Take Charge

When people rub you the wrong way do not let it effect you're path in life. As I was reading 2 Samuel this is what happened. Abner who was on the side of Joab turned against him to fight for the reign of David because Joab said something that he didn't like. For this story Abner's decision of joining the other side was a benefit to him because it was the more just side. But all the time we will not be as lucky as Abner.

People turn away from the good things in life because they do not like what someone said to them. What people say or do against you should not make you want to abandon what you have already started. It's a lot of work in that because when you switch you it shows weakness. The other side will know you are vulnerable is certain ways and will devour you off of that alone and the side that you left will simply say you weren't cut out for what laid ahead. So really you'll have no one to turn to.

Keep going forward until you run into a brick wall which will be a lesson learned. One brick wall can symbolize people who are not for you, people who hate you. Just back up a few steps and find another route to go and once you run into another brick wall just repeat the process. But never give up on the road of success. Jesus has your back the whole way.

It's Not Arrogance

You are always supposed to be humble. But there is nothing wrong with giving yourself some gratification. For a while, while practicing humility, I'd always tell myself to be humble and I'd respond with a simple, "it's not me, it's God," if they give me a compliment. When I felt myself trying to be happy in what I accomplished, I'd settle myself down. I never gave myself any credit (not the word I want to use but cannot think of a better word. I hope you get my point).

I deserve to smile and be proud too. I felt that if I were proud that I accomplished something that I am taking away from God and not walking so greatly in this humility walk. As I reflect I definitely feel some-what different now. My understanding goes a little deeper than just decreasing myself. Yes, God receives the glory but He also in turn passes some of that glory back to me. That's where my joy, excitement and happiness comes in at. From that it makes me want to keep moving forward. Kind of like a motivator.

But if I don't experience all of what God has for me, I am cutting my blessing short. It is not arrogant to feel some type of happiness. Humility is a balance. You can't be too humble and develop a low self-esteem nor can you be too arrogant.

Only He Knows You

Don't let anyone tell you who you are. Because once you let them tell you who you are you begin to believe it. You begin to act just like that and that could push you off the path you were destined to be on. In this crazy world everyone will try to tell you how they perceive you and such but what they see is most likely not the actual truth. It is not what's on the inside. We tend to get dolled up for company but on the inside we're screaming to be set free. Only God can tell you who you are because He sees you inside and out. So keep your eyes on God and your ear to His chest.

God Bless

Never Too Late To Turn Back To Start Again

"You can't win if you don't fight," echoes my inner me. Lately, I haven't been living up to what I've elevated to. I know that I am not the same Jessica who started this walk 4 years ago. I know that certain things aren't acceptable but I still do them. Of course I don't want to do it but I've been letting myself go. And that's a trick of the enemy.

Like all, I realized what I was doing and felt ashamed about it because I felt that I let God down. I didn't approach Him as directly as I used to. This kept giving me reason to do it over and over again. And every time the post-feeling was worse and worse. I began to feel numb. Then my inner me whispers something so sweet, "you can't win if you don't fight."

As my Pastor would say (or someone in the church. I know I heard this from somewhere), it's better to lose in a fight than not to fight at all. And that is the wonderful thing about the Holy Spirit. He is like that boxing coach. When you're getting so badly beaten and that few second break comes along, He is there to give you words that will lift you up.

Experience is the best teacher. So I've put back on my boxing gloves and I am ready to fight and determined to win. If not I will keep going back over and over until it is defeated.

The People Stood In Amazement

In Acts, it tells a simple story of a crippled man sitting at the temple gates begging the people who went inside for gifts. First off, it never hurts to ask of someone if they already have. You never know what you'll get. And this was pretty much what had happened to the crippled man. He asked two of Jesus' apostles to give him a gift and they gave him one of the best things he could have received in life. The man was no longer crippled anymore. The man praised God.

And that's what should happen. People should praise Him for the wonderful things that He does on a daily basis. For the man it was something great so of course God got the glory, but would it have been the same if the apostles gave him a plate of food or gold and silver. We'll never know because the Bible is already written. So praise God no matter how big or small things are.

After the apostles straightened out the man everyone was in amazement except for the apostles. Since they knew the power of Jesus and what God had stored in them, this "miracle" that they performed wasn't so much a miracle in their eyes. True it was something that didn't often happen but the apostles knew of the power and this was something small. They weren't in awe like the people in the town. And the instant they got the chance, they began to tell about the people about the Good News. They didn't argue with them about why they didn't know the Lord, they simply told them about Him.

The moral of the story is to do the good works of God so people can be amazed at us and then we can tell them that it was God. They can learn about God through our actions and testimonies. They'll see that only One can do such things.

Practice Humility

I had an experience but I really don't want to put it out there. It wasn't a spiritual encounter but it was and still is a spiritual lesson.

No matter how bad people treat you continue to be humble and meek. Don't let them walk all over you but stay on that path. There are times where I want to move away from that course and just say those little things that run across my mind. But I know those aren't things of God and little things like that can keep me away from something that is soo much more.

Humility is probably one of the worse and most difficult things to task because who likes to be shut down. Just know, in the end, the bad guy never wins.

Encouragement

Everytime I feel stuck, I notice that I go back to what is comfortable. But when I get back to that comfortable place, I tell myself that I should of endured a bit longer and maybe I could of got some results.

Be patient, because you'll never know what could have been until you have been. Hold on, because just when you let go, you're help would have come.

Be patient and confident in the Lord