SHOW ME YOUR NOTES

We were on break for some weeks; in my university days. One evening, mum requested that I drive her to church for a sisters’ meeting. While they were in the meeting, I sat in our Nissan Primera station wagon underneath some cashew trees. I honestly was not really praying but I sensed the presence of the Lord. 

That April evening in 2007, I picked up my pen and my journal because the Lord began to speak to me. He told me eight things about my life. It began with a revelation about the call. The fourth one was a warning and the last one was a call a consecration. 

Everything I am doing today is tied to that evening of driving my mum and taking notes of what the Lord said. I always set aside that day in thanksgiving and adoration to the Lord every year. I still have the original copy of the note. 

One of the disciplines of a man that the Lord will use is journaling. You must have the discipline of taking note of what the Lord has said and the instructions he has given you. 

The simplest way to begin is note-taking while you study the Word of God. That Bible is your own. Write on it. Make it “your Bible”. Note dates that a scripture hit your heart. Note times that light came through a verse. Meditate on it. In our digital days, keep digital notes. Some of us are still hard copy lovers. Make sure you take notes. 

The second way is taking sermon notes in church. I have notes from 2006 till date. One of the proofs that you are serious with your life and destiny is how seriously you take keeping a record of teachings. Invest in good hardcover notes. Stop using “Kola hooks Lola”  or “Adieu Mama” or “Graduation or Convocation” spiral bound notes that you can easily tear from to keep shopping lists. Keep journals that you can cherish. 

Do you realize that we have the Bible because some people did not joke about journaling their encounters and experiences with the Lord? Pastor E.A. Adeboye has a section on their campground called Open Heavens. We visited once, and we were shown copies of his sermon notes from years back. They were kept and preserved. Bishop Oyedepo brought out a deck of notes at a ministers’ conference to challenge our generation. Bishop Wale Oke is always with amazing journals and dated. His shelf has well-arranged sermon notes. You are a minister but you have pieces of paper you preach from. Some are now stained with palm oil. You need to be serious. 

God is a generational God. He will not use a man who is not thinking generationally. It is a waste of kingdom investment. Moses went to his presence and returned with words on a tablet. The Angel told John the Beloved to Write. Daniel became restless in Babylon because he read what Jeremiah wrote. Jesus located and declared his assignment from the book of Isaiah. If your note-taking discipline is to become a blessing to a generation a thousand years from now, can the Lord trust you?

Follow the counsel of the Lord to Habakkuk. Write. Make it plain. Some people will read it soon and run with it. Be serious about taking notes in personal studies and meetings you are a part of. Revisit your notes and be stirred again. 

Show me your note and will tell you how serious you are!