Are you still thankful? You know how you were so thankful for everything and everybody that is in your life on Thursday but is it still true today or was that all a show? See, we tend to put on an act for folks instead of being who we really are. You know that you’ve never liked your brother’s girlfriend but on Thanksgiving you acted like you all were BFFs but today you’re posting negative stuff on her Facebook wall. You haven’t spoken to your daddy since he refused to co-sign for a car that you knew you couldn’t afford; yet on thanksgiving you acted like he was the best thing since sliced bread but on today you’re declining his calls. You barely see momma because you’re always “busy” yet you spent the whole day at her house, eating and sleeping on Thursday but today you won’t even stop by nor call. I mean, it’s only been a few days and your thanks is already gone? Thursday you tweeted how thankful you were to God for all that He has done for you but today, you got more curse words than nouns being used. Thursday you dressed like you had sense and now today you’re dressing like you’re worth cents. Is that all the difference a day makes? Why can’t you be thankful everyday of your life that you’ve lived to see? Why can’t you rejoice in your struggles and praise in your pain? Why can’t you be thankful for your storms and your blessings? They are one in the same, you know? Yea, see your storm is just a temporary situation that strengthens you to stand when the stuff heats the fan but after going through and enduring the storm you become a stronger believer and it is then that God bestows upon you a bountiful blessing that will bury your burdens and build up your broken heart. All I am saying is, don’t choose the day to be thankful because Ephesians 5:20 says, “Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Daily Devotional – 11/21/12 “Pre-Thanksgiving”
Pre is defined as earlier than or prior too
Thanks is defined as an expression of gratitude
Giving is defined as to communicate or to convey something
So, in Lakisha’s terms pre-thanksgiving is simply saying, communicate your thanks prior to. Now, you may be asking prior to what? Well, I’m glad you asked. Prior to going through, prior to getting what you want, prior to getting what you need, prior to tomorrow, prior to your promotion, prior to your healing, prior to your deliverance, prior to being debt free, prior to finding your soul mate, prior to getting the career, house, job or car you wanted and even prior to you waking up in the morning. Yea, I need you to give thanks on Wednesday even though Thanksgiving is tomorrow because you may not be here to see it. Yea, I need you to give thanks right now because your name can be called in the next hour. Yea, I need you to be thankful right now because you didn’t have to be blessed like you are. Yea, I need you to be thankful at this very moment simply because you are yet alive! So what, if you don’t have all the things you wanted to cook for tomorrow and no means of getting them; you still have food to eat don’t you? Stop looking at what you don’t have and be thankful for what you do have and then thank God for what He will do because you do know that He will, don’t you? Give thanks every day and don’t wait for tomorrow because even though tomorrow may come, your eyes may not open to see it.
Daily Devotional – 11/20/12 “You say … “
You’re struggling in your marriage because the person you’re telling your business to is the one keeping up mess in your house! You’re struggling on your job because your mouth keeps putting you in a place you can’t get yourself out off. (You know, writing a check …) You say you’re worried about how you’re going to pay your bills but you’re still shopping. You got problems but you won’t turn to the problem solver. You got pain but you won’t turn to the healer! Your heart is broke but you won’t turn to the best heart surgeon who can give you a new heart without leaving a scar. You’re drinking tears for water but you won’t turn to the one man who will wipe your tears. You say you need a provider when God is always there. You say you need someone to talk to when God is always listening. You say you’re depressed when God is saying, “Cast all your burdens on me and I’ll sustain you (Psalm 55:22)”. You say you can’t sleep when God is saying, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28)”. God has given you the Holy Spirit that abides in you yet you say you have no joy when Galatians 5:22 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things.” Yea, you ask, no you beg God to bind your enemies, and then you have the nerve to get mad when so-called friends walk off. You worry the Heaven out of God for an increase in money, and then your unappreciative butt complains when overtime is offered. You ask for a car because you’re tired of asking for a ride or walking and then you complain about the gas prices or you’re too selfish to help somebody else. You even have the audacity to ask for a mate and then complain because they call too much. Baby, make up your mind! Even God is confused! All I am saying is, stop asking if you aren’t ready to receive. Stop begging if you aren’t ready for the battle it’s going to take to get your blessing. Stop asking if you’re not ready to handle the struggle you’ll have to sometime go through to keep what you’ve been blessed with. Yea, you are meant to be blessed, you are meant to be the lender and not the borrower, you are meant to be first and not last and you are meant to be up and not down but you STILL have to go through to get there. It’s simple; you can’t get to the top of the tree without climbing and along the way, you may get a few scrapes and bruises but it’ll be worth it when you’re able to stand and look out over the world who was trying to tear you down. However, once you get there; reach down and help somebody else up!
Daily Devotional – 11/19/12 “Encourage the encourager”
As Pastors, Apostles, Bishops, Ministers, Evangelists, Missionaries and ordinary people that God has chosen to spread His gospel; the road sometime gets hard. I mean, really hard! But you know what makes it even harder? It’s the constant negative criticism by folk who are supposed to love them. Yea, I said it. Folks think that the life of the man or woman who has been chosen by God is easy and that they have all the answers but baby, you couldn’t be farther from the truth. Folk are quick to say, “I ain’t paying my tithes because it’s going straight to their pocket!” No, honey the money that’s providing for their lavish lifestyle is the money they make from their other full time job (if they have one) and from the other folks who CHOOSE to pay their money on love days, pastor aid, special offering and etc. The tithe money is used for the building on and the keeping up God’s worship place. But yet, you don’t stop to think about that when the “Passa” is being called to sit next to the bed of every sick member, pray for every wayward member, being lied on from folks who want what they have, being judged for their past mistakes and even been talked about by folks who say they have their back. Now, please don’t get me wrong because I am in no way upholding any man or woman of God who abuse their position but I am talking about the true leaders who actually care about their flock. You know those who never have to get approval to pay their member’s light bill when they come asking, those who are always willing to stop what they are doing and have prayer with you when you call, those who don’t have to be called when your momma or daddy is in the hospital and they aren’t even his members, those who truly care about the youth & young adults under them, those who don’t consider themselves to be big I’s because they know their true calling, those who are willing to go even when they’ve already gone enough and those who never stop even when they keep getting pushed down. So, stop acting like it is the end of the world when you see the Pastor having a drink because dealing with Christians they need it. Oh, they aren’t less than their title either when a curse word slips through their lips because I can promise that you say a few words when you stomp your toe!
Yea, I’m standing in the gap for those folk today because they need it. How do I know? Because I need it! Yea, I’ll pray for you when you ask but pray for me sometime. Yes, I give you an encouraging word when you need it but encourage me sometime. Just because it may look like we, as God’s messengers, have it all together; we don’t all the time and sometimes we just need to hear that it’s alright and that it’ll be ok. Don’t always think that your Pastor doesn’t need encouragement because they do. This Christian walk is harder but it’s especially harder for those who’ve accepted the calling that God has placed over their life. So, yes they will make mistakes because they are still human. So, sometime, encourage the encourager.
Daily Devotional – 11/16/12 “You won’t struggle forever!”
I got up this morning thinking I had it all figured out, I had all the answers and that I could solve my own problems but I quickly realized that this isn’t the case. I mean, if it was as easy as me figuring it out on my own, why would I need God? Seriously, if life was so easy that we could solve all of our own problems, would most of us be unemployed, sitting at home crying over a broken heart, robbing Peter to pay Paul, constantly being sick and not being able to afford your medicine, working and still got a negative checking account and dealing with this cruel, mean world? Really?? If life was so easy would we really appreciate the things that we work so hard for? If you’ve never been sick, would you appreciate every day you’re healthy? If you’ve never been down to your last dollar, with no way of getting another one; would you appreciate always having money in the bank? If you’ve never experienced being hurt by folks who claim to love you, let down by folks you never thought would abuse you and walked over by family who only wanted to use you; would you really appreciate true, honest love? I mean, just think about it. I know this is going to sound crazy but sometimes a little stress is necessary, a storm is needed and a battle is worth fighting in order to make you appreciative of all the things that you have. God doesn’t have to bless you daily but He does. He doesn’t even have to wake you up to see each new day but He does. And He does this because He has a purpose for your living otherwise you’d be buried under the dirt instead of walking on top of it. Yes, this struggle is real and it’s even harder but don’t give up in the midst of it. I won’t tell you to stop crying because sometimes they are the liquid prayers you can’t speak but don’t drown in them. You won’t always struggle, you won’t always have to fight hard, you won’t always have to beg or borrow and you won’t always be the last because Matthew 20:16 says, “So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last.” That alone should be enough to make you glad! This alone should be enough for you to know that you won’t struggle forever!
Lakisha, the Author 