Lakisha, the Author

Daily Devotional – 1/15/16 “Give it to God!”

It’s Friday and someone is still fumbling from their fears of yesterday, fighting to hold back the tears that are filling your eyes while trying to figure out how to fix what’s broken. You’re fatigued because you can’t sleep, stressed and can’t eat, laughing to keep from crying and barely holding on to keep from drowning. Just when it seems like things are getting better something happens to snatch it from you. As soon as you get one nostril above water to breathe again, you get caught up in some mess that snatches you back down. Bills keep showing up but no additional finances, death keeps knocking at your door and it’s taking more and more out of you, sickness is peeping around the corner trying to get into your body and then the children want to show out. God, what is it? I know you’ve made me strong but these old legs of mine feel like they are about to give out at any moment. Lord, what is it? I know you’ll be there for me but I’ve been seeking you and it seems like I can’t find you. God, please! Is that you today? Is today the day you’re finally at your wit’s end? Are you at a point of throwing in the towel because you can’t take it anymore? Then do it!

Give up, throw in the towel, jump from the cliff of tired and can’t take it, back up into that wall of I’ve tried and it didn’t work, park your car in the space of I’m struggling and need help or you can dial the number of God, I surrender! See, I’ve learned that in order for God to do it, you’ve got to give it to Him. Have you ever taken something to be fixed? Well, didn’t you have to first hand it over in order to eventually get it back fixed? Then what are you waiting on? Stop crying, ‘Lord do it for me,” if you yet to give it to Him. Oh, I know I’m just the messenger and I’m on the outside ear hustling on your hurt but baby, I’ve been there. I’ve been to the point of needing check advances, title loans, borrowing but not having it to pay back, checking account in the negative the day after pay-day, writing a bad check to keep the lights on; trying to do it myself and guess what … It doesn’t work. But once I gave my life truly over to God, not only did He change me but He changed everything attached to me. No, I’m not where I should be but I’m surely better than I was. However, in order to get there, I had to give it over. You’ve got to tap into Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see,” and trust God to do it. Give it over to Him and see if it doesn’t work out for you.

Daily Devotional – 1/14/16 “God doesn’t owe us an explanation!”

It’s Thursday and someone is complaining because they didn’t hit the lottery and now you’re mad at the fact that you’ve got to get up and hit it again. Someone is contemplating suicide over their situation, still angry over the death of a loved one, heartbroken by hurt, being abused by someone you thought loved you, was lied on yesterday, being talked about today, in pain, unemployed, sick, tired or maybe you’re sick and tired. Somebody is addicted to something or someone, chasing after someone who’s not yours, using the one good person who actually love you, homeless, wrestling with demons, trying to hide the skeletons in your closet, won’t leave other folk’s business alone or still straddling the fence. Somebody is sitting at the edge of the cliff and the enemy is beckoning you to jump. Maybe you’re crying because doors keep being closed, applications keep being denied, no one is calling you back for the job, you can’t get promoted, can’t afford your medicine or your light bill, car acting up and children are too, checking account in the negative AGAIN, check is gone before you even get it and your credit well, it just won’t get it … And now you have the mitigated gall to question God. Baby, God doesn’t owe you an explanation on why He does the things He does. Do you question the enemy you’re sleeping beside when they break a promise? Oh but you’ll question God when He’s delivered every time and on time!

We claim to be saved and sanctified, filled with the Holy Ghost but then we turn around and need an explanation from God on why He allowed this to happen. We, as Saints of God, got the nerve to point our face towards Heaven to ask God, “Why me”. Well beloved, why not you? Why can’t you go through something? Why can’t you take a little stress? Why can’t you get a no every once in a while? Why can’t you wait a little while longer? Why not you? Don’t you understand that sometimes you have to cry a few tears in order to water the soil you’re standing in? Don’t you know that, every once in a while, it has to get hot in order for you to get the nutrients only the SON can give? Can’t you see that every so often you may have to feel the winds of change blowing in your direction or that sometimes you might have to face a dark day? Then why are you still complaining? God doesn’t owe you an explanation of benefits. He doesn’t owe it to you to explain why He is the way He is. God doesn’t have to clarify why your calling sometimes gets cloudy. God doesn’t even owe it to you to describe the distance we may have to go. All you have to do is trust in Him and He’ll handle the rest.

Daily Devotional – 1/13/16 “What are you seeking?”

With the lottery amount being where it is, all kinds of people are coming out to buy tickets. Of course this means the religious folks are doing their campaigning against it yet those who will buy a ticket, will. Please understand, I am in no way condoning gambling or telling you to go against God’s word but I am saying this … whatever you decide to do, pray about it. Am I playing? Yep! But get this, I don’t desire to be rich but I desire to be financially stable. The same way I don’t base my chance of winning on luck but I base it on, if it’s meant; it’ll happen. See, the bible says in 1st Timothy 6:9, “But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.” If I sought after riches and glory down here what need would I have for Heaven? This is why my prayer is for financially stability. You do know there is a difference between financial stability and being rich, don’t you? Well there is. Being financially stable means you are no longer the borrower but you’re now the lender, you no longer live paycheck to paycheck but you can now save for a rainy day or broken refrigerator, you can afford to miss a day from work without it jeopardizing your household and you help those in need without it causing harm to your checking account. Whereas being rich means you have more money that you know what to do with, your head becomes so big you can only walk through double doors after someone opens them for you, you start turning your nose up at people who come to you for help, you throw money around because you want people to know who you are, you care more about fame than a good name and you become a breeding ground for the enemy.

This is why you have to be careful with the things you do, seek after, pray for and play with. You have to be careful what you speak into existence and what you long for. Desiring riches opens up more doors for the enemy to come in who then ups his tempting of you and then it leads you down the wrong road, if you aren’t careful. This is why 1st Timothy 6:10 says, “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.” This is why again I say, don’t pray nor work to be rich but pray and work to be financially stable. If being rich means I cut off the blessings from a God of a second, fifteenth, and one hundred chances; I don’t want it. If being rich means I forfeit my right to Heaven, I don’t want it. If being rich means giving the enemy more access to me, I don’t want it. If being rich means I have to change whose I am, I want no parts in it. Beloved, we don’t have to wish upon a star when we have access to the star creator. We don’t have to wish for luck when we have access to the one who owns everything. Do this, look up gambling in the bible and you’ll see the majority of the scriptures are about the love of money, for it is the root of all evil. Read and digest the word for yourself in order to get an understanding. Don’t allow your attention to be so caught up in getting rich that you miss getting righteous.

Daily Devotional – 1/9/16 “It’s time to fight!”

While you are spending all of your time fighting folk, you need to be at war with the enemy. Yea, I know it’s easier to fight the folk you see but they aren’t the ones wreaking havoc in your spirit; the enemy is. When are you going to say something to him? I mean, you give him access to your entire life but you’re afraid to tell him to get the hell out. When was the last time you walked through your house praying? When was the last time you prayed together as a family? When was the last time you strapped up for war and actually fought? Do you even know where your helmet of salvation, breastplate of righteousness, belt of truth, shoes of peace, shield of faith and sword of the Spirit is? Have you dusted them off lately? Beloved, I don’t know if you recognize this or not but the enemy has increased his attacks and he’s placed bounties on the head of supposedly saved folk. And guess what, he has arrested quite a few of us. Why? Well because we are too scared to fight, too fearful to face him and too afraid to stand on the word of God. Yes, things may be going wrong in your life, right now, but we all have to face some struggles every once in a while. Ok, you say your struggle seems to be lasting longer than others but have you stopped to think, maybe your restoration process takes longer? Stop basing the time of your process on what someone else has gone through. You are not the same.

It’s just mind-boggling that we will be quick to go head to head with people yet we won’t open our mouths to the funky enemy. We’ve allowed him to sleep in our bed, ride in the car and we even bring him to church all the time keeping our mouths shut. Oh but let the pastor say something you don’t agree with. Let the ministry of the church try to step into this century with worship and teaching and see how much hell you raise. When will we go to war with the enemy? Sometimes you need to get off social media and fight! You may need to turn the phone off and go to war. You may need to let some folk go so that you get out of your comfort zone and reclaim your stuff. It’s time we start fighting in the spirit so that we get the enemy out of our homes, out of our churches, out of our jobs and out of our family members. It’s time out for being afraid to put our mouth on the enemy when he puts his everything on us. I don’t know about you but I’m sick of him taking my stuff. I’m fed up with him attacking my family. I’m tired of him showing up in my home whenever he feels like it. I’m fighting back. What about you? Yea, we may tremble a little during the fight but don’t throw in the towel. For Ephesians 6:13 says, “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.”

Daily Devotional – 1/8/16 “Try again!”

We’ve come to the second Friday of this New Year, how’s it working for you? Started on those resolutions yet? Yes, I get it; you really meant to do better this year but then the bills came and you were still overdrawn from Christmas. Family still aren’t acting right, folk on the job acting crazy and then you’re sick. You’re praying and haven’t received an answer. You even had plans to start on the 21 day fast but then stress showed up and that went out the window. Now what? Well, now you go back to the drawing board and recreate. Look, not everybody gets it right the first time; shoot; some of us still hadn’t gotten it right and we’re on the fifth try but try again. That man or woman who remarried after divorce wouldn’t have gotten it right this time, if they hadn’t tried again. When a mechanic is working on a car, it may take him fifteen times to finally get the car to crank but oh when he does; he gets excited about the fact that it now works. See, had he given up after the seventh time he tried it, he wouldn’t have made it to the resolution on the fifteenth time. What am I getting at? Stop giving up so easily.

It doesn’t matter that it’s not coming out like you pictured it; maybe you’re looking at the wrong vision. It doesn’t matter that you thought you’d be married by now, it isn’t your time. Yea, I know you thought your ministry would be overflowing at this point but it isn’t your time yet. Beloved, rest in the fact your trust is in a God who never fails. Stop trying to do it yourself especially when you keeping messing it up. I don’t know what you expect this year, I don’t know what plans God has for you, I don’t know what you’re praying for but I do know that whatever it is, it can be yours if you have faith that it is. I don’t know what God has in store for me but when He called me, I packed my bag for the journey because I trust in my guide. How else can I walk the path God set for me if I keep stopping to question Him? Baby, I may not be able to peek into the future but as long as I know God holds it, I’m looking forward to it. So, stop with the hopeless feeling; God hasn’t left you. Sometimes you have to fall, go through, get picked on and stressed out in order to see what God has for you. James 4:7-10 (The Message Bible) says this, “So let God work His will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and He’ll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet.” In other words, humble yourself before God and let Him do it.