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Why do you say what you do about yourself? Why would you ever dismiss yourself from the best offerings of life because of a limitation you’ve accepted as your truth, but it quite simply doesn’t have to be? What you’re believing and what you’re saying MATTERS.

It matters what you believe about God.

Yesterday at the BIG Life Texas Lake Retreat we created one of the funnest days of our lives. We went absolutely no where. We never left the retreat house. We simply played. We played like children again. We put zero limitations on our ability to play.

We literally hit a bouncy ball in the pool for 1 hour and 30 minutes, trying to get to 25 hits back and forth without it hitting the water. In the process, we laughed until we cried. We may have peed in the pool unintentionally from laughter. We collected 15 people on a 6 man floating island and played Red Rover. The laughter could probably be heard for a mile. But then the icing on the cake was late last night, we gathered in the yard and we had BIG Life Horse Olympics.

Now, to fully understand the levels of serious competition of which we were engaged, you must go to YouTube and watch videos of Hobby Horse Competitions. It’s legit. Grown adults compete against one another in riding stick horses. They prance, they gallop, they race. There are points for style and speed. The prancing we did on our stick horses was undeniably impressive. The relay race on our stick horses was a sight to behold. We cheered, we celebrated, and goodness gracious did we have a ridiculous amount of fun.

Why? Because we didn’t declare ourselves too old. We didn’t worry about what a single other person was thinking. We took off all the limitations and we lived.

Why don’t we do this every day, my sisters? I’m not saying ride a stick horse to work tomorrow, however I’m also not saying don’t. I’m saying listen to what you’re saying about yourself, and decide you will align your beliefs and your self-talk with the fullness of God’s offerings. It matters.

Do you remember the story of the Israelites being led by God to freedom and when they came to the border of the land God had promised them, they were afraid to enter. So what did they do? Moses, the leader of the Israelites, sent 12 spies into the land to check out their enemies. Numbers 13 & 14 tells us the 12 spies returned and gave their report. 10 of the spies said the people living in the land were giants and there’s no way they could conquer them. 2 of the spies, Joshua and Caleb said, “Let’s go at once and take the land. Don’t be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us! They have no protection, but the Lord is with us! Don’t be afraid of them!”

But of course, we know the Israelites listened to the negative news and believed it. They chose to live in fear and forfeit the promises of God. As a result, God declared none of them would ever live in the land he was prepared to give them, except for the 2 who returned and believed. For 40 years, the Israelites wandered in the wilderness, short of their promised land, and only Joshua and Caleb survived to lead the way to promised victory.

Now, here’s what Caleb has to says as an old man after all that waiting. Listen close to what he says about God and about himself.

Joshua 14:10-12:

The Lord has kept me alive and well as he promised. Say YES HE HAS!!!!!

I am as strong now as I was when I started on my journey. Say THAT’S ME!!!!!!

I can still travel and I can still fight. Say YES I CAN!!!!!!!

Now give me what the Lord promised me. Say I’M CLAIMING IT!!!!!!

We talk entirely too much about the perils of aging. Oh menopause. Oh my knees. Oh my memory. We believe we are just getting worse, we talk about getting worse, and boy do we ever act and feel worse. We stop playing and living because we believe the absolute nonsense that we’re too old, we’re too fat, or we’re too awkward.

As I read Caleb’s words in Numbers 14, God convicted me of my own beliefs and recent complaints. Am I getting older? Absolutely. Is my body changing? You betcha. But I don’t have to declare defeat and focus on the negative.

The Israelites’ negative beliefs and self-limiting declaration created an unnecessary forfeiture of their promise, and a delay of promise for their children. But not Joshua and Caleb. They never joined the crowd of complaint. They never gathered in the circles of critique. They never spoke the words of defeat. And they were kept in the waiting to be delivered to their promise. They were rewarded!

It matters what you believe about God.

Ask God to check your beliefs and your self-proclaimed limits and dismissals.

There’s a great big beautiful life for you to live. This isn’t over. The best is yet to come. There’s more for you. But you could miss it if you join the crowd that’s always talking about how bad it is, how hard it is, and how much worse it’s getting.

It’s funny how you will start feeling the pains you focus on. It’s crazy how you are limited by the things you accept as your limitations.

Don’t dismiss yourself like that. Don’t limit your future like that.

Listen to Caleb’s words one more time and agree:

The Lord has kept me alive and well as he promised. Say YES HE HAS!!!!!

I am as strong now as I was when I started on my journey. Say THAT’S ME!!!!!!

I can still travel and I can still fight. Say YES I CAN!!!!!!!

Now give me what the Lord promised me. Say I’M CLAIMING IT!!!!!!

Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela

I know you’re staring down some really big, overwhelming stuff right now. I know you’re already thinking this really isn’t likely for you. I know there’s a part of you that really wants to dream and imagine it being possible, but there’s an even bigger part of you that discounts the possibility and brings you back to a place of reality. The reality that big things don’t typically happen for you.

Let me tell you about another reality my sister. A reality that is just as real as anything you have ever encountered in your entire life. The reality is, these big things have never looked so small in the hands of God.

Sitting here, in his mighty, capable and caring hands, it’s all possible. It’s all workable. It’s all feasible. Everything you’ve ever hoped and imagined is made so incredibly possible in the hands of God, it’s almost ridiculous. It’s almost ridiculous how close you really are. It’s almost ridiculous how this could all happen. And it’s totally ridiculous how you keep taking it out of his hands!

Why are you doing that? If you trust God with this, then why are you still allowing those dark worst case scenarios to run through your mind?

If you trust God with this, then why are you still worrying about it?

If you trust God with this, why are you letting it ruin your mood, stall your next steps, and halt your progress?

You don’t have to feel guilty over it, but girl you can surrender it again. Today, right here, you can put it back in his hands.

These are really BIG things to you. So big you can’t see around them. But trust me, to God it all makes perfect sense.

Standing in the middle of a large city, it all seems so confusing with tall buildings, crazy drivers and one way streets. But fly over that same large city in an airplane and you see how the buildings are flattened into perfectly stamped squares in a pattern, and all the roads connect by great design. Oh it’s the same city, however now, you’re above it. Your higher perspective reveals how possible it is to navigate when you can look down on what was previously in your way.

God sits high above these problems in your way and he sees how it’s totally possible to get where you want to go. He sees the grid. He knows the connections. He has every step all within his view, and holds every detail within the palm of his hand. And today he says “MY GIRL, THIS IS POSSIBLE.”

It’s more possible than you ever imagined. It’s more feasible than you ever stopped to think. This isn’t nearly as big as it feels to you right now staring up at all the things standing in your way. This can be navigated. There is a way through this.

Jesus said in Matthew 19:26, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.”

The question is, are you doing this with God, or without God? If this is in your hands, it will remain impossible. If this is in God’s hands, it’s totally in the realm of possibility. How do I know? Because Jesus said so!

1 Peter 5:6 “Humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor.”

Humility invites God to lift you up and show you a higher perspective to get through this. Read it again. HUMBLE yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time HE WILL LIFT YOU UP in honor.

This is admitting we can’t do this on our own. Confessing that without God, I’m a hot mess express. Knowing if I can do anything good at all, it’s a result of God’s Spirit dwelling within me.

And girl, when we don’t humble ourselves, life has a way of humbling us. Either way, God says I just want you to be humble. There’s an easy way and there’s a hard way, we choose the way.

We’ve been studying the kings of the Old Testament. Yesterday we read about King Amaziah. Remember how he had to trust God and send back the hired soldiers and forfeit his money in obedience. Remember how God has the power to help you or trip you up and disobedience is entirely too expensive. After King Amaziah came his 16 year old son, King Uzziah.

2 Chronicles 26:5, “As long as the king sought guidance from the Lord, God gave him success.”

I promise you, the same will be true for you. When you seek God for guidance, he will lead you in the right ways to success otherwise impossible for you. But, I have another follow up promise to share with you – Success does not come without a subsequent struggle. Prosperity can create our greatest problems. Why? Because a little success threatens our humility and pride naturally rises up. When your pride is rising up, God cannot and will not lift you up.

When you have pride, you start thinking your own good works created your success. When you have pride, you elevate yourself and lower God. Then, you’re in the danger zone. Let me tell you, success is dangerous!

Verse 15-16, “King Uzziah’s fame spread far and wide, for the Lord gave him marvelous help, and he became very powerful. But when he had become powerful, he also became proud, which led to his downfall.”

So, here’s what happened – The king decided his power and success positioned him to do anything he wanted. He walked straight into the sanctuary of the Lord’s temple and started taking over the priest’s job. He elevated himself. And right then and there, in his pride, verse 19 says, “Leprosy suddenly broke out on his forehead.” He came into the temple that day a prideful King, and he left a humble leper.

If you do not humble yourself, God will humble you.

When we are humble, God says the timing is right, then he will lift us up to give us that higher perspective. That perspective that flattens the things that have been standing in our way. That perspective that shows how everything is on a grid and connects to the way through this. But never try to get that higher perspective in your own ways. That can ONLY come through God.

And this is when we see just how small these really big things have always been in the hands of God. And know his intent is to give you every good thing he has for you.

God is preparing you. He’s placing dreams and desires within your heart that are bigger than your current reality. He’s outgrowing you for your current surroundings and showing you an increase in territory. An increase that scares you. But remember, it’s big to you, but that’s just your perspective.

So know this my sister, these big things you dream of, these big things you’re trying to overcome, these big things that seem so impossible right now, they’re all so small in the hands of your God. He knows the way to your desires. He knows the intersections to get you where you want to go. He knows the bad directions you’ve been given, and your GPS that always seems to take you through the ghetto. He knows every threat you will come upon and every wrong turn you could ever make. AND HE STILL SEES THE WAY IN PERFECT CLARITY. It’s all flattened with his higher perspective.

There’s a way through this. There’s a way to it. Now let God lead you, sis. Don’t give up on this. Don’t dismiss yourself as not good enough again. No, you are good enough. You are chosen. You are here for a purpose. Just stay humble and don’t allow pride to become your downfall.

One day God is going to lift you up and show you his perspective to see just how possible it has always been, and I hope when he does you’re not disappointed in your progress of moving along in faith. I hope you’re filled with joy to see how it all connected to lead you to good things you could have never done on your own.

What is BIG to you now is so small in the hands of God, and he has ginormous things coming for you when you remain humble. And just when the time is right, he will lift you up and show you!

Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela

2 Chronicles 25:8, “The Lord has the power to help you or trip you up.” Do you want God to help you? Well, we must ask, what warrants God’s help? If you feel God has been tripping you up instead, we must also ask, what warrants God’s resistance?

It’s actually quite simple and there’s no need to make it mysterious or complicated. Your obedience to God warrants his help. Your disobedience to God warrants God’s resistance. When you’re obedient, he will help you in divine and marvelous ways. When you are disobedient, he will trip you up at every corner and absolutely nothing will seem to work.

There are extreme perks to obedience. When you seek to follow and obey God, you are NOT suddenly more loved or more righteous. You are not earning salvation. Ephesians 2:9, “Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.” This is all a gift from God which not a single one of us could ever be good enough to earn. However, there is something undeniable that happens when you seek to follow and obey God, and here it is: You’re on a path God can bless.

Obedience aligns your steps going in the direction of God’s blessings. Obedience puts you on the path of unspeakable goodness. God WANTS to bless you. God wants to help you. Obedience aligns you with the outpouring of his desired blessings and divine help.

Disobedience quite simply gets you off track. And when you’re off track, you miss what God has for you. Blessings never jump off track and go chasing you down dark alleys. God’s blessings are on the path of his intended will, and if you’re straying off the path, those blessings simply never collide with you.

In your disobedience and pursuit of your own way, God absolutely WILL trip you up. Why? Because he loves you too much to sit back and watch you continue down a path without his blessings. Here’s what we miss: God trips us because he loves us. He sees where we’re heading and he knows the blessings we are forfeiting, so he sticks his holy foot out and trips us up.

THANK YOU, LORD!

Right now, think of the times when you’ve been heading in the wrong direction, making the wrong plans with the wrong people, and suddenly absolutely nothing would work for you. You fell on your face. Faceplants are a sweet, sweet gift of God. That’s our moment of forced pause. That’s our opportunity for redirection. If God didn’t love you, he would have let you keep running right into that, but instead his holy foot tripped you.

Looking back we see it. How many times in our moments of failure did we say, “God, why me?” but we failed to hear his answer of, “Because, my girl, I love you too much to let you continue on this path. I have so much better for you.”

Isn’t God sweet? It’s awesome when God blesses us, but it’s life changing when God stops us.

If you have a loved one running full steam ahead on the wrong path, maybe a good prayer would be, “Father, in your loving grace and mercy, would you place your holy foot on their path and allow them to trip? And when they trip, would you catch them and lovingly redirect them?”

That’s what he’s done for you, my sister. He’s tripped you, he’s caught you and he’s redirected you. Now, as you walk the path of his will, he can help you in supernatural ways because his blessings are per-aligned all along the way for you!

Now, let’s dig deeper into this scripture. 2 Chronicles 25:8 says, “God has the power to help you or trip you up”, but what is the context? Who is receiving this warning and what can we learn from it?

King Amaziah was the ruler of Judah. Judah is the land of south Jerusalem. There have been a series of good kings and bad kings. One who does good in the sight of God, then one who does bad. Amaziah sought and followed the Lord, and his obedience was met with God’s help. Now, King Amaziah is facing a battle, and upon a census he found he had an army of 300,000 soldiers. He feared what God had given him wasn’t enough for the next battle, so verse 6 says, “He paid about 7,500 pounds of silver to hire 100,000 experienced fighting men from Israel.” That was a huge financial investment. It was also a guaranteed fighting advantage against his enemies.

Now verse 7 & 8, “But a man of God came to him and said, ‘Your Majesty, do not hire troops from Israel, for the Lord is not with Israel. He will not help those people of Ephraim! If you let them go with your troops into battle, you will be defeated by the enemy no matter how well you fight. God will overthrow you, for he has the power to help you or trip you up.'”

Ahhhh, there it is! Now the king has a choice to make. He’s already invested all of this money and brought all of these troops in from Israel, but he’s being warned by God that is not the right thing to do. But there’s two problems here:

1. Canceling the hired troops doesn’t make military sense. The extra help is needed to win the battle.

2. Canceling the hired troops means all his financial investment is a waste.

I’ve discovered sometimes the promptings of God really do not make human sense. But God is asking, “Will you trust yourself and your own wisdom, or will you trust me, the one who sees it all and has the ultimate power to help you or trip you up?”

That’s what he is asking you right now. Who are you trusting here? Does this always have to make sense to you, or will your next step be guided in faith?

But also, what if being obedient to God costs you? What if you’ve already invested in going one direction and then you realize God is telling you to go the other direction? But God, would you really want me to lose all this money? Would you really want all my work to be wasted here? Let’s be clear – YES. Yes he would. He absolutely WOULD want you to waste money in your obedience and walk away from invested time and energy and resources to follow his will. I know that doesn’t make sense and your human reasoning can’t make that add up, but God holds the divine power to help you here or trip you up.

Obedience warrants God’s help. Disobedience warrants God’s resistance. God’s resistance in this will make absolutely everything fall apart and nothing will work. God’s help in this will open doors you could have never ever opened on your own.

God will not force your obedience. That’s yours to give or withhold. Absolutely no one else can be obedient for you. And no one else can force you to be disobedient. This is your choice to make.

So, what did King Amaziah do? Well, first he considered the cost of obedience. Verse 9, “Amaziah asked the man of God, ‘But what about all that silver I paid to hire the army of Israel?’ The man of God replied, ‘The Lord is able to give you much more than this!'”

Now that is a truth bomb right there. Anything you sacrifice in obedience can be repaid with so much more. God responds to your obedience with his supernatural help, and when you’re moving forward in obedience with the benefit of supernatural help, whew, the storehouses of heaven are opened!

Verse 10-11, “So Amaziah discharged the hired troops and sent them back. Then Amaziah summoned his courage and led his army to the Valley of Salt.” And there, even with a smaller army and less likely odds, they received their victory.

My sister, when you do the right thing in obedience to God, he is able to return much more to you. Walking in obedience leads to the promised victory.

You know what I’m learning? I’m learning disobedience is entirely too expensive.

Seeking and following God in obedience is not easy and it’s not cheap. It will cost you something.

How much will it cost you to be obedient to God here? It might cost you that comfortable lifestyle. It might cost you that guaranteed paycheck. It might cost you those familiar relationships. It might cost you your beloved plans. Whatever the cost of obedience, it will ultimately be cheaper than disobedience here.

God has victory for you, but your chosen next steps determine your path. Will it be the path God can help, or the path God must resist?

How do you know the difference? Oh honey, you simply ask him!

Lord, what do I do here? I genuinely want to follow your will over my own. I wholeheartedly desire your help and blessings. I’m seeking you. I want to be obedient, even when it costs me something.

Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela

Every single one of us have made mistakes. The problem is, some of us believe making that mistake makes us a mistake. The enemy of your soul loves the shame game because it eats away at your soul. Shame corrodes the very part of you that believes you are capable of change.

Shame is a destructive force straight from the pits of hell. Someone you love may be battling shame and you simply don’t understand that’s why they’ve pulled away. That’s why they hide. It’s really not you, it’s the story they tell themselves from their place of soul eating shame.

Living in shame means something in your past now threatens to darken your future. It means you’re being held back from your God-given potential because of your past mistakes.

Now, understand, it is not God’s will for you to be held back, he’s not the one doing the punishing. It is not his desire for you to be reliving the mistakes and shortcomings.

It is God’s plan for you to live in absolute freedom and walk in full redemption. It is by his divine direction that every bad thing would be turned around and used for good. Has that bad thing been turned yet, or is it still creating bad feelings within you? Is it still telling bad stories stirring up shame in you head and in your spirit? Is it still poking at you, taunting you with threats of uncovering, revealing and exposing?

You’ve been blackmailed. Blackmailed by the devil. He is the one threatening to reveal this compromising or damaging information about you. He is the one demanding payment for what has already happened, holding you hostage in a past you can’t go back and change now. So your future is sacrificed because you’re busy making payment for the past.

How much longer will you pay for this?

Girl, are you ready to be set free of that? Are you ready to stare down the one who holds these threats against you and declare they are now powerless? It is time!

I remember as a little girl blackmailing my older brother. I heard him cuss on the school bus. That day as we got off the bus I told him of my plans to tattle on him. Because I had incriminating evidence against him, he agreed to make a deal with me. I wouldn’t tell mom and dad about him cussing, in exchange for his obedience to my every demand. I had him cleaning my room, doing my chores, and giving me his toys so that I would hide his secret.

And it worked. It worked for a long time. One day he didn’t comply with my demands and I reminded him of his offense and the ammunition I had against him. He was tired of me ruling him, so he finally said, “go ahead and tell mom and dad.” So, that’s exactly what I did. I marched my happy little bossy butt right in to my parents and I proceeded to tell them about the time my big brother said a cuss word on the buss.

Oh I felt so powerful. I was sure he would most definitely regret not continuing to hide behind my blackmail. Instead, mom and dad scolded me. I was punished for being a brat and he was dismissed from his wrong doing because it no longer mattered. What’s done had been done and he had punished himself enough over it!

Oh girl, don’t you know the devil has been a brat to you. Just how long has he been threatening to reveal your mistakes? How long has he had you cowered down and missing out? For real, missing out on the fullness of life offered to you because of something you can’t go back and change?

So the payment continues as you are blackmailed by the devil. Reminded of your past. Haunted by that decision. Tricked by your shortcoming. Tormented by your failure. You pay with your shame that causes you to hide. You pay with your regret that causes you to settle. You pay with your sacrifice of the abundant goodness available to you here and now. And you end up living a little life when you were created for a BIG Life!

Revelation 12:10 calls the Devil our accuser. It says he accuses us before our God day and night. That is for real happening!

Hey, let him tell! I want you to imagine the devil running up to Jesus and tattling on you. “Jesus, this girl isn’t who you think she is. She has a dark spot in her past. She really screwed some things up. She isn’t deserving of your love and good plans. She should have absolutely no breakthroughs. She is unworthy! Punish her!”

And Jesus says “Boy, sit down! I knew every single thing she would ever do before I even chose her. I was fully aware of this very thing you’ve been holding over her head when I decided to hang on the cross for her. This is no surprise to me. It’s exactly why I did what I did, so that she wouldn’t have to pay the price for it. Devil get out of here and shame on you for thinking you could hold her captive and make her obedient to your nasty plans.”

The jig is up. The news is out. Jesus knows. And it changes absolutely nothing! His love for you is not cancelled. His good plans for your life are still available. His freedom is greater than any transgression you could possibly be dragging around. The enemy has no place in your life. His blackmail is powerless the moment you decide he can run and tell Jesus on you and it will have absolutely no effect.

1 John 3:8 “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.”

Hey sis, receive your forgiveness. Be healed now. This is over. Satan doesn’t get to hold this over your head for one more moment. It’s done, Jesus knows about it, he paid the price for it, and you are now free to step into every good plan God ever imagined for your life.

Now remember this, you can’t keep sinning and think the devil’s work will be halted in your life. Your sin invites him in. It allows him access. Shut that down or he will continue to eat away at your soul.

Revelations 12:11, “They defeated the accuser by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony.” Jesus’ blood and your told story of how God saved you from your past mistakes is precisely what defeats our enemy. Shame cannot survive in the spotlight of Jesus’ forgiveness. This is why you share your story. This is the power of your testimony. It sets others free from the blackmail of shame. If what you did doesn’t hold you back, then what they did doesn’t have to hold them back either.

You know, after all that time of blackmailing my brother and him being my slave in exchange for me not tattling on him, I’m the one who got in trouble. My brother was completely pardoned and I was punished. That nasty old devil will pay for the years he has blackmailed you! He will be punished for the bondage he created in your life. But you … you get to walk in freedom knowing what you’ve been hiding has already been forgiven.

Romans 8:1 “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.”

This no longer has power over you. No more blackmailing devil! You don’t get to hold this over me any longer. Jesus already knows and still says I’m worthy! So now, I’m going to show up and start living like I’m worthy and nothing can hold me back!

This is where the tables are turned, what the enemy intended for harm is used for good, and God’s destiny for you is realized!

Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela

When God created you, he had an image in mind. He had a life’s purpose and destiny envisioned for you, then he equipped you perfectly for it. Part of the equipping we often miss is the DESIRE for the life we were created for. That’s right, he not only makes you the right person to fulfill the image he had in mind, but he places the desires within you for that destiny.

Psalm 37:4 says the Lord will give you the desires of your heart. What if that actually means your hearts desires originate with God. Your deep core desires are a result of your Creator’s deposits within you. It was all part of his great design of YOU.

If you study enneagrams, you find we are designed so uniquely different. I’m a 7, the enthusiast. (Surprise, as if you didn’t know). I am extroverted, spontaneous optimist. I am playful, high-spirited and practical. My desires are for new and exciting experiences. And this is exactly how God made me. Why? To fulfill my purpose. This is who I needed to be to be the voice that wakes people up and inspires them to live up to their God-given potential. My desires for adventure perfectly align with my destiny of hosting BIG Life Adventure Retreats.

Study your own unique self and you too will find every detail of you is in alignment with a greater plan that excites you.

Ya’ll, God is a genius! He created you on purpose with a purpose. Your personality type, your talents, your tendencies, and your desires work together to guide you exactly where God wants you to go.

How about we stop wishing we were someone else, and start rocking exactly who we were created to be?

How about we stop settling for a watered down, lesser than, cheap imitation version of who God says we are, and rise up and start believing we are his masterpiece handcrafted for a purpose?

How about we start trusting God knows exactly what he is doing and we partner with his plan?

How about we stop giving up when it gets hard and believe God has made a way for us to not only survive, but thrive.

Here’s the problem, when things get tough, we start looking around at what we want RIGHT NOW and we settle for that immediate gratification, sacrificing what we want MOST.

What do you want most? What are your deepest desires? Those desires are there as a guide to the life you were created for.

What do you want right now? Is it in conflict with what you want most? Typically it is.

You most want a strong healthy body. But dang a doughnut followed by a nap sounds pretty ahhh-mazing, doesn’t it?

You most want a fulfilling and successful career. But the leap required to get there is scary, so the security of what you have now is good enough for today.

You most want a healthy thriving relationship. But that doesn’t seem to be knocking on your door, so you’ll settle for what there is just so you’re not alone.

Do you see how the offerings of ease, comfort and security are often in complete contradiction to your deepest desires? And do you see how ease, comfort and security are tools the enemy uses most on us? Honey, if he can’t defeat you, he will settle for detouring you. He would love to take you to Hell with him, but if he can’t have your soul, he will fight for your purpose. He will attack your destiny.

How does he fight? Not always with the scary demons and fiery darts we imagine, no he often fights with freaking nap times that turn into lazy, unlived days. He fights with temptations that derail your progress, defeat your willpower and leave you convinced something is wrong with you and you’ll never change. He battles with offerings of false security that make you think a guaranteed paycheck is better than the uncertainty of the future you dream of. He offers what isn’t quite right, but it’s right now, so you settle.

And this is what kills our potential. This is exactly what sucks the God given desires right out of our souls and has us settling for less in life when we were created for so much more. The easy way. The convenience of comfort. The security of what always has been. The habit of caving to our every little whim of what we want right now, forgetting it comes at the high price of what we want most.

You want out of this pattern? You want to change this habitual cycle of making a tiny bit of progress, getting stuck, giving up, then feeling like crap.

We’re not supposed to feel good when we’re not living good. That’s God built in guiding system to wake us up. Stop ignoring how yucky this feels and wake up, Sis. If you feel like crap, you shouldn’t be trying to make peace with it or just push through another day of doing the same thing. No, it’s a warning.

Listen to me, YOU WERE NOT CREATED TO FEEL LIKE CRAP! Your life’s purpose is not to give up. Your destiny is not one of being stuck.

If you’re stuck, could it be because you have settled a few too many times for the offerings of what felt best right now? And what felt best in the moment was always easier than to keep fighting, pushing, struggling and moving forward.

But what would happen this time if you didn’t give up? What would happen if you showed up with your best effort, remembering you were divinely designed and perfectly equipped for your purpose? What if you had the confidence to know you’ve got exactly what it takes to rise above this challenge and overcome this obstacle? What if you remembered victory is yours and Christ has made the way for you to be victorious? Even when you don’t see the way, you can trust it’s there.

Do you know the story of the 2 frogs in milk?

One day, two frogs were enjoying the day in the barn when they accidentally fell into the farmer’s bucket of milk, and they couldn’t get out. The sides of the bucket were too slippery and the poor frogs were stuck.

They swam and swam, but made no progress. One of the two frogs said “brother, we have been swimming and getting nowhere. This is hopeless, we should just give up now.”

The other frog was not willing to give up. He said, “surely someone will come find us. Let’s keep swimming, something will work.”

After awhile, the first frog began complaining again, “I just can’t swim anymore. I’m tired and this is pointless. Can’t you see this isn’t working? Let’s just give up now and die.”

And so he did. He stopped swimming, he fell to the bottom of the bucket and he drown.

The second frog kept swimming. He never stopped doing everything he could, even when it appeared to make no difference. Eventually, the little frog felt something solid beneath his feet. He then realized all his paddling in the milk had churned it into butter. He stood on the solid butter and hopped right out of the bucket.

This is an image of Galatians 6:9 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

Girl, don’t grow weary now. Don’t quit doing what you can do. Don’t allow the voice of discouragement to cause you to give up again. Imagine where you could be today if you wouldn’t have given up last time! YOU CAN DO THIS.

Your desires for a future life are not just fantasy filled wishes. Your deepest desires were a deposit made by your creator. A guide to your destiny. How about you don’t give up on them this time? How about you choose what you want most over what you want right now.

You may want to stop swimming right now. You may be exhausted from this battle. You may just want to coast in a life that’s a little easier, a little more comfortable and secure … BUT THAT’S NOT THE LIFE FOR YOU.

You were created for MORE, and the truth is, you WANT MORE. You want more because you were never meant to settle for less.

If you do not give up today, you will be one day closer to fulfilling your purpose. If you do not cave today to what you want right now, you will be one step closer to getting what you want most.

Do not grow weary my sister, the harvest of the life you truly want is coming if you do not give up!

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Join Pamela for part 2 of the unscripted Bible study of 2 Chronicles 20 and see how God turns your battlefield into the Valley of Blessings.

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2 Chronicles 20

3 Jehoshaphat was terrified by this news and begged the Lord for guidance. He also ordered everyone in Judah to begin fasting. 4 So people from all the towns of Judah came to Jerusalem to seek the Lord’s help.

5 Jehoshaphat stood before the community of Judah and Jerusalem in front of the new courtyard at the Temple of the Lord. 6 He prayed, “O Lord, God of our ancestors, you alone are the God who is in heaven. You are ruler of all the kingdoms of the earth. You are powerful and mighty; no one can stand against you! 7 O our God, did you not drive out those who lived in this land when your people Israel arrived? And did you not give this land forever to the descendants of your friend Abraham? 8 Your people settled here and built

this Temple to honor your name. 9 They said, ‘Whenever we are faced with any calamity such as war,[d] plague, or famine, we can come to stand in your presence before this Temple where your name is honored. We can cry out to you to save us, and you will hear us and rescue us.’

10 “And now see what the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir are doing. You would not let our ancestors invade those nations when Israel left Egypt, so they went around them and did not destroy them. 11 Now see how they reward us! For they have come to throw us out of your land, which you gave us as an inheritance. 12 O our God, won’t you stop them? We are powerless against this mighty army that is about to attack us. We do not know what to do, but we are looking to you for help.”

13 As all the men of Judah stood before the Lord with their little ones, wives, and children, 14 the Spirit of the Lord came upon one of the men standing there. His name was Jahaziel son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite who was a descendant of Asaph.

15 He said, “Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Listen, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.

18 Then King Jehoshaphat bowed low with his face to the ground. And all the people of Judah and Jerusalem did the same, worshiping the Lord. 19 Then the Levites from the clans of Kohath and Korah stood to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud shout.

20 Early the next morning the army of Judah went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. On the way Jehoshaphat stopped and said, “Listen to me, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be able to stand firm. Believe in his prophets, and you will succeed.”

21 After consulting the people, the king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the Lord and praising him for his holy splendor. This is what they sang:

“Give thanks to the Lord;

22 At the very moment they began to sing and give praise, the Lord caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves. 23 The armies of Moab and Ammon turned against their allies from Mount Seir and killed every one of them. After they had destroyed the army of Seir, they began attacking each other. 24 So when the army of Judah arrived at the lookout point in the wilderness, all they saw were dead bodies lying on the ground as far as they could see. Not a single one of the enemy had escaped.

25 King Jehoshaphat and his men went out to gather the plunder. They found vast amounts of equipment, clothing,[e]and other valuables—more than they could carry. There was so much plunder that it took them three days just to collect it all! 26 On the fourth day they gathered in the Valley of Blessing,[f] which got its name that day because the people praised and thanked the Lord there. It is still called the Valley of Blessing today.

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Where do you turn first when you have a decision to make? Where do you go when there’s a problem? I’m not talking theoretically, I’m talking very practically. How do you make your decisions? What determines your next step? Who do you go to with your problem? Who’s care do you seek?

Did you know God literally LOOKS for ways to defend and show his strength to anyone who is fully committed to him? Anyone who will come to him first is who he wants to offer divine power to. But why is this so hard for us? Why do we try to do it ourselves first? Why do we trust other sources for our answers, and overlook our God who holds it all?

Oh, I know why … because the enemy of our soul works hard to keep us from accessing the power that defeats him every single time. The enemy never wants you to remember your best first choice is always God. You absolutely cannot fail when you seek God first and remain committed to him.

One of my favorite scriptures is 2 Chronicles 16:9, “The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” Oh, the visual of that! God’s eyes are not just taking a casual glance over the earth, skimming over the details – No, he is intently searching. He’s looking at every detail, listening to every prayer, watching every next step, to find those who are fully committed to him. Those who will come to him first. Those who will trust in him with their whole heart.

If that’s what he’s searching for, does he find it in YOU? Really, is that you? Or has God just become your back up plan, your last resort, your emergency call?

If you could only see the supernatural strength he has available for you. If you could only imagine the divine details he has aligned and waiting for you … but you only access them when your heart is turned to him first. When he is your first call. When he is your go-to instead of your backup. When he is your first thought instead of your after-thought. When your heart is fully committed to God, then YOU ARE THE ONE HIS SEARCHING EYES FIND to send his supernatural strength to.

I love the hidden object puzzles. It’s the cluttered scene with hundreds of random objects, and you’re searching for the hidden cat, the hidden sailboat and the hidden chicken drumstick. You have to look closely and not be distracted by the details of everything else you’re seeing. What helps you most is to know what what the hidden object looks like. You get an image of that object in your head, then you search through the mess for the match.

God is searching through the mess for the match. He knows precisely what a heart committed to him looks like, and he will always find it.

The problem is, we struggle to know what God looks like in our mess. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never actually seen God so it can sometimes be hard to know when I’ve found him. God, is that little voice you? God, is that closed door from you? Am I supposed to search for a key to unlock it myself, knock on it, tear it down, or keep moving down the hall?

Well, the good news is, this isn’t about your eyes, this is about God’s eyes. Your eyes are not required to see God. God’s eyes see you. It’s the eyes of the LORD that search the whole earth. And what his eyes are looking for is the heart that is fully committed to him.

That’s your part. Commit your heart to him. Not eyes that can see him. Not a mind that can understand him. Just a heart committed to him. And when your heart is committed to him, he naturally becomes your first call, your go to, your primary thought. I’ve got to talk to God about this. I need to ask him first.

When God’s eyes find a heart committed to him like that, then he sends his special strength to take the next step, make the necessary changes, and move in the right direction. Your committed heart is what he has always been looking for. Not your cleaned up life. Not your checked boxes and righteous routine. Not your polished prayer or perfected image. Nope, honey, just your committed heart.

Let’s go back to our scripture for today, 2 Chronicles 17:9, “The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” These are the words of seer named Hanani speaking to King Asa of Judah. A seer was a person who had the ability to see supernatural things and discern the will of God. Remember, this was before the gift of the Holy Spirit, so it took a special person with a special gift to hear from God.

King Asa was a good leader who continually sought God for guidance. Because of that, God had given him many great and impossible victories. But, after all of his success, King Asa made a mistake and he put his trust in an ally king for his next move instead of seeking God as he had done in the past. The seer is now telling King Asa, because you put your trust in a person instead of trust in God, you missed your chance at the ultimate victory.

What we often miss is God has victory aligned for us. However, we dismiss ourselves from destined victory when we trust in anything or anyone other than God. When our first call becomes a person instead of a prayer, victory if forfeited. When our go-to becomes a google search or ChatGPT instead of our God, then victory is forfeited. Why? Because God’s eyes are searching through the mess to find the heart that is FULLY committed to him, and that heart is the one who gets his supernatural strength for victory.

The MSG translation says it like this, “God is constantly on the lookout for people who are totally committed to him. You were foolish to go for human help when you could have had God’s help.”

Which help do you want here? Do you want human help or do you want God’s help? What’s your first choice?

Now, the next paragraph in 2 Chronicles 16 stopped me in my tracks. Verse 12-13, “In the 39th year of his reign, Asa developed a serious foot disease. Yet even with the severity of his disease, he did not seek the Lord’s help but turned only to his physicians. So he died in the 41st year of his reign.”

Here’s what this is NOT saying. This is not saying doctors are bad. This is not saying medical care is wrong. This is not saying God punished King Asa for going to a human doctor and made him die.

What this is saying is King Asa’s heart was not seeking God FIRST, and because of that he forfeited special strength available to him. King Asa was ONLY turning to physicians and that was the problem. That problem forfeited victory.

Where are you placing your primary trust? Really, WHO IS YOUR PRIMARY CARE? Is that still God or has that become a man in a white coat or a woman with a stethoscope?

God’s hand can move THROUGH a physician, but you must seek God FIRST over the physician. A doctor, a diet, a pill, or an answer from ChatGPT absolutely does NOT replace crying out to God.

God may have victory here for you, but you will dismiss yourself from it if you don’t seek him first and fully.

Remember, God’s eyes are intently searching the whole earth and he’s just looking for a heart that is fully committed to him. A heart that knows HE is the answer. A heart that first wants to seek God for the answer. Will he find your heart in is search? Your heart, hidden in this mess with all these problems and distractions. Your heart, still committed to him, coming to him as your first call.

Problem – seek God.

That’s the heart God is looking for and when he finds it, he has special strength to pour out!

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God has been waiting for this very day. Waiting for you to just come to him with your broken pieces, your disappointment, your fears and your worries, and seek him with your whole heart. Girl, why did it have to get this bad before you finally came to him? Why do we wait? I’m not sure, but that is often what we do.

But here you are today, at the end of yourself feeling quite hopeless, and this is where you drop that heavy burden and you surrender it all to God. That is what he has been waiting for.

While you’ve been away, wandering about through life, God hasn’t hated you. Honey, he has always loved you. He has always awaited your return to him. He has wanted nothing more than for you to seek him so he can reveal himself to you.

So, here you are … and God sees you! He saw you as you decided you would try this on your own. He saw you as you got busy with life and put him on the back burner. He saw you as you made a mess. But he never once stopped loving you. He waited.

He’s been waiting through these storms. Waiting through these struggles. Waiting with all the power in the world to help you, guide you, rescue you and restore you. The only thing you have to do is decide today is the day you begin seeking him with all your heart and soul.

Right here, at this very moment, you can whisper in your heart, “God, I want you to be the Lord of my life.”

You’ve tried this on your own and it’s simply not working. But when you put God back in his rightful place over your life, things start changing! You won’t be a magically new person with a brand new fixed life over night, but God will begin doing his work to make you new. As you seek him with all your heart, your daily habits and priorities will begin to change. Your thoughts will become different. You will respond to the same problems in a different way. And with these gradual, God directed changes and shifts, your life gets back in alignment with the good plans your Creator has had for you from the beginning. That’s how it happens!

It all begins with a decision to seek Him. That’s it. It doesn’t have to be any more complicated than that. Just decide you want God in your life and you want to give him your life.

Our Bibles are filled with stories of people just like us who would lose their way, wander away from God, make a mess, then God would wait for them to come back. And no matter how many times they had wandered away, the moment they called out to God again, he responded. But it was always life’s troubles that brought them back to God. And that’s what’s bringing you back right now isn’t it? Trouble.

GOD CAN HELP WITH THAT! He’s been waiting for you to seek him for this.

2 Chronicles 15:4, “But whenever they were in trouble and turned to the Lord and sought him out, they found him.” Verse 12, “Then they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord with all their heart and soul.” Verse 15, “They earnestly sought after God, and they found him. And the Lord gave them rest from their enemies on every side.”

I might not know what enemies you’ve been battling and what wars you’ve been in, but I know God can give you rest from all that. I know he can strengthen you to overcome and break free from that struggle. I know the answer for every single problem you face is to simply SEEK GOD.

We are promised that when we seek God, we will FIND HIM.

Deuteronomy 4:29, “If you search for the Lord with all your heart and soul, you will find him.” Verse 31, “For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not destroy you or forget the covenant he made with your ancestors.”

You are under covenant with God. An agreement … if you seek him, he will make himself found for you. If you ask him for help, he will help you. If you call on him for guidance, he will guide your next step on the right path. BUT IF YOU DON’T, then he will let you do this on your own. He will let it fall apart. He will let it all be a massive mess. And he will wait for you to seek him again.

And that’s what he’s been doing. He’s been in covenant with you, waiting for you to seek him. It’s time to get back in covenant with God and give him all your heart and soul. Give him a permanent place in your life instead of crowding him out.

What does that mean? That means consider him in everything you do. Look for his fingerprints on the details. Whisper a continual thank you to him for your blessings. Wake up thinking about the gift of life he has given you. Seek him before you take your next steps. Genuinely ask him to forgive you for what you’ve been doing wrong and help you do better. What this doesn’t mean is a life consuming miserable ritual with endless boxes to check and guilt trips when you don’t.

Jesus paid the price we couldn’t pay and set us free from all of that. Now, you’re simply invited into a relationship with your Savior. You’re invited into this covenant with God that promises when you seek him you will find him, and when you offer your whole heart to him he will completely rescue you, renew you and revive you.

You don’t have to understand this all to just accept it. Today is your day to seek God. Your promise is in 2 Chronicles 15:15, you simply need to insert your name and receive it. We’re going to read this verse together and make it personal. So, when I say “God’s girl”, you insert your name. Are you ready?

“God’s girl (insert your name) earnestly sought after God, and she found him. And the Lord gave her rest from her enemies on every side.”

Mariana earnestly sought after God, and she found him. And the Lord gave her rest from her enemies on every side.

And you, yes YOU, when you earnestly seek after God, you will find him. And the Lord will give you rest from enemies on every side.

Ahhhh, God has been waiting for this! The angels of heaven are rejoicing because there you are! God’s girl has come back to seek him and now he can really help you!

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God has promises for your life. However, promises are a gift that is never forced. It is always up to the recipient to claim the gifts of God’s promises. What unclaimed promises are waiting for you, my sister?

Yesterday, in episode #1893: A Heart To Do More, we read all of 1 Chronicles 17. David had a heart to do more for God than God ever asked of him. After all of David’s successes, he wanted to do something great for God, so he decided he would build a Temple for God’s presence to reside in, rather than a portable tent. And in response, God tells David, “No, you are not the one to build a house for me. But after you die, one of your sons will build my house. Now David, I am building a house for you. A dynasty of kings. From you will come a King over my kingdom forever.”

God blessed David more than David could have ever blessed God. He sees our heart and responds to the desires within our heart. I’m learning the desires of my heart are growing, but they will never catch up with the desires of God’s heart for me. He will always meet me and raise me!

Isn’t that what God does? Just like a hand of poker, he meets us and then raises us. What he has to invest in us is always greater and bigger.

Now, imagine for a moment being David. He is King. He has gone from rags to riches. He is loved and celebrated. Everything he does turns to success because of God’s hand. But when he decides to build a Temple for God, God tells him no, you’re not the one to do it. That must have hurt a little.

Imagine having a beautiful voice and a genuine heart to sing for God, but God says, “No, you’re not the one I’ve chosen to sing for me.” Ouch.

Imagine being Michelangelo with all the artistic talent in the world to paint and being told by God, “Nope, you’re not the one I want to do my painting.”

Wouldn’t your feelings get hurt? Wouldn’t you question why God wouldn’t choose you? Wouldn’t it feel personal? Wouldn’t you pull away a little and get pouty? I know I would.

But David trusted what he could not understand. He didn’t have to understand God’s decision or selection, he didn’t even have to agree with it, he just trusted it. It wasn’t what he wanted, but it was what he accepted in faith.

Later, God reveals to David why he wasn’t the chosen one to build his temple. God said in 1 Chronicles 22: 8-10, “You have killed many men in the battles you have fought. And since you have shed so much blood in my sight, you will not be the one to build a Temple to honor my name. But you will have a son who will be a man of peace. I will give him peace with his enemies in all the surrounding lands. His name will be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel during his reign. He is the one who will build a temple to honor my name.”

When God says no to you, will you trust him without understanding why? Will you lean in instead of pulling away?

You know what David did when God told him he was not the chosen one to build his Temple? He began gathering the materials for building so when the one God had chosen was ready, it would all be there for him. Now that is remarkable. God, even if you don’t choose me to build it, I will help gather for it!

David leaned in, and as a result he received the promises of God that were greater than he could have ever imagined.

God promised to build a dynasty of kings for David. And he did. He promised to bring from him a King that would rule God’s Kingdom forever, and he did. Jesus is the descendant of David. He is the King of Kings. Remember, Jesus is identified as an ancestor of David more than any other person in his lineage. That’s the fulfillment of God’s promise!

Has a misunderstood move of God caused you to pull away? When you don’t understand, do you distance yourself? My sister … there are promises on the table still for you.

Promises are true and powerful, however if unclaimed they are wasted. What promises has God made for you that are being wasted because you’re not claiming them as yours?

David shows us how to lean in even when we’re told no, even when it doesn’t make sense, even when God’s ways cannot be understood, and claim the fullness of his promises for our lives. It’s all a matter of trust. Do you trust God knows what he’s doing? Do you trust God’s promises are better than your preconceived notions?

Today, I’m suggesting a few of God’s promises, not all for sure because there are so many, but starting with a few to make sure you’re claiming them. Don’t leave God’s promises unclaimed!

1. God promises forgiveness. 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” There is absolutely no need for you to carry that guilt or shame. That’s a burden Jesus paid to take from you and honestly, you have no business trying to reclaim it. You have the promise of forgiveness, but you must claim the promise and receive it as your own. Have you? I mean really, have you received the promise of forgiveness or are you still carrying that guilt around with you?

2. God promises peace. Jesus said in John 14:27, “I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” Well that’s a promise left on the table a whole lot. Peace has been paid for for you. Bought in full. Peace for your mind. Peace for your heart. You really don’t have to be so upset and worried. The promise is here for you. Will you claim it? Jesus, I claim the peace you have promised. I know this much, he truly gives peace that doesn’t make sense. In the middle of the craziest storms in life, you can have an unshakable and unspeakable peace. That’s a promise. Claim it.

3. God promises guidance. Psalm 32:8, The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.” That’s a promise. You can claim it and receive it, or not. He will never force his guidance on you. You can choose to wander around lost, that’s your right, oh but honey, it’s not best. Let him guide you. He sees what you simply cannot see.

4. God promises growth. Philippians 1:6, “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” You aren’t who you used to be, and that’s because God has never given up on you or stopped working on you. Your growth is promised to keep getting better, but you have to believe it and claim it. Stop saying you’re stuck. Stop saying you can never change. The promise of God tells me otherwise!

These are just 4 of the many, many promises of God. But start with these 4. Leave nothing on the table. Claim these promises as your own. Not because of who you are, but because of who God is. You can’t earn them, but you can claim them.

My prayer for you today is this: May you claim the full redemptive forgiveness of Jesus and never again pick up that old shame. May you be filled with an undeniable peace in your heart and in your mind that can only come from God. May you receive divine guidance for your next step, and pick up your foot in faith to take it. And may you embrace your journey of growth as you become more like the girl God created you to be.

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