Daily Devotional – 11/29/16 “Trust the one who knows the game!”

For the last few nights, my husband has gotten me hooked to the TV show Flip or Flop. It’s about a husband and wife whose business is flipping run down homes for a profit. On one episode, they received a call from a young man, new to the business, who needed help learning the game. contractor-free-clipart-1They agreed to partner with him on a house but during the process the new guy would flinch every time there was money to be spent because he’d already said he was in over his head. His budget was $30K, they said $45K. He wanted to keep the old cabinets, they said they’ve got to go. He said $500 for new floors, they said $5000. Long story short, because he trusted them, they ended up making a profit of almost $40K each. What am I getting at? Had the new guy not trusted the ones who knew the game, he probably wouldn’t have made anything close to what he did. And for somebody reading this, you may not understand the plays being called in your life, but trust in the one who knows the game! I know you’ve prayed and it don’t make sense; surrendered and it still don’t make sense, cried and you’re still confused; meditated and still don’t know.

But don’t you trust the one calling the shots? And do you not believe in the one making the plays? I’m only asking because if you do then you ought to know by now that God has a purpose for the exact process you’re going through. Stop calling folk, they can’t explain it. Stop looking for help, it’s already here. Stop seeking for the answer in someone’s similar situation, it isn’t the same. YOU are going through because it’s your time. Your entire life is being shook up because God said it needed to be. So, hold tight while the remodeling of you takes place. Oh, it won’t feel good but trust the contractor because while you’re putting effort into why, you’re missing the blessing of … you could be broke down during your remodeling yet you’re still working. You could be out of commission yet you’re still popping. And you could look like what you’re going through but I see you and you still look fly. Whoever you are that’s going through the remodeling phase, right now, don’t walk away prematurely because it’ll leave you unfinished for business. Trust the process!

when-it-doesnt-make-sense

Daily Devotional – 11/28/16 “Weakness is not defeat!”

I shared a small bit of devotion on last Wednesday and it simply said, some of you are suffering now because you’ve yet to divorce your past. Oh, you know I’m right. For some of you, the past showed up over the holidays with a new smile and the same lie and you fell for it. Some of you dreaded opening your eyes today because you realized, after laying down with your past last night that it still holds the same hurt. For some, it’s not even the past but it’s your present circumstance that has knocked the life out of you, leaving you walking around spiritually dead. Life, for some of you, even a lot of pastors, have left you literally dying, spiritually, because you’re afraid if you let people see you hurt, this time, they’ll do you like they did last time. If I shall be honest, a lot of you don’t even have anyone you can let your guard down with and it’s silently killing you.

See, you’ve always been the strong one and now you’re too ashamed to show weakness. You’ve been the encourager for so long that you don’t even recognize your need for encouragement. You’re always helping that now you’ve yet to see that it’s you in need. You’re always the one feeding folk (physically and spiritually) that you can’t even hear your own stomach growling. Beloved; when will you surrender, take your own advice, rest, sit down and when will you let go? I shared a status by Pastor Jay Patrick that listed some things pastors should do. Things like take Monday off, find someone you trust to talk too and stop comparing your life to someone else. And while he catered this to pastors, it fits for everybody because every now and then, you need to take a day off and relax or sit across from someone, maybe with a glass of wine and talk without fear of it being shared. And all the time, stop comparing your life to that of someone else. You will get tired but don’t allow it to burn you out. You’re entitled to need help but you have to then let someone in to help! You can’t do it all. Even the strongest has a weakness.

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Daily Devotional – 11/23/16 “Divorce or Delay?”

Some of you are suffering in your present because you’ve yet to divorce your past. Think about it. How well can a new relationship work if you keep allowing your ex to walk into your house when he/she feels like it, giving his/her two cents on what you should be doing? Every time you get ready to move forward in your new relationship, your ex shows up whispering sweet nothings in your ear. What you haven’t realized is, it’s only long enough to ruin what you’re in and then he/she is gone again. Well, this is the same for your present self because nothing will work as long as you keep letting the past show up anytime it feels like it. 

You’re an anointed being yet your past keeps reminding you of all the stuff you used to do, so now you won’t use the power of God that’s coursing through you. You want to do better but your past keeps letting itself in and with it comes the memories of who you used to be, making you think you can’t be anything more. Well today, I’ve come to serve you notice. Either you divorce the past or you’ll most likely find yourself in this same place, next year. It won’t matter how many resolutions you make, vision boards you create and goals you write down because you’ll still have the past in your ear. 

So you decide … divorce or delay?