Destiny
There’s a viral story circulating about J.K Rowling. She was in abusive relationship, had a miscarriage, was on welfare, and her life had no clear direction. She decided to write a book that was rejected by over ten publishers, but ended up becoming a worldwide phenomenon. She is the author of the Harry Potter series. I’m sure when she was living in the slums of the UK she didn’t see the road to her destiny being paved with failure, loss, and disappointment. Most of us envision a yellow brick road to our destiny. We don’t see how betrayal, heartache, and utter devastation could pave the way to our destiny. I want to encourage you today that no matter what your journey looks like, you are on your path to destiny. It is all preparing you for what’s to come. Don’t give up. Keep on moving. Your destiny lies ahead.
Deeds
Faith has to be accompanied by deeds. Deeds by definition is an action that is performed intentionally. Deeds can be good or bad. The idea is that our faith will bear fruit. A tree is known by the fruit it bears. Faith without works is dead. Faith without good deeds is like a barren tree. It produces no fruit. What are you producing? Are you being intentional with your faith? Is your faith followed by deeds?
Fearless
Fearless by definition means to lack fear. Fear can not exist in a place that is full of faith. Faith is the opposite of fear. Fear is defined by anxiety. Fear is synonymous with worry, dread, and trepidation. To truly be fearless, one must embrace hope and a positive outlook no matter the circumstance. The true journey to being fearless is simply to fear…..less.
Focus
Life is full of distractions that make it very hard to focus. It seems like we get pulled in a million and one directions. Things fall apart at the same time. Kids start acting up. Money gets funny. Life happens. Truthfully, most of us focus on the problem. It’s easier to see than the solution. We focus on our fear. We focus on what’s going wrong instead of what’s going right. We have to condition ourselves to point out the positive. We have to teach ourselves to focus on God in the midst of chaos.
Feed Me
I’ve heard it a million times in church, “starve your fears and feed your faith!” It sounds relatively easy, but how do you feed your faith? Going to church is good. Hearing the word of God is good. Reading the word is better. Applying the word to your daily life is better. Becoming more like Christ is better. So, how do you starve your fears? Ignore the voice in your head. Combat your fears with God’s promises. Keep naysayers at bay. Be mindful of what you’re feeding your spirit. Both your fears and your faith are screaming feed me.
Jealousy
My eyes are green
'Cause I eat a lot of vegetables
It don't have nothing to do
With your new friend - Erykah Badu
I learned that the difference between envy and jealousy is that envy is the emotion of coveting and jealousy is an emotion based on fear of something you have will be taken away. I used to think that envy and jealous were one in the same. 1 John 4:18 reminds us that there is no fear in love. We can exist in love and be jealous. We must stand on the truth that we are stewards of God’s gifts. People, relationships, family, careers and possessions are still God’s gifts to us. We can’t exist in envy either. We can’t make comparisons between our blessings and someone else’s. To exist in envy and jealousy is to exist between covetousness and fear. 2 Timothy 1:7 reminds us that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind. Let’s use that power to overcome envy and jealousy in our lives.
My eyes are green
'Cause I eat a lot of vegetables
It don't have nothing to do
With your new friend - Erykah Badu
I learned that the difference between envy and jealousy is that envy is the emotion of coveting and jealousy is an emotion based on fear of something you have will be taken away. I used to think that envy and jealousy were one in the same. 1 John 4:18 reminds us that there is no fear in love. We can't exist in love and be jealous. We must stand on the truth that we are stewards of God’s gifts. People, relationships, family, careers and possessions are still God’s gifts to us. We can’t exist in envy either. We can’t make comparisons between our blessings and someone else’s. To exist in envy and jealousy is to exist between covetousness and fear. 2 Timothy 1:7 reminds us that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind. Let’s use that power to overcome envy and jealousy in our lives.
Juneteenth
Growing up in New Orleans, in many ways was like being raised in a time capsule. Field trips to plantations were apart of the Louisiana History curriculum. Reminders of slavery and the antebellum South were ever-present on St.Charles Avenue. Drums rang out from Congo Square on Sundays, and Juneteenth was celebrated right before Essence.
I don't think I truly understood the significance of Juneteenth until I was older because I was taught that the slaves were freed by the Emancipation Proclamation. I later found out that slavery simply got re-branded to sharecropping and indentured servitude. It was re-branded again through Jim Crow and redlining. More recently, it was re-branded through constitutional amendments and capitalism. Larger financial institutions rose up in the place of slavery to create the generational wealth gap. Consumer debt is one of the current faces of slavery's re-brand.
Today, as we celebrate and acknowledge the liberation of the Texas slaves, please understand that we are still struggling to be free. Just like those Texan slaves, we are waiting for news of freedom. Delay is not denial. There's still hope. Happy Juneteenth!