I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T ‼️

In the adjective form, independent describes one who is free from the control of others, not relying on anything, or not looking for another’s opinion for guidance {adapted from the Merriam-Webster dictionary}. When thinking on those definitions, we can admit that we have never been and will never be independent. But there is hope for all of us who were fully convinced of our independent status while rapping Webbie’s lyrics back in the day. Our hope is in our God’s independent nature. As Acts 17: 24 & 25 declares, “He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since He is Lord of heaven and earth, He does not live in man-made temples, and human hands cannot serve Him—for He has no needs. He Himself gives life and breath to everything, and He satisfies every need.” Let’s Talk!

I used to be convinced that I had been an independent woman since the age of 19 years. At that time, I had moved out of my mother’s house and into my first apartment with my 5 year old son in tow. The only financial assistance I received was from the government, and it included food stamps, section 8, and TANF. I was on a full tuition scholarship so I budgeted my Pell grant refund to pay my reduced priced bills and meet all of our other needs and desires. I became accustomed to figuring everything out on my own, and in turn, I developed a “I don’t need anyone for anything” type of mindset. Fast forward to a little over two years ago when I rededicated my life to God. I began to hate the thought of being independent, but that hate didn’t push me to shift my reliance onto Him. But as you may know, fully surrendering to God involves releasing control and “taking our hands” out of EVERYTHING. So I began to do just that in certain areas of my life, but in other areas, I met resistance within myself. I had to identify the root cause of that tension. I realized that it wasn’t just my “never needed anyone for anything” mindset; It was also a fear of being disappointed and let down. To be honest, there were times that I had looked to God to show up for me when I was desperate, but He didn’t in that moment. Although I was treating Him as if He was a genie in a bottle, that did not change the way that I felt when He didn’t come through for me.

Recently, while thinking on all of the factors that convinced me of my independent status, Holy Spirit reminded me, “It was never you.” After hearing those words, I felt a sense of freedom and had a “light bulb” moment. I had been so delusional thinking that I was doing all of those things out of my own strength and resources. It was always God showing up for me! When I didn’t know which way to turn, GOD SHOWED UP FOR ME! When I didn’t know where our next meal would come from, GOD SHOWED UP FOR ME! When I was short on my bills and had no one to turn to, GOD SHOWED UP FOR ME! When I began to deal with suicidal ideation, GOD SHOWED UP FOR ME! When I turned my back on God, GOD SHOWED UP FOR ME! When I was buried in my sin deserving to die, GOD SHOWED UP FOR ME! God has always shown up for me even when I wasn’t being intentional with my relationship with Him. Thinking on these things showed me His arm has always been present. Thinking on these things showed me just how great of a Father He is! He has been and will always take exceptional care of me! He has never and will never let me down! That sense of freedom I mentioned above occurred after I finally began releasing the burdens that I’ve been carrying due to attempting to remain “independent”. God is teaching me how to rest in His sovereignty and independent nature.

Friend, I am sure that you can relate to this posting in your own personal way. I know that releasing control can be difficult when you’re used to having to take care of yourself and your responsibilities. But God does a much better job than you ever can. Resting in His sovereign and independent nature is greater than anything you could ever orchestrate! Ttyl!

God’s Approval.

We, humans, love people’s approval. We love to seek people’s opinions. We love to gain people’s support. We love to gather people’s feedback. Seeking people’s approval is a human trait as we all desire to be accepted. It is when that desire to be accepted extends beyond us remaining true to ourselves and maintaining healthy boundaries that we fall into people pleasing. This occurs when you, then, began to appease people even if it brings no pleasure or displeasure to yourself. You began to silently suffer and dwell in emotional distress just so people will remain close to you. When people don’t approve of who you are, what you do, or how you perform, you reveal just how important people’s approval is to you by conforming to their standards. When people don’t show their support for you, you began to “feel some type of way” and deem them as “moving funny”. But at what point will you draw the line when it comes to the extent to which you are willing to go to please others and obtain their approval? Let’s Talk!

In order to effectively overcome, you must understand that there is a difference between seeking approval and people pleasing. Although they are closely related, they are not the same. As mentioned above, seeking people’s approval is a human trait which is healthy when it stems from a place of valuing relationship while maintaining boundaries and remaining true to yourself. Seeking people’s approval becomes people pleasing when that desire exceeds and overrides those factors. People pleasing can stem from seeds of rejection, abandonment, lack of nurturing during childhood, childhood traumas, abuse, low self-esteem, fear, a lack of boundaries, cultural experiences, and religious experiences. You cannot overcome what you do not explore. The key to overcoming people pleasing behaviors is to identify the seed(s). This is where a lot of us adults freeze up. Exploring our childhood experiences that we “swept under the rug” sounds so painful. The fear and anxiety that creeps up when we think of “going back” and talking about the things which “happened in that house, stayed in that house”. Knowing that debunking unresolved emotions and restricted thoughts that we used to form today’s identity threatens “who we have become”. We “got over it” only by suppressing it. We “worked through it” by prayer alone. We desired to address it, but we then decided to “let the past be the past”. We thought about therapy but deemed it only for “crazy people”.

And even after all of that, we have to go a little further. What do you do when your natural desire for people’s approval is challenged by God’s desire for you to seek His approval alone? What do you do when He desires for you to obey the sound from Heaven instead of people’s sounds? What do you do when you are facing the challenge of surrendering to God’s call versus staying in the limitations that people have attempted to place you in? What do you do when your desire to obtain your pastor’s approval causes conflict with your desire to ensure that you obtaining God’s approval? We must confess that there is a conflict when we desire to seek people’s approval over God’s approval as we cannot fully do both. What do you do when you are facing God, and He desires for you to “pick a side”?

“Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.” -Galatians 1: 10

“But Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than any human authority.” -Acts 5:29

“Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the Lord means safety. Many seek the ruler’s favor, but justice comes from the Lord.” -Proverbs 29:25&26

“For I have come to you in My Father’s name, and you have rejected me. Yet if others come in their own name, you gladly welcome them. No wonder you can’t believe! For you gladly honor each other, but you don’t care about the honor that comes from the One who alone is God.” -John 5:44

“For we speak as messengers approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts.” -1 Thessalonians 2:4

Ensure that your desire to gain God’s approval outweighs your desire to gain man’s approval. Ttyl!

Humble Yourself.

Proverbs 3:34 declares, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

Proverbs 29:23 declares, “Pride ends in humiliation, while humility brings honor.”

Romans 12:3 declares, “Because of the privilege and authority that God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.”

James 4:10 declares, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up in honor.”

John 15:5 declares, “Yes, I am the Vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from Me, you can do nothing.”

2 Timothy 2:21 declares, “If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special vessel for honorable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work.”

“Who are YOU? You are who you are because of ME. The people are drawn to you because of MY Spirit within you. You are able to be effective in ministry because of ME. You are MY vessel. You are because I AM.” After hearing these words, I completely sobered up and was immediately humbled as Holy Spirit had checked me in my selfish and prideful state. Let’s Talk!

According to the AI Overview, to humble yourself means “to recognize your dependence on God, shed pride and ego, submit your will to His, and serve others, rather than seeking self-importance”. The phrase is also defined as “a heart posture of lowliness before God”. God has been using me in so many ways to engage with people, to encourage people, to uplift people, and to pray for people. He continues to give me new insight, new strategies, and new ways of delivering what He would have for me to say. He has increased my capacity related to serving people tremendously this year. He continues to impart wisdom as I study the Bible and dedicate myself to a lifestyle of prayer. He has used me to say just what someone needed to hear, at “just the right time”, and many times after they had “been praying about this”. I have listened to so many intimate and vulnerable moments from people that I could have never imagined would be seeking a listening ear or guidance from me. I had began to think, “Why are these people coming to me? Why do they trust me? What is it about me?” And in that sobering, humbling moment, God reminded me exactly why. It was and will never be due to me, but it was and will always be due to HIM!

Friend, somewhere along the line, I allowed pride to creep into my heart. How dare I give myself a measure of God’s credit? I KNOW that none of what I do is due to myself or my abilities (John 15:5). If not for God’s Spirit working through me, none of what I have written would have occurred (2 Timothy 2:21). I am who I am, live the way that I live, do the things that I do because of HIM. Let me go a little further: I am alive, able to read, able to articulate, able to work in my career field, able to be a mother, able to serve, able to speak, etc. because of GOD, His power, and His Sovereignty. So as Paul warned in Romans 12:3, I dare not think too highly of myself again; for God opposes the proud and humiliation is sure to come to the proud (Proverbs 3:34, Proverbs 29:23).

Friend, I encourage you to evaluate your heart, mind, and soul for any seeds of pride that may be present. Begin to pray that God expose any seeds of pride, arrogance, haughtiness, boasting, and any other unclean seeds which may be contaminating your heart. Submit yourself to Holy Spirit’s heart purification process as God desires for you to be an honorable vessel for HIS use. Ttyl!

Love is what it does.

What is love? Love is an action verb. We cannot merely verbalize love without showing love. Now, our minds and past experiences may have distorted the true definition of love, but the scriptures provide clarity.

“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.” -1 Corinthians 13: 4-7

How can we walk in love? We can walk in love by knowing God and surrendering to Holy Spirit’s work within us; this is accomplished by maintaining a close relationship with God. God is love; so one cannot love without knowing Him as He is the One who embodies love, the One who loved us first so that we can love others, the One who loves us unconditionally. Secondly, our carnal nature and flesh prohibit us from fully walking in God’s love (Galatians 5: 16&17). Therefore, we must surrender to Holy Spirit’s transformative power within our hearts and minds so that we can witness the manifestation of love from within us. As children of God, we are mandated to love (Galatians 5:14).

“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” -Galatians 5:22&23

“Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” -1 John 4: 7&8

“Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other, but let us show the truth by our actions. Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God.” -1 John 3:18

How can one “earn” God’s love? As mentioned above, love is a manifestation of knowing God and the working of Holy Spirit within us. So God’s love cannot be earned as He loves us freely and unconditionally.

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” -John 3: 16

Does God really love me, even after I’ve messed up or committed a terrible sin? Yes He does!

“But God is so rich in mercy, and He loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, He gave us life when He raised Christ from the dead.” -Ephesians 2: 4&5

“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” -Romans 8:38&39

Does God’s love give me a “pass” to sin and live how I desire to live? No it doesn’t! We must strive to live righteous lifestyles.

“Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so that it may go well with you.” -Deuteronomy 6:18

“Whoever pursues righteousness and unfailing love will find life, righteousness and honor.” -Proverbs 21:21

God, break my heart.

As I searched YouTube to find a sermon, podcast, or worship playlist to occupy my mind during my work commute, I came across a song titled, “Make Me Whole” by Audience of One, Angel Osei, Simi Olapade, and Abi Oladesu. I began to listen to the song’s lyrics which began with, “You can have my heart. Break it all apart. Search me ‘til You find everything not of You. Come and make me whole.” Those words pierced my soul as they expressed one of my deepest desires; the desire to possess a clean, pure, whole heart. As the song continued, the lyrics rang out, “I trust you with my heart. No you won’t hurt me, Lord.” I could no longer hold back my tears, and to my surprise, I let out a gut-wrenching cry. After finally containing myself, I began to process my thoughts and feelings surrounding those lyrics. Let’s Talk!

I began to reflect! I felt as if I did not trust God with my heart, and it was not due to Him breaking or mishandling it. It was due to experiencing a thought that compared the people from my past to Him. In my “before Christ” days, I experienced my share of heartbreaks and heartaches resulting from staying in relationships which involved physical abuse, verbal abuse, toxic behaviors, lying, and cheating. Each time an insult of this sort occurred, I would attempt to “work at” forgiving the person and “mending” the brokenness within my heart. I was ineffective in doing so and would eventually exit the relationship. After thinking on that, I began to question myself… How could I give my heart to those people repetitively even after they had mishandled it? How could I question the One who had never mishandled it? How could I not trust Him to have it? How could I not give God my heart knowing that He will never hurt me? Knowing that when He does “break it”, He will repair it into a better condition? Knowing that the bad that resides within it will die and His good will live again? Knowing that He knows my heart better than I will ever know it? How could I second guess trusting God with my heart when I had foolishly trusted people with it? How could I? I closed that moment of reflection with a prayer and a made up mind to trust God with my heart.

Friend, over the last two days, I have replayed that almost 20 minute song nonstop. And now when that part comes on, I sing it loudly and truthfully. So, I challenge you to identify any reasons why you are being hesitant to trust God with your heart. If a reason is heartbreak/heartache from the past or the present, allow those feelings to compel you into God’s presence so that you may experience His healing power for God is near to the broken hearted (Psalm 34:18). I challenge you to face the pain of your past and/or present so that you may move forward in the newness of your future. I challenge you to trust God with your heart. I challenge you to allow Holy Spirit to clean and purify your heart. The scriptural references for this posting include: Proverbs 4:23, Psalm 51:10-12, Romans 2:29, Psalm 24:3&4, and Psalm 139: 23&24. Ttyl!

A New Way.

I am sure that you have heard the phrase, “You can’t put new wine into old wineskins”. This phrase is actually a scripture which is repeated several times within the Bible. For the advantage of this posting, I am referencing the version listed in Luke 5: 37-39 (NLT) which reads, “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the new wine would burst the wineskins, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine must be stored in new wineskins. But no one who drinks the old wine seems to want the new wine. ‘The old is just fine,’ they say.”

In my desire to obtain as much knowledge as possible, I researched the literal wine preservation method. According to my research, old wineskins loose their elasticity over time which result in the skins becoming stiff and brittle. As new wine ferments, it produces gases which cause the vessel preserving it to expand. So if new wine is placed in an old wineskin, the decreased elasticity of the old wineskin would explode as the gases from the new wine are released during the fermentation process. So to preserve new wine, it is essential to utilize a new wineskin. Let’s talk!

We know that Jesus spoke in parables, and “those that get it, get it”. It takes Holy Spirit for the words within the Bible to transition from being read as a story book to being read as the living truth relevant and applicable to our lives today. With that being stated, Jesus was not literally referring to wine and wineskins. The old wineskins equate to an old way of thinking, an old set of traditions, old church culture, and religious teachings and practices which tend to hold believers captive and keep us stagnant. New wine equates to the image of Christ via the transformation of the believer by Holy Spirit. So if I am being transformed by Holy Spirit, I cannot allow my old mindset, set of traditions, church culture, or religious practices and teachings to limit or stagnate me in the spiritual realm. I must take on a new wineskin (new mindset) which possesses the necessary elasticity to expand and adjust as I “ferment”.

After writing the blog titled, “The Shifting”, God gave me revelation on what I was experiencing. He revealed that I am being transformed into His image so I must leave behind and be pruned of any association with the old wine and old wineskins in order to properly ferment. He revealed that I am being shifted out of the old wineskins that I had allowed to limit and stagnate me and into my necessary new wineskin which would allow for my transformation. But there was an issue which is revealed in Luke 5:39. I was having an issue with the shifting due to being used to drinking the old wine and living within the old wineskin. Although I had tasted of the new wine, my flesh did not desire it. My flesh did not desire to be uncomfortable or die. I was having an issue with unlearning and releasing the “churched” way of life that I had been taught in my upbringing. I desired for the new wine to make the old wineskin work. But that is not possible within the natural realm or the spiritual realm. So God began to question me: How can you expect to be transformed into My image without experiencing a shift from the old to the new? How can you expect to hold on to your old mindset, routines, thoughts, traditions, inner circle, cycles, lifestyles, and religious practices yet be transformed into My image? How can you be led by My Spirit while still considering the religious teachings and practices from your past? How can I be the Lord over your life when you are allowing your flesh to be fulfilled? How do you expect an old place to accompany a new you? Now that’s some real talk!

And today, my friend, I am asking you those same questions. Reflect on the above mentioned scriptures and the answers to those questions. Consider making the answers prayer requests so that God can lead you out of your old ways and into His new ways. Ttyl.

Godly Sorrow.

Godly sorrow can be defined as a deep, heartfelt grief for sinning against God. It leads to true repentance and salvation and is motivated by a desire to heal one’s relationship with God. It is a core part of making a radical change in one’s life. Worldly sorrow includes the shame of getting caught and the pain of punishment. It can lead to self-loathing or a desire to simply sin in secret. The result of worldly sorrow is spiritual death.

The key verses for this blog posting are 2 Corinthians 7: 8-10. Before getting into these specific verses, I would like to provide some background. Paul wrote two letters to the members of the Church of Corinth (1st and 2nd Corinthians). In the first letter, he called them out for: using human wisdom instead of spiritual wisdom, being jealous of one another, being divided, being spiritually prideful, judging others, engaging in sexual sin, not being disciplined, engaging in idolatry, amongst other things. Due to the severity of the first letter and the possible pain it would cause the people, Paul was conflicted emotionally (2 Corinthians 7:5-6); that was until he received report from Titus stating the people had received the letter well and had repented of their wrongdoing (2 Corinthians 7:7). This is where our key verses come into play. Second Corinthians 7:8-10 read, “I am not sorry that I sent that severe letter to you, though I was sorry at first, for I know it was painful to you for a little while. Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to repent and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow God wants His people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way. For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks experience, results in spiritual death”. As you can see, Paul started off by telling the people that he was initially sorry for the severity of the letter due to the pain that it would cause, but he was glad that he sent it because it caused them to repent and change their ways. The people had experienced Godly sorrow.

Have you ever had your pastor, leader, or friend call you out for your wrongdoing as Paul did in his first letter? Did that particular sermon, counseling session, or dinner date conversation sound harsh but caused a change within you? Well, my friend, you have experienced Godly sorrow. But to be quite frank, a lot of us either have had or still have an issue with being corrected or held accountable for our actions. We have read about Jesus correcting His disciples, followers, crowds, and even the religious teachers. Sometimes, His correction was harsh or sarcastic; at other times, His correction was gentle. The situation dictated the type of correction. We have read verses like 2 Timothy 3:16 which tells us that Holy Spirit corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do right. And I can only speak for myself, but Holy Spirit’s correction doesn’t always sound good or feel good, but I know that God disciplines those He loves (Hebrews 12:6). I believe that we have defined correcting “in love” as using gentle words that are appeasing to our flesh, emotions, mind, and heart. But to be honest, correcting out of love is not a feeling. If someone cares enough about you to have a tough conversation regarding your soul and eternal life, there should not be a question as to whether or not they love you. Every corrective conversation you may have will not always sound or feel good. But it should always lead you towards Godly sorrow and away from worldly sorrow.

Disclaimer: This posting is not a promotion of harsh, abusive-like correction.

The Shifting.

Recently, I began to feel a shifting within my life both spiritually and physically. The spiritual aspect of this shifting involved an urge to completely surrender everything and everyone to Christ, walking in a greater level of faith, amongst other things. The physical aspect of this shifting involved coming out of my old “routines”/patterns and becoming more disciplined.

In hindsight, prior to this shifting, my morning “routine” was quite hectic and unorganized. But I did not view it in that manner due to the fact that I was able to check off things listed on my todo list. I would wake up, pray, wash my face, brush my teeth, get dressed for the gym, take my son to school, go to the gym, workout, go home to freshen up for work, and rush out the door to work. Although performing my morning skin care routine made me feel better, I did it inconsistently due to having “no time”. Everything felt rushed, and savoring each moment did not exist. Truthfully, completing my routine at the gym was the primary focus of my mornings, but even my time at the gym wasn’t enjoyable due to the time restraints. Day by day, I felt more unfulfilled and desiring more.

You may be wondering what the shifting felt/looked like, so let me explain. I felt the need to be more flexible instead of rigidly set in my ways. I began to have an urgency to pray in the evening time instead of the morning time. I began to listen to my body and rest when I needed rest instead of forcing myself to work out. I began to choose healthier food options and pay attention to my consumption specifically denying myself of eating unhealthy when emotional. I felt the need to ‘go with the flow” instead of following a set plan. These things were not thoughts at the forefront of my mind. Instead, it felt as if my body began to follow the directions and promptings from within me.

A few weeks ago, I was diagnosed with COVID and forced to sit down, rest, and regroup. I reached out to my spiritual mentor and explained what I had been feeling and requested some guidance. Even after I received the guidance, I did not fully surrender to the shifting. While all of this was occurring, I was finishing up my study of the book of Matthew and beginning my study of the books of Corinthians. I would like to mention 1 Corinthians 9: 25-27 here; these verses reference being disciplined in training, running with purpose, disciplining one’s body like an athlete, and training the body to do what it should. After reading these verses, I heard “kill the flesh”. This was not the first time I had heard this phrase. God had spoken these very words to me beforehand, but I was not obedient due to my lack of intentionality. Reading these scriptures resonated within my mind. Just because you are not engaging in the things the world deems “big sins” does not mean you do not need to kill your flesh. If overeating is an issue, you need to work at killing your flesh. If you lack self-control, you need to kill your flesh. So on and so forth.

As I was journaling to God this week, I received a revelation from Him. He is shifting me to be more disciplined. He is establishing routine within me. He is teaching me how to kill my flesh. He is preparing me for what’s ahead. And although I do not see it now, I know that it is coming. I have been praying, “Lord, prepare me for what’s ahead and Your promises”. The shifting is a portion of my answer to that prayer. There has to be a preparatory season where things are set into order prior to God elevating me. I cannot enter this next season of my life rushing through moments, unorganized, not disciplined, neglecting myself by not checking in with my body/mind, eating unhealthy foods without restraint, lacking sleep, attempting to prepare for the day ahead while not savoring the present moment, etc. I must be led by the Spirit of God moment by moment. Because when He calls for me to pivot, I need to be in the proper position to do so without hesitation.

Since surrendering to the shifting, my morning routine looks like: wake up, quiet time with God (meditation, prayer, worship, praise/whatever He leads me to do), brush my teeth, wash my face, perform my skin care routine, take my son to school, go back home, drink my coffee while reading my Bible, take notes from my Bible reading, write a blog/journal… enjoy every moment. Afterwards, I look over my charts for my patients I will see that day, freshen up, get dressed for work, and go to work. I have felt AMAZING! I have felt so much calmer and freer both mentally and physically!! I am grateful for the shifting and God’s guidance in every aspect of it.

I want to encourage you to surrender to the shifting. It is for your betterment, and God is preparing you for your future. Do not stay stagnant just because the place ahead of you is unknown and unfamiliar to you. Have faith that even though you do not see what is occurring, God sees everything and will take care of you!

Be Strong!

Hey friends! I pray that you all have read my recent postings covering the book of Matthew. If you haven’t just yet, I encourage you to read the chapter in your Bible and compile your own reflective points prior to reading my summary/reflective points. Leave a comment if you receive any revelations from your readings. I will be happy for you to share them with me! Now let’s talk!

Approximately two months ago, my father experienced a recurrent syncopal episode which raised concerns so I proceeded to have him evaluated. On my way to meet him at his follow-up doctor’s appointment where we would receive his testing results, I began to become nervous and fearful. I attempted to pray my emotions away because I initially processed them as an attack on my faith. But God began to deal with me in that very moment regarding my misinterpretation of my emotions. He explained that I am human, and therefore, I cannot “escape that human experience”. When facing the unknown, it is normal to experience many emotions, but it is our response to those emotions that truly matters. We, as believers, are charged in those moments to acknowledge our emotions, process them, invite God into that space, seek guidance, and respond appropriately. This is where a lot of us miss the mark though; instead, we acknowledge our emotions, validate them as real and true, and respond however we FEEL is appropriate. I am becoming more emotionally mature, and the description of this moment attests to that. Although I was nervous and fearful, I did not desire for those emotions to overwhelm me or drive my response. I felt relieved that God had provided clarity in that moment. So after arriving at the doctor’s office, I sat in the car to gather myself when I heard Him whisper, “Be strong and courageous”. Immediately I thought, “now God, the Bible says in my weakness, You are made strong so what do You mean I need to be strong? You’re the strong one, right?” But in hindsight, God was preparing me!! He did not allow me to be blindsighted with the results. Although I did not know them at that time, I assumed that they would not be good from His words. As we received the results, I felt the tears swelling up as I looked to my father who appeared so disappointed and sad. I remembered God’s words, contained myself, and listened attentively to the NP. My father looked to me to be his pillar of strength in that moment, and I was able to provide a beacon of hope to him as I expressed my faith in my Heavenly Father’s ability to heal.

Deuteronomy chapter 31 verse six states, “So be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you”. Joshua chapter one verse nine states, “This is my command—be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go”. When God whispered, “Be strong and courageous” to me, He was reminding me that He had gone before me, was with me, and would never leave me. He was reiterating my safety in Him and exalting His power over the fleeting emotions that I was feeling. God is saying that very thing to you today! Be strong and courageous no matter what situations are surrounding you, no matter what battles are coming up against me, no matter the circumstances you are facing in your life, no matter what is taking place in the world, no matter if you are feeling certain emotions, no matter what… GOD IS WITH ME and His Spirit dwells within me! Be encouraged! Be empowered! Be strong and courageous!

Matthew Chapter Twenty Eight.

This chapter details Jesus’ resurrection. The Marys went to check on the tomb and had an encounter with an angel of the Lord. The angel instructed the women to view the inside of the tomb and go tell the disciples that Jesus had risen just as He said He would. He instructed them to tell the disciples to go to Galilee to meet Jesus. So as the women went to deliver the message, they encountered Jesus and worshipped Him. He gave them the same instructions as the angel gave. The guards who had witnesssed the angel appear went into the city to tell the leading priests what had happened. To cover up the truth, they bribed the guards into telling the people that the disciples had come and stolen Jesus’ body. They took the bribe and began to spread the lie; that lie is still being spread today. Jesus revealed Himself to the disciples at the appointed place and bestowed the Great Commission upon them. He told them to go make disciples, baptize them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey all the commands He had given them. He ensured them that He would be with them always, even at the end of the age.

I only have a few reflective points. Tell the truth! Do not compromise and do not be bribed. A group of people knew the truth and a group of people believed the lie. Don’t be a part of the latter group, friend. Jesus is the truth, and His resurrection happened just as it was detailed within this chapter. When Jesus revealed Himself to the disciples, although they worshipped Him, some of them doubted. Don’t be like the doubting disciples, friend. When Jesus reveals Himself to you in a certain way, believe it from that point forward. That is your proof, and you dare not need further confirmation. Lastly, you have the same purpose bestowed upon you as the disciples did. Go make disciples!