I was meditating on my problems the other day. Yes- I was deep in thought about the challenges I was facing that needed God’s intervention. As the meditation became a conversation with God, I began to tell Him about the needs that I had and how I needed Him to “make some things happen” because I was not able to. I even went as far as telling Him about the things that I didn’t think I could do because I didn’t have what I needed to move forward. God didn’t address any of the things that I said I didn’t have or couldn’t do. He reminded me that He provided 3 international trips for me within 2 years. As I pondered the depth of what He spoke to me I realized that none of the challenges or needs that I have or had are a challenge for God. I coined Him as the God of THIS AND THAT in my life that day.

I’m a poet so I play with words a lot. Words also usually hit me harder than others because I flip what’s said to me a million times in my mind. Imagine the gravity of the moment when I realized that God was enough for everything in my life. If God can address this, He can also address that. If He can heal this, He can heal that. If He can provide me with this, He can provide me with that. If God did this, He will also do that. The same God that heals headaches is the same God who heals tumors. The same God who sustains my housing, all of my bills, and other resources is the same God who erases debt.  There’s nothing too big or small for Him. He’s able to do exceedingly above anything that we can ask or think.  He is able to do exceedingly above every THIS AND THAT of our lives!

Pause for a moment and think of some ways that you may have been putting God in boxes. Now take those boxes and discard them. There’s nothing that He can’t do!

Sincerely,
Marisha

I went on my third mission trip. I’ve been back in the U.S. for a little over a week now. My body is recouping from an 8-hour time change, jet lag, and returning to work the very next morning after my arrival. I should probably be careful how I word all of the above to make sure that I don’t seem grieved by the process. Truth is, I’d do it all over again. It’s beautiful because I feel that way about every mission trip that I’ve taken. I mentioned in an earlier post that I wanted to be a missionary when I was an adolescent. The notion of it seemed so far-fetched in my own mind. God has proven that it wasn’t far-fetched in His.

This trip was comprised of a 3-city tour: Nairobi, Eldoret, and Matunda. Every area offered a different experience and required something different of me. I’m a social worker so I take things in differently. I’m huge on culture and always eager to learn how others live: the language, the decorum, the fashion, music, food, etc. Nairobi is the capital of Kenya.  That was the first destination: We were apart of several services that included day sessions in a church and open-air meets in the city. Seeing people give their lives to Christ or experiencing Him in the way that He wants to show himself never get old. Worship services were in English and Swahili. I find it so awesome and intriguing how the Holy Spirit transcends language differences and barriers. The children (one of my favorite parts of every trip) were full of laughter, life, and contentment. I’m often provoked to reassess my own gratitude after seeing people who live less fortunate than myself live with contentment and focus on the Kingdom.

The next stop was Matunda. We stayed in a village called Soysambu. There was another school there that had over 200 students. They were lively and eager to mingle. It was a blessing to interact with them, ask questions, and share the love of God.

The last stop was in Eldoret. Eldoret was the conclusion of the services. We continued to show the love of God and witness His manifestation to others. It was beautiful. This trip was significant to me because of how I saw the grace of God magnified. I needed God’s grace from start-to-finish and He supplied it. We experienced delays of 10+ hours, another plane crashed that was headed to the same destination as our own, there was an explosive found at one of the airports we were in route to, we were tired and sleep deprived but by the grace and goodness of God, the mission was a success: God touched the lives of others while allowing us to be His hands and feet.

Grace and peace,
Risha

Ps. 90:12 “So teach us to number our days, That we may cultivate and bring to You a heart of wisdom.”

The first few times I read this scripture I took it to mean that we should remember our days are numbered-that we have a limited amount of time on Earth so with that we should inquire of God to teach us to be good stewards over our predesignated days. I have greater revelation since the death of a loved one. Numbering our days shouldn’t just remind us that we have a limited amount of time on Earth. It should inspire us to live to the best of our ability; we should make sure that our days are meaningful and fulfilled.

As I sat in the funeral I listened to their years of service. It was impressive-not because of the quantity but because of the quality. She made time to serve despite her daily demands. I found it even more precious when I considered how things could have been if she would have been selfish with her knowledge, mentorship, or time.

Given the impression that she has left on my life as well as others, I’ve concluded that it’s no longer acceptable to be selfish with my time. As a social worker, I totally get the need for self-care. I get it as a human, but with anything else in life, it’s important to be balanced. Please understand: there’s a need to say no in order to rest, replenish, or decompress. There’s a need for me-time, there’s a need to deprive persons of your time and presence who don’t deserve it. But there’s a vast difference between doing what you need to do to function optimally and depriving the world and others of all your goodness for your own benefit. Declining or failure to multiply your God-given investment is not self-care. It’s selfish. Let’s evaluate life, identify our passion(s) and calling(s), and do what we were born to do. Our days are numbered.

Grace and peace,
Risha

I remember the first time I was placed in time out. It was awful. For the first time in my short, little life I would have rather had a spanking to get things over with. There was something dreadful about being isolated from others while life carried on. Those 5, 10, or 20 minutes-however long they may have been, seemed as if they took forever. Timeout with other children to witness only worsened the experience. It was shameful that other children knew I’d done something bad enough to be punished and even worse, couldn’t proceed with playing until my sentence was done.

As a growing Christian, I’ve found myself in predicaments that felt like timeout. Repentance didn’t seem to suffice for sins that I committed. It felt like I was on a probationary period even after I asked for forgiveness, so I would refrain from asking God for anything because I was still in “timeout.”  Along the way, I’ve learned that the times in timeout was condemnation.

God is certainly our father but His ways of teaching and growing us is not like that of natural fathers. Although we may anger, disappoint, or sadden him, He does not hold our actions over our heads when we ask Him to forgive us. Moments that I feel condemnation lurking around the corner, I begin to speak God’s word regarding the situation: 1 John 1:9, Romans 3:23, and Romans 8:1. Sure, people are prone to remember the bad and forget the good things that we’ve done but that’s not God’s way. Ask God to forgive you (and turn away from the sin), forgive yourself, and move forward knowing that God is there to love on you and restore you!

Grace and peace,
Risha

I remember when I first began listening for the voice of God.  I was hoping for something audible. Something undeniable; the still small voice, I felt, was too easy to be confused with my own thinking. Recognizing the voice of God was often an episode for me because my mind would expand into this adventure map that led nowhere: “What if that’s just my thoughts? What if that really was God? I think that was just my mind…. But my mind wouldn’t think anything like that. It must be God because I wasn’t even thinking about that topic! What if I’m too late? Why do I feel sweat beads?” The conclusion was usually  “I don’t think that was God. I’m good.” Or “I’m going to need some confirmation.”

At one time, it was grievous to ask a believer for advice and be advised to pray about it. *Long and dramatic eye roll* I was asking them in hopes of God speaking through them,  feeling the confirmation in my heart, and knowing what to do. There were also other factors disrupting my ability to hear from him clearly like doubt, fear, frustration, a hardened heart, and a junky spirit. My spirit would be filled with all types of garbage and it was affecting my ability to hear from God. On top of that, the enemy’s voice would be louder than God’s.

The word of God is literally just that- The WORD OF GOD. His will, direction, and ways are outlined throughout the Bible. So, I started there.  Reading God’s word gave me a better understanding of who he is and desires to be in my life as well as in the life of his people. It became easier to recognize his voice as I continued to read and retain the Bible.  It became more apparent that thoughts like doubt, fear, bitterness, and etc. were contrary to His word so they couldn’t have been from him. Thoughts that encouraged spite, wrath, or ratchetness were certainly not from him. Thoughts to be kind, show compassion, share his love and encouragement were from him. Pretty simple,

As I continue to listen and obey (present tense because this is an active process), God’s voice grows clearer. Does the enemy still speak? Heck yes! But God’s voice is the loudest. Smooth lies and half-truths are exposed when you compare them to the word.

Invest time in the word of God to become better acquainted with him. It will make a world of difference.