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.

Happy New Year my loves!!! I pray you all are doing well and are having an AMAZING start to 2023!! I pray that you all are healthy and safe as well. The holiday season had me in full relaxation mode, so it was a little hard to get back to writing! I am so thankful for the opportunity that God affords me to share my experiences with you all and I can’t wait to see what He does in this new year! Let’s get to it!

I was cleaning one day and a song I used to listen to all the time came to mind. The song is called “Faith Come Alive” by Tasha Page-Lockhart. I really needed that song in some of my darkest moments and I still listen when I am struggling. I made a mental note that it would be a good blog and kinda went about my day. Later in that week, I had a conversation with a friend, and I suggested praying about a particular situation. They said that they didn’t believe that they had the faith. They asked me if I ever experienced that. Listen!!! This is where ministry comes in. I think they were very surprised when I said that I do have areas where I am weak in faith. People don’t expect Christians to say that. I am a very honest about my struggles in different areas. I appreciate gospel singers and pastors that have a transparency about their issues instead of making others believe that this walk is easy and everything is rainbows and butterflies. That may be cool for recruiting new Christians, but how are you gonna explain when things go opposite of the theory that was sold to them? People are attracted to honesty and authenticity. Yes, God is a good father, however we all experience difficult moments and tests in our faith.

So, what is faith? We know that Hebrews 11:1 AMP says, “Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality—faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses].” The part that says faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses is powerful. It is believing something to be true without a tangible expression of that thing. Faith is having confidence in something or someone. It means having belief, but faith also has to have action. James 2:17 AMP says, “So too, faith, if it does not have works [to back it up], is by itself dead [inoperative and ineffective].” It is not enough to just believe; we also have to do practical things. If you want a new job, you may need to put in an application. If you want to start a business, you have to do research, pinpoint your target market, and ask God for strategies to execute the plan.

I believe we all have more faith than we believe we have. Hebrews 11:6 AMP says, “But without faith it is impossible to [walk with God and] please Him, for whoever comes [near] to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He rewards those who [earnestly and diligently] seek Him.” It takes faith to believe in a God we cannot see. Because we believe in and seek Him, it causes Him great pleasure. Sometimes it is not that we have a lack of faith, but that we are seeking Him for the things we desire without seeking His heart about what He has for us. I explained to my friend that there are some areas that I have strong faith, I have no issues asking God about things concerning those areas. Then, there are others where I don’t even wanna bring it up! I was able to share my experiences and what I do to strengthen my faith.

Prayer and communication with God will strengthen your faith. Knowing what God says in His word about that particular situation strengthens your faith. When we keep praying for something we desire that we have yet to see, that strengthens our faith. There was something I read as I was preparing for this blog, and it stated that faith gives us staying power. I can agree. I can honestly say that because my faith in God is stronger than my unanswered prayers, I have the wisdom to keep returning to Him in all circumstances. I rest in the fact that I know that God is not a respecter of persons, that I know that He is not a man that should lie or repent, that I know that His intentions toward me are good.

So, can you identify the areas in your life where you lack faith? Let’s begin to give those areas back to God. Sometimes we pray for things and instead of leaving them to God, we want to pick it up and try to “help”. Let’s seek His heart for us concerning those areas. We can seek him for one thing, and He could have something sooooo much greater for us. My friend began to see things move as soon as they began to apply their faith and pray! We can get the same results when we surrender to His perfect will for our lives.

Father, we thank you for allowing our faith to come alive again. We thank you for the wisdom to continue to seek you even when what we see is contrary to what we believe. We are expectant of what you have for us and sure that you will exceed our expectations. Your goodness is unmatched, your mercy endures forever, and we are so thankful for your love that surrounds us daily. Help us to maintain a posture of faithfulness to you even when we get weary in our faith. We repent for not trusting in who you are and what you have said. Help us to seal your word in our hearts so that we are prepared when the enemy comes to make us doubt in the promises you have made to us. We believe but help our unbelief. We thank you, love you, and adore you. Amen!