Daily Devotional – 12/11/17 “Extend Grace!”

Somebody is facing a tough situation right now. You don’t know why it showed up at your house and how it got your name and number but it did. You have tried to figure it out but all you know is, the enemy has shown up looking, talking and dressing like your cousin. The lies being spread are coming from somebody you considered a friend. A rock was thrown and it came from your sibling’s hand. You needed someone to defend you, this time, but even your parent didn’t speak up. And now you’ve found yourself angry and on the verge of snapping off. You’ve closed yourself off and severed some connections because ‘they’ hurt your feelings but how is that working for you? Look beloved, this may be hard to hear and even harder to swallow and digest but sometimes you have to extend grace to folk, you feel, do not deserve it. Why? Because God has given you grace when you didn’t. You have to understand, well you don’t but you should, that people are who they are. Stop trying to force people to be on the level you are when you know good and well they aren’t. Stop trying to get people to react the way you would, they are not you. Stop applying your expectations to a situation or person because this is when you will get your feelings hurt.

Yes, they should know you by now. They should know you wouldn’t say and do the things you’ve been accused of. They should know you wouldn’t handle it the way ‘they’ said you did. And maybe they should but what if they don’t? You expect them to know you and they do but it is from their level. See, you’ve changed because of the spiritual warfare you’ve had to fight through but they don’t understand it. You look different and to them, “you think you’re better than everybody,” but to you, the anointing has made the difference. You don’t walk the same but that’s because your feet are no longer walking through fire. You don’t talk the same but that’s because God’s call on your life has given you new words. And you cannot expect people to know this when they weren’t there. This is why when people hurt you, say mean things and treat you differently; you don’t run but you extend grace. When the invitations stop, don’t lash out but extend grace. When they no longer respond to your text, don’t get angry but extend grace. When they no longer show up, extend grace. What do you mean by extending grace? Not treating folk how they deserve. Paul shares in 1 Corinthians 15:9-10, “For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.” It’s not you, it’s the grace in you and this is the reason you don’t lose hope, even when it hurts.

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.