Knocked Down, But Not Out: Still Standing!

Hi Lovelies!

Been a while!! *sigh* But I have been lifing/adulting, the way the young folks of these days like to say lol. And if you don't know the meaning, just look it up in the urban dictionary. But today, I was inspired to write for two reasons 1) a post I saw on the Instagram story of one of my followers which in summary talked about the importance of developing passion because passion grows with utility. In other words, what you don't use, you lose. So, lovelies, whatever your gifting is (singing, speaking, writing, art etc) make sure you intentionally develop it by USING it. 2) My 25th birthday was 5 days ago and this past one year has been pretty challenging for me *phew* my faith has been tested like never before, and while it's been a painful process, I'm thankful for the growth and lessons I've learned. So, today I will be sharing some of the lessons year 25 has taught me:


1) Trust in God's timing for my life: the older I get, the more I'm really learning to trust in God's timing for my life and to stop giving Him deadlines (yes... sounds weird but we do this all the time). When I was much younger, I used to think at age 25, I will be married with my family, have my big girl job and big girl car. Although, this is not totally my reality right now, I'm grateful nonetheless. I've learned that this life is a marathon and not a sprint, so everyone runs their race at the pace God has designed for them. So, it's not about who accomplishes what first. On an even more important note, God makes everything beautiful in its time (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Although, in this past one year, I feel like I've lost time in certain areas of my life, I thank God because I know that His timing is perfect and that He makes ALL things work together for my good (Romans 8:28). Furthermore, God is a restorer and when He restores, He goes above and beyond (Joel 2:25, Isaiah 61:7).


2) Indecision hampers faith: wouldn't it be nice if we had all the answers to life's questions or if there was a roadmap for life? Of course! But that's the point of faith, isn't it? trusting God when we can't see/when we don't have all the answers to life's questions. At times, in our wanting to have all the answers before we move, we remain stagnant. I've learned that while it's important for us to seek God's face before we move, there are times when God is literally waiting for us to move. I have been believing God for breakthrough over a particular situation for almost one year now and I got to this point where I didn't even know what to pray again or how to proceed. I literally felt "stuck". So, I started praying for direction in hopes that I will get a definite answer from God on how to proceed. But this wasn't the case, rather it felt like a silent season where it seemed like God wasn't speaking. However, I listened to a message which really stirred up my faith and in a nutshell, it talked about how God moves on a "maybe" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGnWqBGJKAg). Hence, in those "seemingly silent moments"or "maybe it's God" or "maybe it's me" situations, when we are just not sure what to do, we may just need to take a decision by faith and move. At times, it is in our moving that we see God work. Don't allow your indecisiveness hinder God from working, just do it! (whatever that "it" is). I recently did my own "it". Stop waiting, thinking, and worrying and watch God move. 


3) Knowledge is power: Hosea 4:6 says "my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge". I mentioned earlier how I had felt "stuck" in the particular situation I was in. But obviously, that was a lie from the enemy because there is always a way out of life's situations and even if there's no way out, our God is a WAYMAKER! Remember how He turned the red sea into a red carpet for the Israelites? Yeah, there's nothing too difficult for Him :). But back to my point about knowledge being power, I've learned that besides the word of God being the primary source of wisdom for any situation, sometimes the answer to our problem may lie in simply speaking to someone. For me, this was the case. After seeking counsel from a few loved ones in my life concerning the situation I was in, I figured there was indeed a way out. Proverbs 11:14 says "Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counselors there is safety". I'll also like to reiterate my first point about the word of God being the primary source of wisdom/knowledge. Although this last one year has been super tough for me, one thing that has kept me going is the WORD. Yes, it's nice to have family and friends encourage you during your hard times, but this won't suffice. Sometimes, you may not even have anyone around to encourage you, so you must encourage yourself in the Lord. I've stayed encouraged by finding about 7 scriptures relating to my situation, writing them down, and meditating on them almost everyday. Lol I said "almost" because I am being honest. I really should be meditating on them everyday. So, I'll like to encourage you, my lovelies, to also do the same. Find out what God has to say about your situation, write it down, and meditate on those promises EVERYDAY. Even on those days when you're discouraged, still meditate! I often remind myself that faith is a fight and that I'll keep on fighting till I win. In fact, I am not fighting to win because I already won my victory in Christ, rather I'm fighting till I see my manifestation, because Jesus already won it ALL for me on the cross. Remember, as believers we don't fight for victory, we fight from victory :).




"Though we experience every kind of pressure, we’re not crushed. At times we don’t know what to do, but quitting is not an option. We are persecuted by others, but God has not forsaken us. We may be knocked down, but not out" (2 Corinthians 4:8-9 TPT).