Where did you lose you?

I'm going to be transparent. I lost my way. Like many of us we caught up in the everyday hustle - the grind and we forget. We forget who God is. We forget to nurture our relationship with him. Truth be told, we forget to nurture our relationship with ourselves. We forget who we were called to be on this Earth. We let lamp shades, joy vampires, (you can fill in the blank) zap us until we have nothing left to give. We let circumstances keep us from showing up authentically. 

I was reminded of the story of Nehemiah. For those not familiar, Nehemiah gave up his job as cup bearer(wine taster) for the king to rebuild the wall. Because he faced so much opposition, he built with one hand and kept a sword in the other. He knew he was the one uniquely designed for that mission. 

How did he know? He had a relationship with the Creator. He knew God. He knew faith. He knew love. For he did not rebuild the wall for glory or honor he did it for the people. He knew rebuilding the wall would bring a sense of peace to a people who were lost.

What are you looking to for your source of peace? Are you looking to something that's anchor? Are you looking to something that never changes or are your eyes fixed on things that at the drop of a dime can change?

My challenge to you today is to recenter and refocus. Remeber who you are and what your purpose is. For those who are still struggling with this, take time to tap into the Creator. Take time to spend time with GOD in a way in which you can listen. Be open to moments where he's speaking to you without saying a word. 

My prayer for you today is that I hope you never forget who and whose you are. That you learn your purpose and that you stay in a constant state or rediscovery. I also prayer that you take the time to rekindle your relationship with God. Selah.

What is your relationship?

This started off as one thing, but funny how that works. 

I was sitting thinking of today. So a little back story, today in the Christian Church commemorates the receiving of the Holy Spriti by the Apostles. Today, if the celebration of Pentecost. 

Originally, we were going to talk about language because the people heard Peter talking to them in their own language. People were from all over and heard the message being delivered in their native tongue. But what did this mean? We've talked previously about God knowing you enough to meet you where you are. To speak to you in a way in which he knows he will get and keep your attention. He does this because he is in relationship with us. 

The Apostles were able to receive the Holy Spirit because of their relationship with Jesus. He promised that he would send to them a guide. He knew he could no longer walk the Earth but he didn't want to leave them in uncertainty. Let's face it, they were getting ready to embark on a life changing experience. Not only for themselves but for everyone connected to them and everyone connected to those who connected and so forth and so on. What would they have to draw strength from when things got rough? What would they have to guide them in times of uncertainty? That would be the Spirit. That would be their relationship. 

My prayer for you today is that I hope you find your Jesus. He's not lost, just waiting for you to get back in relationship with him.

Attention to detail

God always knows how to get our attention. The general consensus is that he shows up in the still moments. You know those - the ones where you're quiet enough to actually hear what he has to say. But there are those of us where quiet is an anomalie. So what happens then? 

God knows how to get pur attention. I was listening to music one day and I came across the song Grace by Taurean Wells and Rascal Flats. Now these are artists that I listen to separately so I am familiar with their individual work. Who knew in that moment that God was trying to get my attention?

There is a line in the chorus that says: "I didn't know I could be free until Grace found me." The song instantly became apart of my morning worship medley.

I believe in that moment and every time since that what God wanted to remind me of is his love for me...for us. He wanted me to to know that the minute I chose him for myself we were in relationship. He was reminding me that he has a relationship with me that shoukd be the foundation of all relationships. How he treats me is how I should see myself. I am his child. He is my father. He is proud of me even in my mess. He brags on me. He protects and provides for me. He chastises me when I need it. You see he does that for all of us who are in relationship with him. He provides us with his Grace and it is in his Grace that we are made free.

My prayer for you today is that you always see yourself how he sees you. You are awesome. You are amazing. Even in your mess, you are loved. He loves everything about you. He loves who you are and he just wants to have a relationship with you. 

Who are you searching for validation from?

One of my favorite people in the Bible is King David. I've me tioned him before in other posts, but this one is a bit different.

When Samuel went to Jessie's house to anoint a new king after Saul had lost favor with God, Jessie, paraded his other sons in front of Samuel, but did not consider that David would be the next king. Samuel had to ask Jessie if he had another son. Jessie nonchalantly mentions David, who at the time was tending sheep. We know how the rest of the story goes David does eventually become King after some soul searching and some time with the Lord. 

As of late I've started to wonder how did David feel about not being on Jessie's radar. How did David feel knowing his father did not believe he could be King? Was it something that David did? Was it something that Jessie didn't see or was it that of David became King, Jessie would lose the one person whose job it was to tend the sheep? 

I think we get a taste of what David could have been feeling/thinking by his relationship with Saul. Saul was abusive. Yet, David continued to do everything he could to earn his favor and respect. I think we get a taste of how David felt in his relationship with Jonathan. They were closer than brothers. I even believe that we see how he felt in his interactions with the women in his life. In all of these relationships, David was looking/searching for a place to be himself authenticly. David was looking for a place where he was just David - Not King, not Shephard, not military leader etc... He was looking for his place, and unfortunately, try to find it in the wrong people in the wrong places. 

How many of us like David are searching for a place to not only be us, but are looking for a place where we can be validated? Validated not only for what we do, but for who we are. How many of us wrap who we are in what we do? How many of us fall apart when what we do becomes the thing that we are no longer known for? What do we do? 

My challenge to you today is to do like David did. He leaned into his relationship with God. We get some of the most profound and some of the most honest/transparent Psalms from his time trying to find a place to belong. Now I don't expect Psalms to come from you, but I expect that you use his love for you to help you find where you belong. I expect that you use his love for you to fill in your missing pieces so that you don't go looking for belonging from folks who only want you to be who they want you to be.

I pray that the Almighty Father meets you where you need him. I pray the Almighty Father helps you in finding and embracing yourself enough to where you don't go searching for validation in the wrong places. Amen