Archive for Relationship with God

Pushing Past Pessimism

Posted on March 15, 2016 by

imageA few weeks ago I facilitated my first Wait on God workshop at a church in Garner, North Carolina, and it was awesome! God showed up in our midst and blessed the people. He did exceeding abundantly above all that I thought and even asked for, and I felt confident in my future as a speaker. But the night before was a different story.

I was up until 3 am after a three-hour drive. There was no rest before getting on the road either. I worked all day, then went home to finish packing, and then I had a church service to attend. Needless to say, I was tired.com. Knowing that I still had some finishing touches to do for my presentation added some stress on top of my sleepiness. Self doubt and discouragement began to set in. You should just stick to writing books and leave the workshops alone, was the thought that shot across my mind at that moment considering all the preparation involved in presenting workshops. I followed it up. I was too tired to fight back. Yeah this is just way too much! I thought. I would be too tired to function let alone teach a workshop. I envied my husband who was sleeping soundly next to me as I plucked away at the keyboard, eyes stinging from the lack of sleep. I counted the amount of hours I’d be able to get if I laid down right then. A whopping 3 hours. I decided to take advantage of those few hours and finish gathering my thoughts after my nap.

I woke up feeling physically drained and still a little hesitant about how the workshop would flow. Again, this was my first time doing one and the fear of the unknown was very real. I couldn’t back out now. There was a group of about 20-25 ladies awaiting my arrival. I began to pray in the Holy Ghost as I got dressed, during the ride to the church, and during set up. Lord knows I needed to get out of my head (rational thinking), and I needed His direction and anointing to flow.

And flow it did. It felt to me as if I had been doing this for years. It felt like I knew these women all along. I was so comfortable and in my element. And they received. Now, I could credit ten years of teaching and every other life experience of talking to others that I’ve had for this sense of ease, but I don’t. Rather, I thank Christ Jesus my Lord, who has enabled me and counted me faithful to do this service in His name. I’m also thankful to God that I pushed past the pessimistic mindset that the enemy wanted me to adopt. If I had let the doubt paralyze me I would not have realized the potential that God put in me nor would the ladies have benefited from His gifting in me. And I encourage you to push beyond negativity so that you can experience the good success that God intends for you to experience and you can bless those whom God has put in your path to bless.

So what is the lesson in this? I learned two things from that experience that I will use going forward to prevent the spirit of pessimism from falling on me.

  1. Adopt a positive mantra (confession) for success. I am a firm believer that confession brings possession and that words have power. If success is what I desire, and the Word indicates that I can have success (Joshua 1:8) then I must believe that I do have success. But I can’t say it only once and expect results. That makes it only a statement. What makes it a confession is the ongoing nature of it. Repeating it over and over until it becomes a part of me. This process is transformative because it transforms the mind to think this way and ultimately become this way. If my mind is already programmed for success, there’s no way that it can be tricked into thinking otherwise.
  2. Trust God for success. Once you’ve done all the preparing you can possibly do, all that’s left to do is trust God to bless the works of your hands and give the increase. The sign of success for me at the end of this workshop was for my audience to receive something that would impact their lives. That I cannot do on my own and to think that I can is putting undo pressure on myself and displacing my trust. I need God to breathe life into my words so that they penetrate the hearts and bring about the necessary change.

So, what is it that you’ve been putting off doing as a result of listening to the wrong voice? And what steps can you take to push forward and into the destiny that God has predestined for you? I’d love to hear your thoughts, so feel free to comment below. 🙂

 

3 comments Posted in Relationship with God, Uncategorized

Favor Ain’t Fair, But It’s Necessary

Posted on March 6, 2016 by

restaurant signHave you ever had a “favor ain’t fair, but it’s necessary” moment? Well, this past Valentine’s Day my husband and I did, and it made me smile.

We decided to go to Olive Garden in a nearby city for our date on the Friday before Valentine’s Day. I already knew it would be crowded since the big day was on a Sunday this year and most people would want to celebrate earlier. I wanted to beat the crowd. I tried to call and make reservations, but they told me they don’t reserve tables on the weekend. There went that plan to beat the crowd. Next I tried getting there early because the hostess told me on the phone that if we got there by 6:30 we would probably be served quicker. Well, that plan was a bust too. My hair was in desperate need of some TLC so I had to make it look as sexy as dirty hair can look for my date, which took quite a bit of time. It was about 7:00 when we finally left the house with a 45-minute drive ahead of us.

As we approached the restaurant our thoughts were confirmed. The parking lot was packed and we saw people waiting outside the front doors. I felt compelled to speak in faith at that moment.

“Watch and see. We won’t have to wait longer than ten minutes to get a table,” I said to my husband, knowing full well that this looked more like a 60-minute wait. Actually, we were told that it would be an hour and 15 minutes wait. Well, maybe we can hit up the mall across the street while we wait on our table I thought. Wrong! The hostess handed us the notification vibrating thingy and said that it wouldn’t work from that far away. She did tell us that we could wait at the bar which was first come first serve and get half off a glass of wine while we waited. Well seeing as how the lobby had standing room only, we made our way to the bar area in hopes that we could use that coupon for a non-alcoholic drink also and that maybe just maybe there would be two available seats. Wrong again. The bar was packed and the best we could do was huddle together between the bar crowd and the booth seating behind it.

That’s when God turned it.

A couple had just gotten up from the booth directly behind us. My husband thought it would be a good idea to just sit down at the booth while we waited. We intended to get up as soon as the rightful occupants came over. Besides, the table hadn’t even been cleaned off yet. The next thing we know, the waiter came over, wiped off the table, and asked us what we wanted to order. I believe in doing the right thing, so much so that I would refuse to lie about my age when I was younger just to get an under 12 discount. I gave him a not- so-sure look and was about to tell him that our buzzer thingy hadn’t gone off yet, but he interrupted saying, “You can either wait another hour or let me take your order.” We let him take our order.

We waited less than 10 minutes. We had a good time, a good meal, and were out of there in the time it would have taken us to get a table. I call that the favor of God. Numbers 6:25 of the Amplified Bible says…

The Lord make His face shine upon you [with favor],
And be gracious to you [surrounding you with lovingkindness];

I realize how unfair that was to the people waiting their turn to be seated, but I also realize how necessary it is for God’s Word to be demonstrated in the lives of His children. He said in Mark 11:23 that if we have the God kind of faith, we can have whatever we say. I merely spoke what I wanted into the atmosphere (releasing faith) truly believing that God could move on our behalf and my faith worked. Yours can too! God is not a respecter of persons. When we do things His way, (by faith) He’s moved to honor our faith just like He did for Abraham who staggered not at the promise (to become the father of many nations) through unbelief. He’s just GOOD and FAITHFUL like that.

What is it that you need to release faith for? I dare you to take God at His Word and speak favor over your situation. It may take time to develop this kind of faith, but the more you practice this principle the more you will see the favor of God released through your positive confession.

I’m sure God has already honored your faith at some point before and made you smile as well, and I’d like to hear about it. In what ways has God shown you favor? Leave your comment here on my website in the box below.

 

 

2 comments Posted in Relationship with God

See Flaws as Opportunities Not Cop Outs

Posted on February 4, 2015 by

quoteIf someone you cared about told you that they loved you just the way you are-the good, the bad, and the ugly, your ups, downs and all arounds–EVERYTHING hands down, they’d probably be lying. No really, unconditional love is a supernatural trait that many people, Christians included, fall short of developing in some cases. Moreover, would you try to change anything or improve if they did tell you that? Probably not. Why fix what isn’t broken, right? Well, the match that sparked this flame of thought was Kierra Sheard’s new song Flaws.

I have mixed feelings about it. The lyrics suggest that God loves our imperfections and that the things we consider flaws are not flaws at all in God’s eyes. To Him, they make us beautiful. Now before you quit reading this and think that I’m missing the point, keep reading. I do agree that God made no mistakes when He made us because we’re made in His image, and I get that God has given us the gift of grace, which is unmerited favor that we did not and could not ever earn no matter how hard we tried. Period. His love for us is condition free and forever sealed by the blood of Jesus Christ. I would argue though that it’s not our flaws that He loves but it’s us that He loves in spite of our flaws.

Let’s apply this to natural relationships. I love my husband, Lord knows I do, but I do not love all of his ways, his habits, or the way he chooses to do some things. In the same token he doesn’t love all of mine either. But because neither one of us is our own anymore (we belong to each other through the covenant of marriage) we owe it to each other to work on the things that can possibly hinder our relationship. I’m not talking about the little things that don’t matter in the grand scheme of things like forgetting to take the trash out on trash day, but those “big dogs” that can really tear up your marriage if not nipped in the bud (ie. bad spending habits, poor housekeeping skills, unfaithfulness-physically and/or emotionally, etc.) It is selfish to think that our spouses should accept us just as we are, flaws and all, and to make no effort to become a better, not flawless spouse.

Flaws come in two forms in my opinion: the ones that deal with our physical state and those that deal with the state of our character. When it comes to the darkened acne marks polka dotting my cheeks or my tendency to consume more chocolaty treats than fruits and veggies, God is good with that. BUT when it comes to what goes on inwardly at times, the things that no one but Him can see or the secret sins that are done when no one is looking, but creep out in the things we say and do, it’s not all good with Him. Those things affect more than just us. They affect those around us who look to our example. Walking around with a chip on my shoulder and offending everybody I meet, then passing it off as “just my personality” is not okay with Him nor is any sin in which we engage. As loving as God is, He is not okay with sin. It’s the spirit of the world that has perpetuated the idea that anything goes. But quite frankly, it does not. Thinking that it does can lead to a failure to see that anything is wrong and that change is necessary. Am I suggesting that change is something done independent of our loving Heavenly Father. Absolutely not. He (His Word) is our change agent. Without it, change would be impossible for the believer. I believe He has given us the grace to change–to grow more into the image of Him, not the grace to remain in the same sinful state that He delivered us from simply because by matter of free will and His unconditional love for us we can.

“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?” Romans 6:1

What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Romans 6:15

It is foolish to use grace as an opportunity to sin. It is an abuse of the free gift. “Taking advantage” of His grace is a far cry from taking advantage of His grace. Let me explain. Taking advantage of His grace is like misusing a privilege. It’s the employee who leaves work early because they know the boss is not there. It’s the man who makes an unwanted sexual advance on a woman because she flirts with him and gives him the time of day. It’s the woman who shops incessantly because she has possession of the family credit card and all the balance statements too. On the other hand, “taking advantage” of His grace is accepting the free gift for its true purpose as God intended. It’s realizing you’re unrighteous and receiving the righteousness that Christ’s sacrifice provides. It’s realizing you’re unworthy and undeserving but receiving without apology the blessings that God’s goodness makes available. It’s realizing your imperfections yet allowing the transformative power of God to have its way in your life. Yes, we are flawed human beings and God loves us, but don’t allow flaws to be an excuse for mediocrity. Rather, let it be motivation for us to seek change and spiritual growth to ultimately glorify our Heavenly Father.

I’m not judgin’. I’m just sayin’.

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