So the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the Lord of armies, their God,

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, most people have recognized the need of a Higher power from Above to alleviate and to put a stop to the virus and its ill-effects. We have seen significant changes in many aspects of  the lives of people

Seeking God is man’s initial and automatic reaction especially in times of adversities. As Meriam Webster defines, spirituality is the quality or state of being spiritual. Moreover, we can say that spirituality is the result of a person’s intimate relationship with God - being the creature to his/her Creator, man to God, and vice versa - regardless of man’s church, sect, denomination, religion or culture.

In our pursuit of God, it is the Holy Spirit of the Living God who can help us in our journey of changing our lives for the better. Evangelist Morris Cerullo once said in his preaching that “We got to have the same spirit with Jesus if we want to the same work that Jesus Christ did during His earthly ministry. It is written, Spirit gives birth to spirit and we need to have the same power of the Holy Spirit of the Living God if we want to have the same impact and effectiveness as we do the work of God.
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In one instance in the Old Testament, God commanded the people to go up to the mountains, bring wood, and rebuild the temple, that I may be pleased with it and be honored.” We can see that there are three things that we need in order to grow and mature in our spirituality in the midst of difficulties. Firstly, we need to go up to the mountains. This means that we need to take courage and find strength to willingly surrender everything unto the mighty Hands and perfect will of God. In the same way, we are admonished to pick up our mats and carry our cross. Secondly, we need to bring wood. Our hearts is the altar of the Lord. It is our task to gather and bring wood to keep the spiritual fire burning. Let us remember Moses when returned from his golden bush encounter with God. Moses returned with God’s Ten Commandments written on stone tablets. The bush (wood) here represents our day to day communion with God and His word. At the same time, we have to cultivate our relationship with the Holy Spirit - keep the fire ablaze in our hearts. We must also work out the fruits, gifts and anointing of the Holy Spirit if we are to continue Jesus Christ’s ministry here on earth.The third and last is the command for us to build the temple of God. It is a challenge to rebuild the Temple of the Lord in our hearts, in the hearts of our family, agencies or offices, and in our nation, but we are instructed to do so. We are to rebuild and restore everything that the enemy has stolen, killed, and destroyed. In addition, we have to reconcile the people back to God.

In this endeavor, we can see the importance of God. Going back to Haggai, God stirred up the government, church and the people faithful people to Him in effecting change or transformation.It goes the same with us, we have to be united in one accord with the government, the church,  and other believers leading our spirit to be one with the Spirit of God. This way, we can build the Temple of God that is filled with the greatness and glory of Jesus Christ. For it is in Jesus Christ alone that we can build a great and glorious Temple that is pleasing and glorifying to God. 

Nowadays, it is difficult to do many things because of the pandemic. It has taken a toll on our nation and sometimes we are restricted to give our best – especially when one is afflicted by the ‘unseen enemy’. However, for a person who has made excellence a lifestyle, it seems nothing can stop them from achieving the goals.

Some of us had undergone the torment of either the quarantine, isolation, or termination from work this pandemic, but we have seen how some with perseverance and dedication, still managed to move forward, thrive, and serve excellently despite the circumstance. Some have found a way to utilize technology to continue and finish their tasks. Some innovated and used the wind and waves on their favor to reach the goals. While some took advantage of the crises and created an opportunity for them and others to flourish. These are just some of the ways excellence are manifested even in the midst of what is happening today.

How do we possess excellence even in the midst of this pandemic? Looking at the Scriptures, we can find some words of wisdom that can help us be excellent. It has been written that there are two greatest commandments: One is to love God with all our hearts, souls, and minds; and the second is to love our neighbor as our selves. First, when we love God, we desire to glorify Him in all that we do. So, every work of our hands, thoughts in our minds, words that we speak, are dedicated to please God. Whatever we do, we work at it heartily, as if we are working for God. Surely, as we dedicate everything we do to God, we want it to be excellent, if not perfect. Second, when we love our neighbor as ourselves, we also give the same, if not exceeding, love to them, care for them, compassion for them, and passion to serve them. We give due courtesy and respect, and we empathize with them. We do the ‘extra miles’ for them – extra time, extra effort, and all done with genuine care and concern that somehow doing these will make their situation better, satisfy their needs, or alleviate their condition. There is no exchange to that feeling and fulfillment when clients or stakeholders are very much satisfied with the services we deliver, and their sincere “thank you” motivates us to continue giving them quality service. Lastly, if we love ourselves, we do our best to improve our skills, knowledge, and attitude. We consciously put effort to improve or make right our bad habits, bad practices, and bad characteristics. We also become good stewards of our health, our family, our relationships, and even our environment. Doing with love is the secret ingredient to do excellent things. It is the most excellent way.
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Everything that we do ordinarily when done with love becomes excellent and extraordinary. Every extraordinary thing, when done without love means nothing. As the Scripture says, “If I have the gift of prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.” 

“Whoever walks in integrity walks securely.”
 
Probably by now we have read several write-ups on how to start the year right. Most likely we have responded by contemplating on specific areas we would like to work on to achieve success or become a better version of ourselves. Perhaps others have taken it further by owning up to mistakes, taking responsibility for past actions and making efforts to restore broken relationships and trust.  Being true to your values is a good start to nurture integrity.
 
Integrity comes from the Latin word ‘integer’, which means whole and complete. We can then say that a person living in integrity gives no room to duplicity and hypocrisy.  Hence, one walks with honesty and upholds moral principles consistently whether alone or not. Regardless of circumstance, integrity drives us to make our thoughts, words and actions congruent to our values. For instance, we say we value excellence yet our most recent report clearly reflects a haphazardly done job. If we consider ourselves as a person with integrity, we will take responsibility for the lapses in the report without justifying or blaming and initiate action to produce an excellent output. In doing so, the importance we give to our values is not just in words but also in deeds. That makes integrity a lived experience and not a mere concept.
 
A sense of wholeness and completeness within is developed as we continue to live by the values and principles we confess to stand for. In every compromise we make, whether big or small, we move a step farther away from living in integrity. Most of the time compromises are followed by cover-up, lies, manipulation and a lot more to mask the real score. While we may get what we want by wrongful means, we are constantly haunted by our conscience or internally disturbed by fear of being caught. Deep within our hearts, we know that we did something wrong that hardly keeps us from experiencing real wholeness. Indeed, any departure from the truth puts us in a volatile position but when we walk in integrity, we walk securely.
 
Living in integrity is not perfection. It is a daily intentional and deliberate choice to be on the side of truth and make our thoughts, intentions, words and actions congruent to our values and principles. In the event that we deviate, be quick to repent and do what is right. For a better 2022 notwithstanding the current pandemic, nurture the value of integrity and experience wholeness within and in relating with your family, the workplace and community.