God will always carry this triadic essence. It will build, stir, and heal. When you stay in fellowship, you stay within God’s healing cycle. The Church is not a club of perfect people but a living organism through which grace circulates. Each believer is both a receiver and a dispenser of Grace.

    “Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.” (1 Thessalonians 5:11)

    You are God’s instrument of renewal to someone else. Your word, your prayer, your listening ear may be Heaven’s hand to a weary soul. And in your own day of need, that same grace will return to you through others.

    God’s Architecture of Grace

    Edification increases your capacity to grow. Exhortation raises your expectation to believe. Comfort strengthens your threshold to endure. Together, they form the architecture of grace, the system by which the Spirit constructs, energises, and heals His people. When God builds you, He does not only strengthen your spirit. He heals your mind, renews your emotions, and strengthens your endurance. We are built to last, established to be immovable and in a system that will preserve until you finish your race.

    So when you feel weary, do not withdraw. Do not hide your pain. You may be tired, but you are not alone. The same Spirit that builds, stirs, and comforts is reaching for you still to help you stand until the end.

  • The Mystery of Comfort: Thy Rod & Thy Staff

    Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
    Psalms 23:4 NKJV

    This world is unfair and “unfair” is an understatement. The wicked succeed, the righteous suffer, the rich steal from the poor, and evil still persists. Everything looks chaotic. Your head aches whenever you think in that direction. You don’t even know what to do with your life anymore.

    You are not alone. Almost everyone has reached that stage before. You may even be there right now. In fact, you’ve been there all your life and it’s starting to feel permanent. However, realise the importance of hope. There’s a reason why hope made it to the finals (hope, faith and love in 1 Corinthians 13:13). Whenever there’s invisible burdens and anxieties, it’s simply the absence of hope. If there’s no hope that your hard work will pay off, why the need for hard work, etc?


    As aforementioned, the unrealized prescription to this dilemma is COMFORT. The NLT version of the verse says, “When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer.” Let God comfort you. Let Him teach you that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory which shall be revealed in us.

    You really need Comfort so go to God, the source of all comfort as 2 Corinthians 1:3 says.

    And when I was burdened with worries, you comforted me and made me feel secure.

    Psalms 94:19 CEV

    Sometimes, life becomes overwhelming. We begin to worry about life’s decisions. It’s not a lack of information we may even be suffering from. We may know all of God’s promises but we are still worried if we are making the best decisions for our lives. You may think you need more money to solve all your problems but all the problems of another man are as a result of their money. What you may lack is Comfort. I know you are in a very rough storm but there is a man in your boat whose Words the winds and the sea obey.



    David said, “Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for Thou art with me. Thy rod and their staff, they COMFORT me”. Have you cared to find out what David ever meant? The rod is, of course, an instrument of authority and correction. The staff, on the other hand, is an instrument of compassion.

    The staff guides the sheep along a dangerous, unfamiliar, difficult path. The shepherd presses the staff against the side of the sheep and guides it, assuring the animal of its proper path because some sheep will never tread an unfamiliar route. The rod protects you from wild prey. The staff is also used to guide a newborn to its mother when they are separated. Be it correction or guidance, these are spiritual instruments of Comfort.

    So it’s Comfort you needed all along. Your comfort zone is the secret place of the Most High. His promises are sure. Trust His Word and you will be calm in the midst of calamity.

  • Parenthood 303: How To Show Approval To Your Child – Why Is It Important?

    Approval is a small word but carries substantial weight. To be more specific, a parent’s approval carries substantial weight in their child’s life. Are you a parent who constantly criticises or disapproves of your child’s choices or performance? Do you constantly dismiss your child’s opinion? If you have answered yes to any of the questions….click on the link below to read more 👇

    How To Show Approval To Your Child – Why Is It Important?
  • How To Comfort A Friend

    How To Comfort A Friend

    “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”
    2 Corinthians 1:3-4

    Our brain has the capacity to store whatever information we receive, whether it is needful or not. But as time goes on, the brain empties its short-term memory. Also, if what’s stored in the long-term memory – be it your birthday 4 years ago or what you ate for breakfast 21 days ago – is not revised with time, the memory decays.

    Why? Because of emotional overload.

    Every thought, word, taste, smell, scene, touch etc has an emotion attached to it. For eg. You feel sad whenever you think about the death of a loved one. However, some events happen in our lives that are so traumatic that we hit an emotional overload for a long period of time. For eg. losing someone really close to you or seeing someone get shot. These events are traumatic that it’s been scientifically proven to cause neuroplasticity. Did you get it? The victim is so overloaded that it literally changes the structure of his/her brain.

    Do you know one thing? We are all headed for such an experience. Life does not even prepare us enough for it. No matter how much you are prepared for it, it is going to shake the very foundations of your will to survive. Keep this in mind when you see it happen to someone close to you. There’s an Akan proverb that says, “when you see a vulture on someone’s head, say get away from us, not get away from the person. For if the vulture leaves the person, it is coming to you.” The vulture is pain, grief, sorrow, trauma, hurt.

    If pain in this life is inevitable, why do we pretend to be okay? Why then do we act like nothing is wrong? Why? Hmm. Maybe, here’s why. Usually, people don’t know when the other person needs advice, encouragement, upliftment or comfort. It’s frustrating when you simply need comfort and someone is trying to advise you; when you’re pouring out your heart and the other keeps interrupting you with unsolicited advice. In such a situation, it’s difficult to say the right thing, but one thing will always be the right thing to do; listen.

    Listen before you speak. Sometimes the other doesn’t need you to say anything. Don’t make it about you. No one needs to hear what happened to you 5 years ago right now. Listen to the person, not to reply but to be empathic. Also, there’s this culture of belittling people’s experiences just because they are young and “inexperienced”. If a 3-year old is pouring out to you about how frustrating school is, what are you going to do? I guessed it. Downplay it. As if to say the child’s reaction to those experiences are invalid.

    If someone says they’ve lost their mother, it’s stupid to compare it to your experience of losing your dog. It’s insensitive to think that the person should get over it because it’s bound to happen. It’s absurd to think they are young and what they are going through now is “little” as compared to what you’ve been through. Everyone’s capacity is different; everyone’s reaction to the emotional load is different. Don’t belittle someone’s traumatic experiences. You are not the one to validate someone’s pain.

    You’ve probably written a lot of exam in your life and failed some. How are you going to react to a 13-year old failing exam for the first time? Alright. Okay, how about someone who brought hurt and guilt upon themselves because of their actions? Let’s talk about that category for a second.

    Having been called to comfort those who mourn, we have learnt to weep with those who weep and be happy with those who are happy. But how do we comfort other people without denying their reality to sell false hope, and also to avoid our own emotional overload? If you are that friend who always listens to other people pour their hearts out (and we all are that friend in one situation or another), how do you comfort without siding with the person’s mistakes he/she is not willing to admit with uncompromising Compassion?

    Jesus is the character in the Bible who is said to have compassion the most. He had compassion over the two blind men in Matt 20:34, the large crowd in Matt 14:14, the four thousand men in Matt 15:32, the five thousand men in Mark 6:34 and many many more. What I found is that Jesus didn’t tell them that there is hope, Jesus was their Hope. Any time Jesus had compassion on the sick, lame, blind, broken, crushed, sad, wretched, Jesus became a channel of healing for them.

    Don’t let them dump their burdens on you; help them lay down their burdens before the Father. Don’t promise them comfort, comfort them with the comfort God comforted you. Don’t just let them know that you’ll listen – so that the two of you will be wretched? NO! – let them know that when they come to you, they are not leaving with the burden they came with.

    Don’t be a helper in carrying burdens. Be a lifter of one’s head. Learn to comfort the broken without being broken. Don’t absorb their reality, impact yours.

    I love you ❤

  • Uncompromising Compassion: How to Remain Sane in an Increasingly Insane World

    Uncompromising Compassion: How to Remain Sane in an Increasingly Insane World

    Once upon a time, life was just simple. Two guys could hug, be madly close and say that they love each other without it being weird. That wasn’t so long ago. Now there are lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgenders, queers, intersexuals, and pansexuals and 99 other “genders”. Soon, it may even be weird for two girls to be around each other or for siblings to be best friends.

    Everything was okay till someone wanted to marry someone of the same sex. After that was accepted, now people have fought for the right to marry themselves, animals, and even objects. A man decided to even marry his laptop. Now the whole idea of marriage is lost – and loses its relevance – in this insane mess. So you find people making a big deal out of not marrying and that can easily become an unexplainable societal trend.

    One wanted to be transgender; basically being a gender one is not. Then another discovered she could be trans-racial, pretending to be black when she really wasn’t. Now the system is broken. We have trans-disability; people who think they ought to be disabled and behave as such when they actually aren’t. Until when will we realise that being trans is basically trying to be something we originally aren’t?

    We pick every other identity that isn’t us except what we are really made to be. In fact, “what we are made to be” is even up for debate. Sexuality has now become a spectrum so fluid that there are “genders” being made up everyday. LGBTQRSTUVWYZ. Yet, it’s amazing we still count health cases according to the two God-made genders. This is not an LGBTQ+ slandering message. The world is in a serious identity crisis. Nothing makes sense anymore. What do we need to do now?

    It does matter who hang around with and who you allow into your inner circle; it does matter. Jim Rohn once said that “we are the sum total of the personalities of the five closest people to us“. Thus, the adage, “show me your friend, and I will show you your character”. The Scriptures says, “Don’t be deceived; bad company corrupts good manners.”

    When you hang around people who are broken, our compassion makes us feel and understand what they think, but that doesn’t mean that we should take up their mindset. Compassion becomes perversion when we reduce our convictions to embrace the crooked. Christianity is not a calling into isolation, where we isolate ourselves entirely from people due to their negativities; poor, broken, rude, hot-tempered, gay, bully, or naughty. Christianity is not compromise of convictions either.

    Many Christians complain to God that people take advantage of their good heart, their compassion, their generosity, when that is not the case. They then want to isolate themselves. Yet we are the Light of the World. It is the deepest darkness that needs the most light. We are that light. No need to squirm and hide your light.

    If no isolation at one extreme, then no compromise at other extreme either. People hang out with the poor and then develop a negative attitude against the rich. Pastors accept everyone for who they are, even homosexuals, and then develop a theology that supports homosexuality. How are you bringing light when you become darkness?

    Hanging out with people who don’t believe in godly values doesn’t mean we have to take up their conviction. It is wrong to avoid gays because you’re the help from God they need. But it is equally wrong when we try to defend their stance as though it is right. That is NOT compassion. That is compromise.

    You don’t have to change your convictions to love a homosexual. You’re not even helping the homosexual when you change your convictions. Jesus had great compassion for the lady who committed adultery and was about to be stoned. Jesus didn’t condemn her. Neither did He support her. Love is NOT Incompassionate compromise. Love is uncompromising Compassion.

    The whole sexual crisis in our world today is an identity crisis; be it homosexual, bisexual, pansexual, transsexual, transgender, queer or what have you. And just like Jesus did for the adulterous woman, our uncompromising Compassion is what will change their lives for the better. This is the true meaning of unconditional love.

    “Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my Unfailing Love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed”, says the LORD, “who has compassion on you”.
    Isaiah 54:10

    I love you ❤

  • Love Yourself: Love Is In The Air, Breathe It All In

    Love Yourself: Love Is In The Air, Breathe It All In

    Love is a constant tangible experience of His outpour of Himself. Love is in the air. We have heard “God loves you” many times, but until it is fruitfully experienced by the sayer, it can never be better expressed to the listener.

    Love is what makes me happy when I have no reason to. Love is one self-motivating effect that never withers. Knowing that I’m loved keeps me going. And it is this same love that picks me up when I fall, that encourages me when I stumble.

    And when I’m tired of life and just feel like giving up on myself, love gives me a reason to live. Simply knowing that I’m loved outrageously fills me up with peace. It puts a smile on my face and a tear in my eye. Such amazing love. Love is so beautiful.

    love is in the air

    Love opens up my heart to all good things. It takes away any subconscious fear. And even though I may not be able to escape being broken in one way or the other, I know love will be there to heal my wounds.

    And every time I think of love, I open my arms wide and close my eyes. I breathe in and I smile. It changes my realities. I feel like I’m top of the mountains. I do not have a single doubt about this love. Love is indeed in the air.

    love You ❤

  • What It Means to Love One Another

    What It Means to Love One Another

    P.S. You don’t have to agree with me on this issue. We live in a system that makes people suspicious when you’re so good to someone and unsurprised when you do them bad. Love has become self-centeredness and people will be quick to take advantage of whatever love you have for them. Loving one another has therefore become culturally irrelevant.

    Loving one another with the Love of God means loving people unconditionally. Regardless of the person’s actions, words and deeds, your love is unrelenting. This is the kind of love that makes everyone know that we are disciples of Jesus (John 13:35). If you can show love to someone who feels unworthy, dirty or hard-hearted, it changes their lives forever.

    You cannot love someone more than you love yourself. Therefore, how you love others can depict how much you love yourself unconditionally. If someone wants to capitalize on your love for them by having you to prove it in any form, they don’t love you unconditionally. Remember, love is not earned. If there’s a reason why you love someone, that’s the condition for your love. Think about it!

    Loving with the Love of God means sacrificing your life for others. Jesus laid His life for us so that we’ll be able to lay down ours for others. This is what He means by losing your life for His sake (Matt 10:39, Matt 16:25, Mark 8:35, Luke 9:24 says the same thing). No matter what we do, our decisions affect other people. Love does not sacrifice others for the sake of oneself. It does not mean sacrificing oneself to the detriment of oneself either.

    There is the need to understand that you CAN lift others up by lifting yourself up. It’s not always that one has to come down for another to go up. Sacrifice is not always a substitution. Most times, it is taking that better alternative. Sacrificing for others simply means taking decisions that not only benefits you but benefits others also.

    Loving one another with the Love of God means seeing the good in people even in their evil. If God could see a great apostle to the Gentiles in a serial killer, why can’t you? Of course, this is not about being optimistic or positive-minded. It is about how you see people. Do you see people as their mistakes? Do you identify them with their flaws? This is a trustworthy saying; you cannot genuinely love someone and not see their true pure state. Love makes us understand that anything bad or evil people emulate is not their true nature. “Love does not rejoice in evil”.

    People are bigger than their shortcomings. How you identify them says more about you than about them.

    If only you could see through God’s eyes for one second and see how He sees them. God has indeed given us His eyes as the Body of Christ. If God can see bravery in Gideon who thought he was the biggest coward in the world, then you can too. If God can see a deliverer in a man who had become an outcast and send Moses back to Egypt and use him mightily, then you can too. But it’s only through God’s eyes.

    We can only love others unconditionally if we love ourselves unconditionally. On the other hand, we cannot love ourselves unconditionally and love others conditionally. It’s impossible! Truth is, we can only love ourselves unconditionally if we accept God’s unconditional love for us.

    God loves you. It’s not a theory. Once you bask in His Love and begin to experience His Love shed abroad in your heart, His Love flows to you through you to others. Therefore, our love for others shows that we love God. We cannot say we love God unconditionally if we don’t love others unconditionally. Unconditional Love is an unbroken chain. And it all begins with accepting God’s Love for you. Understand that God loves you. Love yourself. Love others. Love God.

    I love you ❤

  • Can Goodness Be Taken Advantage of?

    Can Goodness Be Taken Advantage of?

    But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
    Galatians 5:22 NKJV

    Goodness cannot be taken advantage of. What people take advantage of is insecurities. When you are insecure about doing good to others, you basically care about your public image, the show you’re putting up, how people will see you and praise you, how you can use your goodness now for a favor later. True goodness is not ignorant or blind. People take advantage of whatever that is ignorant and blind. True goodness understands the situation, sees the need, has the resources and is willing to help.

    True goodness is not forced or coerced. True goodness is a decision to help when you are willing and able. True goodness is not to the benefit of others and a detriment to yourself. That is a dualistic thinking. Not every situation is dualistic. Giving someone an advantage does not necessarily put you at a disadvantage. Your parents spending huge sums of money on you is not to their disadvantage.

    Sacrifice is not detrimental, how much more goodness. Don’t be shortsighted. Look at the big picture. Yes! Sacrifice is costly. But we choose the value we place on anything, including ourselves. If it’s worth it, it’s worth sacrificing for. If we don’t learn to prioritise what really matters in the long run and sacrifice for it, we would hold on to everything there is and eventually lose everything. Laying down your life for someone is not necessarily killing yourself. Every parent understands this perfectly.

    Goodness is not only giving what we have materially. Sometimes all the other person needs is not the amount of money they are asking from you and will be unable to pay. Sometimes they just need the peace of mind you’re not willing to give away. That will mean not giving them what they think they need in the short term but what you know would be beneficial in the long term

    Goodness from time immemorial has been a coverup for a hidden motive or evil deeds that need not be seen. That is the kind of goodness that can be taken advantage of. Why? Because such a goodness has to be put up to cover up. There are top businesses in the world that grant auditors huge sums of money to shut up concerning their fraudulent transactions.

    When you’re insecure about goodness, you do good out of convenience and pity. Perhaps, it’s your way of putting people under you. Or a sure way to avoid controversy. Or even a way of pleasing the public eye. Insecure goodness can be blackmailed. Anyone can do good. Even some serial killers in history have donated parts of the bodies of their victims for the good of science. But truly doing good emanates from being truly good.

    It is absurd to think goodness can be abused. Can you abuse your mom’s love for you? Can you abuse the sun’s energy? Can you abuse the oxygen you breathe? Can you abuse the grace of God? Certainly not! Whatever goodness we abuse affects us more than the source of goodness. If you have a friend who is willing to support you no matter what, and you think you can abuse them and you indeed do, you lose their trust but they never lose their kindness. Think about it.

    Sometimes I wonder if Mother Theresa would have remained Mother Theresa in this system of ours. I believe she would. In fact, there are more people with her heart now than ever before. Don’t let the system fool you. Those who linger close to the top and abuse whatever goodness there is never make it for long. Everyone at the top is a philanthropist. Whoever wants to make it to the top must have the mindset of giving back to society.

    There is a kind of goodness that emanates from empathy and compassion. It causes us to do good because we ARE good. We are the epitome of goodness when the reason for our goodness is because we have seen a need that we can address. True goodness is a response to the call of the universe to address the needs of our fellow selves. True goodness does not take advantage of. True goodness gives advantage to.

    So, don’t stop doing good because people did you bad. Do good because you are good. The world has been changed and will change a thousand times by the littlest of goodness shown. Think about all the people and works that came to stay throughout history from the first civilisation to date. Don’t fear your goodness will be taken advantage of. Be glad that you’re the vessel being used to make a positive impact in the lives of the people around you.

    I love you ❤