Qara' leb `ataph

Are you familiar with a game played by pairs,
where one member has to find an object~blindfolded,
while his partner will try to lead him to that object
just by calling out?
I happened to play that game
for the first time just a week ago.
(1) And to make the game more frustrating,
there were more than 5 pairs playing
and there was Cole, KJ, and Kuya Glen
joining in with the distraction!
You should have seen the "chaos"
just by trying to communicate with your partner.
I couldn't even hear my partner's voice.
Not to mention Cole always yells at me
saying, "stop!"
"wait!"
"You're going the wrong way!"
they even tricked me
by telling me that we should all remove our blindfolds
because the game is over,
and I actually believed them!!
(2) when it was already very noisy
and I kinda think that I'm hearing right
but really don't ~~
but I just continue to move,
not realizing that I was already out of the area!
(3) Kuya Jerry approached me and whispered,
"You know what, I think you should stop for a while,
turn around, and listen because you're going out of the square."
or something like that.
~~
Everyone was done except me.
(4) Everyone was yelling at me already
telling me to do this or that.
My partner yelled the more
"Karyll, don't listen to them, listen to my voice."
I did and I manage to find the object
which I think Cole was holding all along!

I couldn't help but compare the game
with my relationship with God,
my accountability to my brothers and sisters in JC,
and my response to His call
during my daily walk with Him
I actually learned 4 things from the game
this were the following:

1) In our walk with God, the
enemy (no offense KJ, Cole, and Kuya Glen!)
will always find ways to hinder us from hearing
what God really wants us to hear and know.
Often times the enemy only yells lies
and sometimes those lies seem so believable
that if we're not careful enough,
we might end up getting deaf
to to God's call
and can get attached to the worthless
and destructive noise of the deceitful world.

2) There are times when we really wanna do something
and wanna do it quick
we often times try to do it on our own.
we rely on our own strenght and understanding,
thinking that we can manage without God's guidance.
The truth is, you'll only end up like me in the game.
When I tried to look for the object on my own
even though I couldn't see a thing,
I still tried to find the missing object.
I got further away from my partner
and got lost.
It's the same with our relationship with Jesus.
The more we try to do things on our own,
the farther we miss God's will;
and the farther we miss God's will,
the farther we stray from him
and we get lost.

3) Now as brothers and sisters in JC
it is also our responsibility
to alert our siblings in Christ,
to reach out a loving hand
to those who are led astray~
It is our responsibility to tell them
that if everything seems so confusing,
we should pray and
listen intently to what God really wants us to know.
And that is then
when we can finally hear Him.

4)During times of struggles,
the enemy will always try to tempt us
with instant comfort.
But the real freedom,
the real escape is in God's voice.
The enemy yells lies,
but God's voice speaks truth.
It doesn't matter how tempting the enemies'
yells maybe,
we should never listen for it always leads to destruction.
Friends,
during times of struggles,
we should always listen to God's voice of truth.
For that voice will surely lead us out of harm.
It might not be a easy way out,
but it sure will be a safe way.

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imagine that a movie was made out of your life nothing is left out.
everything you had ever done,
thought and imagine were shown in this bog screen for everyone to see.
and secret habits that are so hard to run from and so shaming in the daylight
are exposed to anyone who would wanna stop and look at it.
how would you feel?
would you wanna run away and hide
when you walk pass by people and they start to give you "the look"?
if people in your circle had seen your movie,
would you still wanna sit with them during lunch
or hang out with them?
if conversation stopped when you entered the room,
would you turn around and just leave,
humiliated by their silence?
and yet deep in our hearts,
we all have the desire to be known and be loved.
the only thing we're worried about is if they will accept us for who we are.
I tell you the truth,
God has already seen your movie and He loves you!
He knows it all!
He knows more than you are willing to face in your own internal court.
God knows all that is true about you-past, present and your future.
He is crazy about you!
you don't believe me?
then listen up!
"Lord, You have examined me and know all about me.
You know when i sit and when i stand.
You my thoughts before i think them.
You know thoroughly everything i do.
Lord even before i say a word, you already know it.
You are all around me and have put Your hand on me.
Your knowledge is amazing to me; it's more than i can understand." (Psalms 139:1-6)
so chill!
God loves you!
~~from the book "Outrageous Love"

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