Positive thinking is when we approach challenges and situations we find ourselves in with an optimistic outlook. Positive thinking can be a powerful tool in helping to make the most of potentially bad situations. Anyone can become an optimist with the right attitude, but positive thinking is not faith. The one thing that can separate a person in Christ from an optimist is their faith.

In Hebrews chapter 11 the bible says, "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see". There’s a common saying that "seeing is believing", but that is not what God wants from us. God wants us to believe before we see, he wants us to have confidence and assurance that it doesn’t matter how bad the situation is because with Him all things are possible. Faith requires us to see beyond the physical circumstances and put our trust in God, it doesn’t require the situation to makes sense to us, it just requires us to believe.

Most of us believe in God and pray to him about difficult situations and yet we don’t back our faith with actions. You can’t say one thing and think another in your mind. There must be a complete synergy between our minds and the words we speak with our mouth. What we say must correspond with the picture we have in mind. We can’t have faith without conviction in the word of God neither can we claim to have faith if our words and action do not show it. This brings us to Genesis chapter 22 when God tells Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. He wakes up the next morning, gathers everything he will need for the offering and sets out with his son. And in verses 7 and 8 we get to experience the essence of Abraham’s faith, “7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?” Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”⁸ Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together”. It was as if Abraham had read Numbers chapter 14:28 “^So tell them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord, I will do to you the very thing I heard you say” before he left for the mountains.

Abraham did not only prove in this chapter that he feared God and had faith, but he also put that faith in action through his words. He didn’t just believe in his mind God was going to come through, he declared it out loud in faith because there’s power in the things we say and when we walk with God and talk in faith, He will not withhold anything good from us.  And as a result, he was counted as righteous because of his faith.

Having faith does not mean we ignore our problems wholly or act like they do not exist. But rather, it requires us to face the truth in our situation yet look past it and keep our eyes on God knowing that with him nothing is impossible. This can also be seen in Romans 4 where Abraham19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. 20Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.

This is the kind of faith God requires from us. The only way in which our faith can be strengthened so that we might adopt a positive mental attitude can be found in Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

"If There is a God why is there so much suffering  suffering?" Is a controversial question that is asked by many but what they don't realise is that God does actually exist but He's a reality ONLY to those who have accepted, believe, obey and trust in him. Only people who genuinely know who God is by knowing, reading and obeying His word can comprehend His nature.

Following the "In the beginning- Genesis 1" blog post ( please it read first if you haven't in order to get a full understanding), we saw God's perfect plan and His intentions for the world  especially for humans. The last verse of Genesis chapter one (the creation) says "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good." God created a world that was perfect, where there was light, no pain, no death and no struggle because it was all good and His presence was there. Reading on, in Genesis chapter two verse seventeen; “but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” Here we see the characters and personalities of God unravel. We see that God being as powerful as He is and being able to do whatever he can, he never enforces his plans on us. He always gives us a choice, advises us of which choice to make, warns us about the consequences, but then leaves us to follow the path that we choose to take. This is also evident in Deuteronomy‬ ‭30:19‬ where God says “This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live”. 

By giving Adam and Eve a choice, God gave them the ability to exercise free Will. Free will to either Obey and Trust in Him or choose their own path/destiny by eating the fruit. God did not want to force us to obey Him or limit us to doing the very things He created us for which was to serve him by loving others, showing kindness, showing mercy to others and doing the very things that pleases him. Rather, He wanted us to do all these (to Love Him) out of our own free will. "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' Matthew 22:27. Using their free will, Adam and Eve opened the door for evil to enter the world and jumped out of the perfect state which God had placed them in. And in so doing, opened the world to sin and suffering, a consequence we are still experiencing now. As stated in Job 14:1 “Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.”

This tells us that for all of us suffering is inevitable however the end results for those who are in Christ are different to that of unbelievers. This is because for those in Christ there is always hope because "in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." Romans 8:37. Romans 8:28 also "tells us that all things work together for good for them that love the Lord and are called according to His purpose." From these two as well as many more scriptures in relation the promises made to those who experience suffering, they are all subject to "those who love the Lord". 

That brings us to the story of Job. A man who was described as  “blameless and “upright,” who feared the Lord and shunt evil" Job 1:1 and yet he still faced a lot of pain and suffering and lost everything he had. However, after he had endured all that suffering "the LORD restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before." This also tells us that good people are not exempt from suffering. 

Sometimes God also uses suffering to test our hearts, help us grow spiritually and to strengthen our faith and in the end we are rewarded for our endurance. ^"Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him."  James 1:12.
Following the story of Job, we see that God allowed Job's suffering as a way to test and strengthen his faith. This is seen throughout the Bible as God used various trials and tribulations to test and strengthen the faith of people who had chosen to follow His will for their-lives.

Verse to remember:
"When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed." James 1:13-14

In hospital pharmacy, we have something called medicine reconciliation. It is done by the ward pharmacist for every patient that is admitted to the hospital. It essentially involves taking an accurate list of the medication history of each patient before they were admitted to the hospital and comparing it to the medications they have been prescribed for by the doctor at the hospital. This is done because unintentional changes to medication regimens can lead to adverse drug effects which will harm the patient. The pharmacist needs to ensure that each medicine the patient brought from home matches the ones that has been prescribed and that the dose, frequency and route of administration have not been changed without a clinically valid reason thus ensuring continuity of care and avoidance of medication errors.

In the book of 2 John, the bible teaches us about living in love, truth and being mindful of people who aim to deceive us. In John 14:6, Jesus says “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me”. So, in this scripture we learn that Jesus is the truth and therefore we can cannot claim to live in truth if we don’t have Jesus in us. But also in John chapter 1 we learn that In the beginning was the word, the word was with God and the word was God. Further down in verse 14 we also learn that the word manifested into flesh, which was Jesus Christ. So how can we claim we live in truth and have Jesus if we don’t have the word? Therefore, from these scriptures we learn that the word is the truth and if we don’t know the word, we can’t claim to live in Christ. 

This is why we must set a time out every day (aside of our morning devotion) to read and meditate on the word of God for ourselves and develop our personal relationship with God. Because if God wants to speak to us it will be most likely through his word therefore, if we don’t spend time with God we’ll never know God and if we don't know God we will not be able to recognise his voice or hear him when he speaks to us. John 10:27-28 "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me."

The Bible also warns us to "beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep and but are really vicious wolves (Matthew 7:15)" and False messiahs and prophets who will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God's chosen ones (Matthew 24:24). However, if we know the word of God and develop a relationship with God by constantly reading His word and seeking out revelations for ourselves, we can easily discern between sermons that are not based on the word of God and ones that preach the truth as well as sign and wonders that are of God. Just as Jesus said that His sheep know His voice and follow him, we will be able to discern which prophets and sermons are of God based on what they preach about. Matthew 7:20 "Thus, by their fruit you will recognise them”. 
This is what I call scripture reconciliation, when we have an accurate list of the promises God has for us in the Bible, the commandments that has been set for us and an understanding and knowledge of the ways and works of God, we cannot be deceived by false prophets and their teachings. Because we can check the bible, read it and understand it for ourselves and in doing this; hear from God ourselves rather than relying on hearing from God through others (pastors and prophets). Therefore, we should be vigilant, hold on to our faith and his word.  By doing this, we ensure that no one can snatch us away from his presence.

we worry too much about the outcome of things, that we don't stop to realise that God has already taken care of it.

When we want to achieve success in academics, business, career, finances, relationships etc ,we are going to fail at some point. Multiple times for some of us than others. Then comes one of life's most fascinating questions; 'How do we respond when we fail?'. The road to success is never an easy one. There are numerous hurdles, and you may fall or fail along the way however, success lies in being able to get up every time you fall which brings us to the example of the baby giraffe. When a baby giraffe is born, it falls from about eight feet above the ground. The mother giraffe then stands above the baby and gives it a hard kick, after it falls and start to stretch it's limbs, the mother gives it another hard kick. the baby then pushes out it's limbs and stands on it's feet for the first time. The mother giraffe doesn't stop here, it gives the baby yet another harder kick. upon landing on the ground, the baby gets up and starts walking away. The mother then walks to the baby to hug it because she knows her baby has learnt an important lesson in life: it doesn't matter how hard you fall, but always remember to pick yourself up. The mother teaches the baby this lesson because unless the baby quickly learns to stand on it's feet and run with the pack, it will not survive an attack from it's preys.

Most of  the time when we fall, we fail to pick ourselves back up because we try to to make it on our own without pursing God. So when we stumble, we become discouraged and take the easiest option available to us which is to give up. But when we put our faith and trust in God, we will always have a reason to keep getting up and the will to keep pursing our dreams because Jesus already claimed the victory for us when he died on the cross. So we know that no matter how hard it gets or however many times we fall, we have a reason to get back up and keep going because God's already taken care of it. All he requires of us is to keep believing and have faith that the ending has already been determined. Our success and victory has already been assured and all we need to learn to do is to put in the effort by never giving up. A man's character is not determined by his victories but how he responds after failing. Listen to Jesse Jackson:"if you fall behind ,run faster.Never give up! Never surrender, rise up against the odds". That's all it takes. Learn to get back up every time you fall.

When we learn to trust in God's timing, rely on His promises and wait for His answers, We get to witness God's purpose in our lives and watch/realise things unfold in the most mind blowing way. After all The Bible tells us that "God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think". However we must always remember that "In His time he makes all things beautiful". Note that it says "In his time" and not your own time or when you deem the time to be right. God's plan is of good and not of disaster, to bring us a future that is filled with his glory. This means we must never give up in anything we do because God is intentional and as long as we keep believing and have faith that He is working out everything for our good, we will always have a reason to keep getting back up on our feet whenever will fall. Falling down is part of life, getting back up is living. Always remember that you are a working progress and God is not finished with you yet.

Ending Verse: “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭34:19‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Scriptures:
“But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me. Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light. Because I have sinned against him, I will bear the LORD’s wrath, until he pleads my case and upholds my cause. He will bring me out into the light; I will see his righteousness.”
‭‭Micah‬ ‭7:7-9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭24:16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭29:11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭3:20‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.”
‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭3:11‬ ‭KJV‬‬