What Do You See?

It is no wonder that we are reminded to "guard [our] hearts above all else because out of it flows the issues of life" (Proverbs 4:23). When unchecked thoughts are not properly filtered, they seep their way into our hearts where what we feel becomes our view of reality. Much neurological research furthers this notion that not one person experiences the same reality as another. There are several facts or happenings that take place (objective), and our response in the brain (subjective) dictates how we perceive those same happenings. For instance, two people can witness the very same accident, but walk away with two different emotional reactions or beliefs about what truly took place in that moment. There are even times when we can speak a promise or a truth from God in conversation but still not believe or experience the veracity of it.

One biblical story that has recently entertained me (due to my actions matching the men in the story) yet simultaneously awakened me is the two disciples in conversation on the Road to Emmaus. Here we have two men who are reasoning and conversing about the death of Jesus and repeated all the happenings that took place on that day (Luke 24:13-27). In the midst of their debate, Jesus meets them on the road but they were unable to recognize Him. The two disciples are literally reiterating the very details the Prophets foretold about Jesus being "mighty in deed and word before God" and how he would be "condemned to death" and that the women who went to the tomb did not find him there. They further mentioned that they were "hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel." These events have just taken place, yet their "eyes were constrained, so they did not know Him." Christ's ascension was to take place on the third day and here, the third day is not yet gone and their hope is waning. How often do we say scriptures in our daily conversations or remind ourselves things that God has spoken to us, but when He places those very desires at our feet or has delivered on what He promised, we don't recognize it or even Him in the midst. The reality here is that Jesus had risen. Their doubts however overshadowed this reality even while speaking the truth, thus blocking their ability to recognize the reality of God's manifested plan. What I love about this story is that Jesus continues to walk with them, as they asked for Him to abide with them. As a result, he sat with them and "took the break, blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them." It is then the disciples eyes opened by being reminded of the death of Christ through abiding in Christ.

Let us continue to hope in the truth and manifestations of God's word and revealed nature. Though our circumstances can cause unfavorable thinking, we have a responsibility to "hold every thought captive that rises itself against the knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 10:5) and mix God's word with faith so that it produces the intended result: rest in His plans.

What doubts do you have that are consuming you to the point of waning faith? What word do you need to take hold of again that you are losing hope in? As the disciples did, ask Jesus to abide with you, and see how He chooses to open your eyes.

Got Joy?


"Joy is not in things. It is in us." ~Richard Wagner

A few months ago, a dear friend of mine challenged me, in addition to her blog audience, to focus on one of the "fruits of the Spirit" mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23 that was chosen at random for an entire month. I'm still unsure if she knew the one she gave to me or not, but it was a mystery until day 1 of the challenge to me as the recipient. In situations like this, I try to predict based on my view of my circumstances which topic or focus will be given since I sporadically think I know about myself just as much as God does...absolutely prideful of me. I thought since I was newly married (and technically still am four months in) that the fruit of choice would be love. Much to my surprise but definitely orchestrated by my Father, joy was chosen for me. Right before this challenge began, my husband and I began to face some challenges and issues, and trials that we knew would come in marriage but not as early as they emerged. Emotions were fluctuating, faith was tested, and godly truths seemed impalpable. Much of what we mastered as single people became purified and sifted further as married people. Although I understood joy as a single woman, I now became tested to choose that same joy, same fruit as a married woman.

Many believe that the goal in life is to be happy. She feels good. She feels euphoric. She becomes, however, evanescent. The thing about happiness - like all emotions - is that they fluctuate and are dependent on the circumstance, mood, or situation. We are not sad everyday. We are not angry everyday. We are not disappointed everyday. Happiness is something that brings pleasure but typically is found as a result of an object, experience, person, or item. Joy supersedes happiness because it is a great pleasure that is established and firmly rooted within, watered by heavenly truth, and revealed by the unveiling of Jesus' presence in us. It takes little effort to go binge shopping when you feel depressed or eat some high calorie or sugary food or even indulge in some other avoidance behavior, causing minimal pleasure that does not even touch the root of your ailment. During the challenge, I noticed that the more I set my mind to read biblical truth about the importance of worship and prayer and strategically speaking those things aloud as opposed to fixating on what wasn't going right, or what I wanted to change, a sweet and calm presence illuminated such light, clarity, and peace despite the external chaos and turbulence I was facing.When I do a comparison of moments in my life where I plugged in "empty fillers" through food, people, outings and the like, they only ameliorated the surface of my issue. I still found myself spinning in circles over some of the same anguish. Whereas now, when I plug in what feels at times unnatural because it is still adopting a renewed way to live, I feel a deeper sense of healing, peace, and clarity on the circumstances that is indescribable.  In John 17:8-18, Jesus gives us His prayer for His disciples: those who forsake living opposed to how God designed them to live. What I love is the clarity of what joy actually is. It is something "fulfilled in [ourselves]. Notice it is not an outward focus on someone or something that can come and go at any moment. It is a constant presence; an internal knowing; an established anchor of assurance that our lives, our problems, our desires are all placed in the care of our Creator. Joy propels me to display pure light despite dark times. Joy causes me to smile though I feel agony. Joy allows me to trust despite not knowing what my future fully holds.

I am grateful to God for putting me on my friend's mind to bring this challenge to my attention. I learned that no one can take anything that belongs to you unless you give them permission. And I no longer give the devil or any other antagonistic force to take what belongs within me: joy.

Consider this week your "empty fillers" and how you can boldly utilize God's truth to stand in joy despite what happens around you.

What Time is It?


"For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak and not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry." (NKJV)

As an AP Language and Composition instructor, I cover rhetoric and the dozens of strategies speakers use to employ effective persuasion skills. One concept we begin with is the usage of kairos - a Greek term for "the opportune or supreme moment." When delivering a speech or conducting any sort of conversation, we must always be mindful of the right time to share. For one to fully receive another party's words, someone can have all the ethos, logos, and pathos utilized to draw someone in, but if the right conversation is presented at the wrong time, it falls on deaf ears. The infamous, "I Have a Dream Speech" and its efficacy is based largely on King's usage of kairos: delivering on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in D.C., during the centennial celebration of the Emancipation Proclamation. This poignant imagery creates the perfect backdrop for his audience's reception and for King's declaration and call to freedom and sanctity of justice delineated within the speech. But what about timing as it relates to a situation? A move? A desire? An outcome? This is when we must recognize that God's kairos is not always our kairos.

When God reveals to Abram (later Abraham)  that he would have an heir that "will come from [his] own body] (Genesis 15), and specifically that Sarah would bear to him a son, Abraham did not initially believe this would happen since they were both past "childbearing years." As much as God revealed piece by piece the vision He had for Abraham, it was still difficult to believe what God promised because the timing did not seem to align with their circumstances. In Genesis 17 and 18, God tells Abraham the most important factor about any promise or vision God implants in our hearts: timing. The LORD said three times, "I will return to you at the time of life" and "Sarah will have a son." As much as Abraham was "counted for righteousness" due to his belief, he missed the authority of God's "time of life."

In this passage, the word "appointed" means fixed. God already had a fixed moment in His orchestration upon which the son would come. Because God interconnects people, destiny, purpose, situations, and the like, He knows when the ultimate supreme moment should be for every moment in our lives. The time of life mentioned here reminds me of spring, such as new beginnings and new life, new purposes. Although Sarah and Abraham and pretty much every person under the sun flows in the rhythm of chronos or the 24 hour a day concept of time, God's timing supersedes and regulates that. I find that even in the mundane days of wake up, brush your teeth, go to work, cook dinner or whatever your routine may be, God uses those moments or disciplines to reveal the purpose of planting or sowing, or waiting as it relates to fully receiving and inheriting the fullness of a vision.

Whatever you are desiring for God to bring about in your life, pray first that the motive and intent of that desire is from Him. Then ask God to reveal to you His timing on the fruition of that vision. Remember, God gave Abraham bits and pieces, and not the full vision all at once. Therefore, timing for each piece is key.

 "To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under the heaven." (Ecclesiastes 3:1, NKJV)