Have you ever read a social media post that contained complete nonsense? Have you ever been triggered by a post and went to the comments to reply? Have you ever engaged in a disagreement regarding a topic that you KNEW information about while the other person DID NOT KNOW any factual information? Have you ever felt the need to “clear the air” regarding false information? Let’s talk!

Earlier this week, I encountered a woman who told me she had suffered from a stroke in 2022 which led to her physician finding a brain aneurysm on her brain scan. She proceeded to tell me that she requested a follow up brain scan this year, and the aneurysm has disappeared. She asked me if I believed that a brain aneurysm could disappear spontaneously, and I told her I did. She proceeded to tell me how her chiropractor had given her two substances and instructed her to take them for one year after she had her stroke. She expressed how she believed taking those two substances had healed her. When she was done speaking, I instantly asked her if she believed in God to which she responded “yes” before following up with a lengthy explanation. This grieved my spirit and brought me to tears as I am sure that this woman had told so many people how those substances had healed her instead of the God that she claimed to know, love, and serve.

Being a healthcare professional, I desire for you to know 4 things: a brain aneurysm is a weakening of a blood vessel wall within the brain; brain aneurysms rarely resolve spontaneously; chiropractors focus on the treatment of musculoskeletal system disorders; neurologists and neurosurgeons specialize in the treatment of the central nervous system disorders which include the brain. With that information, you can infer that the woman’s statements regarding the two substances “healing” her were not factual. In her explanation regarding knowing God, she stated, “God sends things through people. So those medications were sent from God to my doctor to me.”. This statement grieved my spirit even more as this woman truly thought that God needed to use a man and substances to heal her. I did not negate anything she said, but I did shift the focus off of the man and onto God. Imagine the all powerful God not receiving credit for a miracle He had performed for someone who claimed to know Him. Just imagine! I prayed about this incident as I began to wind down that night, and God simply said, “My people perish for lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6). As I studied that verse, God provided me with revelation that I desire to share with you. Let’s get into it!

According to Oxford Languages, knowledge is defined as “facts, information, and skills acquired by a person via experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject”. Simply put, knowledge is the understanding of a subject matter. According to Proverbs 2:6, the Lord gives wisdom and from His mouth comes knowledge and understanding. Proverbs 2:7 states that the Lord hides away sound godly wisdom and stores it up for the righteous. Proverbs 18:15 states the heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge. Colossians 2:3 informs us that all of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge and enlightenment are stored up and hidden in Jesus. From these verses alone, one can conclude that knowledge, understanding, and wisdom are divine treasures of Jesus and abide within Jesus; these treasures are reserved for those who live upright before Jesus and are revealed to the upright through relationship with Jesus. Matter of fact, we can conclude that Jesus is knowledge. So when Hosea 4:6 states “People perish for lack of knowledge”, one can also say that people are destroyed due to lack of Jesus. When I received the revelation, I began to laugh. I laughed because it was sort of a “duh” type of moment. Anyone can claim to know God, love God, and serve God. Anyone can attempt to portray an image as if they are righteous and living for God (form of godliness mentioned in 2 Timothy 3:5). But if you are in relationship with Jesus and Holy Spirit abides within you, you will be able to distinguish when someone is operating in a form of godliness. I know God to be a HEALER and MIRACLE working God (Exodus 15:26; Psalm 77:14). I know that God is God ALL BY HIMSELF; there is no one like Him (Isaiah 45:5-6). I know that God uses man, but He is self-sufficient (Acts 17:25). I know God! And from what this woman said during our conversation, it would be safe for me to assume that although she claims to know God, she lacks knowledge due to a lack of relationship with Jesus.

In these types of conversations when we know the Truth, we must keep in mind 2 Timothy 2:23-26 which states, “Don’t get involved in foolish ignorant arguments that only start fights. A servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people. Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts,and they will learn the truth. Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil’s trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants.” I was proud when I read this scripture that night because I did feel the need to “defend” God. It is not our responsibility to “defend” God or “prove a point”. It is our responsibility to either plant or water a seed (God’s Word) because only God can make it grow (1 Corinthians 3:6-9).

I encourage you on today to get to know Jesus intimately. I encourage you to live an upright life before Him. I encourage you to study your Bible as Paul advised in 2 Timothy 2:15.

Read, dissect, and meditate on the above mentioned verses.

It’s been some time ago that I entered a space where I began praying, “Not my will, but Your will be done”. I felt as if I had finally reached a place where I was genuinely ready to lay down any and every thing to fulfill God’s purpose and will for my life. That was until He called me out. Let’s Talk!

In 2022, after obtaining my licensure to practice as a FNP and months of completing applications, I was unsuccessful in obtaining a job. I was praying and expressing to God how I knew He hadn’t brought me through schooling and allowed me to pass my licensure examination just for me to never work as a FNP. God spoke to me and said, “I did not require for you to go to school and become a nurse or a nurse practitioner. I do not need for you to have any of those credentials to fulfill your purpose within My kingdom. I allowed your continued success because it was a desire of your heart.” After getting over the initial emotions of thinking I had wasted time and money pursuing my desires, I began repeating the prayer, “Not my will, but Your will be done”. At that time, I did not truly mean that phrase, but it was a way for me to speak it on the way to believing it. In hindsight, the scriptures regarding what God had said to me that come to mind are Romans 8:29-30, where Paul tells us that God foreknew and predestined us to be molded into the image of Jesus; God also called His people who were foreordained, made us righteous, justified us, and glorified us. According to these scriptures, there are no prerequisites that we must possess in order to be used by God. God has the plan for us before we are even conceived (as He told us in Jeremiah 1:5). After having that encounter with God, I entered a waiting season where I thought that God was preparing me to be the best NP a patient could encounter. But in all actuality, God had thrust me into a pruning and sanctification season where He was preparing me to go out into the world and teach His words (manifested via Real Talk with Keve, LLC). In hindsight, I see how He had been preparing me to fulfill His purpose and will throughout my life beginning when He planted a desire to teach within me as a little girl.

Let’s Talk about the meat of this post. Last month, one of the best physicians I’ve ever known passed away. Her impact was significant, and she had believed in me when I did not believe in myself. While I was working with her in a RN position, she trained me to be one of the best Hospice NPs anyone could ever encounter. Last year, she had agreed to establish a collaborative agreement with me so that I could begin to prescribe medications. Needless to say, I procrastinated and even in that God was being intentional. On Thursday, March 27, 2025, I finally sat down to gather the information I needed from her to establish the agreement; I planned to meet with her on Friday, April 4, 2025. On Saturday, March 29, 2025, she abruptly passed away; the next day, as I went throughout my day grieving, I told God that I would be absolutely fine if I never wrote a prescription a day in my life. That evening when I finally got home where I could be as emotional as I desired to be, I did just that. I cried and prayed and prayed and cried. God brought back to my remembrance what He had told me in 2022 which I detailed earlier in this post. Despite God telling me that back then, I always thought that His will and my will would coincide. To be honest, gaining that collaborative agreement would have allowed me to fulfill my will to establish a successful business solely related to my career field and not taking into consideration the kingdom of God. God revealed that it was His desire for my business to benefit His kingdom first and me afterwards. And this is exactly why He had to call me out!

In Luke 22:42, Jesus went into the garden of Gethsemane and prayed. Verse 42 states, “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine”. Jesus desired to fulfill God’s will, but it appears as if He did not desire the suffering associated with God’s will. In Luke 22:43, we read that an angel came to strengthen Jesus. It is in this verse that we can see that in Jesus’ weakness, when the suffering seemed overbearing and He desired to give up, God sent Him the strength that He needed to carry on. I will admit that along this walk with God I have been in a space where I desired to give up but knew I had to press on to fulfill God’s will. I can attest to this as the year 2024 was the hardest year of my spiritual journey. But even in those sufferings, just as God sent an angel to strengthen Jesus, He provided me with strength to continue to fulfill His will. Now I can say and truly mean, “Not my will, but Your will be done”. As I embark upon this new era, I know that God’s will shall be done, and His presence will remain with me.

You may be at a crossroad where you feel the pressure that God is putting on you to make a specific, faith-filled decision. You may have received God’s instructions to leave your job and establish a business. You may be feeling the call of God greater in this season of your life and know that you need to forsake your will and take His up. I encourage you to envision this blog post as God calling you out and encourage you to take that step of faith.

Read, dissect and meditate on the above mentioned verses.

What do you do when situations and circumstances do not appear to be going the way that you planned for them to go? What do you do when situations and circumstances appear to be going the way that you planned for them to go? When you receive good or bad news, who do you call? When you desire to vent about life, who do you run to? When you are battling within yourself regarding a decision that you must make, who do you seek guidance from? When you are angry and feel your old self arising, who do you seek out to calm you down? When you are low in spirit and need comfort and strength, who do you reach out to? When your life is chaotic and you need some peace, what do you do? If you are anything like the old version of myself, your answers would be similar to: I tend to figure out a plan B when plan A is not going well; I call my bestfriend because he knows my deepest darkest secrets and never openly judges me; I call two or three people to get their advice when I am unsure of the correct decision; I take a few shots in an attempt to get out of my feelings; I seek out coping mechanisms to help me cover up the pain; I have to call my calm friend when I’m about to cut up because he knows just the right words to say; I usually stay to myself when I’m low because I do not want to be seen as weak and I do not want anyone’s sympathy; I usually go on vacation or schedule a self-care day to recenter myself. Friend, having people to rely on is great because it shows you have support within your community. But just as I had to come to know for myself, I am here to assist you in knowing that the best thing to do in these types of situations is PRAY, and the best person to call on is JESUS. Let’s Talk!

In my post titled “Everybody Can’t Go”, I told you about a friend that God had made me walk away from during a certain season of my growth in Him. Well, I have an update. In my prayer time one morning, God revealed to me that the friend and I relied too heavily on one another’s opinions and advice when we needed to be relying on Him and His guidance. I knew that to be true because I loveddddd to call this one friend no matter what was going on. The truth of the matter was, I had unintentionally allowed that friend to become my god. I did not seek God as much as I sought an answer from her. Can you see how that is a problem especially within someone who identifies as a follower of Christ? How could I be proclaiming to love and serve Jesus when I wasn’t even seeking to communicate with Him before communicating with people? Why wasn’t I seeking guidance from the One who knows His plans for my life (Jeremiah 29:11)? Why wasn’t I crying out to the One who was able to heal my broken heart and comfort me during my times of trouble (Psalm 147:3; Psalm 23:4)? Why wasn’t I seeking God before man?

According to Oxford Languages, prayer is a form of communication in which a person connects with a higher power to offer a sincere request for help, an expression of thanks, or an act of worship. When you communicate with your bestfriend, do you tend to be nervous or attempt to talk a certain way or find the right words to say? The answer should be “no”. When you are speaking with your bestfriend: you are allowed to be yourself; you express yourself in your own unique language; you are able to be vulnerable and emotional even to the point of crying; you are rarely nervous; you even have inside lingo and jokes that you use. When comparing communication with your bestfriend to communication with Jesus, there should not be too much of a difference. Of course, it is essential that we exercise reverence for Jesus when communicating with Him, but we should also be as intimate with Him as we are with our bestfriends. After praying in a few different public settings, I have had many people to ask me to teach them how to pray. Although I wish that I had a manual to give to them, I do not. When I first started praying, I did not know what to say, and I did not know how to say it. I just began talking to Jesus as if He were a friend of mine. As I grew in my relationship with Him, I began to include these words in my prayers, “Lord, teach me how to pray”. I did not stop there though. I continued to set a certain time to pray every morning, and I continued to just talk to Him as best as I knew how. One day, I was praying, and the presence of God swept through my room. Friend, from that day forward, I did not have to think about what I wanted to say or how I wanted to say it. I just began each prayer by saying “Thank you Father”. After giving thanks and reverence to God, the Holy Spirit begins to place certain people, world events, situations and anything else on my heart. So friend, do not get caught up on what to say or how to say it, JUST SAY SOMETHING! Reference Matthew 6:5-13 and pray the words in Matthew 6:9-13 until you have your own words to say.

I want you to know that prayer is a weapon. I want to encourage you to begin or continue to pray daily. Pray as many times as you can throughout the day even if it’s simply, “Lord, I thank you”. Jesus never gets tired of hearing from us. Actually, 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 17 instructs us to pray continually. There is no such thing as a small prayer or a big prayer. But there is a such thing as an effectual, fervent prayer; this type of prayer is a heartfelt, powerful prayer that comes from a righteous person (James 5:16). So friend, strive to be righteous in Christ by having faith in Him and living according to His principles and will. And don’t forget to PRAY!

Read, dissect and meditate on Matthew 6:5-13, Psalm 100:4, Philippians 4:6-7, Romans 8:26, and Ephesians 6:18.

According to Oxford Languages, one of the definitions of trust is “firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something”. I have to admit that trusting God did not come easily, and it was something that I had to be really intentional and prayerful about when developing my relationship with Him. Friend, can I be honest with you? Let’s Talk!

I once read a book titled, Let God Love You: Why We Don’t; How We Can by Wendy Ulrich. Mrs. Ulrich is a psychologist, and it is in this book that I learned that our relationship with people is reflected in our relationship with God. This made complete sense in my head because if I did not trust people, how could I possibly trust God? After all, people that I felt were dear to me had broken so many promises and let me down numerous times. I had counted on people to show up for me, but they had, oftentimes. never arrived. Needless to say, I didn’t trust many people, and I didn’t have faith in them either. Those same negative feelings I felt towards people, I felt towards God as well. Because to be forreal, I had prayed for certain things out of states of desperation, and God did not show up for me just like those people hadn’t.

Over the last two to three years, God has given me instructions regarding my future. To be completely honest with you, I was nervous regarding following those instructions due to not knowing how, when, where and what time things would play out. I was also nervous because of the minimal amount of trust that I had in God. You see, I was the type of person that loved control and thrived the most when I relied on myself to get the job done. Wellll, I’m here to tell you that those characteristics do not work when serving God; you truly have to trust and have faith in God to complete His Words. Here recently, God has given me so many instructions to the point where I felt an urgency within my spirit to act quickly. Today, I noticed that I had began to feel anxious regarding the process of fulfilling the instructions. I was thinking about what I needed to do in conjunction with God for His words to come to pass. For a moment, I thought that my trust and faith in God were wavering until I realized that my emotions just needed to be regulated by God. It is normal for us to have those types of emotions; but as I mentioned in “Get out of Your Feelings”, it is essential to allow God to regulate them. So I went straight into my prayer closet to lay at His feet. After praying, one of my friends sent me a text message which provided me with so much reassurance. That message reminded me of a prayer that God had answered for me. That prayer was backed by trust and faith ALONE. I did not have to perform an action, control the situation, or rely on myself to fulfill it. And in that moment, God said, “I will provide for you”. Friend, tell me why I got emotional because of the way God spoke that phrase to me. The way He said it made me know He is going to do what He said He would do… that I can trust Him to perform it. It made me feel a sense of peace knowing that I won’t have to perform an action, control the situation, or rely on myself to fulfill it. All I need to do is trust Him and continue to have faith in Him. According to God’s will, way, and timing, all of God’s words to me will be fulfilled. It serves me no good to be caught up in wondering how, when, where, why and what time the instructions and promises will unfold. I can rest in knowing that God is in control, and all things will work out according to His will for my life.

Thank you for listening to me vent friend! I appreciate you!

For those of you who have not read “Get out of Your Feelings”, I encourage you to read that post first. For those of you who have read that post, remember that we talked about being sensitive, three types of sensitivity, and the downfalls of sensitivity. That post was dedicated to speaking on the first downfall of sensitivity which was oversensitivity. This post will be dedicated to speaking on the second downfall of sensitivity which is lack of sensitivity. Remember that lack of sensitivity can potentially lead us to a place of disregarding the emotions and needs of others. Let’s Talk!

Do you have a good heart? Have you ever been taken advantage of? Have you ever shown someone so much love despite their negative behaviors that you arrived at a point of no longer having love or compassion for others? Have you ever been hurt to the point of deciding to disregard the desires and needs of others and “focusing on yourself”? What happened to you that caused you to transform from being that selfless, compassionate person to this selfish, coldhearted person? In most of the above mentioned questions, I could see myself prior to God saving me and healing me. As mentioned in “Everybody Can’t Go”, I loved people more than I loved myself. I can admit that loving the wrong people caused me a tremendous amount of emotional and physical pain. Loving the wrong people pushed me to a point of not caring about people. Loving the wrong people had me doing things that were against my nature. Loving the wrong people made me coldhearted. Loving the wrong people forced me into a place of lack of sensitivity. All of that led to my love and compassion for people, except for my children and patients, to grow cold. I felt emotionally numb and enforced the walls I had built up around my heart in an effort to protect myself. But I knew this wasn’t who I truly was. I knew that the pain and trauma that I had endured throughout my life had transformed me into someone I wasn’t. I knew that I couldn’t heal on my own. I knew that it was going to take God Himself to come to my rescue and save me from myself.

When I began to put forth effort in the process of rededicating my life back to Christ, God gave me a vision. In this vision, God was literally performing heart surgery on me. During the vision, God spoke to me informing me that I had a lot of damage within my heart that He needed to repair before He could use me effectively in His Kingdom. After that vision, I went through so much as God began to reveal those things that I had packed deep into my heart in an attempt to forget them. He started to bring forth childhood traumas that I had been through but never dealt with. He showed me how my adult behaviors were tied to most of those unhealed, childhood traumas. He knocked down those walls I had built up to protect myself from people potentially hurting me again. He showed me things about myself that I didn’t even know were rooted within me. I had taken those things on while dealing with the wrong people and being in the wrong places. That vision literally came to life as God performed the heart repair that saved my life… that saved me from dying in sin… that delievered me out of the pits of hell… that set me free from the chains of bondage and generational curses… that would be the pivotal point of my ascension into a new life led by Him. As God did His work within my heart, He sent a person into my life that gave me hope in people again. This person made me began to trust that people could be good without reason, showed me that I didn’t have to sacrifice any portion of myself to be loved, desired to help me and see me succeed without ulterior motives; but mostly importantly, the person showed me the love of God. God utilized that person as He pulled back every layer of hurt, pain and trauma within me exposing them at the roots. God forced me into being emotion and vulnerable again. God knew that I lacked sensitivity in any form that it came in. He knew that I disregarded my own emotions and needs so the emotions and needs of others definitely did not matter to me. He knew that possessing a lack of sensitivity was not of Him and was leading me into impurity (Ephesians 4:19). He knew all of these things and showed compassion towards me still. During the “surgery”, He remained gentle, forgiving, loving, kind, and patient. Just as He desires for us to do with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Let’s get into the Word! Colossians 3:12 instructs us to put on tenderhearted pity and mercy, a kind feeling, a lowly opinion of ourselves, gentle ways, and patience. Colossians 3:13 instructs us to be gentle, forbearing with one another, forgiving one another even as the Lord freely forgives us. Ephesians 4:32 instructs us to be kind and compassionate towards one another. Galatians 5:22-23 list the fruit of the Spirit which include love, kindness and gentleness. Matthew 25:35-36 reiterates the need for us to be sensitive to the emotions and needs of others. These are not merely encouragements, but they are requirements. God requires us, as His children, to possess the same characteristics as He does through the Holy Spirit. Remember that we were created in His image and likeness (Genesis 1:27). We cannot go throughout our lives hanging on to past traumas and unhealed portions of ourselves. We cannot allow situations, circumstances, or people to change us or cause our perception to shift. We must be sensitive to the emotions and needs of others through the leading of the Holy Spirit. When we are led by the Holy Spirit, we will not find ourselves in places where we are taken advantage of, where we are used, nor where we are abused. I must reiterate the need to be led by the Holy Spirit because if it had not been for His leading, I would still be heartbroken and trauma filled. I would still be bond. I would still be in repetitive cycles. I would still be ineffective in His Kingdom. I would still lack sensitivity. And I most definitely would have pushed that person away that God was utilizing to show me His love and compassion to me.

I encourage you to do a deep dive within yourself on today in an attempt to pinpoint any lack of sensitivity within you. Know that if you do find traces of lack of sensitivity, God is able to uproot any cause and deliver you from anything. Cleave to Him as you search within yourself for He knows you better than you know yourself. Just as God has healed and continues to heal my heart, He can do the same for you and your heart IF you desire for Him to (Psalm 147:3).

Read, dissect and meditate on the above mentioned verses.

As I sat here writing my last post, “Get out of Your Feelings”, God gave me this title. He gave it to me during the paragraph where I was speaking regarding my desire to “match energy” which would have caused my friend to be led astray from God. At the time, I did not identify that the enemy had crept in and was attempting to cause division in my friendship because I was so caught up in my feelings. It took God revealing the plot of satan to me to prevent me from falling into his trap. As mentioned in that post, my friend wasn’t my enemy. Satan was and still is. Let’s Talk about our real enemy!

When it comes to building a relationship with God, we must know and understand that we have an enemy. Satan does not want us to be in relationship with God, do what’s right according to God’s standards, live holy lifestyles, be righteous or serve our purpose for God’s kingdom. Instead, he desires for us to remain in the world and of the world. The enemy’s ultimate goal is world dominion by leading the people of God astray causing a falling away (Revelation 20:7-10). If you have any sports-related knowledge or any experience is competitive games, you know that, in preparation for a match, teams study the tactics of their opponents. This is done to identify any strong and weak areas of the opposing team so that strategies can be organized in an attempt to dominate the opponent and ultimately win the game. Just as sports teams study their opponents, satan studies us. He knows exactly how to tempt us, trap us, distract us, destroy us, and trick us into a state of turning away from God. Knowing that satan studies you, don’t you think you need to study him, identify the tactics he uses against you, and strategize a plan of how you will defeat him when he comes to wage war against you?

In Ephesians 6:12, we are informed that we do not battle against flesh and blood (physical components) but against master spirits who are the world rulers of the present darkness and spiritual forces of wickedness in the supernatural realm. Comprehending this verse is essential. The master spirits of satan don’t care who they utilize as long as they accomplish satan’s goal of stealing, killing, and destroying (John 10:10). Want proof? In Luke 22:1-6, we can read about Judas. Verse 3 informs us of two things: satan entered into Judas and Judas was one of Jesus’ 12 disciples. Clock that!! After satan had entered into Judas, verse four informs us that he went to the chief priests and captains to discuss how he could betray Jesus. Verses five and six inform us that they paid Judas for his betrayal so he devised a plan to give Jesus to them. NOWWWW JUDASSS!! Judas was CHOSEN by Jesus and afforded the opportunity to walk closely with Him, but satan USED HIM AGAINST JESUS. Clock that!! Want more proof that satan does not care where these spirits dwell? Let’s go to Matthew 8: 28-32. Verse 28 informs us that Jesus encountered two men that were possessed with demons. In verse 29, the demons spoke to Jesus asking what He came to do to them. In verses 31 and 32, the demons begged Jesus to cast them out into the group of hogs, and Jesus sent them into the group of hogs causing the hogs to run into the sea and die. THE DEMONS REQUESTED TO GO INTO THE HOGS. You got that point, right? What makes us think that satan cannot and will not use people and things closest to us to cause us to steer away from God? What makes us believe that the people we love cannot be used by satan to influence us to take the wrong path? I’m telling you today that satan DOES NOT care about you nor your family and friends. He does care to accuse you (Zechariah 3:1). He does care to lie to you as he is the father of lies (John 8:44). He does care to corrupt your mind and seduce you from sincere and pure devotion to God (2 Corinthians 11:3). He does desire for you to lack self-control and isolate yourself (1 Corinthians 7:15). He does desire to fill your heart with deceit causing you to attempt to lie to and deceive the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3). He does care to destroy you including every thing and every one attached to you (1 Peter 5:8).

Are you fighting a losing battle against people? SATAN IS YOUR REAL ENEMY! But just as a team develops a strategy against their opponent, our God did as well. Colossians 2:15 informs us that God disarmed the principalities and powers that were ranged against us in triumphing over them in HIM and IN THE CROSS. When Jesus gave His life for us and resurrected, satan was defeated. And we know that the SAME POWER that raised Jesus from the dead resides in us according to 1 John 4:4. So why is the devil whopping you, friend? Is it because you are not equipped for the warfare? Let me share with you how to get equipped. Go read Ephesians 6:13-18 then I want you to read James 4:7 ensuring that you follow all of the instructions.

Y’all should know by now that I love to enlighten people with the wisdom that God gives me through the revelation of His Words. I also like to connect personal experiences to ensure relatability remains. So here we go… At the beginning of this month, I read Priscilla Shirer’s Fervent: A Woman’s Battle Plan for Serious, Specific, and Strategic Prayer. If you watched War Room or The Forge, Mrs. Shirer was one of the main characters for both movies. In this particular book, she identifies the top ten tactics satan uses to distract us from being focused on God. She also offers scripture-based strategies against each tactic. If you like to read as a hobby, I highly recommend this book because satan’s tactics mentioned within this book were all relatable to my life. I feel as if with the knowledge from God’s Word and that book, I am better equipped at identifying the tactics of satan in relation to areas in life that I don’t readily think of.

As always, read, dissect, and mediate of the above mentioned verses.

Read the title again. And again. Read it one more time. Let’s Talk about it!

I know y’all like to talk about me because these posts don’t relate to you, right? Let’s get into it. I love people. Prior to being saved: I loved people so much that I placed them ahead of myself. I loved people so much that I valued their thoughts and opinions over my own thoughts and opinions. I loved people so much that I allowed others to make decisions for me instead of making my own decisions. I loved people so much that I was afraid to call them out on their stuff because I did not desire to lose them. I loved people so much that I allowed them to use me, abuse me, and lie to me; I loved them so much that I still showed up for them after all of that. I loved people so much that I volunteered my resources knowing they did not deserve my assistance. I loved people so much that I transformed parts of me to appease them. I loved people so much that I settled for a community of people that were near me but so far from me because they couldn’t see me drowning behind the smile I plastered on my face. I loved people so much that I became so low that I desired to die instead of living. I loved people so much that I allowed them to hurt me while I helped them. I loved people so much until I began to love Christ and myself.

It wasn’t until after I got saved that God allowed me to realize that I needed to be delivered from people. Do you think that I jumped into action after that realization? Wellllll, the honest answer is no. I battled with the idea of having to walk away from people who I credited for impacting my life in any sort of positive way. The instances spoken of above weren’t the entirety of the relationships I had with people. The same people that negatively impacted me at some point in time had positively impacted me as well. That is one of the reasons why I battled internally with letting people go. The other reason was I was afraid of what they would think about me or say about me. The last reason was I would have to deal with the hurt and pain that came from ending the relationships. BUT GOD! God was calling me from amongst people. I had to answer Him whether it was voluntarily or involuntarily. (Side note: Yes, God does give us a choice, but there are times when He forces your hand when you have walked with Him in a certain capacity.) I walked away from some of the relationships freely because I knew that the negative impact overweighed the positive impact. They were literally no good for me. But God had to guide me out of one friendship in particular. We had been friends for 10 years, and she was dear to my heart. We had created a beautiful friendship built on fun times, but we had also weathered a lot of storms together. She had actually became more like a sister to me than a friend. I tried my best to hold on to every piece of our friendship, but the harder I tried to keep it in my gripes, the more it slipped away. I was left grieving the loss of what I had envisioned would be a lifelong friendship and questioning why God forced my hand with walking away. God simply told me and continues to tell me, “Everybody can’t go”!

Let’s Talk about why everybody can’t go! When God gives you an assignment, IT IS FOR YOU. This assignment is planned, purposed and orchestrated by GOD. You do not need anyone else’s opinion, approval, direction, or support for something GOD gave YOU. While it is human nature for us to desire our loved ones to validate, encourage and support us, it should not be a requirement in order for us to live out and fulfill God’s purpose for us. And to be quite honest, everybody that “supports” you, whether privately or publicly, is not always for you. Some people tend to support you because it is their duty as a friend or family member. Let’s get into the scriptures. In Mark 3:13-19, Jesus named His 12 disciples. In those verses, you can read how Jesus desired and chose them with purpose; that purpose was to go out into the earth and preach and to have authority and power to heal the sick and cast out demons. While Jesus did select 12 disciples, we read in many passages of scripture where He only permitted 3 out of the 12 to go with Him and witness certain manifestations of His power. In Mark 5:37, Jesus permitted no one to accomplany Him except Peter, James and John when He healed Jairus’ daughter. In Mark 9:2, Jesus took Peter, James and John and led them up the high mountain apart by themselves; that is where they were able to witness Jesus’ transfiguration. In Mark 14:32&33, Jesus instructed the other 9 disciples to stay behind and pray while permitting Peter, James and John to go to the Garden of Gethsemane with Him. In Mark 14: 34, Jesus expressed to Peter, James, and John that He was exceedingly sad and instructed them to stay awake keeping watch while He pressed a little further. It is here that I want to make an impression. Although those 3 had witnessed the power and miraculous works of Jesus time and time again, when Jesus was deeply troubled, He pressed into His Father ALONE! He desired for them only to stay awake, keep watch and pray. In Mark 14:37, we read that the 3 had fallen asleep while Jesus was praying. I would like to make an impression here as well. The same 3 that had witnessed the power and miraculous works of Jesus time and time again, did not even stay awake, keep watch or pray for Him AFTER HE HAD OPENLY EXPRESSED TO THEM how He was exceedingly sad. So if the people that Jesus had allowed to witness so much of His power fell asleep on Him, how are you counting on your friends and family to stay awake for you? How are you so phased and moved by their opinions and thoughts when they could potentially be sleeping on you?

I’m going to leave you with Galatians 1:10. This verse in The Everyday Life Bible by Joyce Meyer reads, “Now am I trying to win the favor of men, or of God? Do I seek to please men? If I were still seeking popularity with men, I should not be a bond servant of Christ (the Messiah)”. Are you seeking to please men or God? If you find that the answer to that question is men, I encourage you to repent to God and commit to building your relationship with Him.

Read, dissect and meditate on the previously mentioned verses.

How many social media posts have you read on the topic of knowing your worth? How many talks with your friends or family members or maybe even yourself have you had regarding realizing and walking in your worth? How many times are you going to have to find yourself in disrespectful, distasteful, and embarrassing situations before you reclaim your worth? How long are you willing to settle for less knowing that your worth is greater than what you are allowing? Let’s Talk!

When God gave me this title, it was the morning after an old situationship contacted me. Mind you, I ended this situationship almost two years ago, but he desired to know why I didn’t contact him anymore. During the conversation, I told him the reasons why I had not contacted him and would not start back contacting him. He mentioned noting my involvement in the church now, but immediately after, he brought up how I used to be the “fun girl”. {Y’all see the devil working, right? Let me just add this here. When you make progression forward in life, the enemy is going to use anything and everybody to either bring you back to where you used to be or knock you off of God’s course for your life.} I told him that the “fun girl” I used to be was an unhealed young woman who was using coping mechanisms to mask pain and settling for less than what she was worthy of. I reminded him of the toxicity of the situationship and how I did not understand how he even desired to be involved with me at that time. (You know it’s bad when you realize your own mess and confess it.) Nevertheless, none of that mattered to him. He mentioned possibly taking me on a trip. He pulled all of the stops in an attempt to persuade me to reverting back to dealing with him. But all of that was to no avail because the “fun girl” he came looking for has been transformed by God into a completely different woman… one with her worth and value rooted in God. When I ended that situationship, it was due to me having a conversation with myself regarding my worth, values and morals. I was fed up with dealing with the toxicity. I had come to the conclusion that the situationship would never be more than an uncommitted “good time”. I was done degrading myself for the sake of having someone who was semi present. Mind you, this wasn’t the first time I allowed my worth to be defined by a man’s standards. To be quite frank, I had a history of allowing paid trips, money, and gifts to keep me in situations I knew were not good for me. But the truth of the matter at that time was that I desired to be deemed worthy in man’s eyes and according to man’s standards. The conversation with him ended, and I was proud of myself. I was proud that I had come to a place of looking the enemy in the face and not bowing down or giving in to the old tactics that were effective. I was proud because I had stayed the course that I committed to almost 2 years ago and never looked back. I remain proud that I continue to allow God to transform me into the woman that He created me to be.

I know all of us have found ourselves in situations where we compromised our worth, morals, and values to be in a situationship. And when speaking of situationships, you can include relationships, marriages, career paths, friendships, etc. Some of us knew better and still remained in those situations. Some of us had to muster up the strength to finally stand up for ourselves and leave. Some of us were so lost that when we finally came up for air, we could no longer identify ourselves. I have two questions to set the tone for the meat of this post, “How much are you worth? What is your value?”.

Like mentioned above, we tend to use cultural standards, society’s standards, man’s standards, woman’s standards and even our own standards to measure our worth up against. We go to the extent of building up personas, obtaining the greatest degrees, obtaining the highest titles, buying the most beautiful homes, driving the nicest cars, achieving a certain social status, and anything else to appear as if we are of high value and worth. Then there comes a point when we realize that all of those things add no value to our true worth. I heard it like this in a song this week, “We are public successors but privately broken”. Let’s Talk about me because maybe you cannot relate to what I am saying! God dealt with me heavily regarding my success and accomplishments after I got saved. The truth of the matter is I had obtained all of these degrees and achieved social status, but those things did not make me feel any more worthy or valuable. While in the waiting season to enter into my nurse practitioner era, God told me that He did not need me to have any degrees, possess any type of social status or obtain any special qualifications to do what He desired for me to do in His kingdom. He revealed that He allowed me to be successful in school and obtain my licensures because that was a desire of my heart. It wasn’t until He began to strip me of my coping mechanisms and the identity that I had formulated and built up for myself that He revealed how I had rooted my identity in my responsibilities and titles. It was not until God began to transform me that I realized that I could not be who I had created myself to be, but I had to be who God created me to be. As God peeled back the layers of my formulated identity, I began to see that my identity is rooted in God and my worth is far beyond what I had imagined.

God desires for you to realize your true worth and identity. We’ve talked about how worth can be defined through relationship with others and through titles. Let’s Talk about your true worth and identity which are both rooted in God. Genesis chapter one verses 26 and 27 lets us know that we were created in the IMAGE and LIKENESS of God. When man was created, he was structured like God and possessed a similar nature, Spirit, and intellect as God. Man was created with dominion within him (Genesis 1:28); dominion is defined as authority and power. Jeremiah chapter one verse five lets us know that before God formed us in our mother’s womb, He knew and approved us. And before we were born, He separated us and set us apart. YOU WERE NOT CREATED TO FIT IN. Accept that key point and move forward; you cannot get caught up in desiring to fit in so much that you miss God’s plan and purpose for your life. Ephesians chapter two verse 10 reveals that we are God’s handiwork and that we were recreated in Jesus Christ to do the good works which God predestined for us. Psalm chapter 139 verse 14 tells us that we were fearfully and wonderfully made. Those verses attest to our IDENTITY. How about our worth? I am going to list only two verses here because I believe they are the most impactful. John chapter three verse 16 states that God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son for whoever that believes in Him to not perish but have eternal life. Romans chapter 5 verse 8 states God showed and clearly proved His love for us because while we were sinners, His son died for us. YOU ARE WORTH DYING FOR!! End of story.

Your worth and identity are not defined by people’s opinions, your past, your mistakes, your works, your income, your social status, your title, cultural norms, or religious factors. I encourage you to evaluate yourself. Look within yourself to see if you have allowed your worth and identity to be defined in anything or anyone outside of The One who created you, approved you, and set you apart. I encourage you to make a decision to be saved and lead a surrendered life so that God can begin to reveal your identity, worth and purpose to you.

Read, dissect and meditate on the above mentioned scriptures.