Girrrl Get Yo' Faith Up!

There’s always more than meets the eye especially in the life of a believer. God has made promises to us through His Word and as my Pastor preached and reiterated “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise…. but is long-suffering toward us…” (2 Peter 3:9). So as women of God, you can’t live your life based on what you see. The Bible says that “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.” (2 Corinthians 1:20), this just simply means that God’s promises are guaranteed!! This is why God instructs us to ‘walk by faith and not by sight’ (2 Corinthians 5:7) because we can’t go by what we see but rather we have to operate on faith in our God who can do exceedingly above all we can ask or think (Ephesians 3:20-21)! The reality is that at this moment in time, it may not look like things are lining up with what God has told you but you have to trust and believe that what God said is true. 

So are you steering your life by what you see or by what you believe?

Let’s do a quick check: 

You say you believe that God is YHWH Yireh (The Lord Will Provide - Genesis 22:14) yet you don’t bring your tithe into the storehouse (Malachi 3:10) but rather go get that 1.3 billion PowerBall ticket (OUCH!)

You say you believe that God will give you the desires of your heart yet you don’t delight in Him (Psalm 37:4). You delight in Ronnie, Bobby, Ricky and Mike (lol)! You think God is taking too long so you should ‘help’ God out right?

You say you believe that with God all things are possible yet you doubt your God given abilities. You’re stagnant when God is telling you to get crackin’ with that business, book (yup, I’m stepping on my own toes too), ministry or whatever God has placed in your spirit! Lack of money should not be a deterrent - move forward with the vision and the Lord will send the resources. 

Begin to steer your life by what you believe and not by what you see. If you need to strengthen your belief then you need to get to the gym - the house of God! Workout daily by reading God’s Word and prayer. Attend those fitness classes in the form of Bible study and Sunday School. Exercise, exercise, exercise so your ‘faith muscles’ are strong! Let the Word of God encourage you and bring your belief to an unshakable state! 

Girrrl get yo’ Faith up! 

Do You Agree?

It’s been said that opposites attract but attract what? 

I’m currently teaching a dating class to teens and young adults and one of the concepts that keeps coming up is agreement. What do I mean? Two people must be in agreement spiritually in order for the relationship to be successful. The Bible states in Amos 3:3, “Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?”, certainly not. 2 Corinthians 6:14 states, “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?”

It is important to be on the same page with people as it relates to relationships because it makes the journey smoother. When you link up with an unbeliever you bring necessary stress into your life. Yes, they may be a nice person, even a good person but they are not coming from the same premise that you are - living according to God’s Word. This is particularly important for women because as we look at this from a marriage standpoint, men are leaders in the home. It will be difficult to follow leadership that is not following the voice and Word of God. Dating is no different. The end goal of dating should be marriage so it does not make sense to even date an unbeliever. The two of you are going in totally different directions; you can’t build this way. 

Just a note, unequally yoked can apply to friendships, business partnerships and any connection in general. If two co-business owners are not on the same page then it will be difficult to run a successful business together. This doesn’t mean that you think exactly the same, or even act the same way but it does mean that your foundational beliefs should be the same, you should be coming from the same base. 

If you are in a dating relationship with an unbeliever, I would encourage you to get out of it. You can pray for them and when God decides to deliver them and change them (if that is their desire) then perhaps you can entertain befriending them again. Honestly, it’s the God in you that they are attracted to in the first place but as life’s challenges come at you, you need someone who knows how to go to God in prayer for his family and as the movie ‘War Room’ suggest, fights battles on their knees. 

Yes, I do know of cases where Christians have married unbelievers and God eventually saved that spouse but if you ask any of those couples, they will tell you that it didn’t come without some major heartache and/or struggle. The road to get there was not a smooth one. Dating and marriage is difficult enough without adding to it willfully. 

If you are compromising your beliefs to be in a relationship - Girrrl Stop! 

God wants to give you his best, be patient and wait for it.