Today, I woke up and thanked God for everything he has done in my life. Things that only God could do. I reflected on the time he stopped me from slamming into the back of a truck at 90 miles per hour when traffic slowed without me realizing that I didn't have time to come to a complete stop. I remember the way the car tires screeched as I slammed on the breaks, the feeling of terror that I was about to die, and although at this point in my life, I had not been committed to God, I somehow managed to turn the wheel and end up perfectly in the next lane.

God does astonishing things all the time. In the verse today, Moses took the time to remind Israel of some of the great things he had done for them, namely their deliverance from Egypt. God rescued Israel from slavery in the most dramatic way. He sent Egypt trials, signs, and wonders. He did things that put the people of Egypt in awe. The verse tells us that the reason for this method of rescue was for Israel to know God in a personal way. God wanted Israel to know his power and realize that no one was like him.

There is absolutely no one like our God. Sometimes we must remind ourselves of the marvelous things that God has done. What can you marvel at today? How has God made you aware of who he is and what he can do in your life? When we remember the goodness of God, it encourages us that no matter what happens around us, our God is powerful and able to bring us through troubles.

A Prayer for Today
Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you today for your incredible power. We thank you for being our God; no one is like you. We look over our lives and remember all of the beautiful things you have done for us, such as the moment you saved us, the times you have healed us, and the troubles you have rescued us from. We are in awe of you. Today, we rejoice in the fact that you are our God. Be with us today; help us pause and reflect on the blessings you surround us with every day. Please help us be encouraged by the victories you have given us and those still to come. Thank you for your love, grace, and mercy. Thank you for our salvation. Thank you for who you are. We love you today and always. In Jesus name, we pray, Amen.

Blessings throughout your day,
Lakisha B.

Every New Year, we make new plans. It's a time of renewal, starting over, or starting something for the first time. We have so many goals for ourselves. Sometimes we ask ourselves, "Can I do this?" My answer is, "Yes, if God directs your goals, yes, you can." God never gives us a goal he doesn't allow us to accomplish. 

Each one of us will experience success differently. We may not know when or how our success will occur, but God's providence happens to each of us. God knows the plans that he has for you, and he is the one that will bring your success to fruition. Some of you will do great things this year, some next year, and so on. But there is a truth to your situation you WILL be successful. Your success will happen not because of your strength, knowledge, following, or other things in your life but because you love God, and he loves you. If God is leading you, he will give you success.

Knowing that God is directing your success doesn't mean that you grow passively. It also doesn't mean that you won't have struggles. The best thing you can do is to give your goals everything you've got. Still, be careful of self-reliance. Be cautious of the mindset that your success is all because of YOU. Success is a gift from GOD. If you are blessed to succeed, know that God has done it. 

Because we can trust God with confidence, the surety of our success is fantastic news. It means that you don't have to worry about whether your knowledge is enough, if your following is enough, if you speak elegantly enough, etc., God gives you favor and alignment. He aligns the things in your path that will help you succeed. These include people, finances, and opportunities. He will cause you to be in the right places at the right times and more. 

In 2023 let your mantra be "I trust God." In him alone is where we put our faith. In him alone is where we put our trust. In him alone, we place our dreams. We believe God to bring about a promising future. In him alone, we will succeed.

Ecclesiastes 3:13 says, "And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God." 

Let us enjoy the gift of success that will come as God brings it about. Believe that 2023 is going to be an incredible and prosperous year. Let your spirit and heart be blessed as you trust God and move forward.

Let's dive in!
Happy New Year!

​-Lakisha B.

I was sitting here thinking about all the wonderful things that God has done in my life. There have been so many painful situations that he has brought me thorough, so many times when I didn't have answers and he helped me through things. I'm sure that despite tragedies that have happened, things that made you cry, or get angry, you can still look back and see some amazing things that God has done in your life, even in waking you up to see another day. As I look back and meditate on the things that God has brought me through, I can also see times when I didn't really give the problem to God. Instead, I tried to fix it myself, only making matters worse, until God stepped in and said, "Let me handle this."

In life there are many things that we try to fix. I think about Sarah and how she tried to fix her situation of not bearing any children. Only to find herself in agony over the actions and attitudes of her handmaid Hagar. She had given Hagar to her husband Abraham in order to bear children. Ultimately God had a different plan and Sarah had ended up having a child of her own. When this happened, she saw that her handmaid despised her, and Sarah treated her harshly. If only Sarah would have waited, she would have realized what took her years, trying to conceive, only took God seconds, when we spoke his word, "Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed (Gen 17:19)." Then, I think about Rebecca the wife of Isaac and how because of favoritism she took it upon herself to "make God's plan happen." She devised a plan of trickery so that their youngest son Jacob could receive the blessing from his Father (Gen. 27:6-38). All of this only to lead to division and discord amongst the family. Then, I think about us. How have we "tried to help God out," only to end up with a mess on our hands? More problems, more insecurities, more issues.

If only we could wait on God and trust that his promises would happen without our help. That things would fall into place by us just trusting him, walking with him, and seeking him. What would it look like to just surrender? To let go of the hard work of pursuing and to just surrender to God. Life would be so much easier, and we would have less headaches. But... we all know that surrendering is easier said than done.

Sometimes we don't have all the answers to every why, how, what, or where question. Why is this happening? How do I get through this? What can I do? Where do we go from here? Sometimes it just takes surrendering. If you notice, most of the time, it's when you say, "I give up, " that God shows up. I mean we often laugh about it, and we say to ourselves, "God you really have a sense of humor." But maybe, just maybe, God was saying, "Look, I was just waiting for you to give up and give it to me."

Maybe the key to having peace and getting through tough stuff, is to just give up earlier. Usually, we exhaust our options and then surrender when there is nothing else we can do about it. Yes, you surrender, but it isn't a peaceful surrender. This is more like a white flag, raised and waive, after you realize you are going to lose this war. Bloody and bruised we come to God. Giving up says "Well God this is a lost cause," and God says, "Well, let me show you that it's not." Surrendering is taking our issues to God at the onset of the problem rather than waiting until we get to the point where we feel it's the end. Surrendering is raising the white flag even before the battle begins,  when your mind, body, and spirit are in tact. This is where we say, "God, it's in your hands." 

And God's Word speaks back to us...

"Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you." (2 Chronicles 20:17 KJV)

​-Lakisha B.