Redefining Blessings

                                                            

Don’t you just love (or hate) when you talk to that particular someone and all they say is “I’m blessed and highly favored”…you ask them how they are doing  and their response is “I’m blessed”, you call them,  they answer the phone “Blessed assurance, this is  “so & so” just a blessed person who ends all their emails and text messages with “be blessed” or “have a blessed day” and you wonder what type of life are you living that has got you so BLESSED?

How do you define success?

                                                          

On the flip side there are those who open new businesses and holler :”I’m blessed”, or get a new car, house, job, man, etc. and scream “I’m so blessed”, almost in a way to sort of rub it in your face that they are in some way better than you, being that you didn't get a new car, house, job or relationship. Does material wealth make you blessed? Ponder that question. Reaccess your motives, do you feel less blessed when you hear others rant and rave about all they have acquired, or does the person who always claim God’s blessing make you feel some type of way?

I must admit, as an immature believer I once thought blessings equated things. The more you had the more blessed you were and praise God I have grown to realize that notion is far from the truth. It’s funny how the enemy uses spiritual words to cause dissension among believers and deception for non-believers. People who don’t even worship God with their life say they are blessed all the time. That’s an inaccurate truth, POINT, BLANK, PERIOD!
                                                  

Let’s Define Blessings!

Accepting Christ as your Lord and Savior is the number one indicator you are blessed. Come hell or high water when it’s all said and done, YOU my friend will be chilling with the Father up in heaven walking on custom made gold streets. I don’t care how many bags such and such has, if they don’t get their life together will NEVER HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF SAYING THEY WALKED ON GOLD STREETS FOR FUN! Ha, now that’s blessed. The fact that you are alive and have another opportunity to share Christ and model Christ to the world, is yet another blessing. I can only image how elated God is to see YOU wake up every day and represent Him to the world. For those of you that are working in the area of your passion or purpose, you are blessed. You are one step ahead of the rest, truly living out on a daily basis the reason you were created in the first place. You my friend have the luxury to dedicate the majority of your time to fulfill your God given destiny. Some people are prospering in occupations that God had zero intention of them doing in the first place; He is not honored by their lifestyle, and is infuriated that they are forfeiting His purpose to pursue their own selfish-gratification.
                                                       

So before you get sad when someone is flashily claiming this “blessed life” or get frustrated with that someone who prophetically claims blessings over emails understand the true definition of being blessed. Understand God. Understand that you too are indeed blessed, and regardless of what it looks like God’s blessings are raining down on you still!

**All images are from Google**

Why do we Climb the Mountains we Face?

I recently climbed Stone Mountain and there was so much power in that experience. I got so much revelation about life, personal will, and God’s power. After the experience, I was strengthened by hard work and perseverance, thankful for a support system that did not let me give up, and most of all thankful to God for answering prayer. For God has not given us a spirit of fear but power, love, and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7) a scripture that I rehearsed over and over again in my head during the entire hike, operating in the spiritual realm to overcome the fear and minor panic attack that desired to overtake me. Once I reached the top I felt accomplished and powerful, however I experienced a seemingly overwhelming feeling of sadness because the journey was so hard but at the same time I was excited because I finally made it to the top. It was a weird combination of feelings,  to say the least. The closer I got to the top the harder it got and once I made it to the top I realized the journey did not take as long as I'd thought it had. I did not want to come down, in fact I was scared to go back down. the journey down  looked much harder than the hike up. But to my surprise the journey down was much easier, however for others that traveled up with me, going down was far more difficult. I was reminded of the scripture that says speak to the mountain and it will be moved out of your way Mark 11:22-25. So after the experience was over I began to compare that physical hike up Stone Mountain to the journey of life which is filled with many mountains that we have to overcome. I began to wonder how that scripture Mark 11 comes into play in our personal lives. I started to wonder why so many choose to hike up the mountain when we have the ability to tell the mountain to move out of our way?

The ability to speak to the mountain belongs to all of us but it requires faith and patience. We have to believe that God who created the mountain is able to move it out of our way so that we can securely travel the journey of life laid out before us. It also requires much patience; we have to be willing to wait on God’s timing to move the mountain. That is when the simple verbal assignment becomes difficult. As we stand at the bottom of the Mountain waiting on God to move it we see so many people starting the hike, others coming down from the hike and began to think to ourselves “if they can do it surely I can”. So we take the steps and begin the journey. God is so faithful that even when we choose to take the hard route he is faithful and just to see us through. Some parts of the journey are harder than others, rocky, confusing, slippery, and even dangerous. Then there is patches of leveling, those places don’t last long but provide a sense of relief and empowerment for us to continue moving forward. There are even rest stops available if it gets to rough providing the option of stopping and taking a seat, but the rest stops aren’t comfortable, I suppose for reason.

God provides us with everything we need to make it up, but our journey could have gone differently if we had simply waited on God to move the mountain for us. The decision to tackle the mountain on our own is ok because He provides us with a support system who have the same goal in mind; to make it to the top. They won’t let us give up if they are any good. However we may encounter some that encourage us to turn around and depending on where we are in life we may continue moving forward or give in to the temptation to turn around. On this journey you encounter some people hiking up the mountain who are relying on their own strength and personal ability to make it up the mountain, and they indeed succeed. These people are called the self sufficient. They brag about their ability to make it up the mountain and even scoff at your pace, they sometimes run up the mountain with their eyes closed and take pleasure going up and down the mountain to prove their personal ability to make it happen.

My story is not quite the same. It is God and God alone who helps me up and down and receives all the credit and praise for my arrival. However I can’t help but wonder  why have I yet to be courageous enough to take my rightful stance and wait on God to move the mountains I face. Is my motivation peer pressure, pride, curiosity, desire to be accepted, or to impress others? I am not ignorant enough to believe that my only way to the top is to take the hike, I know that God is able to do anything He pleases if my trust is in Him. Why can’t I be still and know that I serve the God of all? Why must I make the journey more difficult that it has to be? Why do I climb the mountains I face?

**All images are from Google**

Chasing Success & Feeling Left Behind.....READ THIS!

Life is happening….as you look around you see the success of many, the failures of some, you witness births, deaths, marriages, divorces, businesses launch and others fail from friends, family, and strangers alike. Then you look at your life, you begin to compare and contrast: “I’m not married but at least I graduated college”, I didn’t graduate college but at least I’m not single” and so many other, in our eyes, valid observations that we make so that we feel validated and important. I want to encourage some today and challenge others, regardless of what is going on around you if God is not its focal point and foundation according to Him it’s invalid; so why compare?

 Some friends may be getting married…. but God is nowhere in their marriage, some people are building empires…..but it’s measured by their own hands, God despises that! Children are a blessing but the baby momma and baby papa drama that is to follow is not God’s design for you or them either. People are getting engaged….but for the wrong reasons. The next time you begin to feel unaccomplished or left behind after seeing or hearing of someone’s success ask yourself “Where is God”? Also please keep in mind just because they throw God’s name in there a few times, He’s not impressed and neither should you be.

Don’t fret believers who are firmly planted on God’s truths, believers that lead with Christ, rest assured that those who believe in Christ will succeed in Christ. I challenge some to redefine success. If you still measure success off how many bags you can have, shoes you can own, cars you can drive, and places you can go with your money….there is still some work to be done in you! Many of us try to manipulate our motivation for success by using our kids or our desire to help our family as a way to prompt God to give us more. All that sounds good on paper, but God knows the motives of your heart.  If given the dollar amount you desire or the occupation of your lifetime, how much time will you spend working vs. the time you will spend worshiping God? How much money will you truly spend on your family or kids as opposed to luxury items, things to fill voids or to boost your self-esteem? Be honest with yourself, no one else is reading this right now but you!

Be confident that God has not forgotten about you. Be self aware, knowing who you are and owning it, asking God to reveal to you areas that are displeasing to Him. Those He loves He chastises, those that are called out for Him can’t afford to reap their harvest before its time. If you love God, if you trust Him, know that you are not falling behind but where you are is right on time for where God is taking you. Trust Him, Believe Him, Worship Him!

Selah

**All images are from Google**