Daily Devotional – 12/8/17 “Blessed by their wickedness!”

Some of you are in the fight of your life. Enemies are popping out from everywhere, coming at you from every side and you don’t know what to do. It feels like, with every new day comes a new trial, accusation, lie or fight and you’re just about fed up. You’ve tried to hold your tongue, keep your composure and stay in your lane but what do you do? I’ll tell you. You do nothing because you have to know that getting what God has promised you will not be easy, don’t you? There will be enemies waiting when you emerge from the wilderness. There will be enemies waiting in the land God promised and there will be enemies you don’t even see. Wait! You mean to tell me I had to spend all this time in the wilderness just to come out and fight? Yep. But get this, what you’re fighting for this time is greater than last time. Bible shares in Deuteronomy 9:1-2, “Listen, O Israel! Today you are about to cross the Jordan River to take over the land belonging to nations much greater and more powerful than you. They live in cities with walls that reach to the sky!” This time your fight is for stuff bigger than your expectations. This time your fight is to own some stuff and not rent. This time your fight is to buy and not borrow. This time your fight is for healing, not sickness. This time your fight is to live and not die.

I must tell you, though, your fight will not be physical. Your fight is to keep your mouth shut, to not post what you really feel, to not show up when they call you out and not to stoop to their level. This is the real fight because it’s easy to do all these things but is it worth forfeiting the promise? If so, then have at it. If not, hush because God isn’t giving you what He promised He would because you’ve been so good and innocent. In fact, the real truth is, God is giving you the land of your enemy because their wickedness far exceeds yours. Don’t believe me? Deuteronomy 9:4 shares, “After the Lord your God has done this for you, don’t say in your hearts, ‘The Lord has given us this land because we are such good people!’ No, it is because of the wickedness of the other nations that he is pushing them out of your way.” This is why you can’t fight a wrong with a wrong and engage in a verbal battle with folk. Let them talk because God is going to pay you from their warehouse of wickedness. He’s going to give you fertile ground because of their futile attempts to destroy you and your character. You simply need to hush, follow His commandments and be obedient when God tells you to move. For “You must recognize that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land because you are good, for you are not—you are a stubborn people (Deuteronomy 9:6).” Don’t allow stubbornness to stop you from getting access to your enemy’s storehouse.

Daily Devotional – 12/6/17 “Spiritual Exhaust Hood”

An exhaust hood is the device that hangs over a stove containing a fan whose purpose is to remove grease, fumes, smoke, odors and steam that is in the air. It works by pulling in the bad and either it circulates the unclean elements outside or it has a system that filters out the bad while recirculating the good. In other words, it vents the space making the environment easier to breathe in but it only works when you turn it on. I thought about this because yesterday, I shared that you have to let people vent sometimes. Well, today, I ask you the question, who are you venting too because social media should NOT be your outlet. You do realize, sometimes you need to vent in order to make your environment better, don’t you? With depression’s grip getting tighter, bullying on the rise, suicidal thoughts keeping you up, feelings of failure that’s overtaking your daydreams, unable to look at yourself in the mirror because you are disappointed in you, struggling to survive, business isn’t doing good, being pulled in every direction, debt is drowning you, ministry work is harder and you’re still pretending to hold it together; baby you need to vent. Who are you venting too beloved because you need somebody you can confidently confide in without worrying if the fan inside their exhaust hood will spread it.

Yes, for some it’s your spouse but even then, you may need somebody else who has walked in some similar shoes and can tell you how to cope when those shoes get heavy. In ministry, you need to have someone in ministry who has been where you’re trying to go and understands. Marriage woes, you need someone who is married and can give sound advice. Single, you need somebody single who is grounded and level-headed. Depressed, you need somebody who has been there and overcame. Sick, you need somebody who has been where you are and survived. Domestic abuse, you need someone who knows the signs because they used to be there too but got out. You need a spiritual exhaust hood. Someone who will sit in the midst of your toxins, willingly taking it all in and then circulate clean air out because you’re too exhausted to do it yourself. Understand and read this good, you DO NOT need a yes man/woman but you need somebody who can hear you and then help and not someone who pacifies your prognosis. With the harsh realities of life, you need an exhaust hood with an air filter and not an air freshener; that’s someone who can clean the air and not mask the smell. Somebody who knows when to listen and when to labor. Somebody who knows when it’s time to pray and time to pave. I told you this before, it is time out for folk who will ride or die and time in for folk who can rebuke and decree. Be sure to read the reviews though because the last thing you need is one that doesn’t work properly.

Daily Devotional – 12/5/17 “Let them vent!”

There are times when, on social media, I see people post statuses out of anger and frustration. Sometimes, this anger and/or frustration is geared toward God because they are in a season of suffering, they cannot understand or they may be fighting some demons we cannot see. Most times, this may be surprising to you, I don’t comment. Why? Because you have to let folk vent and go through. And I don’t know if you know this or not but when a person is angry and upset, they do not receive what you’re trying to say anyway and consistently bombarding them will only drive them away. Just bypass the status and hush. Now, this doesn’t apply to suicidal rants; that is an entirely different situation that needs to be addressed, immediately. What I mean is, when a person is angry, irritated, at their wit’s end, tired and etc. they tend to not hear anything positive you’ve tried to share. Think about when you are angry, you don’t want to hear anything from anybody, let alone a scripture.

Please don’t misunderstand me. There are times when you can absolutely share the word of God, post a scripture in the comments and offer words of encouragement. However, when there is a person venting who is on the verge of getting evicted, car wouldn’t start this morning, child sick, baby daddy/momma acting foolish, job talking about downsizing and health insurance is about to be canceled; the last thing they will hear and accept is ‘God is good.’ All they see now is the disaster of their storm and no way out. This is why you have to know when it’s time to share and when it’s time to leave them alone. And this time, it may be the latter because the bible tells us in Proverbs 10:19, “When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, but he who restrains his lips is wise.” You cannot fix every situation, even when you want too. You cannot talk everybody down from the ledge even if you feel it’s your calling. Beloved, this may be a situation you need to leave alone until they’ve had time to calm down. In the meantime, pray for their peace of mind, pray for their eyes to see and their ears to hear clearly. Pray for them but please, do not argue with them over what they should know or how they should handle it. The bible shares in Proverbs 17:27, “He who restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.” Know when to help and when to hush because this may be the time for you to let them vent.

Daily Devotional – 12/4/17 “A promise after the wilderness!”

In September, I said I would not shop until after the first of the New Year, mainly for shoes (I love shoes). For the most part, I’ve done it. I didn’t say this because I couldn’t buy shoes but the reality is, I didn’t need to. My main focus is to eliminate debt in our household. I have a two-year plan to get rid of as many bills as I can. Yet, would you believe it seemed like the less I spent, the less I had? It’s crazy. I could not figure out why it seemed to get heavier instead of lighter. So I begin to fast and pray, more. I began to trust God more. I surrendered, for real because I understood that something was happening way bigger than me. This morning, while reading Deuteronomy 8, a passage titled, “A call to remember and obey,” God spoke to me and said read Deuteronomy 8:2, “Remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey his commands.” This might not make your belly leap but y’all I turned 40 this year! As I read, tears begin to swell in my eyes because God reminded me of my last 40 years in the wilderness. He said, your wilderness was my test but you do remember that your clothes and shoes didn’t wear out, you may not have eaten what you wanted but you weren’t hungry and although you were in the wilderness, you were never alone.

Y’all!!! God told me, because you’ve obeyed my commands and walked in my ways, I’m about to thrust you into a place where your land will be overflowing, food will be plentiful and you’ll lack for nothing. Understand me, I haven’t been perfect and some days were hard for me to stand but I pushed through. Many mornings I didn’t feel like encouraging anybody, let alone myself, but I did. Some days I didn’t feel like being holy but I held on. Some days, I had to preach even though it felt like I was being punished. Some days I had to act like I had it together when the truth be told, the wilderness was kicking my butt. But this morning, God told me, it was necessary. (I just preached on this yesterday.) It was necessary in order for me to appreciate the overflow I am about to step into. My wilderness, for 40 years, was necessary so that I didn’t forget it when I walk into my new place, so that I don’t become proud but I stay prayerful, so that I don’t take the credit but remember I am chosen. It was necessary as to not forget whose mantel I carry, message I preach and whose purpose I must fulfill. And for somebody reading this, you too have to experience the wilderness but there is hope. For Deuteronomy 8:18 says, “Remember the Lord your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful, in order to fulfill the covenant he confirmed to your ancestors with an oath.” After the wilderness is God’s promise of prosperity. It’s coming beloved but I need you to hold on! It doesn’t feel good but it is necessary in order that you might receive.