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It’s Okay To Desire Marriage & Still Enjoy Your Right Now

I was recently talking with a friend and sis in Christ about how there is so much pressure on social media to get to your next place in life that it makes it difficult to enjoy right now. Women are running after the latest fad to become a wife so they can be found. Everyone is trying to level up to their next boss status making it big and successful, but what about the people who are plowing their field right now and remaining faithful?
Truthfully, it’s hard to keep focused and remain faithful when everything else is telling you that where you are at right now isn’t good enough. People may not always see our faithfulness in a big way because God’s timing hasn’t caught up to his promise yet in our lives, but I do not believe that means that we should panic and try to skip our now for the next big thing.

My Bible says not to despise the day of small beginnings. It says that if we are faithful in little things we will be made faithful in much. Is the body of Christ adopting the standards of the world that has to see it all to believe it is truth? What happened to walking by faith and being thankful with where God has currently placed us to work and to grow and to be an example to someone else that it is possible to remain faithful to God where we are?
If everyone gets married right away; how will people know that God can keep a single woman or man for his glory and his purpose? Are we really hearing, submitting to, and following the Spirit of the living God for our lives? Do we have that channel of communication open where we can hear God in an undistracted manner–without the distraction of pressure from others that seek to tell us where we need to be in life?

Yes, I do desire to be married one day, but I refuse to not enjoy my today worried about when and how tomorrow will happen. I know it will happen because God has promised it. Neither do I have to be worried about preparing to be a wife because I am the bride of Christ. There is much preparation learned on a day to day of walking with the Lord. Also, the Word says those whom the Lord calls he qualifies. God will qualify those he has called to be wives and husbands. When fear and anxiety are the motivation for preparation; it may not be preparation, but idolatry.

Don’t miss the enjoyment of today by trying to overcompensate for tomorrow. Tomorrow will take care of itself. Get wisdom, get knowledge, but don’t allow the wisdom, knowledge, or assumptions of others to cause you to avoid hearing and knowing God for yourself. Don’t allow it to become a stumbling block to you causing you to become weary or anxious. Sometimes, we need to leave our trust in the Lord and simply enjoy life.

The Bible says to eat, drink, and be merry is our inheritance for our labor. If you’ve been faithful, walking out God’s word and have not seen God’s promise yet; don’t focus on it so much. Focus on enjoying life and continuing to build up your faith in Christ by nurturing yourself in the Lord. There are some things only God will be able to provide. There is some comfort only the Holy Spirit will be able to give you.

Keep being you. Keep being consistent. Keep doing the things that make you smile. Go to the spa. Get your nails done. Keep your hair cute. Rock your cute outfits. Travel from time to time, and be intentional with making godly friendships with both women and men. One day you will be pleasantly surprised that you’ve graduated from one place of grace and glory to another when God’s time meets up with his promise for you and you will have enjoyed the ride.
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I don’t believe it’s God’s will for us to always be fighting for our worth and value as single believers. Some of the fights we enter into can be avoided by simply not focusing on things that will distract. Be led by the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh including anxiety, weariness, doubt, fear, and unbelief. Keep your joy in the Lord. It’s the joy of the Lord that he’s given you right now that will be your strength. God has also given us peace. We have to guard our peace and guard our hearts. A large part of doing so is enjoying our today.

Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin, to see the
​plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand.” – Zecharaiah 4:10

“If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. – Luke 16:10 (NLT)

It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God. –
2 Corinthians 3:5

“So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. – Matthew 6:34

So I commend the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun. – Ecclesiastics 8:15 (NIV)

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. – Galatians 5:16 (NIV)

Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” – Nehemiah 8:10 (NIV)

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. – John 14:27 (NIV)

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Michelle Williams’ YouVersion Plan: “Anxiety & Depression Finding Hope…”

Michelle Williams Has a New Bible Plan on YouVersion

So, this weekend an alert popped up on my Google stories showing that Michelle Williams has a new Bible plan, “Anxiety & Depression: Finding Hope with Michelle Williams.” I was anxious to check it out noting how Michelle Williams has been an advocate for mental and emotional health. I did the day one devotion and here is what I found:

The plan is packed with short and powerful nuggets to shift our mindsets from anxiety to freedom, trust, and rest in the Lord. Day one rehearsed the below scripture:

​Blessed be God–
he heard me praying.
He proved he’s on my side;
I’ve thrown my lot in with him.
Now I’m jumping for joy,
and shouting and singing my thanks to him. – Psalms 28:6-7 (MSG)

Her focus on day 1 was looking to the Lord for our joy and strength. I love the part in scripture that says, “I’ve thrown my lot in with him.” This means I’ve signed up to take the risk of following and walking with God. Risk infers that we do not necessarily know the outcome. Hence, this is how anxiety arises by not knowing and worrying about what we do not know, but because we are taking the risk of trusting in the Lord; we know that the outcome will be good because God is good and God is faithful.
Another scripture she mentions on day 1 is the below scripture:

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. – Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

The above scripture spoke to the Israelites just as they were about to go into bondage to the kingdom of Babylon for 70 years. God did not want his people to worry that things would be the same forever. He wanted them to have a sure hope and future in what he said, planned, and promised to them. 

Sometimes, when we’ve been in the same situation for so long; it can seem as if things will never change or never get better. That’s when we are challenged to either believe our circumstances or to believe what God has said. Joshua 1:8 says to meditate on God’s word day and night and not allow it to depart from our mouths this is how we will make our way prosperous and have good success. This is the time to apply that scripture.
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I encourage you to begin and complete Michelle’s Bible plan on the YouVersion Bible App. It has so many nuggets that will cause you to think on more and more nuggets from God’s word until you are finally free of any and all oppression from the anxiety and fear that seeks to rob us of God’s blessing of peace and promise for our lives.

Let’s start by embracing the two principles from day one:

1.) Let’s take the risk of putting all of our trust in the Lord believing God for a good outcome.
2.) Let’s choose to continue to believe God no matter what it looks like realizing that things will not always be the same as they appear today. Things will get better.

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New KB Documentary Drifting & Sneak Peak into Q&A

Recently, I attended a screening and intimate Q&A with KB as we watched his new short film drifting. The documentary is based on his song art of drifting. The film features KB & Joseph Solomon as they discuss the responsibility the believer has to hold true to the faith by producing fruit (consistent works that confirm our faith in God.)

The film warns against losing fear for God and using God in a capitalistic way to only make money off of being a believer instead of truly living as a believer. KB spoke of some brothers he’d been on the road with who were frequenting strip clubs and cheating on their spouses. It grieved KB’s heart and caused him to wonder how they drifted so far.

It caused a greater fear to grow in his heart to not allow himself to drift away from the foundation he has in Christ and the heart to seek to please God.  KB shared the below quote:
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“I do need to ask myself: Do I simply want Jesus, or do I just want what Jesus can do for me through my career?”

KB warned about having the right community around who has the same mission and goal to honor Christ with his music and career. He shared a greater need for us as believers to decrease our dependence on money, and to bridle some of our desires for things to avoid debt. This will put ministers in a greater position to continue to speak the truth rather it poses risk to decrease financial contributions or sales. In doing so, believers will be bold in teaching and preaching the truth with or without the financial support of others.
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Kb also mentioned the importance of dealing with sin referencing a passage in 1 Corinthians 5 where Paul admonished the Corinthian church to excommunicate a brother giving him over to Satan so that he would later be saved. See scriptures below:

For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed, In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? – 1 Corinthians 5:3-6

The above scriptures are telling of Apostle Paul responding to sexual immorality in the church that was being overlooked by church leaders. Paul was instructing them to deal with the sin or else it would get worse.

KB referenced an encounter where he and other church leaders had to apply the principle when dealing with a brother who was intentionally preying on women in the church using his knowledge of the Word of God to seduce women.
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When KB was asked about the questions he would like his community to ask him to ensure that he isn’t drifting he shared the below:

1. How are your eyes? (This ensuring accountability in avoiding lust)
2. Are you fighting against your inclination to value other women’s bodies over your wife?
3. He needs someone to ask him about his history on Instagram and/or his time on social media?
4. Do you feel like you are in a winter where it is dry and cold and you don’t know where God is etc.?

What season are you in?
Question #1 emphasized the below scripture:

The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! – Matthew 6:22 (KJV)

This inferring that what you focus on will direct your whole body. People get caught up in sin for focusing on the wrong things. Finally, he shared that as we see others drift that we should go deeper into God and as we do; we will begin to see revival.

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A Barrier to Hearing God is a Hardened Heart

A Barrier to Hearing God is a Hardened Heart

When we think of a hardened heart, we think hard, impliable, and impossible to get through to. We think of someone who is mean and stubborn, but someone with a hardened heart may not always manifest it in a big way. Someone with a hardened heart could show it in what one of my former pastors used to call silent rebellion.

Silent rebellion is simply following our own way without making a big fuss. Jonah was one who had a hardened heart. He was one who sought his own way despite knowing the instruction of the Lord. Clearly, he had his own agenda that he wanted to see done instead of God’s will. Some say that the Ninevites were arch enemies to Israel who were very violent to the point of skinning Israelites alive. Nahum 3:1-4 warns of the utter violence and lawlessness of Nineveh.

Nineveh was the land that Jonah was told by God to preach to when Jonah intentionally went in the opposite direction. He did this because he allowed his heart to become hard, stuck, and set on his way in spite of what God said.

I think we can all allow our hearts to become hardened at times when it comes to making life decisions. We all can exalt our opinion above others including God’s voice. This is why God warns in his Word not to harden our hearts when God speaks.

As it has been said: “Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as you did in the rebellion.” – Hebrews 3:15

It’s sort of embarrassing to admit that we at times can have hardened hearts that cause us to rebel against God’s voice, but it’s reality. It’s a part of man’s proneness to stray away from God. However, being aware of this proneness to stray; urges us to humble ourselves and ask God for grace in this area. His grace will cause us to trust him more and to respond in faith and obedience toward his voice instead of hardness and rebellion. 

Even I’ve been guilty of this. When I renewed my car insurance for liability only, instead of full coverage, when the Lord told me to add full coverage. Part of the reason, I did not add the full coverage was because I was comfortable with doing it my way instead of allowing myself to be pliable to do it God’s way. I thought my way was more cost-effective, but in the end, God’s way was.

In what ways could God be speaking to you that you are ignoring in hardness or stubbornness of heart?

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Don’t Just Desire Marriage, Desire God’s Standard for Marriage!

Don’t Just Desire Marriage, Desire God’s Standard for Marriage

Marriage is clearly a good thing to desire, but it cannot become a greater desire in our lives than living to please God. If we do allow the desire for marriage to become greater than our desire to please God, it becomes an idol in our lives. Idols are only counterfeits for the real thing. This means that when we worship idols of any kind we set ourselves up to invite counterfeit replicas of the real thing into our lives.

God has more for us his daughters than counterfeits. God’s word says that he has come to give us life and that more abundantly. God’s word also says the below promising us all things needed:

He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? – Romans 8:32

The above scripture promises us all things needed including godly marriage for those God has placed that desire in. We can have that if we believe that. Somehow many women have failed to believe that is for them, and that they can experience marriage God’s way and so they settle. We settle against God’s command not to be unequally yoked together with an unbeliever.

We’ve looked to marriage as an idol to heal us from the pain that is causing us to make the poor choice of choosing an unbeliever in the first place. Often that pain comes from a sense of lack. We lack love from a potential spouse. We lack loving ourselves, and we may not be properly receiving the love of God at that moment.

Proof that God loves us isn’t an easy care-free life. It’s a life of overcoming. It’s his grace making our paths straight when we so easily get off track. It’s many things and people that God has placed in our lives. Sometimes, we have to pray for God to open our eyes and cause us to see what we really do have instead of focusing on what we lack.

When we view anything as an idol; that idol becomes our lesson of how much we genuinely need God. The idol becomes our lesson on how much we genuinely need to submit to doing things God’s way. There is a scripture that confirms this. See below:

When you cry out for help, let your collection of idols save you! The wind will carry all of them off, a mere breath will blow them away. But whoever takes refuge in me will inherit the land and possess my holy mountain.” – Isaiah 57:13

God will remove his hand of protection enough for those trusting in idols to see that the idol is insufficient to heal, deliver, and sustain, but those who trust in the Lord will inherit the promises of God.

Could your idolatry of marriage be a trust issue? Is there something that occurred in your life and heart that caused you to lose your trust in God? What can you do to restore that trust in him? Believe me, sis! I’ve been there before myself. I remember being at a point in my life where I was so broken that it became a strain for me to trust God concerning the area of an appropriate spouse. At that point, a counterfeit was sent into my life, but the awesome thing is God was with me throughout every disappointment and experience.

It was awesome! I cannot lie to anyone about my walk, the only reason that I overcame was because of God being with me. I remember a prophet coming to my job and affirming me where I needed to be affirmed about who I was and why I was not allowed to be with just any guy. Then the prophet said and now Satan is going to try to get you to have sex. Sure enough, that is what my counterfeit wanted, but I made sure those boundaries were strong as the Lord allowed him to be removed out of my life.

You see, God will protect us because we are his and we are highly valuable. We have to cooperate with the Lord, however. When we operate out of rebellion seeking to make things work with a counterfeit despite God’s warning, we are setting ourselves up for more pain. No one in this world will escape dealing with some type of pain. It is better to go through with God than against God.

This post is to help you evaluate where you are in your decision for a lifelong partner. Again, there is nothing wrong with desiring that, but we have to make sure we desire to please God first meaning we aren’t letting down God’s standard for us just to have a man. 

We should be using our single time wisely by enjoying it, growing and learning about ourselves, being made firm in our identity and purpose, and simply enjoying intimate fellowship with the Lord. This will provide for us the stability and discernment to choose a suitable match for us. We can then, choose someone who has been doing the same thing in his singleness and two whole people can get together for the glory of God.

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Introduction to The Wholeness Action Plan Video

Introduction to The Wholeness Action Plan – Video

The video is a brief introduction to “The Wholeness Action Plan.” I begin discussing how we as believers often walk around carrying things that make us broken. We fail to access the transparency needed to begin healing and trust in God by ignoring there is a problem in the first place.

Further, I discuss how there are many benefits to someone who is broken, and how God uses brokenness to our benefit as believers.

​For the High and Exalted One, who lives forever, whose name is holy, says this: “I live in a high and holy place, and with the oppressed and lowly of spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and revive the heart of the oppressed. – Isaiah 57:5 (CSB)

The above scripture points to one of the most beneficial uses of brokenness by God and that is to cause dependence on him. God doesn’t necessarily cause brokenness, but when brokenness comes, God shows up. There is a special intimacy with God that is attained in broken places. This is when we begin to see God and we begin to recognize our need for him. We tend to appreciate him more in this place than when things are going well.

I dismantle the lie that we have to do something wrong to end up in a broken place. Often, it is the case that many have not done anything wrong, but God has allowed them to suffer for his own glory.

If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. – 1 Peter 4:14

Many believers are persecuted and spoken of in a demeaning manner as if they have been in sin and that is why they are going through brokenness. That is not always true. Many of our great leaders have experienced brokenness without doing anything wrong. Take Martin Luther King Jr., who was jailed as an innocent man among many other things, Nelson Mandela, who was also jailed as an innocent man who fought apartheid, and of course, the greatest, Jesus Christ, who knew no sin, but became sin for us.
Many have suffered brokenness to bring God glory and effect unusual change. Don’t underestimate those who are broken and who suffer.

Further points covered in the video include brokenness as an indicator of promotion when nothing is done wrong to induce it. I discuss the fight to maintain the right mindset during this type of a circumstance. Please, view the video below and leave your comments or order the book at www.holyneckswirl.com

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Don’t Run From Pain

Don’t Run From Pain! Instead, Embrace it & Face it Head On:

Sometimes, it’s not that a person doesn’t know his or her worth, but he or she is trying to escape the pain that they feel. There are some painful things that we are required to walk through that help us to build up a resolve of perseverance and a dependence on Christ.
There is a pain related to those who are consecrated to the Lord. To be consecrated to the Lord means that you have been set aside by God for his specific purpose. Many who are consecrated to the Lord get tripped up by the temptation to modify their consecration and who God called them to be to avoid going through the various pain that comes with a consecrated lifestyle—isolation, loneliness, rejection, being passed up because a consecrated person simply will not match with just anybody.

I wrote about this briefly in my first book, “The Single Christian Woman’s Guide.” I talked about Samson, a consecrated man unto the Lord and the Lord’s purpose. He was dedicated to the Lord before he was born as a Nazerite. As a matter of fact, it was an angel sent by God who confirmed this to his parents before he was born. The purpose associated with his consecration was to destroy the Philistines who were enemies of Israel. He had a unique strength to fulfill this because of his consecration.

Somehow, the discomfort of his consecration caused him to let a woman in who was not qualified to help him fulfill his consecration. Once, he opened up to Delilah, she shared his secret to strength with the Philistines, and Samson was in bondage just like that. We give up one form of pain for another when we set aside our consecration to the Lord.

When we embrace the pain of enduring through our consecration we simply pass through that pain on to God’s promises and purpose for us.

God had mercy on Samson and he was able to do some heavy damage to the Philistines in his death, but what if he had decided to endure through the pain of his consecration sticking to it? He would have fulfilled his purpose in a greater way. Learn to embrace the pain of consecration—being a little different, and waiting a little longer for someone who can accommodate the consecration on your life instead of settling yourself to adapt to an identity outside of the consecration God has called you to.
God will give you the grace to endure through the pain. Just recently, I had to ask God to give me the grace to get through a day that began in a very painful manner. Although I am someone who loves God and studies the scriptures, I am still only human and thus go through painful circumstances at times.
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It may seem trivial, but I recently saw someone I used to go with—but had to let go of because we were a mismatch get engaged on social media. Even though I know God has more for me and I trust God for that, it still affected me emotionally making me feel some type of a way. Nevertheless, it also showed the growth that the Lord had worked in me. It was not enough to depress me or to make me stop. After all, I had been through this before. It’s a good check of my strength and reliance on Christ, and my ability to resolve to follow him even through the painful valleys that we will not be able to avoid.
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I’d also like to note that the pain will not always last. It is only for a season. I always have the hope of what the morning will bring when it comes. We have to shift our eyes and perspectives when going through challenging times knowing that God’s promises are real and for us.

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. – Psalms 30:5

One scripture, I continually speak over myself is the below in the book of Joel:

“I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten– the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm — my great army that I sent among you.
You will have plenty to eat until you are full, and you will praise the name of the LORD your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed. – Joel 2:25-26

The scriptures above remind me that even though I am sometimes tempted to look at myself from a perspective of loss due to what my consecrated lifestyle requires me to give up; There is no loss in Christ because God promises to restore what we’ve seen as a loss. I declare this over myself again and again. I get around other believers who also speak God’s word over me encouraging me. Before I know it, the pain is all gone, and I’m on my way with joy and expectation in Christ Jesus for his promises.
This is how we have to be with pain. We have to face it. We cannot ignore it allowing it to simmer and bring us down. Don’t run from pain. Learn to confront it head-on.

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When The Lord is Teaching You His Voice in An Unfamiliar Way – Part II

Sometimes, we will not know that God is speaking for sure until the confirmation comes such as in the cases mentioned last week on part one of the blog. I mentioned the accident, the person stealing the mail, and confirmation that an address was wrong, but if the voice sounds like wisdom that isn’t contrary to the Word of God and could help us in some way; then taking that step of faith will not hurt us, but only help us. Sometimes, what God is trying to say clearly unfolds later as we walk by faith. Each time we see the result; we will grow a little more in hearing and following the voice of God. Take the example of Peter, one of Jesus’ disciples below.
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Peter hesitated to obey God’s voice because God spoke to him in an unexpected way. You see, God was causing a shift in the culture of the Jews and Gentiles, and He wanted the message to be clear to his disciple Peter who he would use to communicate the message. Peter, even though learned in Jewish tradition was to allow himself to be pliable through faith in what God was saying in that moment in order to carry out God’s plan. Likewise, when God is causing a shift in our lives, we have to remain pliable in our faith and response to the Lord as well.

God showed Peter a vision of unclean meat telling him to kill and eat it. At first, Peter said no, rejecting what the Lord was saying because Peter was used to doing things in a particular way. Maybe, Peter in that moment questioned if that was really God sharing with him to kill and eat unclean meat because in the old testament God told them not to eat the meat. He was used to not eating certain meet considered unclean. Peter did not get a confirmation of what God was saying until he met with Cornelius. It was at that time that the meaning of the vision became clear to Peter. The vision Peter received had been metaphorical of the relationship between the Jews and Gentiles. The Jews were used to not associating with the Gentiles, but God was causing a shift in thinking for his purpose.

He wanted the Jews and Gentiles to both receive salvation, and to be on one accord. If Peter had of gotten stuck in his understanding and his way of doing things; he would have missed out on the move of God that was going on during that time. Peter, later in scripture, still struggled with this idea, but he submitted to it because he knew it was God. God is not asking us to be perfect in always knowing everything or doing everything perfectly, but he is asking us to have faith and obey him when he speaks. This is what Peter did in this instant, and Cornelius’ whole family along with many others experienced salvation and the infilling of the Holy Ghost because of the proper revelation taught by the early Apostles including Peter.

Sometimes, in order to get to the next place in life we have to let go of how we hear and obey God and stepping out on our faith to apply just what he is saying, while waiting for the confirmation later. If we are wrong, at least we stepped out in faith, but if we are acquainted with the Word of God we will not be grossly wrong, so stepping out in faith while hearing God’s voice in an unfamiliar way will not hurt us.

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When God is Teaching You To Hear His Voice In An Unfamiliar Way – Part I

​Lately, I had been praying that the Lord would cause me to hear his voice more, and to be obedient when I hear his voice. Sometimes, I have those moments when I am so sure I heard God and other times, I have the seeming quiet seasons where God doesn’t seem to have spoken for some time. During the latter, is when I sometimes question if I am paying attention to God’s voice.

Honestly, I am sort of used to God speaking to me in particular ways, and when he doesn’t speak to me in a particular way that I am very familiar with; I simply miss it until it is too late. The familiar ways that I am used to God speaking to me:

The still small voice discussed in the Bible -1 Kings 19:11-13

When God speaks to me in this way it seems almost as if to come from the deepest part of me and up to my mind where I recognize it as the Lord.

Dreams – Job 33:15

God always speaks to me in dreams and I normally am given the interpretation when the dream is from God.

Through his Word – The whole Bible
I think this should be a given, and of course, nothing that God speaks will go against his word in any way.

A Vision – Ezekiel 11:24-25

This is where God shows me a picture of something and communicates the interpretation of it. Normally, this happens while I am awake. It happens to me most during praying for someone. It has also happened when I was supposed to give someone a word of wisdom/knowledge.

An intuition – Romans 8:16

This is an inner knowing that cannot be explained, but you know God is trying to get your attention or show you something. I experienced this the night I recently had the accident. I felt like something was going to happen that night, but I said to myself I trust the Lord. There is another instance that happened where I could feel the Lord calling me away to pray with him while I was eating. I had to put my food down and pray and God spoke to me about two different things that were going to happen, but everything would be okay.

There are of course other ways that God speaks. He is limitless, and he teaches us what we need to know by his Spirit and his Word. However, when God speaks to me in my mind as simply a thought sometimes, I don’t always recognize it. That’s why I had been praying for God to teach me, and guess what he’s been answering my prayers.

My car insurance came up for renewal in April, and the thought came to my mine saying, “When you renew your car insurance, get full coverage this time.” I paused and said a prayer to God, “God, do you want me to get full coverage auto insurance this time?” I heard nothing after that. So, I did what I had done, and renewed my liability insurance. Little did I know that the confirmation to my prayer on whether God wanted me to get full coverage would come a couple of months later.

Fast forward to June and my car got hit in a hit and run accident, and I only had liability. It was at that moment that I realized that I had heard God’s voice on the full coverage and that he was preparing me. God’s word talks about how the Lord will lead and guide us. Leading and guiding us is one of the ways God speaks to us.

Because it was an unfamiliar way that I did not always recognize as God speaking; I missed out on what God was trying to shield me from. At the time, I was not sure if it was my thoughts or God’s voice. Therefore, I have concluded that the next time a good thought like that comes to mind that isn’t something I would normally think about, I will simply follow it as an act of faith. It could have only helped me.

This was the second time something like this had happened where I did not follow that voice/thought in my mind. Years ago, I used to pay my car insurance with a money order through the mail. This time, the thought came to mind saying, “Why don’t you take your payment in this time? You pass by your insurance company on the way to work every day anyway.” I thought to myself, well I always pay my insurance through the mail.

Do you know someone stole the mail, and my insurance lapsed? My dad covered it and I paid him back. This was a long time ago when this happened, but God recently bought it to my remembrance to put me in the mindset of being aware when he speaks to me in a way that I am not used to.

I can remember a time however not long ago when I experienced this same voice from God speaking to me in my thoughts. I had made an appointment to get my makeup done for a photoshoot for a magazine. The makeup company was supposed to email me a confirmation with the address. I did not receive an email and the place was closed until the day of my appointment. I said to myself I would Google the name of the place and go to the Chicago location that came up online because that is where I booked. Well, the thought came to my mind before you hit the expressway call and confirm the address because if this is the wrong address you will be late and may not get your face done.

I called and sure enough, the address was wrong. I turned out being an hour and a half away instead of 30 minutes. I arrived a ½ hour late but was there in time to get my face done because I followed the thought in my mind to call to confirm.

When we pray and ask God to teach us his voice and help us to become more sensitive to his voice; he does just that. I am excited about learning how to follow God’s voice in a greater way and to get better at recognizing him so I can obey more. It’s important to obey even when we aren’t used to it or when we are used to doing things in our normal manner. I had to realize that obedience to his voice sometimes requires an act of faith when I’m not really sure if a good idea or thought just popped up in my head or if it’s really God providing instruction. Next week, we will read about someone in the Bible who heard God in an unfamiliar way and almost rejected God’s voice because of it in part II.

Have you ever had an experience like the above? What happened in your scenario? Are you ready to step out in faith to hear God in a new way?

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An Intimate Q &A w/John Bevere at the Killing Kryptonite Tour

Recently, I was blessed to attend the Killing Kryptonite tour with John Bevere in Peoria, IL. We had an intimate Question & Answer Session with him where I asked him the question, “What was your preparation process like for the various platforms that God had for you because I’ve noticed that it seems as if God will hide those he has called for a season?”
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John began to share that it was through remaining under authority and serving in the house of the Lord even through suffering, and being done wrong. He shared that it was his endurance through those things that God used to build his character.

“God cares more about your character than what you do for him.” – John Bevere


“God is more interested in people who will finish well. Allowing ourselves to be refined in the place God puts us in causes us to finish well.”- John Bevere

John mentioned some things that he had gone through at his church. He prayed–asking the Lord if he should leave, and the Lord’s answer was to stay and so he stayed and was refined in the process. John shared saying, “Relationships and organizations are messy, and God knows it. Don’t run from the circumstances that grow you.”

He further elaborated on how he found himself in a season where he woke up in pain, went throughout the day in pain, and went to bed in pain (See Jeremiah 15:18). He asked the Lord what was going on. God shared with him that he was in the process of dying. Not physically dying of course, but dying to himself and to his will and such. He continued stating that God wants us to live in such a position that we live almost as if we are dead but alive.

For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. – 2 Corinthians 4:11

The above scripture provides some brief insight into what John was sharing. When God calls us to die to ourselves meaning our will, wants and way of doing things; it isn’t, at that point, about us, but God’s glory.
He went on stating that a person knows when they are dead because they no longer feel the pain of dying. We love perfectly when we aren’t operating out of seeking our own wills. We aren’t easily offended and do not operate out of fear when we are dead. We live in a place of trust in the Lord.

Suffering under authority brings authority. John shared how a minister came to him and shared that he must have suffered through a lot of things to teach in such authority. Enduring through suffering for Christ brings authority. He added that we should not look for our own wilderness as to search for suffering, but that the Holy Spirit would lead us to the wilderness designed for us. Similar to how the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness. During the wilderness experience, character and greater authority are birthed.

Another gentleman asked John a question about writing, and John shared how he did not want to be a writer, but two prophets came to him giving him a word warning that if he did not write what God gave him to write, he would have to give an account to God.

John began writing out of fear for God and obedience to God. I think these truths are so important to share and operate by especially for those coming up in my generation and the next generation afterward. Sometimes, we can do things out of obedience to God and fear for God, yet we don’t see a whole lot of fruit from it in the form of likes, comments, or a great following online. It could be that like John shared, we are in a refining process, and that is a part of the process. God could be grooming our character for his purpose, and we just need to stay where God has placed us and to remain faithful

Listen to the portion of the Q&A session that I was able to record on my phone below:

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