21 DAYS OF GOING DEEPER

In 2007 I decided to run in a marathon. I had never run in one before, but it was always a dream of mine. Twenty-six point two miles was a lot of miles, and although I was a runner, I had never taken on the task of running for that long. I realized that I would need some intense training – I was going to need to build up some endurance. So, like Forrest Gump, I just started running! My training happened over six months, and the miles increased slowly and steadily. Every week the training got harder and harder, but as race day approached, I felt “ready,” and I was enthusiastic about finally competing in the race. 

I did cross the finish line on race day, but not without some hurdles and hurts along the way. As hard as the training was, I realized that had I not trained so hard, there was no way I could have finished the race. 

When I read Hebrews 12:1-2, I think back to that day: I ran with light clothing, I prepared a hydration pack, and many supporters were on the sidelines cheering us on. Even though it was painful, and I sustained injuries, I still finished the race by God’s grace. 

Where are you at in your journey? Are you in training? I know it’s hard but keep pushing yourself! You can do it! It is preparing you to finish the race. Are you currently in the marathon? I know it is hard but keep going! It is so worth it when you cross the finish line! Don’t get discouraged. Instead, like Jesus, whose focus was on the joy that was set before him, take the eyes of your heart and look to Jesus, the founder and perfector of your faith. He is the prize! He is worth it!  

If your day is anything like mine, then you are probably suffering from running in the never-ending rat race that we call life. My days start early to get ready for work, I usually stay a little longer at work to avoid falling further behind, then I rush home to make dinner and spend time with my family. Before you know it, I’m two hours past my bed-time and I’m rushing to finish up whatever it is that I’m doing to get some much needed sleep, but it never seems to be enough.

On top of that, I’m constantly being bombarded with messages of strife, uncertainty and hatred. Between the pandemic, economic uncertainty, and political chaos there is very little in this life to bring me peace. It’s no wonder that I along with millions of others suffer from anxiety.

My life seems to demand so much of me, that I can rarely find time for myself, and more importantly find time for the Lord. Most times, I feel like my life is in chaos. So much so that my husband got me license plates which say “Rebolu” which is Cuban for whirlwind. Don’t get me wrong, I’m well versed in time-management techniques and understand the importance of work-life balance. I’ve read the books on meditation and relaxation, but none of them seem to offer me the peace that I desire. I find that the only real time I experience peace is when I turn to Jesus. When I put my faith and my fears on his shoulders and release them. I long for more of those moments. I want to go deeper in peace, and only Jesus can provide that for me. I know that I need to make better choices and be more intentional about carving out time to spend with Jesus and experience more peace in life. I’ve done my best to make that a habit in these 21 days of prayer and fasting, and I have already experienced more peace.

In today’s day and age sometimes in our lives we have a tendency to move so fast. Since we’re moving fast paced we want everything else to move just as quickly. We want instant coffee, instant success, faster traffic, and high(er) speed internet. It’s understandable because we have goals, errands to run and an endless list on our todo list. But the trouble with this mentality is that some things take more time than we are willing to spend in order to come about.

In Genesis, we are introduced to a man named Abraham who God promised would be the Father of many nations. Not only were Abraham and his wife old, but the two had no children, so who would be the offspring to which Abraham would father? It was an impossible task but Abraham believed God would do what he had promised. Although Abraham and Sara believed God, they became impatient in their waiting. They decided to take matters into their own hands and Sara gave her servant to Abraham so she would bear him children. Although Abraham soon became a father it wasn’t in accordance to God’s will. God had something bigger planned, something more beautiful than what Abraham could cultivate on his own. All that was needed was more patience. 

From the story of Abraham we learn that we can’t throw Gods will in the microwave to be done quicker! Desiring to take things into our own hands instead of waiting on God is impatience- a form of pride in disguise.

Sometimes having patience is difficult, especially when there’s an anticipation for things that are to come. Whether in our relationships with friends or family, or even with God. But we should daily choose to rest in God’s promises knowing that He will do exactly what He said He would…In…His…time.

Are you hearing from God?

There are many voices we listen to each day. The one voice we hear most is our voice in our mind. We also hear many other voices throughout the day. You turn on the TV, social media, YouTube, our family, and friends are voicing their opinions. We can find ourselves overwhelmed at times and lose peace by letting in all the different voices of the world speaking to our hearts and minds. 

So the questions I’m asking myself are, “Am I hearing from God today? Is God speaking into my life today? Am I resting in God’s promises today? Is God’s word guiding me today? Is God’s Word “living and active” in my life today?”

To hear most effective from God, we need to deepen our time in God’s word. I believe God wants to be the single voice instructing us on how to think and how to function in this world as His children. HE desires for us to look to Him and hear from Him, so we’re not confused by the voices of this world and the enemy of our souls. The writer of Hebrews describes this relationship with God’s word as, “living and active.” We can have a living and active relationship with the creator of the universe through daily abiding in God’s Word. 

It’s easy to get caught up in the hype of this world. You succeed in sports, in school, in business, and in life, and people keep commending you on your accomplishments. Soon enough, you’ve allowed the world to convince you that you are responsible for your success, and you forget that your gifts are a blessing from God meant for His glory and not yours.  The awards, the scholarships, the promotions, and the relationships begin to take priority in your life, and you continue to lose sight of the purpose of your God given gifts. You now become fully convinced that it’s you who’s awesome, and you begin to rely less on the Lord and more on yourself. That is when the road to ruin begins.

Sadly, this is the story of one too many. We lose our dependence on God and we lose track of our relationship with God. There is nothing wrong with success, or in taking pride in your success, so long as you keep perspective and humility that it is God working through you for His glory.  I’ve lost sight of that many times throughout my walk with Jesus, and have been fortunate to have grounded people to remind me that all my blessings are because of the Lord.

Staying humble is not easy living in a world that prizes success and especially in a city that promotes excess. However, it is not possible to deepen your relationship with God without increasing your humility. To understand and accept that there must be more of Him and less of you. This is a choice that I make everyday. To wake up and thank the Lord that it is His will that I am awake, and thank Him for allowing me to use the gifts He has blessed me with for His glory and not mine.

Think back to a time when you were so hungry that you couldn’t stop thinking about something to eat, or had a thirst for something cool and refreshing on a hot summer’s day.  Remember how the hunger and thirst took over your thoughts. Sometimes our thoughts and desires are so strong they can cloud our lives.  Webster’s dictionary defines both hunger and thirst with having a strong desire,  a craving or urgent need for something to satisfy us.  What is satisfying you?  What do you hunger and thirst for?  

In this scripture, we are given an understanding of the spiritual meaning for hungry and thirst and how it’s key for us to live.  He lets us know that our hunger for righteousness will be satisfied by Him when we live according to His will.  How are you living?  Are you living in your own desires? What does it mean to be satisfied?  The definition of “satisfied” is to be content and not need anything more. We can trust God that He will give us what we need to be satisfied. How do we get truly satisfied? In the time we spend with Him, our hunger for righteousness will be satisfied. What is feeding your thoughts and desires?  Is it things of the world or things of God.  God wants time with us! He craves time with us.  He will fill us spiritually if our hunger is for Him. God can satisfy you.  John 6:35  says “I am the bread of life, Jesus told them. No one who comes to Me will ever be hungry, and no one who believes in Me will ever be thirsty again”. 

Allow God’s word to fill your thoughts and desires. He wants you to grow deeper in relationship with Him.  Spend time with Him today, and you can find righteousness and be satisfied.  

Everyday we have a physical need to eat to survive but we greater need to have time with God. Eating only once a week would be hard on us physically, likewise spending time with God once a week would leave us anemic as well!  He’s ready. Come ready to be satisfied.

I love the fact that I’ve been blessed to travel and see many places, each with their unique history, unique culture, unique language, unique cuisine, and so much to unpack and explore. Going somewhere far away from home and exploring a new place is a joy that I have missed, especially in this season. However, it is such a strong reminder that God has placed a deep love for the nations in my heart.

The Revelation passage shows us that heaven is full of people who may look different from us, who experience daily life different from us, and who’s story can be entirely different from ours! However, in that moment, we see a huge gathering of people with shared vision, shared purpose, and a shared message. The right mindset to have is to appreciate what makes us different, see the beauty in all people, and realize that we share more with each other than we realize. If our Father in Heaven loved the world so much He gave His only Son, we should love each other just as much.

One of Satan’s strategies in keeping us in bondage is unforgiveness. When the root of unforgiveness is planted in our hearts it gives the enemy a foothold to trap us in our pain and to steal our joy. God gave us the perfect example of what forgiveness looks like through His perfect and pure son, Jesus who died for our sins even before we could ever ask for His forgiveness.   

I’ve gone through many hurts in the past. I’ve gone through the pain of betrayal, the pain of family turning their back on me, the pain of being physically abused. That pain turned into anger and led to many sleepless nights and anxiety. My biggest pain was finding out on the eve of my 21st birthday that my dad was having an affair with a woman who was my age. As we confronted this truth on the morning of my birthday, my dad had decided to leave me, my mom and my brother. This pain turned into anger and bitterness. As the oldest child, I took it upon myself to care for my family financially, to care for my mom and my younger brother. I was in the deep end of my pain and anger that all I had left in my heart for my dad was hate. When I let Jesus into my life, He wanted to take that pain away from me through forgiveness. The heaviness of that pain and hatred and everything ugly that came with it was lifted through forgiveness. I no longer needed to hear my father ask for forgiveness, I gave it freely just the way Jesus did for me. Along with the forgiveness in my heart, Jesus placed an urging for me to reach out to my dad and meet him exactly where he is at. To this day, my dad has never apologized but I can honestly say that there’s been so much healing that I never thought possible.  God gave me the strength to forgive as well as the strength to reach out and build a relationship with my dad. 

In my personal life one of the greatest gifts that 2020 gave me was the ability to clarify and deepen my commitment.  Every time my plans were shattered I was forced to re-evaluate my level of commitment. It was frustrating for sure, every time we thought we had something figured out the plans changed. I’m sure you experienced similar things in 2020 or maybe even already in 2021.

What the Lord revealed to me in those moments was that I was far more committed to activity for God than a relationship with God. And by being more focused on the activity, I was actually committing my work to myself.  God was teaching me that he wanted me to commit everything I did and who I was to Him.

His desire was for the work of my hands to flow from a relationship with Him. The funny thing is that the more I trusted that Jesus wanted my commitment level to be to Him, He released me to do more for him. He began establishing plans I would have never dreamed of. He open doors I could’ve never opened on my own. He gave me a peace in my commitment because I recognized my commitment was not contingent on my plan but His purpose.