mindset

God, Turn It Around

Christian lifestyle, encouragement

“For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.”

2 Corinthians 10:3-6

In complete honesty, this week has been one of the most frustrating weeks in a long time. With my anxiety through the roof and getting extremely tempted to resort back to numbing my emotions, this section of scripture became more real to me than ever before.

Maybe you’re an overthinker. Or perhaps a perfectionist in a severely imperfect situation. Or maybe you are just stuck on the fence with your mind and heart telling you two completely different things. This world is flooded with battles far beyond the physical realm. And I am sorry to tell you my dear friend, but you are not and you will never be strong enough on your own to win them over. But I do have a life-giving secret to tell you.

Where you let go, God is let in.

There is a reason behind the excitement of the persecuted disciples in scripture. I am sure it was not in their hopes to be imprisoned or scolded by society for Christ’s sake. But they endured and continued to follow where the Lord lead them, even if it was to their enemies. Not because they were naive, but because they knew what mattered more than anything. They knew that before their feelings came the desperate need for restoration of the soul in themselves and those around them. The emotions that their flesh probably attempted to magnify had to be handled with deep consideration in their pursuit of Christ.

When the enemy cannot pull you to directly worship him, he hides himself in the unsteady emotions and feelings that make us push away, lose trust, or feel too ashamed to get closer to Jesus. That is all it is. A mission to focus your heart on anything besides the truth of Christ. But thank heavens for a God who pursues us even more.

The passage of scripture above talks about how the weapons in which a follower of Christ acquires through the building of their faith has the divine power to demolish strongholds and pretensions (claims) against what God says and who He is. Reread that. With a faith set on an undefeatble God, nothing against Him or the peace, hope, love, and purpose He instills in us will prevail. Now remember when I said you will never have the strength to claim victory over the attacks of the enemy on your own? That’s just it. You don’t have to do it on your own. When you set your heart and trust in the God who even death bows to, there is not a worry in the world about your inadequate strength. Jesus is will carry you.

This may be silly, but like a snapping turtle stuck in the road because the curb between him and the lake is too high to climb, he must stop snapping at the good fellow trying to pick him up and over to safety or he will remain behind that stronghold forever. My dear friend, it is not good for your soul to worship Jesus on Sundays and then withhold the other 6 days from Him. If you desire to have a chance against the spiritual warfare over your heart, you must let go and let God in.

What I realized lately is how badly it is my own pride and emotions that prevent me from experiencing the fullness of the Holy Spirit. In my shame and anxiety, I quiet the voice of God and let my heart make it’s bed among the depths of the weary as if I am sparing God from being disappointed. But that could not be more wrong.

This scripture above emphasizes the dire need to gently, but boldly take hold of the unsteady emotions the enemy shouts in our times of trouble. In fact, it goes so far to say that we MUST take captive of those thoughts and claims against the truth of God and FORCE them to become obedient to Him. I say gently because I never want to undermine the power and authentic effects of our emotions. But I follow it with boldness because though our emotions are real, they are meant to be healed by God, not magnified and empowered by the enemy and flesh. We have to boldly trust and build a confidence in the goodness of God and in His ability to turn things around for His glory.

There is a song that I believe reflects the transparency of spiritual warfare between our soul and mind. I usually bring up Psalm 42 and 43 where the writer portrays the reality of a conflicting heart and soul but as I was writing this, the song “Spirit Lead Me” by Influence Music and Michael Ketterer came on and I thought it perfectly captured the picture of what a life of taking ones thoughts and feelings captive and making them obedient to Christ actually looks like. The lyrics read:

“And even in suffering, I have to believe it

If You say, “It’s wrong, ” then I’ll say, “No”
If You say “Release, ” I’m letting go
If You’re in it with me, I’ll begin
And when You say to jump, I’m diving in
If You say, “Be still, ” then I will wait
If You say to trust, I will obey
I don’t wanna follow my own ways
I’m done chasing feelings, Spirit lead me”

This process is not an easy one. There will be nights where you have to keep yourself from playing that one sad playlist that you know will make you become numb again because you know that being dormant will never produce any good fruit. There will be days where you have to force yourself to get out of bed and attend that church service when coming before God as broken as you feel is that LAST thing you want to do. And there will be times where you have to repeat the same Bible verse over and over just so that your mind does not mistake your hopelessness for truth.

Oh dear Christian, the life God calls us to is not because He needs our praise. Rather, He longs to reveal His love for us even amidst this broken world. May you stand confident in His power and will. And may the emotions you feel become renewed and brought to life as you live in obedience. I am a proud witness of the faithfulness of God and I pray in the next moment you feel the weight of the warfare between your own heart and soul, you are reminded of who already claimed victory over the grave. I pray with my whole heart that you seek desperately to witness God turn it all around.

Realign me, oh Lord

bible, christian, Christian lifestyle, encouragement, lifestyle, prayer, Worship

Living in a society that pushes us to “follow whatever your heart desires” can be exciting but oh so very dangerous. As followers of Jesus, we claim to have made the decision to give up the world and follow the God who gave up His son. But often times, we only truly follow that claim to an extent…

With a heart longing for excitement, we let our spiritual boundaries get stepped on, tip toed next to, and even sometimes crossed behind the excuse of “it wasn’t that bad”. But that is not how God called us to live. He didn’t design safety rails in life so that we could hang off the edges. As He is the literal embodiment of all things good, joyful, loving, kind, forgiving, compassionate, etc. We can bet on His boundaries having something to do with His desire for us to stay close to Him and away from everything evil, manipulative, vengeful, and so on.

Though sometimes intriguing and easy to fall into, the “harmless sins” in life are honestly anything but harmless. The one command He emphasized in the new testament was to love God and love people. A life spent loving God cannot be truly lived while intentionally flirting with sin.

So in this new year, may this be our prayer. May we long for a heart so hungry for God that we feel uneasy at just the thought of splitting our attention between Him and the world. May we humbly ask the Holy Spirit to rid our hearts of anything and everything that does not glorify God as we desperately thirst for Him to fill us up. May we look at every part of scripture for what it is; the living, breathing word of God and may it enrich our souls so much so that we feel weak after just a day spent away from it. The enemy may be no match for our Lord, but on our own, we stand no chance against the things he throws at us. We need revival. We need redemption. We need a spirit made new. So my dear friend, please never forget amidst the pleasure of life…we NEED Jesus. And I mean ALL of Him, not just on Sundays, but in every second of every day. Consistently live for a soul that prays this over every step, breath, and thought throughout your life.

I belong to You… – My commitment to Jesus & New Tattoo

christian, Christian lifestyle, encouragement, lifestyle

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.”
‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭2:9-12‬ ‭ESV‬‬

The moment that girls began stressing about the brand of their jeans, the smoothness of their hair, and how much attention they could get from the guys around them, was the same moment I felt as though I lost all sense of belonging.

Growing up, I was content with who I was. I didn’t know Christ but my young thoughts never ran deep enough to see how unstable the foundation of my identity was. That was until I began hearing the whispers and the giggles of the boys and girls around me as I would walk through the halls of my school.

Belonging. What a simple word yet so complicated to find in one’s personal life.

For years after I gave my life to Christ, the struggle of never feeling like I “fit in” loomed over me like a heavy cloud, blocking any vision of hope. I lived every day surrounded by people, but feeling so uncomfortable and lonely inside. In my head, if I could just buy the right clothes, get my hair to be straight enough, or know when to talk and when to stay silent, I could maybe, just maybe, find a sense of community. A group of people who loved me and thought I was cool. But that group never came.

I am not saying my friends were not good friends or my family lacked in comforting me. I’m saying that regardless of who I met, I was never fulfilled in the way I longed to be. I never felt like I could be myself without carrying the massive weight of my fear of judgement.

During my years of attending church and youth group, I heard over and over again of how personal and authentic our relationship with God should be, but it wasn’t until I hit a deep low in the summer of 2019 that my eyes were opened to what it meant to be a CHILD of God. A chosen, beloved, and redeemed child of the most genuine and compassionate Father.

For the first time in my life, as I fell to my knees during worship, I realized who I was and what I was made for BECAUSE of WHOSE was. It was as though God sat directly beside me, giving me a big hug while I balled my eyes out in front of all of the other students at church camp that summer.

“I belong to you” was now the joyous statement I could proclaim without an ounce of doubt. And the deeper I thought about my identity, the more I found truth in that surrendering.

Iron bell Music has a song with that very title. And by the mercy of God, I am reminded of the walls that crumbled, the chains that broke, and my heart that was lifted into the perfect hands of the Father on that random day at church camp when I broke down in a way I never had before. It was no longer tears of pain, emptiness, anger, and confusion that would flood my eyes every night. It was tears of fulfillment, humility, peace, comfort…and belonging.

After experiencing so many days of joyful belonging in Christ, I realized that this is a statement of surrendering that I NEVER want to let slip my mind for even a minute. My loving Father has done a miracle in my heart. He brought a healing I never thought was possible. And so I am delighted to share with you, the beauty of His grace in my life and cant wait to testify it to every open heart I meet as everything I do, from my heart to my hands, flows from remembering His goodness.

I am not of this world. I was never made to be filled by the brokenness it brings. And even though I may struggle in finding genuine community, I don’t have to feel empty or lonely because I can rest assured that I will always fully belong to my beautiful Heavenly Father.

Cultivating Change – Our God is a God of New Beginnings

christian, Christian lifestyle, lifestyle

“Time grows the seeds that are planted, watered, and fertilized. Plant beauty, grow beauty. Plant thorns, grow thorns. Time will allow for either.”

I have been reading this book for the last few weeks and I came across this incredible quote. Recently, the topic of change and its necessity in our lives as Christians has been discussed a lot. When the rug is swiped out from under your feet and all you knew has become far from being the norm again, what is the seed of change you begin to plant?

Is it bitterness towards those who hurt you? Is it emptiness from the loss? Is it denial and ignorance towards difficulties?

OR…is it compassion towards your enemies? Hope in God’s ability to turn grief into glory? Or confidence in the victories God has already claimed He won?

When that moment of inevitable change in our life comes, we cannot allow ourselves to sulk or grow angry in the difference, rather rejoice in our God of new beginnings.

Before I evaluate the circumstance I just experienced, I try to remind myself of the circumstance between me and God. I sinned. A LOT. Meaning, I straight up disobeyed God a billion times over, each time basically stabbing Him in the heart. Yet what did God do? Well based on my alive and healthy body sipping a matcha latte as I write this, He sure didn’t give up and smote me. Rather, He allowed me to be made knew. He gave me a restart. And He allowed me live the rest of my life free from the bondage of my past. He planted a seed of freedom in my heart and every day since, He has not failed to cultivate it kindly so that the harvest I produce is the fruit of a free and beloved child of God.

Once I force myself to remember my compassionate God’s reaction to me doing everything He DIDN’T want me to do, I then look back and think about my circumstance with the people or life that did everything I DIDN’T want them to do. And that heavy feeling from the bitterness I initially had has turned into conviction.

My friend, I know genuinely wanting a desire for change that is biblical is not easy nor appealing in most cases. It feels so much better to take the judgement of others into your own hand and justify yourself in the process because our heart longs for instant gratification. But what happens after you tell off the person who hurt you? Or you seclude yourself in your room for months, sulking about the past? Or you have grown a mixture of numbness and fear towards difficult circumstances to the point where you are constantly running from things or kicking them under the rug in hopes of their disappearance? From someone who has done all three of these and so much more…the good feeling never lasts.

God designed our hearts to not only be loved, but to express love. We were crafted so that we may connect with others and build a community of respect and care towards one another. But too often, we lose track of who we were made to be and how we were made to act.

Ephesians 6:12 states, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

Our enemy is not really other humans. And for those who have a habit of collecting all the blame…your enemy is not really yourself either. Hurt may be inflicted on us by people or even ourselves and our mistakes, but we cannot allow our emotions in the heat of the moment be what guides us. God seeks for us to do one thing; honor Him in all circumstances.

The book I have been referring to states:

“We must speak with honor in the midst of being dishonored. We must speak with peace in the midst of being threatened. We must speak of good things in the midst of a bad situation. We must be obedient to, trust, and believe God and let Him boss around our contrary feelings.”

If there is one thing I encourage you to pursue with all your heart (in light of your full pursuit towards God of course), it is to learn how to say no to your heart and flesh. The world will tell you, “do what your heart desires”, but scripture tells us to deny ourselves because any foundation besides Christ is as unstable as shifting sands.

So when situations arise that seem to flip your world upside down, remind yourself of the One you live for. Dive so deep into God’s truth and guidance that your feelings of bitterness and such have no chance of growth because they are so overwhelmed by the compassion, grace, and forgiveness you allow God to fill you with.

There is a perfect Gardener who wants to give you free seeds that will produce the absolute best for your future. He offers them to you daily, but it is up to you to accept His seeds and take the time to cultivate them. As you do, He remains there alongside you so that in your times of weakness, you can rely on Him to keep you steady. That Gardener’s name is Jehovah Shammah; the Lord is present. (Ezekiel 48:35)

What a beautiful gift it is to live with the opportunity to start fresh. Today can be Day 1 of a new beginning, one that God promises to be present during if you allow Him.

But much like the process of cultivating a seed, cultivating change will take watering, waiting, tilling, and consistent attention. And that means any seed. Love or bitterness.

So, which gardener will you get your next seed from…the enemy, filling your heart with anger and pride or Jehovah Shammah, wanting only the best for you?

What Floods The Desert

bible, christian, encouragement, lifestyle

But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.

Micah 7:7 NIV

For the last 3 weeks, I have been in a flooded desert. Though there was pain, sorrow, and a lack of resources, none of it was a match for the great flood that flowed through this land. Not a flood of water…but of hope.

As I came across this verse in Micah, I could not help but relate it to the people I encountered on my journey to the Middle East. For nearly a month, I walked in the same land God split the sea for Moses to walk through. The same land Saul had his transformation to Paul. The same land that a Shepard boy was made a mighty king. Yet amidst all God has done in the past, the most amazing thing to me was what He was doing in the hearts of the people today.

I saw fathers give up everything to get their daughters the medical treatment they needed. I saw parents embrace and thank God for the children their culture tells them are a disgrace due to their disabilities. And I saw oh so much hope and praise towards God in the eyes of families who were bombed out of their homes and forced to move to foreign lands with no guarantee of a way out.

This, is a small glimpse of the flooded desert I walked through.

My heart shatters as this world defaces the reputation of the Arab community. I have never met a more loving group of people in my whole life. Their sense of strangers becoming friends and friends becoming family is so wholesome.

After spending weeks drinking an excessive amount of coffee and tea with random families, I have found that they live out Micah 7:7 to the absolute fullest.

Though the name of Jesus was not the one they commonly praised, it has never been more evident to me of God’s hand over a community. These people were living in pain. Pain that began far before their own lives and continues to deepen as they step into each new day. Yet at the same time, they are overflowing with hope and joy. A hope that brings life during dreadful times. And a joy that remains as they lift up God through the rubble of their struggles.

It is this hope I pray I can learn how to share with you all. Like they so kindly welcomed me into their homes, making me feel like a close sister, I hope to make this blog a place you all feel loved and secure.

We as the Church ought to be unified as one. Love should be the driving force for all we say and do. So as you take a second to speak with God today, I pray you ask Him to show you how to love well. This world portrays the people of the Middle East in such a terrible way. But I am here to encourage you to let God be the one to tell you how we should treat others, not the media, not the president, not your family…simply God. If He gave His life to love them, how can we live and not do the same?