 How do you handle interruptions? Do you get frustrated or do you recognize that just maybe God is trying to slow you down for a moment? Are you busy being busy or are you doing what you were born to do? Proverbs 4:20-22 admonishes us to give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings; Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart for they are life to those who find them and health to all their flesh. Stop for a moment today and ask God what is He trying to teach you today. In other words, the interruption wasn’t the devil. It was divine inspired.
There is a lesson for you in the process. Too often we want to avoid the struggle, the stress, the pressure, the press, and get to the good stuff. Sis, storms come to blow away the debris and all that’s not covered by God’s plan for you. Romans 5 says trouble produces patience and patience produces character. Character produces hope. Faith always triumphs in trouble. It’s like that ~ and that’s the way it is.
Girlie girl ~ you’re to close to quit now. Philippians 1:6 assures us that God completes what He starts. If it’s in your mind then it’s in your future. God didn’t bring you this far to leave you now. As a matter of fact, you’re almost out. Turning around and going back is not really a healthy option for you. Pay the price to go forward ~ you’ll be glad you did. If you do ALL that you can, God is committed to do His part!
Trust and obey for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not to thine own understanding. Some trust in chariots and some trust in horses but I will trust in the name of the Lord ~ for the name of the Lord is a strong tower and the righteous can run therein and be safe. Trusting God a lot is not the same as trusting God only. God doesn’t need your help. He only needs your agreement. Now is a good time to say ~ “yes Lord!”
Have you told your dreams to so many people that didn’t believe in what you said that now you’re discouraged? Have you thrown in the towel and declared “just forget it ~ it’s too late?” I don’t have the money. I don’t have the resources. I don’t have the time. What an insult to God. Girl, pick up that dream, begin again to write down what God has shown you, said to you, promised you. Dream again ~ for dreams are God’s way of pushing you right into His manifested will for your life. Dreams color your world. Calling all dream girls!
When you come to Jesus, you get what you come for. If you come looking for help, that is what you get. If you come looking for love, that is what you find. If you come looking for hope, that is what He gives. If you come looking for purpose, that is here too. Matthew 5:6 declares, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled. Sis, this morning, what are you looking for?
Are you frustrated, agitated, impatient, antagonistic, irritable; upset more than joyful, peaceful, and hopeful? Then maybe your grace for that place has lifted. 2 Corinthians 12:9 tells us that God’s grace is sufficient in any situation. If you no longer have the capacity for peace where you are, ask God for fresh direction. Ask God for wisdom. Ask the question ~ “God, what’s next?”
Stop complaining and start rejoicing for God is up to something. Even when you can’t see God moving He is always working. His ways are not our ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts. However, even when God doesn’t make sense, He has plans for us. Plans to prosper us and not harm us. He has plans to give us peace and a future. Stop complaining and start rejoicing because your best days are ahead of you.
When you agree with God quickly, you get peace. When you agree with God quickly, you experience consistent victory. When you agree with God quickly, our words empower your circumstances. When you agree with God quickly, you live without condemnation and abide in the liberty where Christ has made you free. When you agree with God quickly, you live in favor, faith, and fatness of the land. Do you agree?
Don’t give up yet ~ try again. Go back and correct what’s wrong and try again. As John Maxwell says, “fail forward.” God can make you successful again. Proverbs 1:5 says a wise man will hear and increase learning; a man of understanding will attain wise counsel. Try again girlfriend. Good understanding gains favor so try again. To everything there is a season ~ a time for every purpose under heaven. Try again because this is your season to win.
Don’t miss what God is planning for you by clinging to the past. Why are you holding on to that relationship that no longer is working? Why are you trying to live life a second time through your children? We resist change because of fear. The desire for safety keeps us stuck in neutral. Trying to avoid risk is like avoiding living. What would you do if you weren’t afraid? Today is your day to take a step in that direction for on the other side of your fear is something great with your name on it.
In 2006, slay your giants. You’ve been living like a grasshopper long enough. Whatever you try to avoid or outrun, you empower. Stop, turn around, face your fear, and fight with the same intensity as the things that wear you down. Cut off the enemy’s head so you can have peace. Don’t mistake your enemy for being dead when they are just dazed. They will only come another way on another day. You say you don’t have the strength the fight? You’re right ~ but God does. This battle is not yours ~ it’s the Lord’s. He only needs your agreement.
In 2006 ladies, make room for love. One test of love is to forgive the guilty. Whatever we don’t forgive, we relive. This robs us of the joy of loving and being loved in return. Unforgiveness is an umbilical cord that keeps us tied to the past. When we forgive, we cut the cord. When we refuse, we remain connected to memories that affect us endlessly ~ from generation to generation. Inhale God’s love and exhale years of unforgiveness. Try this: get up early, go outside, connect with God and experience the liberty of His presence. On your mark, get set ~ EXHALE!
Here’s a little insight from Phillip Yancey’s “Daily Dozen Decisions That Make A Difference”. Faith is trusting in advance what will only make sense in reverse. In the meantime, we must do our part to our fullest capacity. The list includes a positive attitude releases possibilities; setting priorities gives us focus; managing our health gives us strength; family gives us stability; right thinking gives us the advantage; commitment gives us tenacity; finances in order give us options ~ being broke is too confusing; healthy relationships breed fulfillment; values give us direction; a generous spirit breeds significance and personal growth unlocks potential. Now girl, live your best life.
Do you want the strength of the resurrection of Jesus Christ working in your life? Of course you do girl! Resurrection is about power over death and dead things. Jesus didn’t get up ~ He was raised. God wants to raise you too. He wants to raise your thinking; He wants to raise your living; He wants to raise your giving to prove that what people thought was fatal is not final. Death is only a part of the process. So go ahead, conform to the process of dying with Christ knowing that when it’s time ~ He will raise you up.
It’s another year. It’s a new year and it’s time to get up from where you are and do something different. You’ve been stuck long enough. Just like when you are driving a vehicle, the only way to move is to shift out of neutral or park. No longer can you afford to be idle. It’s time to move. Why? Hesitation breeds missed opportunities so embrace what’s coming to negate or cancel what’s been. God will give you grace to deal with the challenge of an unknown future and the losses of a known past. Your best days are ahead of you girl.
Everybody has an it! What is it? It is a cross to bear. You are not the only one to whom life has dealt a blow that knocks the wind out of them. You are not alone. It could be sickness, a tragic accident, an abusive relationship, the sudden death of a loved one, betrayal, inconsistent employment, and the list goes on. The good news is that as believers, we are empowered through our pain. Your “it” is not to kill you, it’s to make you more like Christ.
God will test your ability by giving you responsibility. You will never know the extent of your potential until you give it something to do. Unreleased potential and untapped ability is a tragedy. You don’t know what you have until God requires something from you. The query of the Lord in your life provokes self-discovery. The demand of God unveils the hidden ability you have. Your potential, your dreams, your creativity was not meant to die with you. Sis, make sure you die empty.
The space between stimulation and response is choice. Choice is the difference between life and death; peace and chaos; wholeness and brokenness. The season of defeat is over in your life. Don’t go back to anything you walked away from before you came to this place in God. You are empowered to change your life through Christ by choosing ~ not the good way ~ the God way ~ it works every time.
God really has not forgotten you. God really does know your name and He cares intimately and specifically for you. He loves you so much that He wants you to cast all your cares upon Him for He cares for you. He loves you so much that He is speaking to the ruined places in your life to rebuild them from the bottom to the top. What God has set before you is forever in your favor ~ now if you don’t reap the full benefit of your position in the Kingdom ~ it’s not God’s fault. He really does know your name and hears you when you call.
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