You Were Made To Bloom

Today, I want to encourage you. I want to remind you that you were made to bloom. Yes, you. God penned down your story, my story way before we were even formed in our mothers’ wombs, just as He told Jeremiah... “Before I formed you in the womb of I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:4,5 He made each of us for great things. Jeremiah’s purpose on earth was to be a prophet of God. That’s the same way you and I are here, walking this earth because of the purpose of God. He appointed you to come to this earth to do something unique.

Now, won’t it be a shame if you plant a seed of a rose flower, but instead of fully growing and blooming, it sadly has a stunted growth? How come you may ask. Well, you barely had time to water it or tweak out the weeds that were hindering its growth. Weeds only consume the nutrients in the soil that plants need to thrive and grow well. So, that’s how come. The rose plant never bloomed.

Your life can be compared to this rose plant. To be able to fully plug into your full capabilities as a child of God, you need to allow God water your life. You need to feed your life the right things to bloom. When we begin to feed our lives with the Word of God and prayer on a daily basis, we start to grow as God intended us to. We start to hear God’s voice clearly about what steps we should take. Without constantly seeking God’s face in prayer and in the Bible, we’re bound to live according to our own plans which might very well conflict with our Father’s plans for our lives. 

“He destined us in love to be His sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.” Ephesians 1:5,6

The weeds that hindered the growth of the rose plant are those people and things that stand in your way from experiencing the beauty of living a purposeful life, the things that hold you back from shinning and living out loud for God. You know very well the ungodly inner circle of friends you have around you prevent you from passionately pursuing God’s will for you...those unhealthy habits of watching porn, fornicating, profanity, adultery, smoking, getting drunk, clubbing, going to worldly parties...they are all NOT God’s will for you. How can you bloom when you are so busy chasing after sin which will only kill you? “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6;23

Sin separates us from God. The more a person sins, the farther God is. The Holy Spirit can’t dwell in a body that is dabbling in an unbroken chain of sin. When we sin, we are more or less driving away the Spirit of God in us, because the Spirit is holy and can’t dwell where sin is. Sure, we are human and we’re tempted to sin often times. But isn’t it far better to strive to live the life God called you to instead of willingly going after things that cause you to stumble and die out fast?

“Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law. And those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” Galatians 5:19-24

I encourage you to seek God’s face, let Him become very personal and real in your life. Surround yourself with people with Godly wisdom. Ask Him what He planned for your life. You were not made to have a stunted life, you were made to bloom. :) Stop selling yourself short. God filled each of us with wonderful talents and spiritual gifts. 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 says “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another the prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are inspired by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as He wills.”

Dear one, God made all these spiritual gifts available to help us bloom. He placed the unique abilities to write, sing, paint, teach, sew, act in us. It’s not by our own might or some coincidence. It is His will. It is our duty to humbly ask Him to make known to us which talent and spiritual gifts He planned for us to have. He needs us to use these gifts to serve Him and draw people to His saving grace. You can’t know God’s will for you if you only know Him on Sunday mornings in a church building. He needs to be a part of your everyday life. He needs to be present in the songs you listen to, the movies you watch, the company you keep, clothing you wear. You are His representative, you need to act as such. How can you really know God without constantly and intentionally spending time with Him? You need to pursue a relationship with Him cos He’s the answer to all the questions you have. 

“But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love Him.””1 Corinthians 1:9

You might be experiencing a season of drought where it’s hard to completely trust God’s plan. I’ll be the first to admit I’ve been there before. But the Word, O the Word! It constantly speaks to me and urges me on to keep believing. There are times when God seems silent. Those times are when you need Him the most, not when you throw in the towel and abandon His plan for you. Times like that are when He’s watching to see if you’ll exercise your FAITH or if you’ll let your current circumstances dictate your future. Without faith we can’t please God. 

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1

Stay encouraged dear one. You have the Creator, the one who calls things that be not as though they were as your Father. Value this relationship you have with Him and honor it by following His will. You were made to bloom. Come out of your bud, your shell, your insecurities and doubts and display the beauty God Himself has clothed you with, inside and out. He has a reason for making sure you were born and raised where you were, the schools you went to, the people you met.  The wrong friends and relationships you had serve a purpose to make you realize you deserve better and eventually lead you to the right friendships. Trust God’s process. There’s purpose behind your struggles, a purpose that’ll refine you and make you grow in Christ to be the best He made you to be.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.” Proverbs 3:5,6

I want to share this lovely song by Moriah Peters. It speaks into my life and fill me with happy, hopeful thoughts with every word.

Stretch out your faith and bloom, darling. :) xoxo

Delali.

Still I Rise

“No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord. And their righteousness is from Me. Says the Lord.” Isaiah 54:17

Have you had one of those moments where God is evidently trying to tell or warn you of something? The other day I went for praying meeting with a number of my fellow missionaries, and my sweet God didn’t fail to speak to a number of us. I was happy for His Word... It shows He was definitely in our midst and He heard our prayers. 

After the meeting, we were all happy and chatty when a good friend of mine drew near and started speaking words of life to me, inspiring, encouraging words about never allowing anyone to belittle me or steal my joy. I was like okaayyy. It was getting a teensy awkward, the way he was stressing it. Lol I was wondering why all of a sudden he was telling me such things, cause nothing had happened and like I said, the atmosphere was all happy and chatty. I wanted to ask why but I was like nah, lemme just take it in. 

O, how God works! The next day, the devil struck and it all began to make sense. You see, God knew way ahead that the enemy was going to try to disturb me. But I had a heads up from my God and had on His full armor. I always do, ready for any attacks. Sometimes God’s care for me leaves me speechless. There are a billion people who call to Him, but He still makes time for me and warns me ahead of battle. Isn’t He an amazing God! He knew the enemy was ready to get at me with meaningless, useless, empty words so He spoke to me through my friend before that. 

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil...Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.” Ephesians 6:10,11,16

There are two forces behind words. One is good and the other, evil. God speaks to us through people, people who have made themselves available for the Holy Spirit to use them, just like my friend. But then again the devil also speaks and he also uses people who invite him in to use them for malicious purposes. And it’s so obvious the differences between the two. As the Spirit-led folk speak life-giving words, the ones who allow the devil to freely use them speak lies and detestable words... What have you been saying lately? Don’t allow the devil to use you. You were made for something greater, I promise.

The devil knows how precious the children of God are because of our great inheritance! Eternal Life! Plus we get to see and be with Jesus! Yes, that super cute, gentle Lover of my soul. :) Ahh, that day will be glorious! Anyways, as I was saying, the enemy who has been kicked out of Heaven is so jealous of our inheritance in Christ, so he roams this earth, searching for someone to devour. You know how the saying goes- misery loves company. This low life goes about using people to spread hatred and lies to eventually lead them off the path of God. Do you ever wonder why some people lose it and commit suicide or become alcoholics or do drugs? They allowed the devil to lie to them that they are not worthy. But hear me, YOU ARE WORTHY! You are so important to God, it’s mind-blowing. If only you opened your eyes to see and be attentive to listen. He whispers gently to your heart. You need only to tune out the devil and his accomplices by feeding your Spirit with God’s Word. Yeah, sometimes it’s not ‘fun’ to read His Word because it convicts you, but truth be told, that’s the best thing you need. And surround yourself with positive, godly people. You do not have to put up with negative people/lukewarm ‘Christians’ who do not support your growth in Christ! 

“So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you of My mouth.” Revelations 3:16

 I’m not perfect and I don’t intend to be but I know who I am in Christ and I can’t allow negative people slow my walk down with HIM. Yes, it’s that serious. This is my eternity we’re talking ‘bout here. And I can’t care how ‘odd’ this may sound to people. God tells us to flee from temptation. Acting on temptation leads to sin. So anyone who tries to tempt me to say things I shouldn’t say or listen/watch things I have no business with, I flee from them. Simple.

 “For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a servant of Christ.” Galatians 1:10

Be friendly to all but friends with few. Those you call ‘friend’, must also be on a journey living for God. And if people try to make you feel guilty for weeding them out of your space, let ‘em know 1 Corinthians 15:33. They cannot call you judgemental if you are quoting the JUDGE! Yurp, that’s right, HE set the standards, not you or me.

Note that I was busy seeking God’s face in prayer with friends when His Word came to me. God can’t speak to you if you keep shutting Him out and not making time for Him. Tune out the wrong crowd and seek Him like a thirsty, panting deer. You must desire to grow deeper in Christ. No lukewarmness. Remember, this battle is not a physical one. We contend not with flesh and blood so prayer is a very powerful weapon. 

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12 

So as the devil tried pathetically to speak negativity to me that day, I simply laughed like always and thanked God for His Word. I do not speak that messy language. I speak positivity! Victory was and is already mine. I thought of how God never speaks in vain. His Word is Life itself. Was He not the one who called the whole world into being with words? O, I serve a living, mighty God! The God who walks with me through fire, the God who intricately formed me in my mother’s womb, my sweet Jesus who calls me Friend. Yes, He calls me friend. John 15:15 How cool is that! :D His ways are higher than the thoughts of man and the wicked plans of the enemy. I’m more than thankful to be serving such an awesome Father.

Do not entertain the devil at all. Sure, he’ll always try to work his way to you but be ready and alert. And like I say, there’re some battles you don’t even bother fighting, cause the armor of God shields you from them plus your level of overcoming is way above it cos you keep growing Spiritually...so the devil’s tricks become petty and old news, more like a broken record. LOL

Hear me, you matter. This world needs you. God needs you to fulfil so many wonderful purposes. Believe it or not, that is why you are alive right now. While you’re still finding your way around your purpose, the devil will try to lead you astray and knock you out. He will use people against you. Don’t let him have it easy. Don’t put up with the devil! Fight him off with God’s Word. Never believe a word the enemy utters against you. Allow God to work in you and wait patiently for the day when God will prepare a table for you before your enemies, the day when they become a footstool for you! Know that the people who continually plan bad things against you will have no choice that day than to praise you. The people who are seeking your downfall, waiting for the fallout, the ones who are desperately waiting for you to breakdown... trust me, these people will have no choice than to celebrate you very soon! As painful as that will be for them, they will. Why? Because God will make them! Psalm 23:5 says so! They should know better than to be messing around with HIS beloved children.

I’ve gone past the point of having petty fights and exchanges with the devil and his partners in crime. Nah, they’re just not worth my time! When the enemy struck that day, I had joy in my heart and kept singing praises to my Jesus. HIS Word about my life is the ONLY thing that ever matters to me. Bits of this poem from Maya Angelou came to mind as I joyfully relished in the beauty of that day. 

You may write me down in history

With your bitter, twisted lies,

You may trod me in the very dirt

But still, like dust, I’ll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?

Why are you beset with gloom?

‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells

Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns

With the certainty of tides,

Just like hopes springing high,

Still, I’ll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?

Bowed head and lowered eyes?

Shoulders falling down like teardrops

Weakened by my soulful cries?

You may shoot me with your words,

You may cut me with your eyes

You may kill me with your hatefulness,

But still, like air, I’ll rise...

The next time the enemy tries to disturb you, let ‘em know that aint nobody got time for that! The devil is attacking you because you have a super high value and he hates it. He’s jealous of it. Seriously, think about this. The devil wouldn’t bother attacking someone he’s already got pinned down. He’s after you with his hateful words and evil actions because you are still out of his reach! Boom! Be glad. In fact, you should be a worried if the world doesn’t hate you. Cos it’s a given, part of the deal. Jesus made it clear that as children of God, the world will hate us because it does not know Him/us.

“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” John 15:18,19

So, is the devil screaming lies into your eyes? Tell him, aint nobody got time for that! Is he struggling to make you feel guilty and belittled? Let him know, aint nobody got time for that! No thwarted word of the enemy can prevail against the mighty, wonderful Word of God concerning your life. I’m not letting any insignificant nobodies dull my shine, and so should you! Like my dear friend spoke life to me that evening, I encourage you to never allow anyone to belittle you. You are a child of God, live accordingly. No one can compete with that.

No matter what the devil says, I’m an incredible wonder, a child of the KING of kings and the Lord above ALL. If this disgusts anyone, ha! Tough luck. This is who I am and nothing and no one can change this! I will continually be loved by my sweet Jesus into eternity!

“For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38.39

 Still, I RISE. xoxo

Delali.

Protecting My Peace

“I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back.” Maya Angelou

There are certain times in our lives when we make the mistake of bothering ourselves to associate with the wrong kind of people. You know, people whose actions and words scream ‘I am mean and I have no respect for anybody’ miles away but you go like, ‘lemme just try and see the good in them and not judge them from afar’. And this often is a big mistake. And then there are those times when for whatever reason you encounter random people who just hate on you for no reason.

 Well, when I encounter such people, I immediately try to disassociate myself from them because after trying to see the good in them, (which is an almost fruitless job) I realize that nah, its better if I shut them out and live my life in peace. Cos hey, we all love to have our piece of mind. And I go to all the lengths possible to protect my peace. Aint letting anybody rob me of it.

My encounter with such hateful people has taught me lots and made me realize that I can’t control how people behave towards me but I certainly have control of how I react. Most times when people step on my toes I keep quiet for a while and look on but then it comes to a point when push comes to shove and Lord knows one can take nonsense for so long. There’s a time to keep quiet, lest you make a fool look wise in his eyes. “Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.” Proverbs 26:4,5  And there’s certainly a time when you need to stand up for yourself. I’ve realized some people mistake my quietness for weaknesses. How far away they are from the truth! I'm all about being nice and kind but there's a point when enough is enough and you gotta speak up.

  There're too many people out there who are so bitter and they end up taking it out on others, bullying people with their vile words, and cruel actions. It’s like they enjoy belittling others to make themselves feel good. This just goes to show how pathetic their lives really are. I mean you must be really shallow to have this distorted perception of preying on others. They must have felt unloved growing up... I mean look at the way they go about being disdainful.

Well, if you are victims of such people, this is me telling you to rise above all that hate and stand up for yourself. Stop thinking your silence will make them go away. You need to speak up now! Let them know they picked the wrong person to mess with. 

Naturally, there are people who don’t like me, and I can’t be bothered in the least. And so should you, lovely soul. If everybody likes you then you must be some real phoney people pleaser. Well, good thing I’m no people pleaser. I say it like it is with no apologies. If I don’t need you in my space, you should be smart enough to pick up on it and stay away. Cos seriously, if you lack decency and respect, you are not allowed in my world! Nobody needs to tolerate inconsiderate, hateful people...people whose words do not edify and only tear down. God’s Word says if any part of you causes you to sin, cut it off. It’s the same thing with people. If they constantly try to bring out the worst in you, cut them off! No apologies offered.

“And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.” Matthew 5:30

I love surrounding myself with people who are positive minded, and correct me in love, not some harsh judgey, prideful, rude manner, people who speak wise words, not perverted nonsense. Seriously, some people know only your name and such and they think they know your whole life. You don’t know the half of it. No, you don’t even know the quarter of it! So hating hypocrites out there, useful reminder; before you go about hating on people, remember to remove the log in your eyes before removing the speck in others. 

“Why do you see the speck in that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” Matthew 7:3

Quite frankly, some very hateful people pass certain comments and all I do is laugh. Odd huh. LOL Here I am living my life peacefully and there you are scheming and plotting. I laugh cause it’s funny how they can’t seem to have any happiness in their lives so they try to drag others down. I go like ‘this person seriously needs a life!’ 

Here I am busily pursuing my goals and dreams and there they are pathetically stalking me and meddling in my life. Hahaha like, for real, ya’ll haters need to get a life! It’s like my life becomes this addictive reality TV show they can’t have enough of. (I could offer 3D glasses if they don’t mind) Bahahaha Well, by all means help yourself to my life cos the more you hate, the happier I am to know that my life is so important to you, that you spend your time getting consumed with my business. 

Like they say, haters will always hate. But when they are hating, remember that you can choose to block them out and allow them to continue wasting their time. The internet makes it so easy for people to cowardly throw just about anything out of their stinking guts, but hey, remember the block/unfriend/unfollow/delete buttons aren’t there for decoration. They are your friends, use them!

“Through You we will push down our enemies; through Your name we will trample those who rise up against us. For I will not trust in my bow, nor shall my sword save. But You have saved us from our enemies, and have put to shame those who hated us. In God we boast all day long, and praise Your name forever.” Psalm 44:5-8

I can’t fathom how some people have this twisted mentality of not understanding that they have been cut off and that they need to keep it movin’. I’ll do anything to protect my peace of mind, so if you’re hateful and have no decency, I simply cut you off! It’s that simple. I can’t entertain foolishness. It’s a good exercise to tweak and weed out people who aren’t adding any value to your life, especially those who were never really anything close to a friend. You should try it, it gives you more room to grow. You’re wayyy better off without such people, I tell ya.

“No weapon that is fashioned against you shall prosper, and you shall confute every tongue that rises against you in judgement. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from Me, says the Lord.” Isaiah 54:17

There’s this line people cross after which they simply can’t get me to be ‘friends’ or anything with them. Sure, I’ll forgive and all but forgiveness doesn’t mean we have to be best friends and neither does it mean I have to willingly choose to entertain you in my space! I don’t need all of that mess you exude.

 Forgiveness simply means I hold no grudge against you. But dude, we aint never gon be like that again after you cross that line. We’re all human and mistakenly hurt each other, cool... but there’s that line. Some people cross that line and they automatically declare themselves enemies. But thing is, I can’t bother to fight my battles alone. I’m too good for that. God’s got my back and that alone is my warrant for victory! No amount of people’s hate can bring me down. Shoot! In fact I shake off all those piles of hate and use them as stepping stones for bigger and better things. 

So, go on and hate all you can, allow the devil to use you all you want. It just goes to show how shallow you are. I know there’re some people out there who openly hate on this blog. Well, news flash! This blog is here and here to stay! :p I’m never going to shut up, I’ll always stand for the truth unashamedly so you might as well get used to it. Like, no one is even forcing you to go about reading blogs you hate. SMH Some people are so hilarious, so warped up in their thinking. If you hate something that much, why do you even bother spending time with it? Doesn’t even make sense! LOL No one is forcing you to read or even follow blogs you despise. You must have some serious deep-seated issues. (Oh, and thumbs up to Google for taking off offensive comments before you even get the chance to.)

Yes, I’m a Jesus follower and no, I’m not a dumping ground for your stupidity. What God requires of me is to be meek and gentle, not a door mat! God asks me to be brave and face battles head on, not to cower behind and be timid. So, yes, I’m a Christian who isn’t scared to say things as they are and wouldn’t pretend to like you if you’re full of foul and scornful words.

Haters always go like ‘who do you think you are?’ Hahah. Well lemme update you. I’m a chosen, beloved child of God, I’m more than a conqueror, I’m worth more than rubies. I’m wonderfully and beautifully made (yeah, as much as you hate it), I’m dearly loved and created for beautiful, mighty purposes. I’m hidden in Christ, made in the image of the Giver of Life, I’m accepted and worthy. I am a daughter of the Light and I can’t help that I don’t entertain shady people. I am the salt of the earth, the light of the world, a city on a hill and I’m gonna let this light within me shine on! Whether you like it or not. I do not need your permission. I was born for a time like this! I’m not defined by the disdainful words that you spit out.

So you sweet souls out there, never let people walk all over you, ok? Know who you are in Christ and always protect your peace. Always. Know when to pick and fight your battles and know which battles aint worth fighting. Cos some are that insignificant. Dear one, don’t shrink down or dull your shine for anyone! Here’s a sweet song from Britt Nicole, hope you enjoy it.

Whatever you’ve been told, you’re worth more than gold! 

Haters, I can’t stress this enough, go get a life! This is me letting you know that you don’t phase me. So, ya’ll relentless haters out there, go get your notepads and pens, and start taking notes! This lass here is on a roll! I pray you renew your minds and allow God’s peace to cleanse you from your profane words, your hatred and bitterness. xoxo

Delali.