Women of Reverence welcomes Pinky Hlophe as a guest blogger.
A wife to Thulani Hlophe and a mother of two amazing children. I am on the eldership team of FrontLine People Church in Brackpan, Johannesburg.
I am currently in my 3 rd year, studying a Bcom Degree in Financial Management through UNISA.
I home-school both my children and just love seeing kids free, be themselves and grow to be who God intended them to be. I love serving in Administration of our local church and passionate about worship ministry.
Some of us grew up with the idea that we need to achieve and succeed at all costs,
prove we can do it and be strong. We have plan A, B and C to ensure we achieve
the goal. We start to strive and work so hard that we put our blinders on (similar to
how horses race) to avoid distractions and anything that can alter the dream or goal
we have set.
I believe God has given us the dreams and desires of our hearts and He doesn’t
want to tear what we have built or are building, He just wants us to build with strong
foundations so that what we build can stand strong. He wants to take the house of
cards and turn it into a house built on the Rock, with the strongest materials. It is not
a matter of giving up our dreams or proving our worth, but letting the Master Builder
guide the direction and us being obedient!
The story of the Tower of Babel in Gen11:1-8 is about how mankind was so eager to prove how good they were and what they could do, to bring glorification to themselves; they were full of pride. They became so centred around their own abilities that they forgot about God. It is not a
bad thing to be good at what you do; I encourage you to keep at it! However, we
need to be mindful of the purpose for the gift/talent we have. It is not for self-gratification but to draw others to God.
1 Peter 4:10-11 (NIV): “ 10 Each ofyou should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the
strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.”
When we do things in our own strength or raise ourselves up, we are building in vain.
It is like a house of cards; we are building things that will not last. This is done by
excluding God from what we are trying to achieve or moving the focus from God’s
Kingdom to ourselves.
Psalm 127:1 (?): “If the Lord doesn’t build the house, the builders are working for nothing.”
I was reading Matthew 7:24-27 (NIV) which states: “ 24 Therefore everyone who hears
these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his
house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and
beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the
rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into
practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the
streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great
crash.”
Verse 24 stuck out for me: ’…puts them into practice….’ How do we put the
words of God into practice in our lives? For many of us, God has spoken some truths
to our hearts over the years – some we have believed and others we prefer to forget
because we don’t believe them about ourselves. We don’t disagree but we are not
ready to open the door to accept what God has said about us.
I was also encouraged by the words ‘…puts them into practice….’ When we start to
put God’s word into practice then we start building on a rock; our understanding of
what we are building and its purpose changes!
Luke6:46-49 (NIV): “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? 47 As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. 48 They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. 49 But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”
We build foundations that can’t be destroyed. Putting into practice means applying the exact words or instructions to get the required results. Most of us have head knowledge of the goodness of God but we struggle with the heart to absorb the truth of How much He loves us; He wants us to believe
that we are who He says we are! We struggle with putting into practice the word of God by just accepting it and letting it change us.
I would like to encourage you to go back to your journal and read again the words
that God has spoken over you. Let the promises of God change how you view your
circumstances, your dreams and desires!
Love
Pinky