**The Great Exchange**

The other day I found myself very anxious about something I had to do for work which led me into revelation about the exchange that we often miss out on. I was so preoccupied and concerned with how and if things were going to work out. So the morning of, I started reflecting on verses that spoke to that concern in me. The verse that I began to study was (a familiar verse to many of you) Philippians 4:6-7 which states:

“ Don’t worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

As I reflected on this verse, I began praying for peace about the very thing that was worrying me. Once I was done praying, I realized I still had those anxious feelings. Apart of me was like okay, what now? Prayer must’ve not worked! Sound familiar? Then it dawned on me to keep praying until God’s peace became my reality. The verse in Philippians states that once we pray about something we have the opportunity to experience God’s peace. But sometimes, we pray, don’t feel a difference, then we give up on prayer. I’m here to encourage to not give up on prayer because sometimes the issue is that what we have received it not a reality for us. So instead of giving up on prayer, how about we pray until it becomes our reality. Prayer doesn’t only open up communication between us and God, it shapes us!

Every time those invalidating feelings pop up, PRAY! Sometimes our feelings towards them are so great we need our prayer life to be even greater. It helps us to focus on God and be overwhelmed by Him alone instead of those feelings. The stronger those emotions begin to get the more prayer needs to be our answer, nothing else. When we go to God in prayer we make ourselves vulnerable to receiving the nature of God. Every time we enter the presence of God, there is an exchange, that is why we can come in one way and leave another. In Philippians this exchange is clear its anxiety/worry/fear for peace.

As we may know, the greatest exchange of all time was God sending his only son to die on the cross for our sins. In studying this exchange, I was able to see how filled the Bible is with exchanges by God. Brokenness exchanged for fullness, death exchanged for life, insecurity exchanged for security, hopelessness exchanged for hope, rejection exchanged for adoption, bondage exchanged for freedom, and the list goes on and on. These aren’t things that God just gives, they reflect his nature, the very core of who HE is. And because it’s apart of who God is, the supply is endless and the impact is eternal.

Think about your own personal life and things that you wish you could change/exchange. Now consider offering that area to God with the knowledge that HE doesn’t just know what you need, He HAS IT…He IS IT. Pray about that area so that what He gives you in return can be REAL to you. What God gives has the power to sustain you beyond your own understanding of the need. I’m convinced God is in the exchanging business and he wants us to participate in that on a daily basis, so that we can fully live for him. Whatever you may be struggling with, consider speaking to God about it, He knows exactly what to give you in return. Every time you enter His presence you put yourself in a position for His truths to become your reality. So consider changing your position to the one who always has your best interest at heart <3!

Unwrapping the Gift of Singleness

I tend to look at every season and every day as a gift from God. Many times we become so accustomed to things and desire change to the point that we miss the gift in whatever or wherever we are. In my current season of singleness much of my time was spent WAITING for marriage to happen, to the point that I didn’t even see singleness as a gift. I truly believe that how you view something, will determine what you get from it. If I view singleness as a curse it will fulfill what I view it as because that’s the only way I see it.Truth is singleness is a gift, just like marriage is a gift! The question is “what is keeping me from viewing my singleness as a gift? In unwrapping this gift, below are some things that were helpful to me.

First, I had to recognize that as awkward and rare as singleness may be, I am not a HALF looking to be made whole through marriage. Even when friends and family question you constantly about finding your significant other, you have to realize that you can be whole right where you are. Marriage will not complete you, God will. What you are looking for someone to bring you, God already IS! You have access to the one who is complete, FOREVER. Wholeness begins in God alone.

Secondly, I think a desire for marriage is a genuinely good God-given desire. I am not trying to push you away from marriage, rather help you get to a place where you’re not running from you current season. Because if you’re running from it, then you don’t value it. With that being said, during your time of waiting, understand that waiting doesn’t mean STOP/PAUSE/HOLD. We are all waiting on Christ’s return but that doesn’t keep us from fulfilling the purpose that we have been given while we are here. Pray, ask the Holy Spirit to show you anything that you may be putting on hold. Don’t lose yourself because you are by yourself!

Thirdly, and I was convicted in this, if you think a person will bring you contentment then perhaps you are not experiencing the fullness of Jesus. What you hope for something to bring , means there is a lack of within. Submit that area of lack to Jesus and let him permanently fill that void instead of the temporary things we have our hearts set on. HE IS ETERNAL, therefore, everything he does LASTS. Period.

Another area I was convicted in was desiring marriage out of loneliness instead of Godliness. It was in my lonely moments that I began to say “I wish I had someone to be with.” It wasn’t based on my desire to experience another expression of God’s love. It was based on a fleshly desire to have my fleshly needs met. It’s not that we can ever be void of this feeling, for we know our nature. But we can allow those moments to drive us to the feet of Jesus, not somewhere else. Lastly, I am not saying that these are some of the reasons you are NOT married; that’s not what I am trying to portray at all. What I am saying is that this season can be filling for you; it can be a time of further discovery of God and self just like any other. Each season comes with its own gift and it’s up to you to see it as such. So quit pushing away the box and unwrap the gift, it has your name on it .

Comparison: Thief of Joy

Comparison : The Thief of Joy

Hebrews 12: 1 ( NIV)

….And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

 So one struggle of mine is comparing myself with other people and finding my value in how I measure up with those around me, sound familiar? The definition of compare is: to examine two or more objects in order to understand similarities or differences. But as we know we aren’t really looking at similarities, were focusing on what’s different.  The problem with comparison is that it causes us to measure ourselves in relation to another person. Then we become distracted at all we have and start to focus on what we want in order to become more similar with another person. But at the same time we work so hard to be original?

 Comparison comes from jealousy and pride. Its jealousy because the reason why your comparing yourself is because you want what the other person has. So you begin to compare to find out why you don’t have it or where you might have went wrong. It’s pride because it’s the idea that all we have is from ourselves, as if God isn’t a provider. We are examining ourselves and another person because there is an underlying belief that what they achieved, was merely on their own. Don’t get it twisted , just because someone doesn’t acknowledge God or believe in God, doesn’t mean that God doesn’t provide for them.

 The problem with comparison is that it is motivated and rooted in a negative place.  It causes you to depreciate what and where you are because your focused on the next person. Comparison is what led Saul to attempt to kill David. Hebrews 12:1 says let us run the race marked out for US. Run your race, and run it well. If any comparison should be taking place it should be with Jesus, one who is above us all. We should examine and measure ourselves based on God’s standards, not our own. Don’t let comparison live in you because it focuses on what you don’t have , instead of doing best with all that has been given to YOU! Remember who God says you are because sometimes it’s more then what we say we are ourselves!

Running on E

Isaiah 40:31
But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

So once again , I’ve witnessed how awesome God is, and the above verse explains everything that I went through in the past week, GOD is so personal . So last week was a really rough week for me, because I believe I was so distant from God. I was getting through my days, but that’s all I was doing, just getting through. God wants us to do more than just get through or just make it, because when you just get through there’s not enough of you left for the next and there is no abundance in that.

I started thinking randomly about cell phones and how that relates to our walk with GOD (Bear with me). So the whole idea is that we charge our phone maybe once a night or in the morning so that we have enough battery life for the day.But typically by the end of the day, you begin getting those low battery signals and messages (just as I did; midweek). It’s the same with us, we have enough strength on our own to make it through the day, and maybe through the next, but just like our battery, it will run out. This is when we typically “give it to God “because we have nothing else left, but what if we gave it to him when we still had some left. What if instead of being reactive to the signals, we became proactive?

My point is that without a charger or source your battery will run out, just as with us, without being recharged we won’t have enough to LAST US. God is not a God that just wants you to get through, he’s bigger than that, He loves you more than that. A while ago, I learned that charging your phone overnight is bad because it actually weakens your battery life , and makes your phone DEPENDENT on a charger every few hours. Imagine if we lived our everyday lives over charged and completely dependent on God. That’s how we don’t grow weary, because everything God does is unlimited. Like he’s the only one who exists with no limits, if we tapped into that daily and frequently just getting by wouldn’t even be an option. I encourage you to get out of just getting by, God’s not in the settling business.

Committed, or interested?

Question of thee Day!
Are you committed to God or interested in God?
Alot of us would immediately answer that we are committed , and not really evaluate the question. Either we are confused on what commitment really is, or we really think that we are committed. Commitment is defined as the a dedication to something or a pledge to do something. Therefore, if we are committed to God we are dedicating all that we are to him. Commitment cant just be in one aspect of life but it has to be in every domain. Being committed is a lifestyle ,a promise, a too death to us part thing. Commitment is an ongoing process that has no specific end point, people die with commitments. Commitment goes farther then we know it and beyond where we can see.Commitment still happens when we don’t feel like it, because its a pledge to something.Interest usually doesn’t last through tough times because theres no pledge or dedication, it just has your attention for the moment. Interest comes somewhat from convenience, and is usually during a period of time, its defined as having or showing curiosity.I can be interested in something for a period of time, and then become disinterested. Or as stated before, I can be interested in something for the moment that I may need it. Way to many of us claim to be committed , but act interested. Know the difference, many are interested in God but few chose to be committed. God isn’t happy that people are interested in him, he’s happy when people commit to him. Interest only goes but so far, God’s looking for the committed to go beyond the average. 

NEWNESS!

I Corinthians 5:8
So let us celebrate the festival , not by eating the old bread of wickedness and evil, but by eating the new bread of purity and truth.
A lot of us find ourselves in the same problems time after time. Which means that we keep doing the same things which got us to that problem. Or as the example states we have dabbed into  some of who we used to be. Know that once your presented with anything new, you have to stop looking back in order to see in its entirety. Christ came to offer us new life. The definition of new is “ not existing before, or now for the first time.” Which means he did more then replace our old lives, he created a WHOLE NEW Way Of life. Its hard for us to function in this NEW life , when we want parts of who we used to be. Imagine buying a brand new TV right, but keeping your old TV which is cracked and broken and having them both on the same stand. Although the cracked TV may have had some memories connected such as being the tv that was in your first house it’s no longer able to be affective. Seems pointless to be watching two TV’s at once, which one will have your complete focus? How will you ever experience everything your new TV has to offer if your still holding on to the old TV, and still trying to use it. I say all this to say in order to experience NEW things, NEW life, you have to give up the OLD. The things that held you back before, YOU keep bringing back as if it were too change. GIVE up the old , it isn’t doing much for you! Imagine how hard it must be for Christ too see what he has given you and see what you keep choosing, as if he hasn’t died for YOU!

Find the Treasure

Matthew 13:44 states:”The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field. This verse is a great illustration of hidden treasure. First off, a treasure is something that we value greatly and think as worth having. A treasure is also typically hidden and not open for everyone to see. The fact that the treasure is hidden , adds more to the value to the treasure because not everyone is going to find it. If you don’t look for it , then you probably wont find it. So it is with the kingdom. God desires for us to seek the kingdom , find it for ourselves. Once you find it , you will learn how valuable it is simply by how you came across it. The man who came across it in the field knew it was a treasure by the way he found it, because it was hidden. Had it not been hidden, he may not have viewed it as a treasure.Even after he found the treasure, he made sure to hide it again. In a place where he would not lose it because he knew how much value it held and that he may not ever come across something like that again. Not only did he hide it , but then he went and gave up everything he had to buy the field that he found it on. He knew the field was somewhat holy ground because of the treasure that was within it. Its amazing what something of value can do to what it is found in. The man could have simply just took the treasure but he decided to purchase the whole field. The kingdom of God is so valuable that it gives value to everyone who contains it. To the man it didn’t matter what others thought , because he regarded it as treasure , so it was. You have to learn and begin to understand how valuable the kingdom of God is , and how much it will benefit your life. It will bring you to a point where you are willing to give up all you have for the sake of keeping the treasure. And it won’t matter what other people say or call it because you know within yourself that what you have found , many others may not find.