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.

weakness

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?

Daily Devotional “11/22/16 – Clean your mess!”

Why are you constantly staring at the mess you’ve made? Why are you still walking around that pile of garbage like it’s going to take itself out? When are you going to get up and clean your house? Aren’t you tired of the stench? Aren’t you tired of walking around the junk? Are you not tired of moving stuff from one place to the other and still having no room? Then will when you get up, dry the tears and clean up? Please understand, I am not talking about actual garbage but I’m speaking in regards to the stuff you’ve allowed to taint you inwardly. See, you’ve allowed the hurt of your last relationship to stink up your heart and you’re wondering why no one would dare get close. You’ve allowed the loss of your job to jack up your attitude and now you can’t understand why no one will hire you. You’re still moving baggage from your last three relationships into your new one yet you’re having a hard time figuring out why it won’t work. You left your last church mad at the pastor and now you can’t stand any of them. And you’re allowing your past to hold you hostage in your present.

Baby, it’s time to clean up your mess. Yea! It’s time you stop crying over the spilled milk of stale memories and clean it up. It’s time you stop walking pass the garbage bag of guilt, throw it out. Open the closet and bring out those suitcases of suffering, it’s time to throw them out. That closet of chaos that’s holding the memories of past mistakes, throw them out. Those old text, dm’s and inbox messages; delete them. Those pictures, erase them. Stop stalking his/her page. Stop friending everybody he/she dates. Stop showing up at his/her church. It’s time to clean up. You stink! Baby, you stank! Have you seen the Febreze commercials that say, “You smell this but your friends smell this?” This the same way with you because you’ve become attached to the mess so you no longer smell that it stinks but it does. This is why you need to get up and cleanup!

“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” – Proverbs 4:23

clean-up