There’s no time like the present to take inventory of where you’ve been and where you’re going in life. Occassionally, I like to reflect back on the past several months or years and make notes of lessons learned (or learning). This is especially useful to notice any areas which I am repeating a pattern or struggling with – I now am aware of where I need to focus my development efforts.
Here is a list of the top 10 things I’ve learned about life, love, and faith recently . . .
1. You cannot do life alone. No matter how strong and independent you are, you need people in your circle who will be there for you to encourage you, support you and pray for you. If you don’t have people in your circle whom you can trust on that level, there are things you need to change within yourself so that you can experience authentic relationships.
2. Fear is real. Some people call fear false emotions, false evidence, false feelings. But if fear wasn’t real, so many of us wouldn’t struggle with fear. And God wouldn’t repeatedly tell us “Do not fear.”
Only when you can acknowledge that the feeling of fear is real, you can then get to the root cause of that fear, replace fear with the promises of God, and overcome that fear. Pretending that your feeling of fear isn’t real and just ignoring it only makes that feeling grow stronger and stronger.
Acknowledge the feeling of fear. Deal with the thing you think you fear. And move on with life. (I know it’s easier said than done. But nobody said it would be easy).
3. No matter how rough things get your life, you have to make time to take care of yourself. Take care of your mental health, physical health, and spiritual health. You have to be healthy in order to have the energy to push through to the next level.
4. You are not too good, too perfect, or too righteous to experience storms in your life. Instead of asking “Why me?” or “What did I do to deserve this?” appreciate the storm and the rain.
Without the rain and a little bit of dirt, flowers can’t grow.
But, if you’re like me, you have probably asked “How much more growth do I need right now in my life?” LOL. Yes, God and I have had that conversation many times. And each time, the answer is “you ain’t grown yet!” To whom much is given, much is required.
Instead of complaining about the rain, grab your umbrella and raincoat and make the most out of it – knowing there is a rainbow on the other side.
5. [Very Transparent Moment] – You have to learn the fine line between giving the devil credit where credit is due, and not giving the devil enough credit.
I found myself not giving the devil enough credit. It was easier and more logical to convince myself that I caused many of the negative things that happened in my life.
I’ve heard so many people say that “Satan is attacking me” instead of taking accountability that it was their poor choices that got them in the situation that they are in. I didn’t want to be that person.
So, I blamed myself for 99% of things that happened to me. I blamed myself for everything that went wrong and didn’t work out – even things that were CLEARLY not in my control.
Not good. . .
Not every battle that we experience is a physical battle. In my case, most of my battles were physical manifestations of what is happening the the spiritual. There is a real enemy whose goal is to steal, kill and destroy. There is a real enemy whose goal is to knock you off course, deter you from your purpose, quench your fire, and still your joy. If you don’t recognize who the real enemy is, when he shows up, and how he shows up, you’ll be ill-equipped to fight the real battle.
Don’t think that you’re not significant enough for the enemy to attack you. You ARE!! I didn’t think that I was significant enough in the grand scheme of things for the enemy to see me as a threat. But I’ve learned that you don’t have to be a praise and worship leader, a minister, or a prayer warrior for the enemy to see you as a threat. You became a threat the minute that God created you and a bigger threat when you decided to be obedient to God.
The enemy wants to defeat you, but God won’t let him. Put on the whole armor of God. Stand firm in your faith. Do what you can with what you have. And trust God and his host of angels to fight on your behalf. You’ve already won.
To Be Continued . . .
