A PRESENCE WITHIN

I don't know if you've had this feeling before. A feeling of emptiness, of frustration, of depression. It is as if there is a vacuum in your heart that cannot be filled. You feel sad, very sad but you don't why you are sad. It's like you can never be happy, that life has nothing for you. You watch celebrities and you wonder if their world is real.

Everything you've ever conceived, every inspiration, every idea becomes unreal, a fantasy. It's like you are falling into a deep hole and there is no one to bring you out. You look at the world around and you feel bad, like there's no reason to hope anymore. It's like your dreams will not come true and you think that there's no reason to live anymore. You lose all trust, all faith and you feel miserable, like you are left alone in a world that is lifeless, void of any pleasant moment.  There is no one to open your heart to and you even feel like committing suicide, ending your worthless life.

But even amidst that, you feel a presence within you, and you hear a faint voice calling out to you to hold on a little longer and saying no to all the negative thoughts whirling inside you. It's like the voice is arguing with you, telling you not to give up. That's the "PRESENCE WITHIN."

The Bible recorded that in the beginning, Gen. 1:2, "The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." His presence is always within us, even in darkness, you feel him, it's His presence that fills an empty soul with melody and makes merry a sad heart. His presence empties emptiness and occupies all voids. It's the same presence that brings inspirations and ideas. It brings music to your ears and joy to your heart.

His presence that is the only thing you need to fill the emptiness in your soul and the vacuum in your heart. So, the next time you are feeling downtrodden, you know exactly what to do. With closed eyes and uplifted hands, lift up your spirit to Him, let your inner being soar and let your soul rise up to acknowledge Him. Let His Spirit fill your whole being, and right there at that moment, you will feel His presence within you, taking up every little space in your being, wiping away all depression from heart and worries from your mind, erasing the bitterness you feel in your spirit and bringing an unearthly peace to your soul.

ARE YOU LIVING OR JUST SURVIVING?

I look around me and I see people, I see things, the buzz is everywhere. Everyday people wake up, dress and go out to different destinations with different purposes. A great deal of people go to their office to work, some go to school to study, but only few have good reasons for going where they are going and doing things they are doing.
Have you ever taken out time to ask yourself if you are truly living or just surviving? Ever thought about your dreams and aspirations? Ever stopped on your tracks to think about your life and your world? Or is your life just the same everyday, rushing out in the morning and coming back late at night to rest and the next day the same thing happens?
Some people don't know what they do nor have reasons for doing what they do. There are some people who have never thought about their life for even once, they just continue in the same old routine of life, everyday, till the end of the year, the next and so on. People like this may live their lifetime chasing after one single thing and ignoring other opportunities that may come their way and as a result of that, they remain where they are, day after day, year after year and you can imagine what a boring life that would be.
This is a time for a change, a little adjustment here and there. Jack Dixon asserts, "If you focus on results, you will never change. If you focus on change, you will get results." So I need you to do this;
First of all get yourself into a cool environment and try relaxing yourself. Make sure you are comfortable, once you have achieved that, do the following:
1. Try observing the environment you are in for a moment, take pain to absorb every single detail into your being. You will be shocked to see the revelation this will open to you.
2. Take out a pen and paper and write down everything you know about your life. Your challenges, your achievements, your failures, your likes and dislikes, just about everything you know about your life.
3. After that, write down the things you want out of life, how you would like to live your life, and your expectations in life.
4. Once you've done that, write down areas in your life where changes need to be made in order to bring into reality your dream life.
5. Then map out strategies on how to make those changes and achieve your target goals.

After you've done all these, as you prepare to leave where you are, I want you to have this resolution to start effecting changes in your life, utilizing every opportunity that comes by in every possible way. Try making use of the strategies you've mapped out to do this. It's not enough to just think, you also need to act to change those thoughts and ideas into something tangible. Even the Bible says, "Faith without work is dead." So act now and you'll realize how easy it is to live and live the life of your dreams and not just surviving.
Good luck.