May I ask you a question? Are you REALLY walking by FAITH??? I had to ask myself this recently when I was thinking about going back to a situation I SAID I would be giving up. Yeah I said to myself, "I'm an ALL or NOTHING kinda of girl, I'm just going to stay SINGLE MINDED...so I'll just shut the door and not look back. I only want to FOCUS on what God wants me to do and nothing else!"
Now that sounds all well and good while you are living in the comfort of a bank supply, food on the table and NOT REALLY facing any major difficulty in any area or your life. But when we COMMIT ourselves to doing things GOD'S WAY...He will allow us to go THROUGH the test to PROVE we meant what we said...NOT for His sake but for OURS...it shows us WHO we REALLY are. During this season EVERYTHING you have ever RELIED upon will be PULLED away from you so that you will have to HAVE FAITH in God and NOT in yourself or anything else. It's truly a FAITH BUILDING season...and if you don't realize this, you will begin DOING what you were used to doing before you COMMITTED to it...HANDLING things yourself!!! Yeah you THOUGHT you were a WILLING servant, you THOUGHT you were OBEDIENT, you THOUGHT you were SUBMITTED to God. However, how would you REALLY know until you actually have to GIVE UP what is COMFORTABLE for you and TRUST God at HIS WORD??? FAITH requires a RISK...a RISK to STEP out even when it LOOKS different than the norm...a RISK to face your fears and be BOLD for what is in your HEART...a RISK to LOOK to GOD as YOUR SUPPLIER in EVERY THING...a RISK to ignore the outside comments from those who are NOT use to seeing you in this situation! See, MOST aren't WILLING to go THROUGH the UNCOMFORTABLE stage!!! During this season, you'll be asking yourself, "What Lord, you want me to GIVE UP my nice good paying job to stay home and raise my children/grandchildren instead of having someone else do it so I can be sure I am instilling the values you have for our family vision?" "Oh you want me to begin taking in other children in my neighborhood to be a Spiritual example to them because they don't have a Godly example around them even though it seems there isn't enough for my own family?" "You say what God? You want me to take in that DIFFICULT relative and show YOUR LOVE to them regardless of how they act?" "You want me to forgo surface riches for internal riches during this season just to show Your Glory???"
God is so good that He begins to CONFIRM His Answer to you with each daily situation that shows up in your life that reminds or refers you back to His Word to you. FAITH can seem scary when you are first stepping out...the steps are a little slower paced and steps are on your toes...but as you begin to "SEE" that He has you EVERY step of the way, you become more confident and full footed in your steps. Kinda like that baby that is beginning to walk, who is pulling up on tables, holding on most of the time and then wanting something begins letting go without realizing what they are doing. So today I ask you, WHAT has God been CALLING you to take a RISK on that you keep REASONING and trying to FIGURE out all the details before you DO IT? You know it takes FAITH to get you where God wants you to be in His Plan of the GOOD and BLESSED LIFE...but you have to be WILLING to go through the FAITH-BUILDING process to get to the other side. You already know INTELLECTUALLY that God is FAITHFUL, PROVIDING, and GRACIOUS to you but now it's time to EXPERIENCE Him on a NEW LEVEL! Go ahead and take the LEAP of FAITH...remember "we WALK by FAITH and NOT by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7), right??
"And LET the Beauty and Delight-fulness and Favor of the Lord our God be upon us; confirm and establish the work of our hands—yes, the work of our hands, confirm and establish it. (Psalm 90:17 AMP)
Hindsight is 20/20 Vision! I think back to the day I became a mother with my little one in my arms happy and afraid of all that was now required of me to raise up my newborn. Believing, I would make it because many had gone before me and done it...but so naive to the steps and plans that would be needed to come through SUCCESSFUL.
Well, now my little one is in her 20's and a mother to her own little one, and I see history REPEATING itself because of the things I didn't quite KNOW would be important later down this life journey...BUT GOD! With all the mistakes I made, all the lack of WISDOM, and going it alone without consulting God on many of my decisions...life experience has TAUGHT me that God was there all along GUIDING me unknowingly to get to this place now that I can HELP those going where I've been. Many will listen and many will not but if I can make an IMPACT in just one single moms life it will be all worth it for the JOY of knowing that others will not need to go down the HARD road I took because I CHOSE to do it my way instead of GOD'S WAY!
So, Single Mom today I say with ALL KNOWING that you must LAY DOWN your pride, your distrust, and your need to prove to yourself or others that you GOT THIS...and ASK for the help you need! It's all a deception to keep you TRAPPED in your belief that you are alone, when in actuality you have MANY that will help you if only you would HUMBLE yourselves to ASK!
Yes ASK...ASK GOD to lead you to people you can trust, ASK GOD to strengthen you to do what is normally not comfortable for you to do, and ASK GOD to supply all your needs and then be WILLING to accept the package He may decide to send your HELP Gift! It may look like a brown paper bag when it arrives but it will be a DIAMOND WITHIN the rough! A Diamond that will help to bring forth the BRILLIANCE that is needed for you to become the BEAUTY God intends for you to be for your children, your future husband, your community, yourself, and most of all for HIM. God is not done with you yet mom, so don't you GIVE UP or GIVE IN on what may LOOK like a hard place right now...HOLD ON...The RAINBOW is coming but it's always after the rain!
We do not lag behind in diligence, we are fervant in spirit, and serving the Lord. (Romans 12:11)
BLESS (AFFECTIONATELY, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul; and all that is [deepest] within me, bless His holy name! Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul, and forget not [one of] all His benefits-- Who forgives [every one of] all your iniquities, Who heals [each one of] all your diseases, Who redeems your life from the pit and corruption, Who BEAUTIFIES, dignifies, and crowns you with loving-kindness and tender mercy; Who satisfies your mouth [your necessity and desire at your personal age and situation] with good so that your youth, renewed, is like the eagle's [strong, overcoming, soaring]! (Psalm 103:1-5 AMP)
"The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows)." (John 10:10 AMP)
Do you know that you serve the Lord by being diligent about your physical health? Have you noticed when you eat certain things, they have an adverse affect on your mind and/or your body? We must pursue physical exercise, and eating healthy as if we are serving the Lord. Our lack of diligence keeps us from having a body that is energetic, vibrant, and healthy. When we are physically healthy, we can do the work of the Lord with full endurance and power.
Take a moment and take stock of your physical activity and your eating habits. What things need to change? Are you facing ailments? Could you stand to have a healthier blood pressure? Do you eat too many processed, fatty, fried or sugar loaded foods? Sickness is not meant for a child of the MOST HIGH GOD...HE is a HEALER.
I must admit I have not been the best steward of the body God has given me over the last seven to eight years. I let the demands of life distract me from what I know is important. I didn't want to take full responsibility for what needed to be done. First, I said it was stress from a job in which I was not totally happy. Then it was, "I just have to have my chocolate" or "I'm not cooking tonight, let's go to Burger King. At least the burgers are flame broiled". And the big one, "I must be going through perimenopause, because I can't seem to lose any weight no matter how hard I try to stop eating the wrong things."
It's amazing how we can lie to ourselves about what we don't want to do...what we know we should be doing. See the thing is it takes WORK to get the results we say we want. All the talking in the world, and excusing it a way does not change the requirement of discipline, diligence, and determination. Hopefully, we will get sick and tired of living this way and make a conscious effort to get back on the path of Life....the best life God intends for us to have.
So today, we pray to ask God for His power and strength to be victorious and to see His vision for our health. We look up scriptures related to healing, diligence, body, etc. We confess and pray the scriptures out loud. We write out a plan. We commit to the plan. We recognize our weaknesses ahead of time. We have an escape route when we are tempted to help us stay the course. Step by step, we'll be back on the road to better bodies and a better us before we know it. We won't let the enemy steal, kill, or destroy another moment of our lives by continuing down the path of early death. God wants us to have life and to have it more abundantly in every area of our life....especially our health!
Off to get my exercise in. Here's a little motivational music I use to get me started....
"Behold, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs forth; do you not perceive and know it and will you not give heed to it? I will even make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert." (Isaiah 43:18-20)
As I thought about the title of this post, I was taken back 25 years to the time I was being orientated for a college auxiliary. Every orientation group had to come up with a "line" name that represented its members. Our line name was "La Nouvelle Premiere" meaning the "The New Beginning". Just as I was embarking on a new women's group so long ago, I was reminded that I am embarking on a new women's group today. A group of FAITH pursuing single mothers wanting to overcome the challenges in life. Women wanting to stay hopeful while running a home, having a heart for loving themselves/others, and staying healthy(spiritually, mentally, physically, emotionally).
With the New Year approaching, a new beginning is coming again… a new opportunity, a new day, a new blessing, and/or a new lesson. The New Year always nudges me to sit back and reflect on the accomplishments/failures of the past year and the hope and possibilities of the coming year. It is a wonderful time for me to reflect, take stock, and write a new plan.
This past year has been a true transition/testing year for me. I truly committed myself to "walking by faith" and putting my feet to act on the things that have been placed on my heart to do. After being a single mother and an employee for many years, I committed to follow my entrepreneurial spirit. I had been praying that God would allow me the opportunity to stay home and make an income. This would allow me to be available to help raise my granddaughter as my daughter takes her own journey as a single mom (side thought...funny how history has repeated itself).
It's amazing to me when God places a vision in your heart, how He will usually put you in a situation to see if you really are committed to what you said you want to do. My vision started as a small need to solve the problems of single mothers who had homes that needed repairs. Single mothers who were having trouble keeping up with the expenses related to getting home repairs done. Single mothers needing to find affordable and reliable repairman to perform them.
However, God only gave me part of the vision to get me moving. There came the need to assist the single mom/s right in my own home before I could assist other women on a larger scale. I now know, there are usually delays and test of faithfulness along the course that will send you a different way than you expected to go. The detour helps you to see how strong, how committed and how faithful you are to get to the end destination. ("He who is faithful in a very little [thing] is faithful also in much..." - Luke 16:10)
Now I ask you, what is your vision/dream? Your vision/dream may not be the same as my vision/dream, but none the less a vision/dream. Maybe your dream is to have more money than month in order to pay all your bills. Or maybe it's to have spiritually Christ-centered children who are not jumping to every outside influence that can lead them down a path of destruction. Or maybe it's just to be available for your children when they need you, instead of making work or other things seem more important because you have to put food on the table. Or maybe it's just to keep an orderly home or to be more stress free and peaceful. Life may not always meet us where we want to go, but one thing is for sure, we can have Faith in God, with action, to move these mountains out of our lives. When we do, we can get to seeing the beauty God intends for us to see.
So with this New Year quickly approaching, I thought I'd share some of the lessons I've learned this year and hopefully it will assist you as we start this new beginning of "walking by faith" together. I hope you're ready. Here we go!
In the pursuit of my vision/dream this year, I've learned the following:
1) Surround yourself with people that encourage you towards where you want to go.(...But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother - Proverbs 18:24)
Where you are coming from will usually never look like where you're trying to go. So it will feel a little shaky and scary at times but with faith-filled people around you, you will be able to move past the feelings of turning back and move forward to where you are going. Find an online community that supports you and feeds your spirit, a local church ministry or maybe a good, faith-filled, close and supportive friend that encourages you.
2) Stay in prayer continuously, confess, and meditate on God's Word. (Pray without ceasing - 1 Thessalonians 5:17;May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. - Psalm 19:14 )
I cannot stress enough the importance and POWER of the Word of God. It has been a tremendous ROCK during the hard times when I needed to press past what things 'look' like to what I know God says in His Word. The great thing about prayer you can do it anywhere. Now, I don't suggest getting you’re praise on in the library or some known quiet place, but if the Spirit moves you to do so....don't hold back. I know sometimes it can't be contained when you really got a praise to get out...mine usually starts with the tears flowing.
3) Remember God's Word and what He has spoken to your heart. (Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life - Proverbs 4:23)
Everything around you may be telling you to go back to the comfortable place from which you are moving.The enemy provides many ways to steal, kill, and destroy your purpose so that it never comes to fruition. So stay in the Word to be able to fight the "fiery darts" that the enemy tries to shoot at you and to be able to rightly divide a word of truth that comes your way. I've had fiery darts from seemingly concerned family members, friends, and from my own thoughts that wanted to take me back to old practices.
4) Stop looking for others to validate what you know you need to do.(Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding but in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path - Proverbs 3:5-6)
Your family and friends will try to tell you and remind you to go and get a traditional job so you can have the kind of money you were used to having. They will think you have lost your mind for doing things different than what they have known you to do previously. But when you know, that you know, you are doing what you are called to do money is a small detail. It may not be what you initially would prefer but God always provides just what you need. He validates your efforts as you move forward.
5) Your vision is initially for you to see.(Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry - Habukkak 2:2-3)
Your vision is uniquely designed for you to see, walk and then lead others. You may not have anyone doing what you need to do. So don't panic and become discouraged. You may not have anyone who understands what you are trying to do. You may have to keep it to yourself for a time. You may have to work up to a point where you are seeing things more clearly and are more confident to share without caring what others think/say/see.
6) Keep giving wherever you are able to give. (Give and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” - Luke 6:38)
If it crosses your path and touches your heart to do....do it. Don't look at how much money you have, whether you need it or not, or if the person would do the same for you. It's a test to make you revert back to a way that is self-centered, comfortable, non-sacrificial, or unloving. God is a giver and He can surely replace anything you give away. He is an abundant God who rewards the obedient.
7) Stand when all hell looks like it's trying to come up against you. (The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly- John 10:10)
This is where the Word really becomes flesh. You need to speak the Life of God’s Word to every negative force that comes up against your vision. There will be times when life will not look like you're headed in the right direction and try to make you look at all the problems instead of God's promises. If God says it, it is true. Not the car that failed on you, not the income that's not matching your expectations, not the chaos that seems to be all around you, and not the children that are acting a fool.
8) Know that God will give you little winks along the way.(Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart - Psalm 37:4 )
God lets you know you are taking the right steps as you move towards what He has called you to do.It may be a person mentioning something you just read in His Word, or spoke to you inwardly. It could be a check in the mail that had the exact amount that you prayed you needed to pay that light bill, or a child who has been rebellious towards your instructions all week, who will come and hug you or say thank you unexpectedly. You'll just know it in your heart and it will strengthen you to keep going.
All of these steps helped me to survive this past year. The year has been less than comfortable for me but has allowed me to have Peace in the midst of it all. Your Peace will show up as well as you lean on the Everlasting Present Helper whom you can place your Faith in....God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
Here's to surviving and walking towards a new beginning with Faith!
