GOD'S TIMING IS THE RIGHT TIMING
IT’S BETTER TO WAIT A WHILE AND HAVE THINGS FALL INTO PLACE, THAN TO RUSH AND HAVE THINGS FALL APART
One of the hardest things to do is be patient and trust God’s timing, especially when we live in a time where everything happens fast and waiting is frowned upon. When you look at social media, no one talks about the struggle of things, having to wait longer than expected, so on and so forth. But I am here to tell you that when you wait on God it’s so worth it. I’ll share a bit of my story with you to put things in a deeper perspective for you.
When I first moved to Nashville I did not have a car, but at that time it wasn’t a bad thing because I was living on campus and if I needed a ride, I would catch one with a friend. When I moved off campus I still did not have a car and at that time I definitely could not afford one because I was moving into my very first apartment. Again during that time, it wasn’t a bad thing because I stayed in a central place where I could catch the bus back and forth to work and home ( funny thing is, there was a bus stop right in front of my apartment, so can we talk about God’s favor) . Now don’t get me wrong, there were times when things were rough because I would be standing outside waiting on the bus in thirty degree weather, I was always sick, I would be on the bus late at night, walking to get groceries, and the list goes on. I would pray for a car, but realistically I could not afford one.
Riding the bus was literally apart of my daily routine and there were plenty of times when I got frustrated with the process simply because I was looking at my current situation. Having to ask for rides on top of getting Lyft and Uber every day became draining because they received so much of my money I could’ve been a brand ambassador. Overall it was a lot for me but I kept pressing on. I started working two full time jobs to try and save for a car and it was all finally coming together, so I thought.
After saving some money up, I finally had a down payment ready and I found a car that I liked at CarMax. I put my payment down and they let me know when my car would be ready to pick up. When that day came, the car was actually stuck and they could not get it out of the vending machine. Each day I would call and there was still no progress with getting the car down. So due to their lack of communication I asked for my money back and decided I did not want to proceed with the purchase. I thought I saw a little glimmer of hope but that was quickly shut down, however we have to learn how to be thankful for the things that don’t work out. To my surprise one day I was overlooking the paperwork from the car dealership and noticed that I would have been paying them back double the amount of the car (I had to finance it). When I saw that, I was so grateful because that would have put me in a serious financial bind.
Fast forward to January 2020, I got my very first car which I absolutely love and I thank God daily for it. I had been without a car for about a little over six years but I could not see what God was doing. I got the car after I secured a higher paying job, I did not have to put anything down, and I walked off the lot with my blue Hyuandi Sonata GLS. You cannot tell me that God is not concerned about his children. Everything happened strategically in God’s timing. Had it happened a minuted before, I would have run into many problems I’m sure.
I got my car in January and Covid-19 showed up around late February early March. I’m not sure if it’s registering for you yet, so I’ll wait.
God knew that this pandemic was coming and that I would need a car to minimize getting sick from riding the bus daily and other things. God allowed every thing to work out for my good and it feels good to know God will block us from the things we truly want because He sees what we need in His timing.
I say all of that to say, His timing is so much better than ours, and if you want to make him laugh tell him your plans. Whatever you are waiting on, wait with expectancy and believe it’s on the way.
Stay Blessed!
DIVINE PURPOSE
GOD IS IN THE STEPS AND STOPS OF YOUR LIFE
Hello all and welcome back!
With every thing that is going on in the world right now, a lot of us have more time on our hands to reflect over our life and situations we’ve been through. I know for myself this has been one thing I’ve been doing and its all starting to make sense now.
In the past when I would go through things, I didn’t fully understand why those were my experiences, and often times I would think why me, and why is my journey a little bit harder, but I learned that God allows good things to develop slowly.
Every thing we go through is for a special purpose and plan so God will get all the glory and His will be done. So I’m here to encourage you that no matter what your life looks like or what you are going through, it will always come back around full circle. What God starts, he will finish it out to the very end.
That job you had that dealt with impatient people was teaching you patience, when you didn’t have anyone to call God was teaching you how to depend on Him, when you got fired from that job He was teaching you how to trust in Him further to provide, the rocky relationship with family, whatever it may be.
God uses all men greatly, but He prepares us greatly too. You have to be willing to endure the greatness of God’s preparation.
Stay the course! It’s turning around for you!
WON'T HE DO IT
If you do your best, it will all work out. Move forward in faith and confidence in the future.
Hey everyone welcome back to Chasing After Zion! I’m so excited to share this post with you all and I pray it will encourage you and touch you in any way you need it to.
These past few weeks have been rough and I have been seeking a lot of clarification about things and it wasn’t until today that everything began to click. I literally had to stop and have a moment, because I was in awe of how good God is. And when I say moment, I’m being calm about it lol because honestly, I cut up in my apartment.
When I got out of the shower today, a gospel song came on as I began to wash my face. I was staring in the mirror and began to think about my new job and the children I work with. Something stopped me and told me to go look at my vision board for 2019, and right in the middle was something I had been praying about which said, “find a job that allows me to work with children”. I began to chuckle for a minute because I realized that I now have the job I’ve prayed for, and although I have my vision board posted in a place where I see it every day, my vision had been clouded something serious during the past few weeks.
Circumstances arose where I needed to find another job and during the process of everything, I had forgot about wanting to work somewhere I was passionate about. I was thinking about survival so my passion went out of the door. As things began to unfold, for the life of me I could not understand what was going on, I was discouraged and hurt.
But today, I began to realize why everything happened the way it did. God was literally going before me and opening doors that I did not know about or could see. If my last job hadn’t taken a turn, I would not have been blessed with the opportunity I have now.
I’m saying all this to say that the Lord hears our prayers and he is allowing things to happen at a specific time for a special purpose. He is aware of everything that will happen in our lives, and he’s already prepared for when they come. Even in my unbelief, he was still working on my behalf and setting me up for something great. He continues to remain faithful when we are faithless and he sees us. He is with us every step of the way even when you cannot feel him.
It’s amazing to know that we serve a God as such. He knows the number of every single hair follicle on your head, so what makes you think he does not know what you need, or care about what’s going on in your life?
Just as he is working in my life, I believe he will do the same for you! Trust him and allow him to be God. He will never leave you nor forsake you.
“Forever God is faithful ”
HILLS & VALLEYS
Experience is not what happens to you, It’s what you do with what happens to you.
How many of you have ever felt like what you’re going through was unbearable? You didn’t have the words to pray to the Lord, you didn’t want to or couldn’t open your bible?
If you have said yes to yourself, I want to let you know that you are not by yourself. I’ve experienced it in the past, went through this not too long ago, and that feeling will come again in the future. But we can rest assure that God is always in the midst, and He is with us everywhere we go.
Often times, when we experience difficulty, loss, heart break, or anything that causes conflict within us we forget who we belong to while we’re going through. Recently, I had a setback and it took me off guard completely. I was hurt, confused, and in awe because I was not prepared for this to come. Everything in me shut down and all of my emotions rushed from the bottom of my feet to the top of my head, and it was too much for me to handle at that time.
In the midst of me trying to wrap my head around things and figure out my next move I became very overwhelmed and I allowed fear to creep in. Everything I knew about God before went out the window and all that I have been brought through went with it as well. But luckily I was reminded to read Joshua 1:9 which reads “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (NIV).
Nothing that we go through is unbeknownst to the Father. When life takes a turn unexpectedly, He already saw it coming and is already going before you making things right. Hills and valleys are a part of life, but with each one, we are being pruned and we grow in faith and in areas God wants to stretch us. So do not fret or worry when difficulty arises, because God is the same God he was back then, He is today, and will forever be.
Remember life is not a sprint, it’s a marathon!
“When I’m walking through the valley I know I am not alone”
A NEW SEASON
Like the seasons of the year, life changes frequently and drastically. You enjoy it or endure it as it comes and goes.
Happy New Year everyone!!!!!!!! It feels great to have made it into this new year. A new year to focus on different goals, dust yourself off, re-plan, and start over. I don’t know about you all, but I’m excited to see what God has planned for me so what better way than to start this year off in prayer:
Dear Lord,
I thank you that you saw fit to allow all of us to make it to 2019. All of 2018 may have not been good, and a lot of us faced multiple challenges, but never the less, you remained right by our sides through the good and the bad.
It’s good to know that we serve a Father who will never leave us nor forsake us and I thank you for being great. We do not deserve anything but by your grace you continually bless us over and over again. As we all go into this new year, my prayer is that whatever we went through in 2018 that we leave it there. Allow us all to see what you have ahead of us. Give us strength to know that you are going before us and restoring things that were lost, damaged, and taken. Give us the wisdom and direction that is needed as we progress on and stir up in us an active faith.
I believe what your word says is true, and I know that we can do all things through Christ which strengthens us. Every goal that has been written out, prayed about, and even thought about Lord, I pray that you will equip us with the discipline and consistency needed to obtain them. Let us not grow weary but continue to push forward.
Lord, we thank you in advance for what’s to come, and we praise your name. I declare that 2019 will be a mighty life-changing year for us all, in every way you see fit. Lord I lift this prayer up to you, and in Jesus name amen.
“Times will pass and seasons will come and go.”
LIVE A LITTLE
Life is a gift. Wake up everyday and realize that.
Welcome back everybody! I know it’s been a while since my last post but I want to let you all know that I am back!
This will probably be the shortest post that I write but let’s get into it. A lot has happened which is why I have not written and I just came back from vacation, so I wanted to share what I was able to reflect on.
LIFE is too short, and we need to live it to the fullest and enjoy every aspect of it. The good, the bad, and even the ugly. We can get so consumed with worrying about things we have no control over (I am very guilty of this), worrying about the next person’s success, worrying about how this bill or that bill will get paid, or even being too focused on the future to really enjoy the NOW. We don’t take time out to really enjoy everything that has been given to us because we are consumed with everything else, when 100% of the times the things we stress over don’t matter. You only have one life to live, and it could be gone tomorrow. So, let’s challenge ourselves to live life to the fullest and enjoy all God has for us.
Let’s keep Chasing after Zion Y’all #MileSeven
“The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams ”
STOP TRIPPING, ITS COMING
He’s got the whole world in His hands
Welcome back to Chasing after Zion! I pray that this post will encourage and uplift you in whatever way you need it to in your life!
At the beginning of the year its normal for people to write out their goals, make vision boards, and so forth, however I decided to write out a list of things that I was believing in God for. Everything I wrote down was dated so I could go back and see when I prayed for it, and when those things I was believing in God for manifested. I wanted to also be able to date that so I could look back on it. In December of 2017 a lot of things happened very fast, one in particular me losing my job. I was very devastated about how things happened and I was frustrated with how things were going. I was without a job for about a month which felt like five months. I applied to multiple places every day and prayed that something would come along.
Now let’s fast forward a little bit. On December 31st, I wrote down that I was believing in God for a new job with great benefits. On January 7, 2018 two different jobs called me in for an interview and on January 17, 2018 I accepted one of the jobs offers and two days after I began training, and that’s just the beginning. Along with a new job I also wrote down a new apartment, and I got approved for my own apartment on February 27, 2018.
I’m simply saying all of this to say that God is always going before us and opening doors and aligning things up in the way that they should go (not our timing, but His). Though things began to change and turn around, before that it was rough. I was saying that I was believing in God for these things but deep down I still had some reservations about those things coming to pass and wasn’t one hundred percent trusting and believing that God would come through. But I’m so blessed to have a God that is still faithful to us when we are not to Him!!!!
One morning I stumbled across a sermon by Pastor Tim Ross which spoke to me on a whole different level, and that’s when something on the inside of me clicked. The sermon was literally for me and it came right on time, and the message was simple but very powerful. Everything that happens in your life is purposeful, God wastes nothing, and when you are going through situations you have to learn how to go to a higher place. When you go up to a higher place it becomes easier for you to hear God’s voice, you learn how to block out the negativity, you begin to speak life into any and every situation, your mindset changes, and your faith becomes active and increases. So, I’m telling you that God is still faithful even when you don’t see how things will work out, but you have to truly trust and believe with everything in you. After watching that sermon, I prayed hard and I told God I trusted Him, and this time I meant it with everything in my body. And when I did that, God started turning things around for me, just like He will do for you. Be Blessed Everyone! #MileSix
Habakkuk 2:1-4 (KJV)
I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.
2 And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.
3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
4 Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
*To check out this sermon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nu_q0sHmhSY
“Patience is not passive, on the contrary it is concentrated strength”
CHANGE YOUR OUTLOOK
You are responsible for your own happiness
It wouldn’t be right to start this post off without first saying Happy New Year!!!!! I know some of you have been wondering where I’ve been, and when my next post would be going up, so I’m back to catch you all up on what’s been going on.
The best way I can describe why I’ve been gone is simple, one word, LIFE. Reflecting back on my 2017 year, I’ll be the first to say it was not easy. I got a couple of bumps and bruises along the way, more than a couple to be completely honestly, shed a lot of tears, lost some things and gained new things, and became a stronger woman. It was one of the hardest years for me but beautiful at the same time. So now I’m back and ready to continue on with the rest of my journey.
I’m challenging myself to change my outlook on everything in 2018, and I’m going to challenge you to do the same. Of course, it won’t be easy, people will look at you funny, you’re going to be tested, you will have some discouraging times, nor will everyone understand. But if we keep our eyes lifted up above, there’s nothing that can stand in our way. #MileFive
“I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.”
WHO ARE YOU TRUSTING IN?
Man says…. Show me and I’ll trust you. God says…. Trust me and I’ll show you.
People pleasing is one of the biggest things we struggle with in today’s society! Surprisingly I never thought I’d say it because who really wants to admit that? But I have definitely found myself in many situations where I’m trying to please people, seek validation from them, go to them for counsel, and so much more. However, there’s one big problem with that, God is not in the equation.
Now don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with talking to friends or seeking wisdom from others. But majority of time we allow the thoughts of friends and family to really take control over our own thoughts and we get lost in that. We end up doing what they want us to do and allow them to squeeze us into their idea of who we should be. The trust we once had in God diminishes because we begin to put our trust in man because we think they have our best interest at heart. Totally forgetting about the one who’s created us, knew what we’d be before we were in the womb, the author of time, and everything in between!
If we are truly going to be who God has called us to be, and live in His will, we have to put complete trust in Him. God equips us, empowers us, and anoints us to do everything and that alone is enough.
” Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the Lord means safety.” (NLT)
#MileFour
“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to an unknown God”
EXPERIENCE PRODUCES INTIMACY
If you want a relationship that looks and feels like the most amazing thing on earth, you need to treat it like it is the most amazing thing on earth.
Lord why am I going through this? What purpose does this actually serve? Are you even here with me? These are questions everyone has asked out loud once or twice, and if you’re like me, you’ve asked these questions multiple times.
As I have been reading the book of Job, his story has brought me some understanding and clarity on where I am in my waiting season. Everything we go through is purposeful, however it is made to show us who we are in Christ. Let me break it down a step further, trials bring light to our weaknesses.
Do we really trust in God? When things get hard do we easily give up or stay the course? Now Job was considered a man after God’s own heart, and experienced a lot of suffering, more than what a lot of us could probably handle. But God allowed Job’s suffering to increase his faith and mold him even more. Just how God allows us to go through certain experiences to grow in Him.
So, when things get tough, sit back and enjoy the ride! Of course that’s easier said then done, but God knows you better than you know yourself and see far more than we see. So I’m learning how to be patient and and respect this process and trust that God is for me, not against me. He’s setting me up for something BIG!
#MileThree
“Look for Christ and you will find Him. And with Him, everything else.”