By Rev Humphrey Kanga
Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of Midianites. Have I not sent you?”So he said to him, “O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house “and the Lord said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man” Judges 6:15-16 NKJV
When Gideon was called by God to deliver Israelites from the Midianites, he gave excuses. All the reasons he give were as a result of experiences derived from his family history and culture. He complained that his family was the least in Manasseh and that he was the youngest in his father’s house. He had all the reasons to feel inferior.
The culture we acquire from our families and our immediate environments influence our thinking and attitude about life.
I see authors from Kenya and Africa as small Gideons. The Lord has called us to confront the wanting culture of writing and reading in our country and continent. We are sticking our necks out to fight the giants of the prevailing attitudes, that there are not many authors in Kenya; that Kenyans do not read; that all worthy reading books are from the western world.
Time has come to change that narrative. With the Lord on our side, we can ride over any challenge, obstacle or setback. I believe great things start small. The Lord knows our weaknesses and limitations, but He has chosen us to start a movement that will change this country and the world by our writing.
The good Lord has provided us with CLC Kenya, a Christian publishing organization with a mission to help young writers like us who had books sitting in our minds but did not know how to go ahead to write and publish. We have been provided with an opportunity to get the books written and published.
Let us all with courage, move forward even if it seems like we are only making baby steps. Many times when on divine cause, a lot of opposition comes. Sometimes from our friends, family and from those we love. But in it all, the worst enemy is the battle that comes from our hearts. Our enemy the devil is very good at antagonizing us from within. This enemy causes us to doubt God’s leading in our lives. He sets us at war with ourselves, bring in fatigue, negative thoughts and eventually lack of trust in God.
Let us always guard the gates of our hearts and our minds. Always allowing good thoughts that will propel us forward in our faith and walk with God. Once our relationship with God is right then other areas of our lives will be ok. That way, we are energized to perform at our best majoring on the major matters that pertain to the purpose of our existence and minor on minor and unimportant matters of life.
My encouragement to you today is to soldier on through the process that constitutes or brings about a great book. Be patient to go through all the process of writing and publishing. Do not use shortcuts even if it takes you years to write or publish. It’s worth it, to faithfully walk through the process despite the time taken. Once we do that honestly, we should then leave the results to God.
For some time, Gideon focused more on himself and his weaknesses than on God and His strength. The word of God exhorts us to be transformed.
“Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what the will of God, that which is good acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2(NASV)
That transformation is not coincidental but is planned and pursued by an individual. We daily live within cultures that train us to think backward instead of forward. Gideon had positioned and fixed his mind, believing that he is too small to save Israel, that his clan is weakest in Manasseh, that he was the least in his father’s house. We have to unfix our minds and focus on God’s strength instead of concentrating on our weaknesses and failures.
We acquire and develop personal culture through the experiences and aspirations exposed to us. Now we are called to be agents of transformation. When Gideon listened and obeyed God, the Almighty used him to do exploits. He defeated the Midianites and saved Israel. This happened not by his own might nor by his own power but by the Spirit and power of God. He was turned into a mighty man of valor and he defeated the Midianites who were a great threat to the Israelites.
Our God is a mountain-mover and a plain-maker. He creates a way where there is no way and rivers in the deserts. Like Gideon, let us move with the strength of the Lord in all that we do this going forward.
It does not really matter what you can or cannot do . What matters is to trust and focus on the strength given by the Lord. With God all things are possible – negative cultures, barriers and setbacks are no issue to our Lord. He rides over all that, to give us victory as authors.
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Humphrey Kanga is the founder of Kenya Connection Ministries International (KCIM) and is the CEO of Kenya Connection Kids. He is passionate about doing ministry and empowering the poor and destitute in the society. His ministry developed six practical approaches of eradicating mental, spiritual, social and physical poverty. He has established three children homes, a technical institute, micro-loaning program, peace building and resolution program, sponsorship of hundreds of children in schools, colleges and universities in Kenya. The philanthropic work done by KCIM is widely recognized in Kenya, America and other parts of the world.
A native of Chuka in Kenya, Humphrey lived in America for five years where he received Master of Divinity (M.Div) from the prestigious Erskine Theological Seminary in South Carolina, USA. He is a preacher and a thinker.
Humphrey is the author of “Rebranding to Win” and “The Journey Against All Odds”. He is married to Hellen with whom they are blessed with two children, Alex and Abigail.
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