Can I trust you?

Honestly, I’m not even sure how to start this post, or how to explain the millions of thoughts rushing through my mind. Earlier today, God reminded me of a message He gave months ago for a sermon and it was titled, Can God trust you?

Most times when we think about God trusting us, we think about blessings and things that appear “good” to us. But when He spoke it wasn’t about trusting me with the sunshine because almost anyone would say yes to things that look good, but about trusting me with the storms. Philippians 1:29 reminds us that we are not only privileged to trust God but to also suffer on His behalf.

Let’s be real, the very first time we gave our lives to Jesus I don’t think we fully understood or counted the cost. Most didn’t know that when the bible says to carry our cross it wasn’t just an artistic expression but a fact that requires physical action. So when the bible talks about suffering it’s not a light matter. And the question is that how many of us view it as a privilege?

There’s suffering that comes as a result of sin and one that comes as a result of relationship. The bible tells us that the righteous will have many troubles but God will deliver them from every single one (Psalms 34:19). Look at Job for example,

“And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.” (Job 1:8-10, ESV)

It wasn’t because he was in sin that the devil got access to him rather because God trusted him enough to allow his faith to be tried and tested. If God knew Job didn’t have what it would take to pass through that valley then He wouldn’t have given the devil access. If Job couldn’t handle it and God still let him go though it then God would have gone against His word that says He will not let us be tried more than we can bear.

So for everyone out there who believes and is wondering where God is because you are trying to live right but yet trouble is hitting on every side; He is still with you!

What if God is in heaven bragging about you to the devil saying “No matter what you do, I am confident that My child will not bow down to you”

Chapter after chapter Job cried out and God did not say a word, but we must trust His silence as deeply as we trust His word. The silence does not change His thoughts towards us, so don’t let what should make you better make you bitter instead. If someone told Job that he would live to see brighter days after all he endured I’m sure he would have laughed in their face. But he did and so can you.

Can God trust you with the storms? Can He trust us to stay even when it pours, I mean pours heavily and we are soaked with issues after issues?

Do we want all of Him or just the parts that make us feel great? Will we stand confident and boast of His love even when He slays?

David said that even though he walks though the valley of the shadow of death, he will fear no evil because God is with Him. The same God that was with him in that valley is with us and in the times where we cannot “feel” Him, then we must know that He is. Some days might appear better than others but we will not die in the valley, rather we will gain a greater confidence in God. The kind of confidence that caused God to trust us with these mountains even though they look great, because He is certain that He that is in us is greater!

After Job’s faith was proven, God got the glory and the enemy was shamed. The only way the darkness can overcome the light is if the light chooses to give way to the darkness.

Can He trust you with the storm?

Prayer: Father help me! It’s not by might or power, so please help me allow Your Spirit to empower me to move through this situation. Help me to trust You enough to walk me through the storms of life without a doubt. May my faith come forth and the enemy be put to shame in my life. I declare that I will live and not die! I declare that I will trust You even when I can’t feel you. I will not be bitter, but I will get better in Jesus name, amen! 

The Desires of My Heart

What if the very thing your soul longed for, the one that gives you sleepless nights full of prayer, tears and pain is the same thing that will keep you from God?

Is that desire worthy enough to replace God?

“On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters. But to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the Lord had closed her womb.  And her rival used to provoke her grievously to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb. So it went on year by year. As often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat.  And Elkanah, her husband, said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? And why do you not eat? And why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?” (1 Samuel 1:4-5, ESV)

Hannah desired a child so much even though the bible says her husband loved her a lot, she couldn't shake what her heart wanted. Elkanah’s question to her really got me thinking, why wasn’t he enough for her?

Now, we know that earthly marriage is a mirror of our marriage to Christ which is why husbands are called to love like Christ and wives to submit as unto the Lord. And I imagine God asking some of us "Am I not enough?"

The depth at which we desire a thing can be quite dangerous because we may treasure it so much that if we had to choose between God and it, we would choose it. No greater love than one who would lay down their life for a friend and that was one of the reasons God called Abraham His friend. Isaac, his son, was a representation of all the promises and the true lineage of Abraham and he was treasured highly by his father. But although Abraham loved his son deeply, he was willing to lay him down because he loved God much more.

You may never know how much hold something has on you until you reach a crossroad and you have to choose between it and your eternity. Sounds like an obvious choice as we are quick to judge the rich man for not wanting to surrender his riches to follow Christ. If only we knew the story behind it, and I’m not trying to justify him but to give a better picture of why we must subject our desires to God. How he held on to those riches is how some of us hold on to our jobs, spouse, kids, ministry, idea of marriage, business etc. And truth be told if Jesus had spoken those same words to some of us in regards to the things we love and desire we probably would have also walked away downcast.

I believe that's why God delays certain things or doesn't give it to us because He doesn't want to lose us at the expense of our appetite. Just like the case of Hannah, it was God who closed her womb not the enemy and caused her to wait before her desire came to past. He wasn’t trying to be mean but I believe the wait was good for her and as a result when it came time to give back Samuel to God, she didn’t hold back.  

But that’s not always the case. Just because we hunger for a thing doesn't make it the will of God. If only we'd embrace that fact we would stop asking God to fulfill the desire “He placed” in us, because He didn't place it there; we did. The good news is that even if our desires, especially those borne out of selfishness, don't line up with the plan of God, He has the power to turn the heart of kings, and He can do the same for us.

Prayer

Search us Father and try our hearts, if you find a desire that competes with You please help us deal with it. Teach us how to treat You as our most valuable desire/treasure. If we cannot learn how to subject that desire beneath You and You choose to not give it to us, then help us accept and believe that losing it is better because we gain You. In Jesus name we pray. Amen!

Periscope: NOT inferior!

Hello beautiful people!

I'm trying to do things a little bit differently, so I’m inviting you to add me on Periscope:mimizee92. As I began typing a new post this evening, which I may probably end up still sharing, I felt a need to speak it out loud. Faith comes by hearing, so I invite you to hear the word God has laid on my heart this evening. I look forward to you joining me or catching the replay!

God bless you J

The Power Within

One question that has been ringing in my Spirit is why we say “the power that raised Jesus Christ is within me”, yet there seems to be no evidence? So basically the power is sitting dormant but it wasn’t purposed to be that way otherwise, it would not have had the ability to raise Jesus from the dead. So what went wrong with our generation?

Did the power of God loose its power somewhere along the line? Does the power that set many free still work today?

We’ve read that the Kingdom of God is not of words but power (1 Corinthians 4:20) which means that it’s not all about talk but execution. It’s easy to talk the talk especially since we can pretty much google almost anything these days.

As I was studying, the Holy Spirit led me to research about Potential and Kinetic energy and He ministered this to me:

“Power is only beneficial to the one who uses it not the one who leaves it dormant”

Everyone has a potential/capacity to which they were created to operate in, but having the ability to carry out certain functions doesn’t constitute for the execution of that function. Meaning that even though God has placed the power that raised Jesus inside us, it doesn’t automatically make it active. When we research, we’ll discover that Kinetic energy is when we take our capacity and put it to work. So, we can possess the capacity to do work but if we don’t put it to action then it won’t be beneficial to us.

The law of Thermodynamics states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed but it can change form, which surprisingly now makes sense to me even though I left the science field years ago lol. I digress.

See, God isn’t making stuff up as He goes and the bible says that when God finished creation He rested and nowhere did it say that He resumed adding additional things (Hebrews 4:10). This shows us that every facet of our present, past and future lives has already been written by God.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5 NKJV)

The capacity to achieve what God has called each and every one of us to do is already on the inside of us. However, we need the help of God to activate that power so that we don’t waste our potential. We must seek Him through prayer, studying the word, and fasting in order for this power to be activated.

As humans, we tend to get weak, afraid, lazy, and unmotivated but none of those reasons can destroy our capacity; it is fixed. When we are weak, God is strong for us or even weary He is there to energize us again if we allow Him.

I realized that we can’t create another capacity for ourselves and the enemy cannot destroy what God has already established. But since we have free will, then we must choose whether or not we want to avail ourselves. He can only work through the power that we allow to be activated within us.

“Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” (Ephesians 3:20, NLT)

This post is a reminder that we were called to do greater works than Jesus did. Before He left, there was a commission given and His physical absence doesn’t change the instruction. We were called for more. If He healed the blind, casted out demons, raised the dead, turned five loaves & two fishes into more than enough to feed a multitude then we are capable of more. And this is not for ourselves but so that God will be glorified through us. Someone out there is waiting for us to avail ourselves so that the glory of God can be seen.  

Now the question is this, what’s stopping you today?

Prayer Point: Father, please help me activate the power You have placed within me and show me how I was created to bring You glory. I remove every obstacle that dissuades me from walking in the ways of God in the name of Jesus. Amen!

The Armor of God

Happy New Year!

I apologize for my absence; honestly I wasn't even sure what exactly to talk about or how to talk about it. Life can be very interesting to say the least. It brings about situations that can pull your attention away from where it needs to be and truthfully, I failed that test. But by God's grace I’ll be able to post more often. Today, I want to talk about prayer, specifically spiritual warfare, and why it is necessary in these days. 

Hold on! Please don't count this post as not relevant to you because the words "spiritual and warfare" used in the same sentence scare you. To some it might sound all scary or appear as though only certain "elect" people of God have to deal with this, but I’m sorry to burst that bubble of comfortability. And I say that because I thought the same way until I the Lord corrected me.

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." (Ephesians 6:12, KJV) 

The term "we" used in the passage above implies that the wrestling applies to all of us. One thing we must understand is that whether or not we choose to fight the battle will go on. And this isn’t the case for everyone, maybe you’re fighting but that doesn’t mean you’re fighting right. Often we engage in the wrong battle, a physical strategy rather than a spiritual one. We can't win against principalities and powers by throwing physical punches rather spiritual ones. Now someone might ask, so do I just pray and ignore the physical aspect?

No, there are some physical strategies that should be put in order as directed by the Holy Spirit. For example, you have an issue with fornication and you see that it runs in the family. The way to handle this would be pray against the spirit of fornication, and ask the Holy Spirit to give you an understanding about what factors draw you into that sin. It could be a place or particular person you hang out with, now you can employ a strategy of avoiding certain places or people to help with the issue.  

What’s amazing about God is that He does not leave us helpless, in the next verse we are given the tactic on how to fight and what weapon to use.

“Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.  Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness.  For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.” (Ephesians 6:13-18, NLT)

Our weapons are not carnal.  God has given us the tools we need, so don’t be afraid of the battle as He that is in you is much greater than he that is in the world. We can draw from the verse above that our heavenly armor comprises of the following:

·         The belt of truth

·         Body armor of God’s righteousness

·         Shoes of peace

·         Shield of faith

·         Helmet of Salvation

·         Sword of the Spirit (word of God)

So not only is prayer crucial but also living a Holy life. Unfortunately we live in days were people are criticized for being “too holy”; when God calls us to be holy as He is holy. But in order to make it to the end, we must put on the whole armor of God because if we don't then we leave ourselves vulnerable to attacks. The bible has told us how crazy these last days will be and even the elect will be deceived, so we must suit up!

The devil doesn’t give second chances, his motive has always been to steal, kill and destroy. Now, let’s break it down further so that we can understand better.  

Take for example when one goes to war in the natural, you cannot get distracted on a battle field as you’d run the chances of being subdued by the opponent. It’s the same for this battle of life; if we don't pay adequate attention our enemy will sneak up on us and destroy us. 

It’s sad that sometimes we actually aid and abet the enemy to destroy us by the way we live. The reason why God hates sin so much is because it takes us away from Him. It creates an avenue and gives the enemy legal grounds to operate in our lives. We cannot have the armor of God on if our life shows (by continuous sin) that the commander in chief from whom we take orders from is the enemy.

 A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand, meaning that if your life shows you live for the other side then you can’t defeat the team you fight for.

That’s why prayer is so crucial because the adversary is sly! Only through prayer, which is communication with God, can He reveal the tactics of the enemy. It is my desire that God will help us to see things not in our carnal mind, but though our spiritual lenses. May He grant us the strength to put on the whole armor so that we might stand till He returns for us in Jesus name, Amen!