Did you know that the promises of God require you too. I know it sounds kind of funny, but it’s for real.
So it’s like God could have all the plans and all the things for your life, but we gotta participate.
So today we’re talking about the promises of God.
Is that a scripture in the Bible?
I’ve always heard this phrase, the promises.
So have y’all ever looked up to see if that’s an actual scripture? I think so. Pretty sure it is.
Y’all like, “Is she even saved?”
Okay, so in the scripture it says, “2nd Corinthians 1:20. For all of God’s promises have fulfilled in Christ with the resounding yes”
So, the promises of God require us, right? So, let’s kind of dive into what all that looks like.
Now, the Bible says that He knew us before He formed us. That he had a purpose and a plan for our life before we were ever in our mother’s womb.
He just knew it.
But the one thing that I don’t think that we really understand is that God can’t make us do anything. I mean he can but he doesn’t typically make us do anything.
He invites us on a journey. He invites us into this invitation to have all of what he says and we can have and be who he’s called us to be.
All the things, it’s all an opportunity. You know what I mean?
Let’s talk about marriage.
So one of the things in my life is, as y’all know, I’ve been married and got divorced.
And I remember when me and my ex were dating, everywhere we would go, the prophet would find us and would prophecy.
I mean, just prophecy so much.
I remember one guy when we were in this church full of people and at the end of the service he makes a beeline for me and looks into my eyes and starts prophesying.
And then we go to dinner and then they start prophesying about us as a couple.
We would go to the Sunday service at our old church and they had a prophetic night and we were in this back room and they prophesied so many things about myself, my ex-husband and our marriage.
So much stuff.
And I remember when we were going through something like separating or whatever. I was so confused.
I was so hurt and so confused.
Like, I don’t understand.
If God says that this and this, how could this be happening?
God is a fraud. He’s a fraud.
I was so angry and it took a while, but I finally got the revelation of, “Hey, wait a minute. I am not a fraud. Here’s what I wanted to have happen. Here’s what I invited you and your husband to do. I invited y’all into this, but you all got a decision. You all got to decide if you are gonna go down the path that I predestined for you”
It’s like he said to me, “Your husband had to be faithful or not. He had a choice of submitting his desires to God or falling prey to them and acting them out”
He had a choice and he made the decision that he was not gonna honor God with his body or honor our marriage.
So when he makes his own choice, God doesn’t make him go and do anything.
And then God reminded me of something else.
There was this guy that I knew for a long time and he was just like, “I love him for you and I love you for him”
And for whatever reason this guy never pursued me.
And so I didn’t know he was interested.
So I felt like I was caught in a rock in a hard place.
And years later when I went to divorce, God reminded me of him and I reached out to him and was just talking to him about everything and we’re just talking and I realize now that, “You liked me all this time, but you never said anything”
And he just kind of said, “Well, I was really shy” And I said, “Well, I understand that, but that’s not my problem to make you not be shy. If you wanted me, you should’ve…”
And so we never dated and all that because even though I was then single, he was caught up in some stuff.
So, here was this opportunity again where he and I had an opportunity to be together, but he decided that he wanted to stay all up in his stuff.
And I’m like, “You go right ahead cuz I’m not doing a second round of what happened with me and my ex-husband”
So here were these plans and these promises, right?
And then when I think about now how God is like showing me all these dreams and these visions and all this stuff.
He goes, this is you. This is the purpose and plan for half of your life.
For example, when he asked me to get on TikTok back in 2020, I had a choice.
I could say, no, I’m not getting on that app with all those kids dancing. Or I could say, I don’t understand what is going on here, but I’ll do it because you have a better understanding than I do.
And here’s what happened.
I don’t get it. I don’t understand it. I know you. I trust you. I’m gonna go and do this.
My whole life has changed from 2019 to now 2022.
They are drastically different.
I can’t even begin to tell you how different they are. And it’s because I got an invitation to go on this journey with God, and I chose to say yes to that invitation. Right?
And so, today’s article we’re talking about, how God’s promises require us is like here’s the promise.
We get an opportunity to obey Him.
Let’s just say we want to get married since we’re talking about marriage.
We get an opportunity to go, “Okay, what is it you want me to focus on right now in this season? Where do you have me? What do you want me working on?”
And if we’re constantly just on this journey with God, then when that time comes, we meet him.
It happens because we’ve been on this journey with God.
Versus a person who is on their own journey where they’re not seeking God or they’re going and doing this and that and they meet somebody along the way that has nothing to do with their calling and purpose or whatever.
Then it takes them of course from meeting potentially the one God wants them to meet.
I don’t think there is a perfect one, but you know what I’m saying here, right?
And so I’ve just realized that God has plans.
And the only way that that thing comes to pass is if we are aligned with God.
So let’s just say when a man wants to play football. And let’s just say God says he’s gonna be the next Tom Brady NFL quarterback.
Well, he can have that prophecy over his life while he’s in little league but he has to choose right to go to school. He has to choose to eat well. He has to choose to exercise and be disciplined.
So that he can eventually go to play college ball. And so he eventually can get drafted.
He has to do all this stuff first.
If he’s in little league and he just starts doing ballet and then he’s a rapper and then he is an engineer, and then he just goes and does all over here. But God told him he wanted him to do this.
He could be a very successful engineer. Hands down.
But the promises of God require us and it requires us to have this relationship with him to where he can speak to us. Where we can hear him, and where we choose to obey him.
Does that make sense?
And so one of the things I tell people about is how I talk to God about everything and they think I’m crazy.
I’m like, “I don’t think you understand the benefits of talking to God.”
One of the benefits of talking to God is that the one that knows everything, the one that can open every door, close every door, the one that can do all the things is talking to us.
He’s giving us wisdom and strategy and all that for our life.
And if we will just talk to Him and we’ll let him talk to us and then us saying yes to what he’s doing and where he’s going.
If we just continue to say yes to the one who created everything then we’re always gonna be on the right path.
But it’s when we get on our own path that we get off key.
There’s so many things I wish I never would’ve done or people I’ve never been friends with.
There’s just so much stuff that I just got my own self into because I wasn’t seeking the Lord about it.
I’m not condemning myself or condemning anybody else.
I’m just saying that there’s just a lot of stuff that I would not have gotten into and situations that I had to come out of. Had I not been on course with God.
I’m glad now that I’m like, “Okay, God, I’m with you”
So, let me share about something that just happened recently.
This is so funny but it’s not funny.
So I don’t think God really enjoys me being on dating apps.
Sometimes He doesn’t say anything, and other times he is like the clearest day.
Well, the other day I decided to sign up for Facebook dating.
I’m there and I’m just talking to different people, not doing anything bad or anything like that.
And, one night I had a dream. The dream wasn’t a bad dream, but I couldn’t decipher the dream.
I could not figure out what the dream was saying.
So then the next night I had another dream and I was like, “What is going on?”
And I’m writing all these dreams down, trying to interpret them.
Typically I’m able to interpret somewhat. And I was just, I couldn’t get it.
So then the third night I had a dream and I was like, “What is going on again?”
He is really persistent about something.
I just said, “Are you trying to talk to me about something?” and He said yes.
And I’m just not hearing Him clearly about what He was trying to say.
So then I told my best friend, and I don’t typically ask her to interpret my dreams, but I just shared this to her just so she can hear it.
And so I read to her the three dreams.
And she said, “Well, I just feel like that the recurring theme is that there’s distractions, that you’re distracted by something. That there’s something in your past. You just keep people in your past, just keep showing up in your future and you just seem so distracted”
And so I said, “Is this a distraction?”
So then the next morning I was talking to God. I was like, “God, are you saying that? Are these dreams showing me that I’m being distracted?” And he said, yes.
And I said, “Well, what’s distracting me?”
There’s this guy that I know and I said, “Is this guy distracting me?”
He’s like, “No”.
I also said, “Is my work distracting me?” He said, “No”
“Is it the Facebook dating app?” And then I heard him say yes.
And then I just started to laugh, but I was like,”So this is why you sent me three dreams back to back”
But, “Why is it distracting me?” And He said, “Because I have a promise for you. I have a plan for you. I have somebody for you, and this app is gonna distract you. These people are gonna distract you and detract and all this stuff”
He was very persistent, so I deleted the Facebook dating app and I haven’t had a dream about that since.
Now we’ll see what happens in a couple days in case I heard wrong, but I was like, “Oh, wow. He’s really, really persistent because of his promises. He’s telling me that my promise is not there. And if you stay there, you’re gonna get off track from what I actually have for you”
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m like, “Jesus, it has been seven year”
But He’s saying, “Yeah, I understand, but don’t get distracted. As you wait for me, just keep focused on what I have you focused on”
This is God’s promise.
He’s so kind. I’m glad that we’re friends and that He can talk to me. That He will be persistent and I’m alert and I’m aware that something is happening. And in that way I can ask and go, what is going on?
So, I just wanna share this with you today, that God has many promises. He has plans for your life, but you have to be with Him.
You’ve gotta be seeking Him, talking to Him, engaging with Him.
Not with the prophet or not with the pastor.
Those people are great, but with God, He is the greatest.
He is the one that will talk to you more clearly about you.
That He will talk to others about you.
The prophet can hear whatever they hear, but God wants to talk to you, to you about you.
Okay?
So now I want you to have a conversation with God and go, “Okay, Jesus, in what way am I off track? How am I on track? What is it you want me to know right now that I don’t know?”
I ask him that question all the time. What is something you want me to know that I don’t?
I’m always pleasantly surprised by that. He always says, “I love you”
I embrace that every time I hear Him say that.
I want you to do that because I want you to get everything that God has for you, every single promise. And so that if you are off track and you, my friend could get back on track.
Going on a journey with God can prove to me one of the most amazing experiences of your life, but it can also prove to be a little confusing. I want to walk alongside you and help you to not only fall more in love with Jesus than you are today, but truly discover all that lies within you.
The bible identifies 25 different spiritual gifts that are still in operation today, and it may be surprising to you, but one or some may also lie within YOU!
We have created this simple quiz that is designed to be a guide for you.
I’ll share this with you. Today, your results may say one thing, but in six months as you grow, it may reveal something else.