Happy April! I pray you guys are doing well and enjoying the beauty of this season! In the last blog, I told you guys that I was in the process of renewing intimacy with God. Well, as a part of that process I have been taking time to listen more. No talking, not praying for everyone else during that time, but having a moment to just sit still and listen to what God has to say. There was something that came up recently and it was “intangible blessings”. Well, I kinda knew a general definition of the intangible, but as soon as I got up, I had to go to Google and see what was up. When I heard it, I felt excitement and a feeling of connecting dots from a previous prayer. I remember in February, the week of Valentine’s Day, I was praying that God would show me His love in a tangible way. I needed to see His love for me in a way that my senses could experience. Let me share with you what I learned!

The definition of intangible is “something that is impossible to touch, describe, or give exact value. It has no physical existence and has abstract qualities and attributes “according to Merriam-Webster. It is also a business term, as it is an asset that does not have physical substance but provides long-term value to the company. Then, I looked up intangible blessings, and that is a blessing that no one sees, they begin between you and God. My first reaction was one of thankfulness, because He sees me, hears me, and even though I want blessings I can see, according to the definition, the intangible blessings have more value. My second reaction was to reflect. Reflecting on what I have been experiencing mentally, emotionally, and spiritually and trying to recognize what was really happening in my ignorance. Then, there was repentance. I had been praying for something I can see, not realizing there are things going on internally that will yield so much more fruit and cause tangible blessings to come forth, but I wasn’t paying attention.

So, what are some examples of intangible blessings? They are things like peace, contentment, joy, a hug that just gives you life, an interaction with a stranger that encourages you, discovering a new passion, or finding a new avenue for your purpose. For me personally, it was me praying that I needed someone to pour into me the way that I pour into others and someone randomly checking on me or sending me an encouraging word. It was the idea to create new experiences for myself and to embark on a journey on my own without waiting on someone to do things with me or for me. It is the ways that God is speaking to my heart in moments that I think He is not listening to me or overlooking me. There are some things that are happening inside as a result of this journey that seem weird and makes it feel like I am forgotten. But it is something that is happening between me and God. He is blessing me with things that cannot be destroyed or taken away. God is sovereign and He can do whatever He wants, for whoever He wants, whenever He wants. He can give us the car, job, house, spouse, or baby. The question is, how will you steward life when it looks like nothing is happening? That is a question that I have had to ask myself numerous times. Honestly, this is a very uncomfortable space.

I have been hearing so many stories of people in waiting seasons. They have kingdom desires and are trying to serve God diligently but haven’t seen those desires come to pass. Meanwhile, there are others who are not even concerned about God and they are seemingly prospering. It HURTS! My heart grieves with each story. It has caused me to intercede for them because I know the feeling. However, there are intangible things that we cannot see happening inside of us. There is substantial value that is being added, strength that we never knew we had, a renewed confidence, greater faith and trust, resiliency, and a deeper understanding of the love of God. It is not easy. It’s hard to stick it out through the rough patches and seasons where you wonder why your prayers are seemingly not being answered. It is especially hard when you are seeking God with your whole heart and doing all you can to keep that relationship healthy. Remember, we will never be put to shame because of our love for Him. I recently had to go through a period of spending intentional time with God and I found that I needed Him to help me to renew my confidence in who He is. I know how to pray, but I also have to fight. The enemy wants us to believe that God will never come through for us and that He will not fulfill His promises. If it happens long enough, we will settle in circumstances and stray from God. We have to fight and stand firm in what we know to be true about our father.

Father, we are so grateful for your love for us. We are thankful for the tangible and intangible blessings. We know that the things we cannot see are strengthening and preparing us for the things to come. Your desire is for us to not only obtain blessings, but to be good stewards as well. We are thankful for a good father that works in us so that others may see who you are through us. Help us to be aware of the intangible blessings and see your hand in each and every situation. Your thoughts towards us are good, you love us with an everlasting love, and you will allow all things to work together for our good as long as we stand firm in our love for you. As we spend time with you, renew our confidence in you as we stand firm and cast down every thought that causes us to believe anything contrary to your character. We love you, we adore you, and we praise you for the victory. Amen.

Hey there!! It is March, and that means that it is almost Spring. People have mixed emotions about this particular season. Flowers are blooming, the weather is beautiful, and it’s time to put the toes out! On the other hand, there are those who struggle with allergies that want it to be over! There are always pros and cons to every season, both environmental and other seasons of our lives. You all know at the end of the year I always reflect and think about the things that I did well and the places that I missed the mark. I was thinking about where I missed the mark, and I was convicted. I realized that although the season was good, I developed something that caused me to feel like there was a disconnect in my relationship with God. I realized that I had an issue with idolatry.

Now before you judge me, let me share with you the definition of idolatry. According to Webster, it is “the worship of idols or excessive devotion to, or reverence for some person or thing.” The best definition I found was from an author Tim Keller. He says it is “Anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, and anything that you seek to give you what only God can give.” This was good stuff! I began to see that there were a few areas where I was exalting other things higher than God. Exodus 20:3 NLT says, “You must not have any other god but me.” God does not appreciate when we place other things before Him. How would you feel if someone that you are devoted to places someone else before you? A lil salty, right?

In the Bible, they created gods out of gold to worship or worshiped gods thought to bring things such as fertility and love. As I mentioned before, we have so many different things that we can “worship.” We have so much access to the world with just click of a button. So many things can consume our time, money, and mental space. While God is the creator and has given us dominion, wisdom, and creativity to produce all of these amazing things, He also doesn’t intend to compete with those things. Some examples of the idols of our time are money, children/family, relationships, success, influence, sex, our dreams, expectations, and careers. It is perfectly fine to love and appreciate all of those things, but we must continue to love and appreciate the giver of those good things. Just as we take time for those things, we must be sure to take time for God and make sure that we balance enjoying life’s luxuries as well as honoring God for who He is.

Wanna know what I realized mine was? My future. I made my future my idol. I realized that I am so consumed with the fact that my present isn’t shaping up to what I’d imagined my future to be by this time in my life. That takes me away from my present. It keeps me from being grateful because I am always looking at my now and saying the “math aint mathin’.” This also causes me to feel like I have to either make the moves myself or compromise with God based on what I see currently. I’m often left to think that maybe it’s not going to happen for me organically, so I just need to figure out what my life would look like alternatively. I was listening to a podcast one day and a young lady said that God told her that anything we put before Him will disappoint us. I needed that word to give me a different perspective, and it could not have been a truer statement. I could feel the disappointment settling in my heart as I was coming to terms with having to grieve some things. However, I just need to pull the idol down….

So, what am I doing to try to pull this idol down? I am still working on it, and I am sure that I will always be working on it! There could be another moment of idolization in another season of my life, it can happen before we know it. For now, I am trying to make sure that I am intentional about doing a new devotional I bought every day, I have changed up my prayers a little by being intentional about gratitude, I am trying to be more intentional about my mental space and filling it with positivity, love, and His word. Basically, I am trying to add the fire back to the relationship that I had with God. Just like we have to do with any other relationship. Renewing intimacy. Life with God is all I know, so I have to be sure that I do what I need to do to get where I need to be mentally and emotionally. He has never left, He has never changed, and His thoughts about me are still the same. Nothing can separate us from the love of God. When we feel disconnected or out of line with God, we tend to think He is like the people in our lives. Thankfully He is not fickle like us!

Father, we thank you for who you are. We thank you for being the all sufficient God, the God of more than enough. Help us to have the maturity to be self-aware enough to identify when we are placing other things before you. We repent for making those things more important than our time and devotion to you. You are the lover of our souls and the sustainer of all things. We thank you for helping us find the proper balance and surrendering all of those things to you. They may disappoint, but you never do. We love you, we worship you, and adore you. Amen.