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“Bear Good Fruit!”

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It is just like the Holy Spirit to turn what I thought would be a 2-part series into a three-part series, or maybe even a 4-part series.  So, for just a quick review, over the past few weeks, we decided that we are going to stop trying to hide from the Lord, seek His presence and worship Him; trust His sovereignty and lean into the Holy Spirit.   Today, we are going to delve into the idea of what it means to “Bear Good Fruit”.  As we look at Genesis 1:28, God created the earth and after He blessed all living things and said:

Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.” 

In chapter 2 of Genesis, the Lord had not caused it to rain and there was no man to till the ground, therefore, God formed man and breathed into him the breath of life.  He then put Adam in the garden to tend [work in it] and keep it [be productive].  We know that shortly thereafter He created Eve, but I won’t go too deep into that story, but I do want to focus on gaining a better understanding of the phrase, “Be Fruitful”.  We hear that phrase a lot these days, but what does it really mean?  Many times, there are things that we have heard and or learned that we have taken for granted and have not fully understood, that may be crucial as we continue to proceed on the next leg of our spiritual journey.  So, let’s go to the Book of John in the New Testament, as Jesus spoke to His disciples.

Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. 

John 15:4 NLT

When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father. John 15:8

John 15:8 NLT

 This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.

John 15:12 NLT

What is the fruit that Jesus is referring to?  When we lovingly obey the Word of God, we produce much fruit (the fruit of the Holy Spirit, which is LOVE, joy, peace, and so much more).  “We are supposed to lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him as (we) bear fruit in every good work.”  As the Apostle Paul spoke to the saints in the city of Colosse, he said:

We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better. We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. Colossians 1:9b-11a

Colossians 1:9b-11a

So, what does all this mean?  For those of us that are being hidden by God”, before He fully reveals our purpose to us, we must be mentally and spiritually prepared to “Bear Good Fruit”!  We must take the Word to God, His Seed, plant it in our hearts, apply it to our lives and produce the Fruit of the Holy Spirit, which is Love, as we touch the lives of others.

“Hiding or Hidden”… Part I

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I’m sure that you have looked at this week’s topic, “Hiding or Hidden“, and have immediately wondered, What’s the difference?  Well, I am glad you asked…. Are we trying to hide from God? Or Is He keeping us Hidden?

Although I won’t read all of Psalm 139, David said this:

O Lord, you have examined my heart
    and know everything about me.
2 You know when I sit down or stand up.
    You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
3 You see me when I travel
    and when I rest at home.
    You know everything I do.
4 You know what I am going to say
    even before I say it, Lord.

I can never escape from your Spirit!
    I can never get away from your presence!
11 I could ask the darkness to hide me
    and the light around me to become night—
12     but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.

Psalm 139: 1-4, 7, 11-12

We know that we can’t hide from God, but we can shrink back from those things that we know He has told us and needs us to do.  We are just doing stuff or are we trying to camouflage ourselves amid our stuff.  The Lord would never tell us to forsake our responsibilities, however, I’d like to suggest that if we gave Him 100% of who we are, dedicated our time to Him first; He would give us more than what we needed to fulfill all our roles.  We may be overthinking about where the Lord may be taking us, wondering why He really wants to take us there anyway or we may just be afraid of going.   We have surrounded ourselves with so much mental and physical clutter that we just can’t think clearly at all and our atmosphere does matter.

So, here are some examples of hiding places:

  • Hiding behind the role of a busy wife and mother – Now I would never underestimate the importance of this role.  The Lord would never tell us to do something that would cause us to forsake our family.  However, I believe that some of us may have lost ourselves in this role and have become defined by what we do and not who we are.  As a result, we are always exhausted, feeling underappreciated and at times, unloved.
  • Hiding behind our busy career that we are comfortable in.  We know that we are needed, however, we have convinced ourselves that no one can do it as well as we can.  It’s a lucrative position and it pays the bills, yet it has become unfulfilling.
  • Hiding behind being a busy entrepreneur – Because we live in a constant state of uncertainty, i.e., where is the next client coming from, when will I get a new contract, etc.  We too must take a pause and make sure that we are listening to the Holy Spirit.  He may be trying to take us to the next level, but we would rather stay where we are safe and comfortable. We should never just settle for just enough to get by.  Survival mode will not work for where we are going; we must thrive.

So, what am I saying?  We may not be intentionally trying to hide from the Lord; however, we may be unconsciously avoiding what the Lord has called us to do by becoming preoccupied with all our other stuff.  I do realize that the stuff must be done, however, let’s look briefly at a few biblical characters that thought that they had valid reasons to hide too.

There was Moses, who after he killed an Egyptian, he went into hiding in Midian.  The Lord allowed him to stay there for 40 years, marry, have children and life was good.  However, Moses still has an assignment to lead the children of Israel from Egypt into the Promised Land and what he thought would have disqualified him, the Lord had other ideas.

10 Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.”11 But Moses protested to God, “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?”2 God answered, “I will be with you”. 

Gideon thought that he was hiding because he just wasn’t good enough.

15 “But Lord,” Gideon replied, “how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!”16 The Lord said to him, “I will be with you. And you will destroy the Midianites as if you were fighting against one man.”17 Gideon replied, “If you are truly going to help me, show me a sign to prove that it is really the Lord speaking to me.” 

Most of you may know the rest of that story…

 And finally, Saul, son of Kish was chosen from among them [to be crowned king]. But when they looked for him, he had disappeared! 22 So they asked the Lord, “Where is he?” And the Lord replied, “He is hiding among the baggage.” 23 So they found him and brought him out, and he stood head and shoulders above anyone else.

So, do we have the courage to come out of hiding, from behind our stuff, our insecurities, or other people? Are we hiding behind our busyness?  Then I must say that the Lord will wait as long as He has to.  He has told us all that He “will be with us”; to help us out of our mental, spiritual, or even physical clutter, that we may be hiding behind. Remember there are people waiting for what the Lord has put in us.   

Next week, we plan to talk about “Being Hidden by God”, unless the Holy Spirit says otherwise…

While in Winter…

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As I mentioned last week, I have found myself in the Winter season, and the Lord has continued to clear my calendar, one client at a time.  At this point, since I have been at this place before, I was even more convinced that the Lord was freeing up my time for a specific reason and it was not so that I can play Words with Friends.  I believed that I had completed all the planning as the Holy Spirit had instructed and I was ready, so I thought.  Well, I asked the Lord,” what shall I be doing?”  Let me pause here to say that when you ask the Lord a question, His answer will not be what you are expecting, at all!

Anyway, the Holy Spirit presented me with two messages, very similar in nature to provide my answer.  First, I needed to realize the magnitude of the harvest and second, was I truly prepared mentally for what was ahead. This caused me to take a LONG pause.  Oftentimes, we think that we are so ready for our blessing, but are we really!

Although Winter is a time for rest, which means a time of “peace, ease or refreshment’, we must also understand the biblical definition of entering God’s Rest! Biblical rest is not only something we do for our body, soul, and spirit, but a form of worship, when we completely trust the sovereignty of God and lean into His Holy Spirit even amid the craziest situations.  Therefore, we must enter His Rest and be content. 

Then we must be prepared to step into a season that looks too big for us to handle and understand that we were created for this.  Our assignments are meant to make us uncomfortable. Our vision must be big enough to demand a bigger, better version of ourselves. With this in mind, we must:

1) REIMAGINE our vision.

2) REFINE our goals.

3) REENERGIZE our plans.

The vision that the Lord has given me is for 100’s of women to come, in seed form and be transformed into what God has created them to be.  God has designed and assigned me to be the one who can reach them.  While in Winter, our work doesn’t end.  We must focus on what we need to do to be mentally and skillfully prepared to accomplish our vision and for me this was a wake-up call.

We are quickly approaching Spring as we are waiting for the ground to thaw and soon it will be time to put the seeds in the ground.  Just like the farmer, I decided that there were projects around the house that I have continued to put off, so I got out my swisher and got to work. But you must understand that I really dislike dusting.  But now I can already feel a shift in my mood.  I can sense the vibration of an abundance of rain.  Most do not understand all the work that goes into harvest.  We often talk, wish, and pray for the harvest, but what about once it comes. 

Let’s look at an analogy of getting a new house.  The Lord will show us the vision of our new house.  It’s big and beautiful, but there is no way that we can afford that house.  We look at all the obstacles, and they are many, but the Lord says yes.  Therefore, we cannot ignore the promptings of the Holy Spirit, no matter how small. He just continues to blow our mind.  Our faith walk begins and when we look back, the journey makes no sense.  Once we are blessed, we must tell others what the Lord has done.  Ultimately, reaping the harvest is for us to be fruitful, to be a witness to His glory and His Favor on us is to bless others. 

But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

1 Corinthians 2:9

So, my question to you is, how big is your vision and what season are you in?

In Due Season…

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Last week, we left off with Galatians 6:9 KJV, which says; And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season, we shall reap if we faint not, and we will come back to it a little later.  In the meantime, you may not have realized it, but we have five (5) seasons, Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall, and DUE season.  The Holy Spirit has been rather persistent with this message of Seed, Time, and Harvest, so I’d suggest that we listen very carefully as we look at the seasons through the eyes of a farmer. 

Winter, which is from early December to late February, is a time for rest! However, the work doesn’t end.  Now the farmers have time to fix machinery or other projects on the farm and prepare for the next planting season.  It’s February, so what season are you in?

As Spring begins, we are waiting for the ground to thaw out, and we want to make sure there will not be another frost.  Then from late March to late June is the time to put the crops in the ground.   Our time to plant and sow the seeds is right around the corner. 

Summer, which is July to early September, can make or break for most farmers. Rain is critical in these months but not too much! Too much rain can damage crops, but not enough rain can also damage crops. The perfect amount of rain, sunlight, and heat produces the best crops!

He will also send you rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the land will be rich and plentiful.  

Isaiah 30:23a NLT

In the Fall of the year, late September to early December is the time where farmers get to see the reward of the growing season. Harvest starts in mid-September, and most do not understand all the work that goes into harvest.

While farmers celebrate the harvest season just once a year, we experience the spirit of harvest all the time.  Throughout the Bible, harvest symbolizes God’s provision, His protection, and His prosperity for us in Due Season, our 5th season.

If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them; Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. 

Leviticus 26:3-4 KJV

As I was preparing for this blog post, as always, the Holy Spirit helped me to put the season that I’m in into perspective and I hope that it will do the same for you.  My season cycle began last spring, when the Lord planted a seed of expectation in my spirit that He was expanding the territory of Order Your Steps.  I won’t rehash the story, but I must tell you that I’ve gone through Summer and Fall, but I have not hit my Due Season.  Instead, I have found myself in the winter season and the Lord has me at rest, which I must admit is a tad uncomfortable.  I’ve done a lot of prep work for what’s ahead and I will continue to do so, but then what?   

As an entrepreneur, at times, I often find myself in a place of uncertainty, which is where I am now.  However, I’m learning to trust my periods of uncertainty because they deepen my faith.  Nothing can make us second guess ourselves more than when we implement something that we know God has told us to do, but it doesn’t quite work the way we planned.  I’ve heard it said that a delay, in not a denial, but have I tried to put the Lord on a deadline, based on my plans, not His.  VERY bad idea… So, as I laid in the bed the other morning, wondering about what He has in store for me, the Holy Spirit said very clearly, In Due Season! 

The Lord has given me a dream, so I’ve stepped out of the boat, like Peter. Although I’m still not certain if I’ll be able to walk on water, I must have the commitment and courage to take the next step and keep walking.  As we pursue our purpose, success, and greatness, we realize that it all will happen in His Divine Timing.  Therefore, we must not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap [the harvest], if we don’t give up. 

Un-Clutter Your Mind

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We’re already 30 days into a new year and I’m very concerned that we are already consumed by the mental chaos of busy and out of our divine rhythm.  A stream of clutter is slowly turning our mental space into a chaotic mess.  Our minds, soul, and space are cluttered with unnecessary things and people that may be slowing us down.  Remember, I said that this year, we are being pushed even harder into our purpose and there is no time to waste.  We may be very busy but are we accomplishing the things that really matter to us the most.  Those things that will empower and motivate us to be the very best that we can be. 

Our lives should not be hustle and grind, but we must ebb and flow with the Spirit.  Prioritizing those things that are important is a great way to proactively take charge of your life.  It may sound redundant, but have we taken a serious look at where we are, where we are going, and thought of ways that we might get there.  A famous American poet Bill Copeland had rightly said, “the trouble with not having a goal is that we can spend our life running up and down the field and never score.”  We must be more mindful of our time, and have the courage to say no to the things that we would consider unimportant or unfruitful. 

In the last two (2) blog posts, we talked a lot about Seed, Time, and Harvest.  We want to plant seeds that will produce a bountiful, fruitful harvest.  Therefore, it is crucial that we unclutter our mind of all the non-essential mental baggage for us to stay focused, motivated, and productive for the rest of this year and years to come.  So, we are going to pause, take a deep breath, get out our journal and take some notes on what I’ve shared with you over the past few months. BTW, if you’ve listened to my podcast, this will be a review, but you will still need to take notes.

Let me begin by saying that we know that every year is a year of God’s favor.  Dr. Dharius Daniels defines God’s Favor as undeserved, unexplainable, irrational, preferential treatment. His Favor puts us in the right place at the right time according to His plan for us.  Therefore, if we have not earnestly given any thought to what His plan might be for us, then 2023 will most likely be no different than all the other years.  I will continue to emphasize the importance of listening to the Holy Spirit and being guided and directed by Him every day, all day and He will tell us and show us how to Live Our Best Live Ever! We must let go of our yesterday, make the most of our today, and trust the Lord with our tomorrow.

We are being pushed out of our comfort zone and beyond what we may consider our inadequacies and our limitations.  I believe that the Lord has given us a vision, dream, idea, and clarity of mind to accomplish what He’s given us, but we now must have the commitment and courage to take the next step and move forward.  As we pursue our purpose, success, and greatness, we realize that it all will happen in His Divine Timing.  He will give us what we need, not necessarily what we want, exactly when we need it.  It’s been said that “Success is never final; failure is never fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts,” [especially when the journey gets tough, and the mountains are high]. The Lord has given us ‘hinds’ feet’, the ability to overcome difficult challenges successfully.  Stumbling blocks are not going to slow us down and the mountains that we must climb will not stop us.  

In all of this, for us to accomplish what’s ahead we must set our Un-Cluttered Mind on the things above! We must keep sowing/planting good seed and the Lord will send us rain for the seed we sow in the ground, and let us not be weary, while we are working diligently and waiting for the rain, for at just the right time, we shall reap A bountiful harvest and the food that comes from the land will be rich and plentiful… if we don’t give up.

The year has just begun, and it is much too soon to allow our mind to become cluttered with thoughts of discontent and defeat.  There are endless possibilities ahead, but we must unclutter our mind, soul, and space; and establish an atmosphere of peace, harmony, and grace, so that we will hear and know His voice, even when we can’t see Him. 

Seed, Time, and Harvest – Part II

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Last week, we started our discussion on Seed, Time, and Harvest.  In Genesis 8:22a, it says, As long as the earth remains, there will be planting and harvest…and the Holy Spirit showed us how the process of farming can be applied to our lives today. 

The Lord prepares the soil for the seed, that’s you and me, to be planted.  Over time, He feeds the soil, and He may have to pull up a few weeds, as He clears the path for where we are going.  Then we must be confident that He has put everything that we need into the seed and thus, our seed is sowed in faith.  But if we continually keep our eyes fixed on negative conditions, we will fail to sow or will lose faith in our seed. 

Those too lazy to plow in the right season will have no food at the harvest. –

Proverbs 20:4

We must then be diligent as we wait.  It’s our responsibility to do the work no matter what the results because the Lord will reward us for our efforts and the quality of our work.  Remember, we will get out what we put in.  The Holy Spirit will give us guidance along the path, but without all the details.  However, we must not stop growing, while we wait for further instructions. The Lord will send others to provide the water for us to grow;

He will also send you rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the land will be rich and plentiful.  

Isaiah 30:23a

The Lord provides a bountiful harvest, the reward for our labor. 

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

So, don’t give up before the harvest!  To be honest, when the Lord gives us something to do, we cannot give up until the Lord says we can… and I really don’t believe that that’s gonna happen!

Seed, Time, and Harvest – Part I

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Copyright: leonidtit

I had been super excited after last week’s blog, We are Being PUSHED!… and I still am, but by Saturday morning as I thought more about my own purpose, I felt that I’d hit a wall. I woke up a tad discouraged and to top it all off, the Holy Spirit hadn’t given me the download for my blog post for this week.

 I decided to go to a happier place and reflect on last week’s episode.  As you may remember, I believe that we are going to be PUSHED into our Purpose, like never before this year.  We must be ready to use what the Lord’s already given us.  We are enough, which is why He chose us.  We must listen for His guidance without all the details, but keep moving, while we wait for further instructions.  We can no longer wait for the Lord to do what He has given us the ability to do.

So, as I was lying in bed, anxiously awaiting to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit, He reminded me that I had posted this scripture earlier in the week. 

The message is that there will never be the perfect time to take our next step.  But then I heard, in my spirit, SEED, TIME, AND HARVEST, thus my topic for this week, part I.  Farming analogies are used throughout the Bible, so I started my search, which began at Genesis…

As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease. – Genesis 8:22 KJV

22 As long as the earth remains, there will be planting and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night.” Genesis 8:22 NLT

I realize that this may appear somewhat unusual, but remember, we are dealing with the Holy Spirit, who pushes us outside of our norm.  So, just stick with me as we look at the first few steps of the farming process, with some accompanying scriptures.  We have:

  • Prepare the Soil
  • Sow/Plant the Seed
  • Feed the Soil
  • Water

The farmer knows just what to do, for God has given him understanding. … The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is a wonderful teacher, and he gives the farmer great wisdom. 

Isaiah 28:26, 29

Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don’t know if profit will come from one activity or another—or maybe both. 

Ecclesiastes 11:6

The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work. 

1 Corinthians 3:8

For this to make sense, we must put ourselves into the place of a farmer, and remember that farming is very hard work, extremely labor intensive.  As we are pushed into our purpose, what are the things that we must gleam from these scriptures.

  1. The Lord has prepared the soil. He has given us understanding and He is a wonderful teacher and has given us has taught us great wisdom for the task at hand and for the journey ahead.
  2. Plant the seed early in the morning and work all afternoon.  Let the success of the task rest in the hand of the Lord, but we must get the task done. 
  3. Don’t try to work alone and do it all, some will plant, and others will water.  We are working hard to achieve a great harvest.  It’s our responsibility to do the work no matter what the results because the Lord will reward us for our efforts and the quality of our work. 

Next week, we are going to talk more about harvest.  We must first have faith in our seed and if we sow our seeds in faith, we KNOW that the Lord will provide the increase and we will reap a great harvest.  So, Stay Tuned!

Remember, Our Steps are Ordered…

Living Our Best Life!

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Copyright: dizanna

It’s a New Year and although our lives usually do not change drastically from Dec. 31st to Jan. 1st, it’s another year of God’s Favor, for us to experience life, like never before.  Not with just houses, cars, and land, although the Lord didn’t say that we shouldn’t have those things, provided we don’t love our stuff more than we love Him. There’s so much more to life that the Lord has promised us and it’s time for us to live life in its fullness, with love, peace, and joy unspeakable.  Our Supernatural blessings will ALWAYS outweigh our natural ones.  The Lord said,

“I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!

He says that He will prove it to us, so why wouldn’t we want it!  Natural or material blessings are also from the Lord, but again, we just must be careful not to love our possessions more than our provider. 

 33 Seek the Kingdom of God[a] above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

As I’ve said before, we may not always get what we want, but the Lord will always give us what we need, exactly when we need it.  As we look across social media, we see more and more people, who appear to have everything that they would ever want or need, and yet life is still not worth living. 

We usually stop at Matthew 6, verse 33, but Jesus goes on to say…

 34 “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

Many times, we are so worried about “what might happen” tomorrow, that we forget to live today!  Then, there are other times when we are so stuck in our yesterday, that we are not trusting the Lord with our tomorrow, especially when we are in a dry place or a wilderness season.  I have spoken often about wilderness seasons, when the Lord has us in a place of challenges and uncertainty.  It becomes even more difficult to live in our today, yet alone live each day to the fullness.  To survive our periods of spiritual dryness; our droughts, we must have water and daily spiritual refreshing.  We know that we cannot stay in a place without water, and we cannot live a full life without the Holy Spirit.   

Often, I must remind myself that my task is simply to plant the seed, therefore, my message to you will not change in 2023.  We must always take a quiet moment to listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying, we must have water to grow.   He will tell us and show us how to Live Our Best Live Ever!  It’s our choice …The Lord promises that,

20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. 

We cannot do it without Him!

Strengthening for the Journey

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We have moved into 2023, another year of God’s Favor, but we must be careful not to pray away the mountains that the Lord may send our way. We must understand that the Lord is always strengthening us for this journey.  So, there will be times that the mountains just won’t move, so we may have to go around them or maybe even over them. As we are being strengthened, He will show us how to flex our muscles of faith, strength, hope and courage. We can’t afford to allow our mind, heart, or soul to become cluttered with thoughts of discontent and defeat.  However, it may require us to flip our thinking on its head and rather than fighting the storms, avoiding the deserts, patching ourselves up, and fixing the cracks, we must embrace the ideas that the Lord will use every method that He can to make us more like Him and He is not going to give up!   

Although it may get tough, the Lord is always on our side, especially when adversity comes. I read that “it is impossible to succeed on this journey without going through adversity. Impossible! If we are successful and have not experienced adversity, we can be sure that someone else has experienced it for us. If we are experiencing it without succeeding, there is a good chance somebody else will succeed one day because of us. Either way, there is no success without adversity.”  Winston Churchill wisely stated, “Success is never final; failure is never fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts,” [especially when the journey gets tough and the mountains are high].

Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth; the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Isaiah 40:4-5 KJV

We’ve entered a New Year, 365 days of endless possibilities with God’s Grace and Favor. 

 “This is a time to get organized and to tie up loose ends. [We] need to be clear and unencumbered for the next leg of our journey. [We] have already come a long way. Pause and consider where [we} were a year ago and put it behind you. This is a new day with new possibilities”. 

Spirit of Prophecy by Marsha burns

As we continue to listen to the Holy Spirit, we will not only hear His instructions and directions for our journey, but we will hear the answers to our many prayers.  The Lord promises that:

 “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him."

As I give you the first post of 2023, I am asking for your continued prayers as the Lord extends my territory.  I pray that I hunger for His Word like never before and I remain humble and obedient to His voice. 

The Waiting is Worth It…

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Early last week, I was listening to a message about Mary and Elizabeth in Luke 1. I won’t go into the whole story, but the essence of the story for me was the fact that the Lord waited until Elizabeth was 60’something before He blessed her with a child.  I’m sure that it was not a coincidence about her age; since I’m 60’something too.  However, my message today applies to all ages.  I want everyone to know that “The Waiting is Worth It”.  There’s absolutely no benefit in rushing the Lord’s process.  No matter the length of time that we must wait, He is teaching us to be patient while He continues to perfect us, grow us, and mature us.  So, as we pursue our purpose, success, and greatness, we realize that it ALL will happen in His Divine Timing.  He will give us what we need, not necessarily what we want, exactly when we need it. 

The Scriptures say:

15 The eyes of all look to you in hope;
    you give them their food as they need it.
16 When you open your hand,
    you satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing.

Psalm 145:15-16 NLT

Unfortunately, if we’re honest, we tend to compare, so we may wonder “Why did I have to wait until I was 40 to get married and she got married at 25″, or “I’m 60 and I’m still waiting to get what the Lord has for me”.  As I’ve said, more than once over the past few years, I am living my best life; I know that I am truly living on purpose.  The Lord said to me, “Now you understand why you had to wait, because I had to know that I could trust you”.  Yes, the Waiting is Worth it!  It doesn’t matter what you are waiting for, the Lord needs to know that you can handle it, that means spouse, new career, new house, new business, money, fame, influence, etc. 

6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:

1 Peter 5:6a

The icing on the cake for me was when I got to my first appointment early last week.  I was talking to my client, who by the way is my age.  The Lord has just escalated her to an executive position with everything that she’d ever wanted.  The Lord has so much more for us, we just need to get out of His way.  You may have to trust me on this one, but no matter what you’re waiting for, the Waiting is Worth It!

Now, on the other hand, have you ever gotten something that you would have rather not have, because you were impatient?  I know I have and in almost all cases, you cannot give it back.  There are just some things that we don’t want from the Lord until we’re ready.  In the meantime, we must stay on track and allow the Lord to order our steps, because there is greatness ahead of us.  We must keep sowing, even when we don’t see the harvest…

And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season [at just the right time] we shall reap, if we faint not.

But remember, our work doesn’t stop while we are waiting. 

7 Be ye strong therefore and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded.

2 Chronicles 15:7

We must understand that although we are anointed for the task at hand, we must continue to perfect our skills, if we want to be great.  I am by no means promoting conceit, but we can no longer just settle for good…

28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.

29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:

31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Isaiah 40:28-31