I have Chosen You: Distractions and Distress are not Your Portion

“You did not choose me, but I choose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, He may give it to you.”

(John 15:16 ESV).

At the church that I attend, the stage/ alter has steps that one can ascend on to reach the top. As I looked at the steps, I envisioned what God is doing in this season. I saw a representative on the floor before the steps began, and I saw them moving up one step at a time. We are in a season of elevation and with elevation comes great responsibility.

As I consider the prayers that I have prayed and the questions that I have asked God, I see the answers all around me, but inwardly I have rejected the responsibility that comes along with it. I know, I know, this is not something that you hear every day, but I would rather be honest than fake.

When you begin to walk into your purpose your norm will change. God will place a high demand on your attention and on your time. This is not a bad thing because He is pulling you closer to Him to get the energy, comfort, and strategies that you will need to operate in function in Him.

When you are with God, success is guaranteed, but your heart cannot be focused on success. Your heart needs to be postured in submission.

One thing that I have learned to do is to ask God to speak directly to me. I appreciate people and the words that God gives to them for me, but I need His voice for myself. One of the things that God revealed to me is that I would be stretched beyond what I thought I could handle, and at the time I had no idea what that meant, but God is pulling on every gift that He has placed on the inside of me, and He is also revealing new ones as well.

This is your moment and your season to bear fruit.

You will be everything that God has called you to be. Do not allow insecurity, doubt, fear, people, procrastination, or any stumbling block that the enemy is throwing your way to cause you to stumble when you are called to step up.

God has you. He has us. God is faithful and He is true.

Today as I was reading a devotional, it was revealed to me that I was looking at the purpose of God like a puzzle. We know that when a puzzle is purchased, we see the pretty picture on the outside and then the real work begins when we open the box and put all the pieces together. I was getting distracted by the pretty picture on the box and allowing the multiple pieces that it takes to make the picture distract me. All I saw was the problems and that was causing me to want to give up because everything seemed too hard to do on my own.

You are not alone. God loves you and He would never call you to fulfill a vision without His presence. Allow God in today. Wait for His response in place of rushing Him. He may be waiting for your emotions to settle before He gives you the next set of directions.

God does not place unnecessary pressure on us; we do that to our selves. Walk in the peace of God today. Have rest from your troubled mind and sink back into the bosom of the Father.

Lord,

I thank you for peace of mind and peace within my emotions as you grow me up in you. Please forgive me for resisting growth and for agreeing with any lie that the enemy has whispered into my hear. Lord, you have given me everything that I need to be successful in you. Help me daily as I listen to your voice and walk in your truth. In Jesus name, Amen.

Recommended Reading: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your path straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

“You are the light of the world. You cannot hide a city that is on a mountain. Men do not light a lamp and put it under a basket. They put it on a table, so it gives light to all in the house. Let your light shine in front of men. Then they will see the good things you do and will honor your Father Who is in heaven.”

(Matthew 5:14-16)

*Recommended Leaders to Study: Think of more leaders who were chosen by God and consider their journey

Moses

David

Joshua

Comments

Baffled by Christ: Real talk/ The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth!

I’m always baffled at the stories that my mother tells me about what I was like as a child. From her point of view, I was a mini adult/ care giver. At the age of two I made her sandwiches and I knew the medicine that she needed to take when she was sick. I even remember packing her bags when she had to go into the hospital. I knew everything that she would need or want. I packed her pretty pajamas, tooth paste, bible and other things I don’t remember. Today, at 28, I don’t like to perform such responsibilities because it is nothing that you can ever get used to, but I would still do them. The baffling aspect is that God has been using me since I was a 2 year old to be a sensitive help mate. When I write, my desire is to tell the truth. I don’t mind sharing certain aspects of my life because I see God in them and my hope is that others can see how God is moving in their lives also. My desire is to ignite the passion of Christ in his people. So many of us are stuck. So many peop...

Walk on Water Faith

Becoming great takes faith. Peter did not become great in the twinkle of an eye. He had to go through things. This same man who stood up boldly to tell people about the Holy Spirit also once denied Jesus. We have to be so prayed up in Christ because we don’t always know what our flesh or our circumstances will cause us to do. The struggle to greatness gets real! David had to fight many battles not only in the world, but in the kingdom of God because he was called to greatness. David wrote many psalms documenting his trails and successes. He was a man after God’s own heart, but yet he was not perfect. We go through things that help sustain us in this life and we can’t remain discouraged by the hurts that the world throws at us. I admire the bravery of the apostles because I don’t know how well I would have done emotionally if whole systems were coming against me. These men were beat, lied on, and put in prison because of the Christ that they were representing. People will ...

Take Off the Old Rags and Put on the New Garment

Have you ever had a childhood item that you loved? That thing may be worn, dirty, and falling apart, but you hold on to it because of sentimental value such as the memories attached to it . That item could be anything. It could be cloths, a toy, or even a picture. In many of our lives the old sentimental thing that we hold on to is our sin. We attach unhealthy sentimental values it. Many of these sins originated in our childhood so we hold on to it and in most cases, hope that no one ever sees it. Not every sin is private, some people are wide open with their sins because it is socially acceptable to take part in such things, or they have stooped caring what other people think it. Like those childhood items, we may tuck our sins away and bring them out in secret. In some cases, we even form unions with people who are holding on to the same item (sin) that we are holding on to. The items (sins/ demons) have been with us so long, we don’t know how to function without it. Today, Go...

Where is your Heart

God taught David how to fight. He fought a lot of personal battles before he was strong enough to fight the battles that we know him for today. David had to know how to depend on God in private before he could publicly show us how to depend on Him. David had to fight other people’s opinion of him even up until the moment that he was anointed to be king. Nobody looked at little David and saw a king. When they looked at him, they saw the youngest of 8 sons. They saw a shepard and they might have even seen a punk. I wonder if David’s brothers even knew that he was about that life. Did they know that he had fought and won a battle against a lion? Did they know that he took on a bear? Did they know that he was a prophetic musician and poet who was getting closer to God while they were busy looking the part of a position that they would never fill? The mistake that some people make is that they are more concerned with looking the part then they are with having the heart to fulfill t...

Waiting for the Promise vs. Moving in Impatience

“Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child? ” And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!” Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him” ( Genesis 17: 17-19 NKJV). Isaac was desired, but Ismael was birthed out of impatience. If God told you that you were going to birth something beautiful, no matter what your season may look like, bank on the Lord’s promises. Your Ishmael does not have to be a man, your Ishmael can be an opportunity. Don’t walk into just any ole thing because you got tired of waiting on God. If God promised you something in 2016 and you didn’t see it in 2017, that does not mean that He forgot about what He promised you. Isaac had a set season and ...

Why I Won't Date: Second Wind and Fresh Fire pt2

Some people think that waiting on God for your husband or wife is " to saved". They say that you don't know a person until you live with them or that you have to test them out sexually before you commit, but those things are not true when you really decide to wait on God. God knows your heart and knows what will keep your attention. The most important thing to keep in mind is that marriage is ministry. God is not going to send you someone that does not know how to listen to Him or take care of his or her home/ family. I see so many wome n who complain about being a good woman but their man is dogging them out. He prefers the drama over a home that is a sanc t uary . Don't be offended by that particular man's vice because now you have a way of e scape if you choose to take it. "The blessing of the LORD makes a person rich, and he adds no sorrow with it" (Proverbs 10:22 ) . My heart was broken all over again when someone from my pa...

Need Prayer?

“But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail” (Luke 22:32a). For a time, I didn’t ask people for prayer . I became protective of ‘my stuff,’ and I backed away from needing people because I had me-the army of one. I felt alone, misunderstood; all the things that I wanted no one to know about because I got me . This mindset created offense and functional depression. I backed away so that no one would see it; no one knew me enough to recognize what it looked like. “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat” (Luke 22:32b). What does it look like when you are being sifted? The sifting starts early in life and can be a continuous pattern if the devil feels like his tactics are working against you. I asked a friend recently, “Why am I so emotional? Did God give me these emotions?” I tend to feel deeply because I am an intercessor, but the emotions have to be stewarded properly. You have to master them by submit...

Take Up Your Cross

God paved the way for my present and my future with the prayers that He placed into my heart many years ago. I didn’t know what new challenges I would have to overcome or what would be required of me as I uttered the sentiments of my heart into His ears. All I knew was that I wanted to serve Him. One my many heart’s desires was to not be a seat filler. I didn’t want to grow content with occupying a seat in the church and never getting out of it to go into all the world to do what God had ordained for me to do in the earth. At that time I didn’t know who God had called me to be and I didn’t understand that some of my prayers was an indication of it. Spoken from a transparent place, as life happened, the more God told me to get up the more I wanted to sit down. Tiredness and fear had gripped me on more occasions than I want to admit and I have had the audacity to whisper, “ get somebody else to do it”, on more than one occasion. I felt justified in what I...

Destroying Idols

“For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God” (Exodus 34:15 KJV). As I was up late watching videos of people talking about the personal lives of celebrities, I thought about the fact that it is crazy to worship those people. I thought about the fact that we actually worship flesh and I thought about the fact that we will all die someday. There have been extremely talented individuals that have passed away and their talent went with them. These individuals were considered to be iconic and they were worshiped because of it. Theses celebrities had gifts that were not known to be used for the One that gave it to them. These people had beautiful things and they had gatherings where people called out their names and raised their hands in worship to them, but what about God? Isn’t God the giver of the gifts and isn’t God the one who allows people to live lavishly? What about the worship that belongs to Him? Are we as humans so selfish, t...

Yes, She is a Woman of God too!

“The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ? Then they went out of the city, and came unto him” (John 4:28-30 KJV). I have been thinking about the woman that Jesus meant at the well in Samaria lately. I wonder if God had ever tugged on her heart before and I wonder if she shut Him down. I wonder if her reply to God’s promptings was that she was not good enough or that she needed to get her life together before she served Him. I wonder what stressful things were on her mind the day that she planned to go to the well and I wonder if that walk was her “me” time. The beautiful thing about the woman at the well is that she is like both you and me. I love that she was honest with Jesus and didn’t try to sugarcoat her life style. I love that she was receptive to Jesus and that she asked Him questions. I also love that she took what she had learned and was not a...

JaNina B.

Search This Blog