News
Opinion: Thriving in Trying Times (Pt. 1)
By Tolulope A. Adegoke
“Until you are tried (pushed), you will not strive, if you do not strive, you may not thrive!” – Tolulope A. Adegoke
Until you are tried, you can’t thrive! In the process of being tried, man must strive not to remain on the floor. This period could feature any of the following processes: from crawling to walking, from walking to running, from running to flapping, from flapping to flying, and from flying to soaring. Trying times are periods of struggles, challenges, lockdowns and knockdowns! It could be terrifying, tempting, difficult and annoying but certainly, it’s a period when the challenged person needs to make some life-changing decisions either to be emotionally drawn in the situation (scenario) or get up and fight by maximizing the storm to discover innate potentials and build capacities beyond the ordinary. It is a period of systematically confronting and conquering one’s fears. It could really be energy sapping (exhausting), it’s a period of fighting hard psychologically, spiritually and morally.
It is a period of aligning your psychological, financial, physical and spiritual strengths to find meaning to your existence. Life is a series of peaks and valleys. Sometimes you are up and sometimes down. But our trying times is when we need more supports, push and guidance. We must understand that it is how we respond and confront our challenges that define how strong we are. This tests of times are revealers of those that are true to us. But we become happier in life as we improve on our abilities to navigate this trying period, and we also grow as a being or an entity.
Your trying times might be a serious health challenge, dealing with patients in your (hospital) wards, marriage, children, relationship, career or customers amongst others; trying times are inevitable. Your Spiritual, Physical, Emotional and Mental (SPEM) strength are usually tested during those trying times. And without adequate ‘SPEM’ strength, life’s inevitable challenges are likely to fill you up with self-doubts and anxiety, uncomfortable feelings lending to negative vibes, thoughts which affect or influence your behavioural pattern, which can turn your catastrophic predictions into a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Life comes with different seasons: good times and bad times as unveiled in the Holy Book [Ecclesiastes 3:1] “there is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for events under heaven” (NASB). Every purpose, activity and situation simply reveals what time and stages we are in. But the good news is that the Almighty God is unchanging through all the seasons. He says: “I am the Lord that does not change.” Not His integrity, His mercy, nor His faithfulness. However, to overcome in every changing seasons of life, we must adapt and engage the shield of FAITH as given us by God; because FAITH is the spiritual, psychological and moral weapon for all season. The Holy Book in 1John 5:4 reveals that: “For whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.”
Currently, the is an ongoing global crisis against humanity, that is the COVID-19 (Coronavirus). We should understand that what is happening today is not new at all; in 1869, 1919 there were pandemics that ravaged the world. Here is where the hope of our victory lies; if God could put a stop to the plagues in times past, He will solve it again; because He alone is the Almighty.
Among others are what trying times does:
One. Trying times is a REVEALER; it truly reveals who you are. Everyone can fake that he or she is strong before their trying moments, but when trying times emerges; that is when you know who you truly are and where you truly stand. Many people tend to play the blames on God in their trying times- these categories of persons want to get their crowns without going through CROSS; such people want the testimonies without passing through the TESTS.
Trying moments reveals our true identity, our strength, weaknesses among others- that is why the Holy Book reveals in Proverbs 24:10: “…if you faint in the day of adversity your strength is small (AMP).”
Two. Trying moments gives us the opportunity to put to test all that we have learnt over the years. Every word of God that has been deposited your heart are to prepare you for battles. Your works/ strengths would be tested in trying times. There are messages you have heard some two to four years ago, such that if something happen today, those words would act as weapon which God had given you in advance to prepare you to lead and conquer. Some of us do not know the power we possess until we feature in trying moments.
Three. Trying times should not make us run away from The Maker, God Almighty; but should push us to run to Him: Just as the Holy Book, Proverbs 18:10 reveals “the name of the Lord is a Strong Tower; the righteous runneth into it, and it is safe.” (KJV).
WAY FORWARD- in Trying Times
The word of God is the solution to every problem; it is the way out of every challenge of life when applied. God uses life events to shake the trees of our lives so that the rotten fruits and withered leaves can drop off. He is shaking the Heavens and the Earth so that the things that cannot be shaken can stand. If we are very observant to current issues around the world, it is vividly clear that the so-called nations that we think are ‘up there’, the scourge of Covid-19 (Coronavirus) has exposed and humbled virtually all of them, they all now find solace in the power beyond science (Artificial Intelligence), God Almighty. These were the so-called nations that had almost totally rejected the full (gospel of the) existence of God over mankind. In a nutshell, God uses trying times to humble mankind and prove His Supremacy as the Almighty in the affairs of men; in a bid to draw us closer to Him.
The first way forward on your to-do-list is to know what-not-to-do. Many times, we say this is what I will do, it may not be as effective as knowing ‘what not to do’. It is not what you should do that matters, it is what not to do in trying times- that is the wisdom we got from the Almighty God in the Holy Book of Exodus 20 when He was giving the Ten Commandment. He didn’t at first state to them what He needs them (Israelites) to do, but ‘what not to do,’ then at the latter end stated what to do. Exodus 20:3 reveals: “you gods before or besides Me” (AMP). God didn’t say “you must serve Me,” but He is saying: Know what you shouldn’t do, that is, “you shall not have any god besides me, you shall not make for yourself an idol, you shall not bow down yourself to them or serve them. God began to give them a list of what they shouldn’t do.
In your trying times, you must first of all, know what not to do; that will help you to know what you should do.
Seven Things You Shouldn’t Do in Trying Times that Guarantees Our Staying Power to Overcome are:
One. Do not FEAR! The Holy Book in Psalm 91:5 reveals that “thou shall not be afraid…” we could see the covenant of God in that scripture that if God should say do not fear, then why should you be afraid. Put your trust in Him, cast your care unto Him, then follow His full instructions or directions per-time; of what use or need is speed when there is no direction?
Even when everything around us points towards fear, always remember that God has instructed us not to fear, and none of His words would fall to the ground. The word ‘fear not’ is very instructive and important. It is one of the most important and common phrases in the Bible; but why is it so common and important? ‘fear not’ is God’s ‘stability phrase’, it is our shock absorber. Why is it so important- Isaiah 41,43, Genesis 15? A researcher or Bible scholar unveiled that the word ‘fear not’ appears 365 times in the Holy Book which connotes that there is a ‘fear not’ dosage for each day.
‘Fear not’ is our God’s Spiritual First Aid. God will not start a major thing just anyhow. Firstly, He stabilizes you by saying “fear not.”
A classic example was when a man came to Jesus Christ to plead to heal his daughter, as the scripture reveals that Jesus was the only hope the man had. Jesus Christ agreed to follow him to his house to heal the daughter but was later interrupted by the woman with the issue of blood, and Jesus ministered to the woman which slowed down his movement to the man’s house; then, someone brought a piece of sad news to the man that he shouldn’t bother the Master (Jesus) that his daughter is dead, “don’t trouble the master.” But when Jesus Christ heard the news, he told the man “fear not; only believe.” (Luke 8:50) KJV. That is the word of God will come to us not to fear when everything around us is pointing toward the direction of fear. So, in our trying times, the first what not to do is ‘FEAR NOT!’ it is a gentle command from our Maker to us (His Children) as a message of HOPE to help trigger our faith for the delivery of our desires.
Two. We must not be SILENT. A closed mouth is a closed destiny. Almost all the covenant of God in the Bible are voice and word activated, and we saw that throughout the scriptures, starting from Genesis 1, every time God wants to activate His covenant, He speaks! When God wanted to revive the dry-bones nothing happened until the word was spoken- Ezekiel 37 “Can these dry bones live again? Ezekiel replied “only God knows, then, God instructed to prophesy and he said “…so I prophesied as I was commanded when I began to speak, then God began to move.” God activates His covenants by Spoken words, as seen in Psalm 91:2 ‘I will say of the Lord…’ Hebrews 13:5-6 “…He had said, I will never leave you nor forsake you.” “so that we might boldly say, the Lord is my helper and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.” In trying times, know that the covenant of God is word activated and you must not shut your mouth, you must speak! The Book of Genesis 1:2-3 reveals that nothing happened, even when the Spirit of God was moving on the surface of the waters until God said: “let there be light.” We must speak FAITH; we must speak it consistently and we must be cautious of our utterances. Don’t just be silent, and when speaking, avoid negative words- remember what the Holy Book (Ecclesiastes 5:6) says: “say not before an angel that it was an error.” We must know what to say and know how to say it. We must be bold (confident); speak with intensity. When situation refuses to change, change it with your spoken words of faith.
Three. Thou Shall Not Disobey or Ignore Natural Wise Instructions and Guidelines for Your Safety. Most of the time, we over-spiritualize things, so much that we ignore wise counsels and other cautions that are natural. Joshua in the Holy Book was fighting the physical battle while the hand of Moses was raised – Exodus 17:9-11. Kindly ask yourself, what are the spiritual and natural things you are consistently doing. For instance, the case of the Covid-19 has compelled a lockdown in virtually all nations, it will, therefore, be wise to follow laid down guidelines issued by the government and the health bodies in order to prevent or avert further spread of the virus.
Four. You must not stop praying. Holy Bible says, pray without ceasing. We must not stop praying- Luke 18:1. Prayer fortifies and purifies us. It aligns us with divinity, so as to intervene in our humanity.
Five. You must not be slack in your confessions of FAITH. Don’t stop it.
Six. You must not doubt; you must keep believing. The Holy Book reveals that a double-minded person can never receive anything from the Lord. As you are confessing, it is revealed in the Scripture in 2 Corinthians 4:13 “we, having the same Spirit of faith, according to as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken, we also believe, and therefore speak.” If you say it and you do not believe it, it becomes useless and worthless.
Seven. You should not be selfish in trying times. Don’t let your prayer only focus on you. We cannot be praying for our country alone and not remember other countries. If our country is safe and others are not safe, then we are not safe. Do not let your prayers be limited or restricted to only you. Jesus Christ, our great exemplar while on the cross in His trying time was still blessing people and giving them the grace of second chance (a case study of the thief on the right-hand side of his cross). Jesus Christ prayed “Lord do not count this against them, forgive them their sins, for they do not know what they are doing. 2 Corinthians 6:9-10 reveals “As unknown and yet well known, as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed, as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing, as poor, yet making many rich, as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.
In your trying times do not shut down. Always do your best to be productive, and positively inclined. As you do all these things, the Lord will turn the situation around. So, what to do is knowing what not to do. As soon as we begin to focus on the things that we should not do, then we will know the right things to do.
The Book of Isaiah 30:15 reveals: “for thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; in returning and rest shall ye be saved, in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.” God is saying to you to calm down, be still and know that He is God [Psalm 46:10]. God is still on the throne and He will turn things around. He will turn your trying times into thriving times for you, and your testimonies shall be full. He will strengthen your faith and give you a lasting solution.
Stay Safe,
Stay Sane,
Stay Sanctified!
Thank you all for reading.
(Thriving in Trying Times continues next week…)
Watch out for the Book titled: “The Power of an Empowered Zero” (From Zero to HERO) by Tolulope A. Adegoke. Foreword by Dr Yomi Garnett (CEO/Chancellor, Royal Biographical Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania U.S.A., U.K., Abuja, Nigeria.) Edited by Ola Aboderin.
Telecommunications giant, Globacom, has charged Christians to embrace the virtues that Christ preached as the 2025 Easter celebrations hold this weekend.
While congratulating Christians in Nigeria in a goodwill message released from its Lagos Head Office on Thursday, Globacom admonished them to imbibe the noble qualities of Jesus Christ.
According to Glo, “Peace, love and sacrifice are the central message of Easter. Christ offered himself in atonement for the sins of the world and he lived a life which made Him an eternal symbol of peace and goodwill for mankind”
Globacom charged all Nigerians to espouse the lessons of selflessness, a necessary ingredient in the growth and development of every society and called on all Nigerians to join hands to make Nigeria a better place for all.
The company praised their perseverance through the 40-day Lenten period which comes before Easter as it emphasized the ideals of selflessness, love and peace among all as a way of demonstrating the exemplary life of Jesus Christ.
Easter comes yearly at the end of the Lenten season of fasting and prayer considered as a ritual of purification for the Christian faithful. It also precedes the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ on Good Friday and His eventual resurrection on Easter Sunday.
The company assured its customers of unhindered voice, data and Short Messaging Service (SMS) during and after the Easter celebrations, while urging them to avail themselves of the various data and voice offerings on the network.
Dear Destiny Friends,
Every human being loves to get approval, either for the great work they have done or the ones they are doing. They love to be appreciated and admired. They also love to be given attention when they have something valuable to say or do. In all of these, one thing is certain, there is something special about us, and this special thing makes one unique, and ultimately attracts people to us.
Let’s face it, nobody will admire you, appreciate you, approve you and give you attention if you don’t have anything to offer. The reason most people associate with someone is because they feel or know there’s something they can gain from the person. It’s hard for someone to relate closely with someone who they don’t see potential value in.
There is no doubt each and everyone of us is unique, yes, there’s something unique about you. You can sing, you can write, you can dance, you can lead, you can serve, you can cook, etc. One can even be a good actor, athlete, comedian, or preacher. The list is literally endless. Now, what’s unique about you?
When you discover what’s unique about you, please do all within your reach to nurture and develop it. One day, the right person, who truly appreciates and knows your value will celebrate you.
I have a friend who is exceptionally skilled in writing and developing creative contents. I call him a genius because he can literally write a book within a week. How he does it is what I don’t understand. I was surprised when he once told me he wrote a book and manuscript in one week. According to him, he has been developing the contents mentally, but hasn’t found time to put his thoughts together, and when he finally gets his thoughts together, he was able to write the book and manuscript. This is a typical way of knowing a unique being.
Many, however, do not know what’s unique about them. We focus our energy chasing what is not chasing us instead of focusing on developing what we already have. It’s sad to see young and old people living their lives in an unintentional manner with a belief that somehow lines, favour or opportunities will fall in place for them.
Sometimes, we rely on other people’s affirmation and opinion, and accept it as our fate. For instance, just because one is tall, he might be told he will be a great fit for basketball without considering if the athlete loves basketball; again, just because someone is very intelligent, his parents will encourage him to major in a particular discipline, which is perceived as lucrative without considering if the person likes it pr not.
I once experienced this fate when my late dad inspired me to study taxation law in New York Law School, a major I detest with passion. It was like a suicidal mission for me because I do know, it will take miracle to graduate from the program. How I was able to get a scholarship for my grades and graduate in record time is a story for another day. I’m not wired as a finance person, I will better serve humanity in the social and developmental space where my skills, talents, gift and passion will be better utilized. And ever since I joined the space, I have seen results.
There are many cases where many people lose their identities without knowing they are unique. We are all unique in our individual ways. Just like there are several gifts and talents, we have different skills. When you know what’s unique about you, you will stand out and the world will not only appreciate you, but will celebrate you.
When one discovers the power of their uniqueness, we will gather strength to unleash it to the world. Uniqueness works in several ways. For instance, the mere fact that ten people are genius, talented, skillful or valuable in a particular work, the person with the unique gift is the person who will not only stand out, but will be called upon to do the work.
Let me share more insight. If ten people sing a particular song with a great voice, the person who is called to be a singer will receive a unique appreciation because he/she is working on purpose. That is why it is easy to see a lot of people venturing into a particular form of business, but the favour of the business will not locate them because they are not uniquely destined to do business.
Few years ago, one of my mentors shared a deep insight with me. He said that, as a trained medical doctor, he once observed that despite the fact there are hundreds and thousands of medical doctors practicing their profession. One fateful day, he noticed a particular patient was not responding to treatment despite all the medication that had been given to him by a nurse, his health was deteriorating, then another nurse came and administered the same pill a nurse gave the patient, and the patient began to feel better. What does that tell you? The second nurse was probably working in her purpose which aligns with her profession, and as such the corresponding success. This goes to show that when one is unique, it has a way of robbing off on their work.
Furthermore, he stated that Mariah Carey, Michael Jackson, and Beyonce are some of the gifted singers and dancers the world has ever celebrated. He went on to say that we have hundreds and thousands of musicians, but only a few have got the spotlight.
What does that tell you? When you are unique, the world will celebrate you. I have understood that the fastest way to get recognition in life is to work in areas where one’s strength and unique gift will better serve the purpose. This is simply because the world does not celebrate one’s weakness, rather, the world celebrates one’s strength.
In recent times, I have seen myself as a counselor and human inspiration. My counseling skills have enabled me to influence people to live positive lives. Overtime, I have realized that when people share their burden with me, they feel relieved after speaking with me. What amazes me most is the fact that even my elders feel comfortable to relate with me on a cordial basis. Maybe, I have a unique gift for counseling and educating.
Today, I am going to charge you to focus your energy and time on whatever will bring you the highest satisfaction. Even if you are looking for a job, applying for school, or seeking any opportunity, your focus should be centered on what you have that the job, school or opportunity will amplify. When you do so, you will be in high demand.
In conclusion, please affirm to yourself today, I am a unique being with a unique personality, purpose and gift.
Say to yourself, ‘I am original’, and refuse to be fake.
Again confess that your originality, authenticity and uniqueness will attract favours, blessings, opportunities from leaders and queens to you, and you will be celebrated.
Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He works with the New York City Department of Correction as the Legal Coordinator. He’s the founder of Gloemi. He’s a Transformative Human Capacity and Mindset coach. He is also a public speaker, youth advocate, creative writer and author of Design Your Destiny Design Your and Unleash Your Destiny . He can be reached via info@gloemi.com
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has emerged as the Best Road Safety Agency in Africa. This monumental achievement corroborates the Corps’ almost four decades of dedication, resilience and passion towards safeguarding lives on Nigerian roads.
The Corps, according to a statement made available to the National Association of Online Security News Publishers (NAOSNP), received the award at the 3rd edition of the Kofi Annan Road Safety Award held in Elzuwini in the Kingdom of Eswatini, South Africa between 14th and 15th of April 2025.
You may recall that Kofi Annan Road Safety Award was initiated by the Office of the United Nations Secretary General’s Special Envoy on Road Safety in collaboration with Kofi Annan Foundation to immortalize the contributions of African illustrious son Kofi Annan who served as the Secretary General of the United Nations.
The prestigious Road Safety Management Award represents a badge of honour for Nigeria, and a pure testament of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment to unflinching support for the Federal Road Safety Corps and his believe in the Corps’ potential to serve as a model for other African nations. Indeed, FRSC’s tireless efforts to reduce road crashes and promote safe driving practices have paid off, earning recognition across the continent.
The recognition further speaks volume, as well as justifies the giant strides Nigeria has made in ensuring safety of road users and her leadership role in the Sub-region.
Reacting to the recognition, the Corps Marshal, Shehu Mohammed said that it is a testament to FRSC’s unrelenting passion for road safety. He thanked the entire community of the motoring public, stakeholders, partners, and the Nigerian people for their support. Emphasising that together, the Corps was able to achieve the enviable feat because of the collective energy and all round support received from the motoring public.
The Corps Marshal also revealed that FRSC’s winning formula includes, innovative strategies, implementing cutting-edge road safety initiatives that drive results, collaboration, fostering partnerships with stakeholders to promote road safety awareness, community engagement, educating the public on safe driving practices, full deployment of technology and road safety protocols.
The award was received on behalf of the Corps and the Federal Republic of Nigeria by the Principal Staff Officer to the Corps Marshal ACM Meshach Adigizi Jatau.
