WILL YOU RISE?

Let's look at the state of things in Kenya right now. Inequalities are wide with the top 10 per cent of Kenyans earning 44 per cent of the national income, whilst the bottom 10 per cent earns less than one per cent. I guess that is what has led to a 46% of people living below the poverty line.

The unemployment rate is at an all time high of 40%, and 65% percent of the unemployed are persons under the age of 30. Insecurity is on the rise, in 2011 there were 75,733 reported crimes. Sexual violence is largely ignored, 1 out of every 5 girls experience sexual violence, this number has risen by 5.1% since 2003. Teenage pregnancy is on the rise,  3 out every 10 teenage girls are getting pregnant, an estimated 10,000 to 30,000 children have been caught up in commercial sex trade, mainly in the coastal towns. There are more children bore out of wedlock than ever before, there is a great rise in single mothers, a statistic that shows the gravity of this is that an estimated 75% of the ladies in the Kenya national football team are single mothers. There is a 7.8% HIV prevalence rate, approximately 1.3 million Kenyans are currently living with HIV, including about 156,000 children. More drugs than books are being passed around the youth, research shows that 60% of the youth got exposed to drug or substance abuse while in high schools. Recent statistics show that at least 30% of the youth in substance abuse got to it in primary school. Only 86% of children enroll in primary schools, of that number only 71 % get to go to secondary school, and only a grim percentage of these secondary educated kids get post secondary education. This is a broad generalization, not factoring in the number of drop outs. More than 15 million people – including more than half the rural population – are without access to safe water or sanitation facilities.

We can go on and on with these statistics, and even that wouldn't paint the real picture. I state all these without mentioning the Kenyan political scene, it's a mudslinging Olympics, come election time you are left feeling sick, disgusted and worried about the State of this great country of ours.

It's hard to rise above all these, and confronted with the reality of the situation, we all tend to look for an escape. Just like Elijah in the Bible, when he received the news that Jezebel (she was the queen of Israel at the time) was out kill him. At the time, many of the Lord's prophets had been killed at Jezebel's command, and she ordered specifically for Elijah to be slain, she even gave it a time frame of 24 hours upon which her command was to be fulfilled. So Elijah escaped to the wilderness for fear of his life.

With all of these things against us, it's hard to beat the odds, especially for the youth. Even I as the author is not exempt, I'm currently staring down the barrel of one the grim statistics stated in paragraph 1. The statistics are our Jezebel and every now and then, confronted with our situation we tend to look for an escape, somewhere where you can be yourself and forget about everything else. Some people find it in drugs, some find it in music, others in partying, others in sports, others in literature and the arts, others in sex, others in food, others in acting, others in their careers, others in movies and series, others in video games... you name it. You do it to a point that it doesn't help anymore, and you have to look for a new haven. I was right there, but no matter what I did I never was content, I was never at peace. It even got a point it was all about keeping up an appearance, and to the least it was exhausting.

Elijah got tired of running too, after a day of running in the wilderness, he was tired and famished, just like I was, maybe just like you are right now.  The Bible best describes Elijah's situation in 1st Kings19:4 'But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!” 

It's hard to find a positive in Elijah's situation, but at least Elijah found a broom tree to rest under. When I was in my wilderness I had no where to find rest, and it's the same for all of us. But God is good and His Grace is abundant. When faced will all this the Lord says,  “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Mathew 11: 28 - 30. Jesus is our broom tree, no matter what life throws at us, we just bring our problems to Jesus. And under that broom tree you get to be real with Jesus, tell Him like it is, tell him what you feel just like Elijah did.

 Elijah was just from doing marvelous things, he prayed to God for fire to fall down from heaven and God sent fire from heaven, he had prayed for it not to rain for 3 and a half years, and only at his prayer did it rain again! But even this guy after doing all these felt defeated, because after all these acts, the people of Israel still didn't turn to God. And he thought he was no less than his ancestors, people who had fallen short of God's glory, and he wanted for all of it end. So he asked God to take his life, but God didn't answer this prayer.

God is so good, when Elijah had passed out under the broom tree, He sent an angel to Elijah. 1st Kings 19: 5 - 7 'Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat.”  Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again.  And the angel of the Lord came back the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.” 

Imagine that, being fed by angels! But you know we too can rise. Just like Elijah, as long as Jesus is our broom tree, all you got to do is Arise and feed of every word that comes out of the Word of God. The Bible is our cake and jar of water, an age old book but when you read it, it's refreshing as if it was written today just for you! The cake was baked on coals and it was baked just for Elijah, it was ready and hot for him to eat it, and so is the word of God for you. 

All you got to do is accept Jesus into your life, do it in your own words, ask Him to be your broom tree, to take all your troubles away, all your sins away and to give you eternal life. Then you can rest in Jesus and feed of His word and you'll beat the odds. 

When Elijah was done resting, He woke up and even though he felt lonely and defeated, God had a plan for him and was with Elijah every step of the way, he never had to feel lonely again. In the same way God has a plan for you. 

What is so awesome about Elijah's story is God didn't let Him die, Elijah was carried to heaven with chariots of fire when his work was done here on earth. 

God is so graceful that he didn't let him die! Elijah never died!  How cool is that, if you find rest in Jesus, when you die you get to rise just like Jesus did after dying on the cross for our sins, and you get to spend the rest of eternity with God in heaven. Or better yet, if we live on this earth to see the day  Jesus comes back for His people on the day of rapture, we will get to rise to heaven just like Elijah. Only life and life in abundance awaits for those who find rest in Jesus. 

These are the last days, all signs point to it, what happens when Jesus comes for His people and you aren't ready for Him? Even if you don't live to see the day of rapture, what awaits you when you die? Will you rise to eternal life, or awake to eternal damnation? 

Chose Jesus, chose life. And with Jesus the odds are in your favour, because we are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ, but the choice is yours. Will you rise?