Wait For It

Waiting? Got patience? Staying power? Ability? Wait for it. Some weeks ago I was inspired to write on the subject of transformation and when I woke up unusually early yesterday morning, I was reminded that I never quite got around to blogging about it. As I considered this, I thought about my own transformation and the whimsical expression of God through those changes. Change is a natural progression of life. We live for it. We wait for what will be. We venture to anticipate the unknown, but often times find ourselves revisiting the past. For what can man predict? What can man really be sure of, other than what God reveals? We think, but we don’t really know anything. We read books and we consider them true on the basis of the opinion or research of the one who finds it. We say “this person is legitimized by their study and therefore their words must be true since I have no knowledge of it.” But education does not make for perfect men and women. Knowledge, according to the Bible, puffs up but love edifies. (See 1 Cor. 8:1) It makes a man or woman, who depends on knowledge, inevitably unkind to those who lack what they have. Knowledge, without love, demeans those who are absent of it. Whether it is creative, self, social, brain or religious knowledge… knowledge though it appears to make one better, only segregates those who have it from those who do not, if not tempered by love.

If my knowledge does not have a vein of love in it, then it is only useful to me and no one else. It builds me up, in my self-awareness. It boasts of my successes and my reigning power; but it does not lend a hand to the needy. And this, failure to love, is the tragedy of men. For what do I have that wasn’t given to me? The breath of life, the bend of my hair, the framework hidden beneath my skin, the heart that beats so violently in my chest pumping blood throughout my body without end. The very ability to know, comprehend and understand was not measured to me on the basis of any knowledge I attained. Life was given to me and every day I have the choice to either live with the knowledge of that gift or to deny the very power at work within me. It may seem an odd consideration but I could not begin to talk about transformation, without addressing the nature of man’s need to know. We seek knowledge under the guise of preparedness, readiness and responsibility. But if our knowledge does not end in love, it is fruitless behavior. The transforming power of God is limited in us, the realm of our influence and the fullness of our innate gifts is never reached.

Several months ago I faced tremendous fear. I could not see my way out of a situation and I was tormented by my disability. I wanted to KNOW what I had done, where I held failed and why I was not getting the results I had anticipated. I had been obedient, faithful, knowledgeable concerning God’s promise and seemingly unrewarded. I saw no worth in my testimony and I pitied myself. I thought, “What a shame? All of these promises from God and I will see none of them. Perhaps, they are for my children and not me. I do not have the strength to believe God concerning this anymore.” But God said to me, “If you have me, you have everything you need. Your value is in Me.” He said to me, “You are awesome. It doesn’t matter where you are or what you are doing. You are awesome. You are the canvas of my heart.” He had taken notice of me and did not pity me. Rather, he esteemed me as awesome. I had misplaced my victorious destiny in the future, when I needed only see my worth in the here and now. In the dreaded place, between belief and transition, I was transformed. I saw a picture of God’s awesomeness, through his love for me. And if I had not waited, but allowed the knowledge of my circumstance to betray me, I would not have seen this transformation as I do now.

Awesomeness is contagious. The awesomeness of God is like a fragrance and a fire. (See 2 Cor. 2:14-15, Zec. 2:5)How awesome are you? Not sure? Wait for it. The promises of God will inevitably manifest in our lives. He does not and will not make a promise to you that he is unwilling to keep. The store of our faith, belief in his word and our prayers overflows generations. No prayer we have prayed will go unanswered. Though it linger. Wait for it. Though you face rejection. Wait for it. Though you suffer. Wait for it. Wait for his strength to be revealed. Wait for His love to be displayed. Wait for the courage to face your fears. Because his promise to you is this,

“For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.” Habakkuk 2:3

The certainty of transformation is realized when our knowledge of God’s promises are met with impossibility. To venture in the boat of faith, one must rely on God as captain, sail, wind and wave. Though we may be thrust and tossed about a sea of impossibilities, our hope remains. That is the staying power of the knowledge of God’s love expressed through his will to give, you and I, life abundant. The uncertainty of life is not in God’s nature but in our own. When we compare his nature to our human nature, we display fear, angst and distrust. Our knowledge of life and death compels us at every turn to self-preserve. When we are met with difficulty, our mind searches for answers; and it wants to know, why this is happening and how can I fix it? But true faith doesn’t consider why or how, because neither answer can foretell the ability of God. Instead, true faith, relies on the knowledge of God’s unfailing love expressed through His son, Jesus Christ, to make dead things live again, impossible situations to turn out good, awesomeness to come to ignoble people. Why? Because He can. Just wait for it.

Awesomeness is Contagious

Awesomeness is contagious. The awesomeness of God is like a fragrance and a fire. (See 2 Cor. 2:14-15, Zec. 2:5)How awesome are you? Not sure? Wait for it. The promises of God will inevitably manifest in our lives. He does not and will not make a promise to you that he is unwilling to keep. The store of our faith, belief in his word and our prayers overflows generations. No prayer we have prayed will go unanswered. Though it linger. Wait for it. Though you face rejection. Wait for it. Though you suffer. Wait for it. Wait for his strength to be revealed. Wait for His love to be displayed. Wait for the courage to face your fears. Because his promise to you is this, “For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.” Habakkuk 2:3

Runaway Slave

Slavery brings up horrifying images of a dark and painful past. It grips at the heart and makes one wonder, how could this horrible trade have been a part of our American history? The murky shadows of hatred and the uneasy subject matter cannot veil the reality of this terrible page in history. Some might even agree, that, slavery’s legacy of prejudice and greed continues to influence the current culture. It is not something you go into the world everyday thinking about, at least I don’t. But I thought of it over the weekend and it seemed a witty comparison to my current state of mind. As I sat at home, Saturday after a morning of prayer, humming a melody from my new anthem, “Break Every Chain” by Jesus Culture, I thought of my enslavement. Not currently, physically bound to a brutal master who demanded me work in da fil pickin duh cutton. But, the enslavement of the mind, that traps one to a situation, a relationship, or a job that demands you to work for nothing and repays with abuse. I thought of the culture and how many of us are slaves to what the culture deems as important and necessary. The artificial way that we communicate with one other and the haphazard way we live. Are we all unappreciative, miserable little wretches desperately trying to make are unstable selves secure with faulty brand names and self gratifying philosophies? Surely not. I know some people that are legit. Ride or die. Down for whatever. But they come few and far between. So, I asked myself, are you a slave or a runaway slave? Am I bound to a situation, afraid to runaway or am I free? Am I chain breaker? To compliment the fact that yes, I am an African American who came to these blessed lands by means of slavery, yet having a lineage of men and women who broke through the chains of their oppression. Not by means of physical power or executive power; but by way of their spiritual power. These people, however, socially, economically destitute believed that they “was kind, smart and important.” (Adapted from The Help, novel) I was also reminded, in this rehearsing of history, of this faithful scripture in 2 Corinthians “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (Chapter 4: 17-18 NIV) Something on the inside of them caused them to see beyond the present condition. It was this foresight and belief that obliterated their temporary state and catapulted them to a state of being that was not limited to time and space. Likewise, you and I have the same opportunity; and whatever our past enslavement or less than stellar areas of our lives are, we don’t have to be chained to it anymore. Christ has become the chain breaker. He has broken the chains of your past and set you free. Galatians 5:1 exhorts us in this way, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” How meaningful is that to you? Freedom. God spoke to me, and he said, “I want you to be free and I want you to be fearless. I want you to know that I love you and that I am with you. It doesn’t matter what is going on, if you have me you have everything.” I read a cool pin-up on Pinterest over the weekend, and it simply said “If you woke up today, with everything that you thanked God for yesterday would you be happy?” I am not willing to give up the eternal things of God for the temporal things of this life. And that to me is freedom. I am a runaway slave. I am free. My freedom came at a cost. Jesus paid it on the cross. No matter the tragedy. I count it all joy. Every loss has become a gain. The victory has been won. Peace He gives And does not take it away I am happy because I am free. Sing with me. Run with me. I am free.

Reality Check

As I walked the tree laced streets of Valencia, CA yesterday afternoon, I took note of the various buildings and structures along the way. The carefully paved sidewalks. The tranquil breeze. The man smoking in the bushes flipping through his cell phone. The cars whisking by with drivers desperate to clock back in from their lunch hours. I thought of the calls that might be missed as I walked the tree laced streets. My headphones provided an escape from the monotony and I tuned into the voice of the spirit as He whispered to me. I nodded in agreement, “This is not my reality. This is not real. The heartache. The trials & tribulations. The arguments. The frustrations. The disease. The lack. The whatever is bothering me in this very moment. Is not real.” As I thought on this, I realized what is real. I said to the Lord, “My reality is your word. The things you have spoken to me in that secret place that is what is real. Your promises are real. The peace and joy that I have in your presence that is real. This other stuff is a lie. And whatever does not hold up to the truth of your word is not my reality.” The Spirit of God has painted a picture of your reality with His own words. Can you see it? Do you hear Him? He says, “You are healed. You are set free. You have peace that surpasses all understanding. You have the strength of an eagle. You have wisdom greater than kings. You are more than a conqueror. Your paths drip with abundance. Goodness and mercy follow you. You awake to brand new mercies every day. You are fruitful and blessed. You have more than enough. You are a spring whose waters never fail. Your life is preserved. You are filled with joy in his presence. You are the fragrance of Christ. You have food to eat that money cannot buy. Your children are all blessed. You are the temple of the Holy Spirit. You have been given power to succeed. You are a partaker of God’s goodness and unfailing love. You are destined for victory. You are never alone. You are protected and shielded from all harm. You cannot fail. You have received grace, strength and mercy to do extraordinary things. You are wonderfully made. You are considered by God, the apple of his eye.” Yes. This is your reality. Only believe.

Fearless Nation

Fearless people cannot die, even in the grave their spirit lives… I feel a tremendous burden to share with you something that the Lord spoke to my spirit yesterday.

He said, “Child of God I want you to be fearless.” I want you to be unafraid and full of faith. Do not fear anything. He reminded me of the Valley of the Dry bones in the book of Ezekiel. In the text, he asked the prophet, “Can these bones live?” Ezekiel answered, “Only you know Lord.” Then the Lord caused breath to enter into them and flesh formed on the once dry bones. And they stood up a great army. The Lord said to my spirit, “I have an army of people, lying down dead.” He said, “See now, I breathe fresh life into them. Will they stand up and live?” I said to the Lord, “Only if they are fearless.” The bible says that faith must be living. Our faith must be alive… Our faith is made alive through belief in Christ. Our belief is made alive through corresponding action. To stand on the word of God, to believe the word of God and to boldly confess it without fear. It is our fear that causes us to disobey the Lord. Too many what ifs? And how can this be? Enter into our thought processes and we weaken ourselves by our own fear. We seek to self preserve and we end up losing more of the life giving spirit of Christ. We crucify him, the Christ, by denying his resurrection power, again and again through our disbelief and fear. Child of God, I am convinced of something very powerful concerning you. The Lord lives. And he has entrusted to you, the mysteries of the cross. He is manifesting Himself through you in this very hour. We have asked him, Lord, show yourself powerful. Reveal yourself to me. And the Lord’s reply is this, “I have shown myself powerful. I have revealed myself, but you did not expect that I would reveal myself THROUGH you. You have been looking for houses, and cars and money and things to dictate to you my pleasure with you; but these are easy things to do. See how I have clothed the fields? See how the sky is adorned? These all speak of my wonder. They display my beauty and my majesty. How much more, my sons and daughters should show my glory and goodness? But fear, has clouded your perception. You have not fully understood what has been given to you in Christ. You have not engaged your faith.” You say, “I believe you Lord.” But when I ask you to do something you disobey. When you do obey you complain. You complain because you fear that my word is not true. Oh how I have longed to see you beautifully adorned, glistening and white without blemish and without scar. But you forbade me, with dark fear, the terrors in your soul. The mountains you fought to climb when I said to you, “speak to the mountain and it will be moved.’ You did not always listen to me, but I have not forgotten my promise. I will not turn away from you, as you did me. My love is unfailing and I will see you yet alive and full of faith. You are mine and I am yours. I restore to you this day, the love you once had for me, at the beginning. And you will surely stand up a great army. Yes, my people will stand and not perish. They will live and have dominion in the earth. They will manifest my goodness in the earth and showcase my glory for they will be fearless.