But I don’t feel like doing it…

 I promised God that I would give Him my best this year. I woke up this morning feeling weary, I didn't feel like running; I didn't feel like eating right. I didn't feel motivated to do the very things that I promised to do. Then I heard “Michelle, remember why you started”. I soon realized that I was letting my emotions control me. I had to make a choice between doing what is convenient to me or doing what is right. I had to remind myself that it’s not about what I feel but rather who I am.

If I claim to be the precious daughter of the Most High God, I ought to behave like one of His. This means killing my flesh and living from His spirit daily. Sometimes, I find it difficult to stay on track. Many times I felt like giving up. I have to be honest; the Christian life is not easy. I think becoming a Christian is easy but it’s very challenging to remain one. You would tell me: But God doesn't expect me to be perfect. Yes! You’re right! God doesn't expect me to be perfect but He expects me to do my best because He has given me everything that I need.

I have Jesus, I have Jesus!! Yet, I feel weary… But why? Because I LOST FOCUS.  Whenever I focus on me, I am discontent, weary, jealous, selfish, unproductive…you name it. But when I shift my focus back onto Jesus, I find joy in whatever circumstance. He is the author and the finisher of my faith. He has begun a good work in me and He wants to finish it.  I need to corporate with him in order for him to do what he wants to do in and through me. God would never force His son on me. He gave me the option to choose between life and death. It’s either I dwell in my misery or I live victoriously from Jesus’ point of view.

I can’t control what life drops in but I can control my emotions. I can either let my emotions be the cause of my unfaithfulness to God or I can own my emotions and remain faithful to God.

 I thank God for His amazing grace. I thank God for giving me the power of choice and I decide to guard my heart from the issues of life. It’s not about striving for perfection but being comfortable in the person God made me to be. I am grateful that God is teaching me how to own my soul, just like David.

“Why, my soul, are you downcast?

Why so disturbed within me?

Put your hope in God,

For I will yet praise him,

My savior and my God” (Psalm 42:11)

David knew what it was to feel depressed, despondent and dejected but he decided to own his soul. David frankly admitted that he was downcast but he decided to share his experience with God. By pouring his heart to God, he not only put his whole trust in God but he affirmed his faith. This is what God wants me to do. Whenever I feel despondent or dejected I must declare my faith in Him and express it. Once I express it, I need to be still and know He would do what only He can do. Faith has to be exercised. Faith is not just a mental conception, but it is reaching out and trusting God to do what He waits, wants and promises to do for us

If you are reading this, I want to encourage you to keep your focus on Jesus. I guarantee you that you will be led towards all that’s good for your lives. If you have going through a rough day, I pray that God helps you to live in the reality of His truth.

Let’s make a whole hearted commitment to follow Jesus this year!! And remember, to follow someone successfully, you need to keep your eyes on where their heading!!

From the Holy Spirit...

During my quiet time with God this morning, I felt led by the Holy Spirit to write this post that I would like to share with you. The format might be different but I pray and hope that the content would stir a faith of gold in you that would transform your life and therefore would push you to maximize your potential as an individual made in God’s perfect image.

 ^“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸ This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” (John 15:7-8)

From the Holy Spirit to me:

It is my Father's will that I bear fruit because He wants to prove through me that I am a disciple of His son Jesus Christ. 

“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.² For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. ³ Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. ⁴ I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. ⁵ And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.”

 From the Holy Spirit to me:

God purposefully sent me on earth at this time so that I may believe in His work through His Son Jesus Christ in me. God has entrusted Jesus Christ with me so that He may complete the assignment through me and be glorified.

**The secret is: to remain connected to Jesus in order to be in alignment with God. 

What it means to me: I need to remain in Jesus and his word needs to remain in me so that if I ask whatever I wish, it will be done for me. I need to understand that in order to be eligible for God’s Kingdom, I have to allow God’s grace to free me and mold me into Jesus’ image. 

Now in John 15:9 Jesus says

"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love."

To remain in Jesus’ love is to understand the importance of God’s grace. Jesus loved me enough to lay down his life for me, when I didn't deserve it. He loved me when I ignored him. He loved me FIRST! 
So no matter what I go through in life, I have to humbly recognize that God's constant love, through His Son, is enough for me to endure any challenge. God sees me in the image of His Son Jesus, who has overcome the world. So, if I see life the way Jesus sees life, I will always overcome.  But when I refuse to look at life from Jesus’ perspective I allow pride to settle in and I automatically invite the enemy to get me worried and troubled.

In John16:33, Jesus goes on and says:

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

I don't have to carry burdens on my own because God's grace has already carried all the weight away. All I have to do is to rest in Jesus because once I am truly connected to Him; I have direct access to the Kingdom of God by grace. 

I love how Steven Furtick puts it:” The secret of sustainable success is not your ability to maintain love for Jesus but your willingness to remain in His love for you. He is the constant vine. God is the constant gardener. I am just the branch.”

It's for the Father's glory that I bear everlasting fruit through His son.

Love is God and God is love

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. (1 John 4:7-8)

Every person deserves to be loved. Every person needs love. If God is love then I ought to love every person. I have even learned to love myself more. God is within every person so for me to reject someone is to reject God himself! If I claim to love God then I ought to love people whether they like me or not because it’s a command.  

In fact this is love for God: To keep his commands and his commands are not burdensome. (1 John 5:3)

There is something about loving people past their issues. Love should be the core of my life. Every person is made in God’s image. It doesn’t matter how I feel because I know I have to learn to love people no matter what. I have been hurt, I have been betrayed, I have been scoffed at, but you know what? So was Jesus. If I claim to be a Christian I want to obey God’s commands. The bible tells me, for instance, to love my enemies.

Jesus says “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do well to those who hate you.” (Luke 6:27)

You see it is biblical; when I love my enemies I win :). Also If I love my enemies and treat them well, I truly show that Jesus is Lord of my life. I make God smile. As my days go by, I learn to quiet my negative feelings and trust the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit helps me show love for those I struggle to love.

Before coming to Cape Town, I used to be scared of homeless people. For some reason I always thought that there was something different about them. I would bless them but it would be out of fear and not love. The moment God began to challenge me to see them the way He sees them, my life changed. I am so thankful for my journey to Cape Town. Serving at Hillsong church really changed my life. I learn to reach out to the lost via outreach communities or phone calls, fellowship with people on a weekly basis, invest in others, dig the gold in others, and help new Christians flourish in their relationship with God. All of this made me realize that love is God’s reason for creating the world. I am no longer afraid of homeless people anymore; in fact I work with them sometimes. I learned to care for them genuinely and also to treat them as God’s people. Glory be to God!  

Because of God’s love in my life I was able to transform and grow. His love was a platform for me to launch myself into new territory and because of my faithfulness lives were changed in the process. 

“God isn’t so interested sometimes in the work He does through us; He’s interested in the works He does in us.” –Kris Vallotton

I have to remind myself daily that it’s not about what I do for God but why I do it. My gifts and talents mean nothing if my driving force is not love.

If I speak God’s word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “jump”, and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing. If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love. (1 Corinthians 13:2-7)

I just want to love, I just want to let love guide my life. I just want to obey God’s commands because I am nothing without him. Love is more than simply warm feelings; it is revealed in actions. When I call on God to supernaturally empower me to love, I am able to help when it’s inconvenient, I am able to give when it hurts, I am able to devote energy to others’ welfare rather than my own and I am able to absorb the hurt from others without complaining or fighting back. You see, by simply loving someone I can change their life’s outcome. Accepting God in my life is a lifetime engagement that I made. It requires me to die to self, completely. I still find it difficult sometimes to love the way God loves but the moment I look up to God; I find grace. I always have to remind myself that everything is possible if I believe it. When I am challenged, I pray and I leave it up to God.

If you are in this season where you feel challenged to love your enemies, I encourage you to sit at God’s feet and pour out your heart to him; let him show your real heart and ask him to help you during that pruning process. He wants you to be complete and whole. He wants you to resemble Christ. He wants you to be a real disciple and not a counterfeit. The process is not going to be comfortable but it’s so worth it and it’s needed. It’s when we leave our comfort zone that we grow. Guard your heart by making sure your affections push you in the right direction and let love guide you.

Love is patient

Love is kind

Love does not envy

Love does not boast

Love is not proud

Love is not rude

Love is not self seeking

Love is not easily angered

Love keeps no records of wrongs

Love never fails …(1 Corinthians 13:4)

Replace the word love with God and it will reveal how He loves. Replace the word love with our own name and it will reveal how we’re meant to love.

 *Final Note- My life should be a reflection of God’s love. To my neighbor I could be the only bible they get to read.

Let’s pray,

Lord I thank you for giving me the desire to become a better woman, a divine queen. I know you have great plans for my life and I understand that I am required to change if I want to be blessed. Lord, help me to see myself the way you see me. Help me to present myself as a living sacrifice by loving my neighbor even when it’s hard. Holy Spirit I rely on your supernatural ability to break chains in my heart. I am nothing without Love. Create in me a pure heart, Oh God. Renew a steadfast spirit within me. Amen.