Yes. [No]. Wait.

We’ve all heard the saying, that God either tells you, “yes, no, or wait” in response to the things we’ve been praying for.  Now if you’re like me, you get less excited when the answer turns out to be anything other than “yes.” Lol  ESPECIALLY if it’s a “no.”  I mean think about it, if you’ve been praying about something and God says yes, meaning He opened a door and made provisions to that specific prayer…then you know what to do next:  SHOUT!!! Lol.  In the same regards, if you’ve been praying about something and God’s answer is wait, meaning He hasn’t made it completely clear to you on the next step…then you know what to do next: you wait. (Y’all thought I was going to say something deep there didn’t you? Lol). So we know what our action items are when God says yes and wait, but here’s my million dollar question: What do we do when He tells us no? “No” meaning, nothing you seem to be doing regarding that prayer seems to be working.  “No” meaning, you’ve pretended like God hasn’t already made it clear to you that His answer is NO and you’ve told yourself you’re in the “waiting stage.” No basically meaning, NO.  C’mon you get the point lol.

Time to be a little transparent….yes, I’ve fallen victim to placing myself in the “waiting” column when I was in denial about an answer God had already given me.  It’s funny how we think we can change God’s minds on things.  I remember praying to God about a particular guy situation a while back and asking Him to make it clear to me what I should do.  So I prayed and I waited, prayed and I waited, prayed and I waited.  But here’s the thing….the whole time I was “waiting” God was making it beyond clear to me that His answer was no for the relationship.  That’s not the answer I wanted to receive so I actually convinced myself that He didn’t say no, He was just using all of the MILLIONS of red flags to say wait, it will get better.  No my friend, this in fact is NOT how God operates.  When God wants you to move or not move, He will make it plain to you either through His word or through another believer….and we know when God is making something plain to us.  Amen somebody.  

"God is a very specific God, He's too great to give you a general non-descriptive answer...and when something is for you, it will undoubtedly be for YOU."

Now allow me to interrupt your thoughts if I could, because I feel like someone just read that “through another believer” part and got real excited because your best friend told you that God told them you were going to be famous one day in be in front of millions of people.  Now that sounds real good, but the truth of the matter is your friend and any other believer for that matter will always be confirming what God already told you through His word and will be specific to what God has already laid on your heart.  Meaning….your friend won’t be telling you something that God didn’t already tell you. So stop allowing people to come up to you after church and whisper vague and generic blessings in your ear.  God is a very specific God, He’s too great to give you a general non-descriptive answer…and when something is for you, it will undoubtedly be for YOU. I’ve had to remind myself of this quite a few times after I realized “prophecies” that I was allowing other people to speak over me were NOT being fulfilled.

"Eating fruit out of its season is poisonous"

So now that we’ve finally come out of denial to what God is saying, it still leaves us with the question, “now what?” What do I do after God tells me “no”?  Well first before we can really ask that question we have to realize that God never just says, “no.”  He never leaves us hanging out in the open without any resources or direction on where to go next.  Notice, I didn’t mention that He gives us an explanation to the “no.”  God doesn’t always reveal the “why” to us.  In fact, out of all of my quiet time dates we’ve had or the long talks I’ve had with Him in my car and even the low points in my life where I’ve cried out to Him has He ever shared the answers to every question on my test of life with me.  Why? Because it’s not about “why” He said no…it’s about us trusting that He has our best interest at heart and whatever it is that HE has is better. You’re asking for [this] and He wants to give you [THIS]. Yeah that initial “no” may sting a little (or a lot) but I think we can all agree that we want the better God has for us. 

So having said all of that….here’s where it might get a little tricky.  This may sound cliché’ but I also don’t think “no” necessarily means never.  What you’re praying for may in fact be something that God wants for your life….it’s just not for you at that time.  You might ask what’s the difference between “not the right time” and God telling you to “wait?” Well, waiting to me is God saying, “I have what you’ve been praying for but I’m still setting it up, I’m still putting some finishing touches on it.”  Meaning it’s within your possession but it’s being delayed until God finishes working everything out.  Now, “not for you at that time” means it’s going to be given to you….but it could be in a completely different season in your life in a completely different way then what you prayed for….ultimately resulting in “no” for right now.  Either way, if God is giving you the red light whether it be a permanent “no” or a temporary “no” it should no longer be your focus.  A good friend once told me, “eating fruit out of its season is poisonous.”  When we’re requesting something from God, we always have to have the mindset that He honors our request according to His will.  So that means we may not get everything we pray for or when we pray for it….but it does mean God will give us the very best possible thing instead.  Now that’s a win-win situation isn’t it?

So to answer the question, “what do I do when God says no?” It’s simple, accept His answer and pray for redirection. The Bible tells us in Psalm 37:4 to “delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.”  When you redirect your focus back on Christ, you’ll find you get more and more of your hearts desires….because it will be HIM putting the right things in your heart to desire.  So be thankful for God's "no" it just means, He loves you too much to let you have your own way.

-Leah

Bible Study

*For more information on this topic, check out the following scriptures:

Ephesians 3:20

Psalm 37:4

Matthew 6:33

Proverbs 3:11



What's Been On Your Mind?

“It starts with a thought.  A thought is planted in your mind and then once it takes up residence in your mind, it then forms into an emotion.  Once it becomes an emotion, it then begins to travel throughout your body and eventually this emotion turns into an action.  Once you begin to continually perform this action, it then forms into a habit.  Once a habit is formed, it’s ultimately destined to turn into a behavior.  The behavior, which formed from the habit, came out of the continual action, and the action which was provoked by the emotion, all originally formed from…..the thought.” –Bishop Keith W. Reed

It’s crazy what can happen just from a single thought.  The mind truly is a powerful thing, and if we’re not careful with our thoughts we could end up doing a lot of damage in our lives.  A lot of things that weigh heavy on our hearts stem from a single thought.  Worry, doubt, fear, anger, confusion, disappointment…..the list goes on and on.  Ultimately these things come because there’s some type of disconnect between what WE think to be true and what the Word of God SAYS to be true.  Here’s a helpful hint that will probably help in almost every situation we face: EVERYTHING ISN’T ALWAYS WHAT IT APPEARS TO BE. If I could be real, the #1 mistake I make in almost every area of my life is I get a TINY glimpse at what God is doing in my life and then I hit the ground running with it!  I’m laughing as I write this because I can be so silly sometimes.  When I went through a rough patch with my previous job I prayed for God to open a door faithfully every single day for like 5 months straight.  (Now you might be like, “5 months…that’s it!?” but when you’re in a tight spot for even a week it could feel like an eternity).  I prayed this for 5 months and it seemed like God went ghost. 

“I’ve learned we have to test our thoughts.  Question where they came from.”

So one day I received a text from a friend out the clear blue sky who asked me if I would be interested in a communications position at his friend’s company.  He knew that was my major in college and decided he’d ask me if I was interested.  I thought, “WOW! I didn’t even tell him I was looking! This MUST be God!”  Now here is where a lot of us go wrong.  In a matter of seconds, the thought of getting this new position began to build up an emotion which then led me to start trying to figure out how I was going to tell my boss I was leaving and to figuring out how I was going to pack up everything off my desk and of course trying to calculate what my new salary would be….ALL BEFORE I EVEN APPLIED FOR THE POSITION!  Can we say psy-cho! Lol  All of this happened because of something I thought was for me.  Which it turned out…..it wasn’t.  In fact the same situation occurred several times again before I finally surrendered and said, “Lord, where is it You want me to be?”  I’ve learned we have to test our thoughts.  Question where they came from.  Was it something we desired for us, or was it something God desired for us.  We can’t just jump on the first thing we see just because it looks like it fits the description we’ve been praying for.  Amen somebody. 

“I found that He’s not as concerned with changing our situation as much as He’s concerned with changing us.”

I later learned that after a bunch of failed attempts and dead-ends that God wasn’t even asking me to apply to any of those jobs in the first place.  It wasn’t until I prayed that prayer and asked God where did He want me to be that I found out He wanted me to stay exactly where I was.  There are some things that God can only teach us in our tight places.  I found that He’s not as concerned with changing our situation as much as He’s concerned with changing us. My job was such a greater lesson than getting a new position.  During that tough waiting season, I learned to adjust my thinking.  Each time doubt, fear, worry and frustration begin to kick in…I began to turn those thoughts over to God.  I began to meditate on scripture instead of meditating on my own thoughts.  When we get our thoughts in alignment with God’s word we find that there’s less and less room for those type of emotions to dwell in your heart. 

All of our thoughts don’t always come from God or even ourselves, some of our thoughts are planted by the enemy.  He wants you to feel worry, confusion, disappointment and doubt.  That is why it is vital to measure what we’re thinking to what is in the Word.  Our thoughts can consume us and give us a false hope of reality but the Word of God makes everything plain.  Take a moment to give that “thing” that’s been on your mind the heaviest lately.  Ask yourself is what I’m thinking about drawing me closer to God or further from God? Get in the habit of testing your thoughts and whatever is not making sense, wait on God to make it clear to you.  It’s not God’s will for you to become dependent on what you think, His ultimate goal is for us to become dependent on Him.  Don't allow your thoughts to form the behavior of someone who always worries, doubts, and is fearful.  Instead of constantly dwelling on every little thought that hits your mind, attempt to keep your mind stayed on Him and in return He promises to give you perfect peace on each and every situation. 

-Leah

Bible Study
*For more on this subject check out the following scriptures:
Hebrews 4:12
Philippians 4:6-9
Psalm 26:2-3
Psalm 139:23-24
Isaiah 26:3

Unfamiliar Territory...

“And the Lord told Abraham, ‘leave your native country, your relatives and your father’s family and go to the land that I will show you.  I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing to others'” Genesis 12:1-2

I absolutely love Abraham’s story.  He is noted as the father of faith and for great reason!  I mean come on, when you read the above scripture you would have to have great faith to even comprehend what God was asking of him.  When I first read this scripture, I imagined God saying to Abraham, “leave everything behind that you know to be familiar.  Everything that feels comfortable.  Everything that feels ‘like home'…..and follow me to a new place.”  Now come on, let’s be honest….God said a whole lot in that scripture, but left out a whole lot at the same time! lol  I look at this scripture and it shows me two things in particular: (1). Abraham was told to leave everything behind and (2). He had no idea where God was asking him to go.

“So Abraham departed and did as the Lord instructed.”-Genesis 12:4

God gave Abraham little to no instructions, yet the Bible says in verse 4: “So Abraham departed and did as the Lord instructed.”  That is mind blowing to me.  God basically told Abraham, to leave this familiar place and go to a new place that you don’t know…..but I’ll let you know when you get there.”  ……and Abraham did it!!! Now I don’t know about y’all, but I can’t say that I wouldn’t at least question God on this.  I mean like c’mon you got to give me more instructions then that. lol  In fact, I was looking for the verse where Abraham at least asked for further directions, but he didn’t!  He just did what God told him to do. Imagine that, right?  Not talking back to God, not questioning Him when He tells us to do something, but just being obedient. 

Recently, I started in a new position working in the field that I’ve always wanted to be in.  Although this has been a long time coming, it’s still unfamiliar territory for me.  Going to school for something and actually being put on the job for something are two completely different things. I had to trust God to get the job, but now I’m realizing I have to continue to trust Him to do the job.  I also believe that this new job symbolically marks the new season that God is entering me into.  The season of the unfamiliar.  The season where I will be taken out of my comfort zone in order to further follow God’s will for my life.  See Abraham may not have had many details on where God was taking him, but by faith Abraham knew that there were things that God had for him in this new, unknown, uncharted place.

“For some of us, we’ll forfeit the great promises of God because we are too busy being comfortable.”

Imagine what awaits us outside our level of comfort.  There are some things that God can only give us by stepping outside of our “familiar” places.  For some of us, we’ll forfeit the great promises of God because we are too busy being comfortable.   I can imagine that Abraham had some fears about this unknown territory that God was trying to take him in, but his level of trust and reliance on God outweighed his doubt.  That is why the Bible tells us to have faith like Abraham, the kind of faith where if God said it, then that’s good enough.  I have to admit, I do have some fears and hesitations about entering this new, unknown, unfamiliar season of my life……but I’m determined to have faith like Abraham that follows the word of God. So allow me to personalize verse 4 and say, “So Leah departed and did as the Lord instructed.”    

-Leah

Bible Study

*I encourage you to read the full story of  God's call to Abraham starting in Genesis Chapter 12!

Life*

“Write the vision, and make it plain.....for the vision is yet for an appointed time...”- Habakkuk 2:2-3

When I first graduated from college, I met with one of my mentors who sat down with me as we discussed my future direction/goals both career and personal wise.  I told her that I wanted to go into marketing and long-term, I specifically wanted to focus on brand development.  She quickly replied, “that’s nice, but where do you really see yourself long-term and think outside of your career.”  Although this conversation took place two years ago, I still remember sitting on her couch being asked this question as if it were yesterday.  I remember really thinking hard about this question….where did I honestly see myself in the long run?  What was most important to me when considering my “goals” and “achievements” of my future?  I had never really thought of that question outside of an interview or my career plans.  I was completely stuck. Lol.  Finally after not saying anything for what seemed like 30 min (in actuality it was probably like 3 but everything is intensified when you’re put on the spot lol) I had finally came up with a reply.  I told her, “well long-term, I’d really love to be a wife and mother and have my own family.”  I remember her smiling as if I had just said the magic words that were going to unlock the next level in a video game lol.  She told me to always have that in the back of mind when making any future plans….in fact, her exact words were, “never lose sight of your main objective.”

This little session I had with my mentor two years ago has stuck with me ever since.  Sometimes, we really should sit down with God, the one who created us in the first place about our future plans and objectives.  Now….let me be very clear by saying this is by NO means a dialogue.  This is not the opportunity for you to go back in forth with God about everything you want to do in life and then pray over it and ask God to “make it happen, cap'n!“ No.  Rather, use this time to find out where your heart really lies.  What are your hearts desires? What motivates and encourages you and how can you use those passions to promote and elevate the Kingdom of God?

" *Everything pertaining to this person's life is subject to change depending on the move of God."

I feel like now is another point to interject and say once again, this is not your time to shine and tell God exactly where You’d like Him to place you in life, but rather close your mouth and open your heart to hear the plans that HE has for you.  The Bible tells us in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans that I have for you…” Not, I know the plans that YOU have for you. Lol.  I have to laugh a little when I read this scripture.  I’m a planner.  I like to have everything figured out before I set out to accomplish something……there’s just one problem with that…..it doesn’t leave a lot of room left for God’s plan.  I think we get so caught up in fulfilling our selfish goals and pursuits that we completely disregard the plan and direction that God has on our lives. I like to think that when we accept Christ as Lord over our lives, our name now comes with a big fat asterisk next to it with a little note at the bottom that says: *Everything pertaining to this person’s life is subject to change depending on the move of God.

"Don't be so caught up in your own plans and aspirations that you limit an all powerful God."

Although God does give us a vision and goals to achieve, He still has full control and can switch things up however and whenever He sees fit.  I encourage you to get quiet before God and really listen to how He speaks to you on the direction He wants to take you in your future.  Let Him produce those long-terms goals in you and never forget your main objective.  Don’t be so caught up in your own plans and aspirations that you limit an all powerful God.  Here’s the truth….whatever plans you come up with on your own for your life…will NEVER compare to the great and mighty things God already has lined up for you.  Remember, He has your absolute best interest at heart….your plans for your life may result in you being happy……but His plans will result in you being satisfied. 

-Leah

Bible Study

*For more on this subject, check out the following scriptures:

Jeremiah 29:11

Isaiah 58:11

Habakkuk 2:2-3

Psalm 18:30



Do you trust Me?

"For I know the plans that I have for you.  They are plans for good and not for disaster.  Plans to give you hope and a future." - Jeremiah 29:11 

Have you ever been scared that if you fully submit to God’s will for your life you’ll end up being a hermit and knitting Jesus sweaters in your room? Or maybe that you'll end up marrying someone that's heavily involved in church, but you're not necessarily "in love" with them?  Or my favorite, He’ll place you in a foreign land like Zimbabwe to do missionary work? Lol  I know these were all thoughts that crossed my mind when I kept feeling a tug to be more committed in my walk with Christ.  I mean don’t get me wrong, I love the Lord with all my heart, but the thought of not being truly happy and satisfied in life was a humongous fear of mine.  I thought that submitting to God’s will for my life would mean me becoming a loner and walking around quoting Bible scriptures all day and when I wasn’t doing that or eating/sleeping I was supposed to be praying.  I had a very misconstrued view on what a "committed" relationship with Christ meant.  Although the Christian lifestyle does require much, God already knows our deepest heart's desires.  In fact, God knows us better than we know ourselves.   When we talk about God’s level of love for us, we have to remember that because He IS love….it’s impossible for Him to withhold the very best possible things for us in our lives.   

"We get so caught up in how we always expect things to work out and then God comes in and shakes that whole plan up!!!"

One thing that I struggle with is over analyzing every situation.  It’s actually a blessing in a curse.  On one end, I always think things ALL the way through which result in me making very well-thought-out decisions.  However, I’ve also found this to be a curse when trying to compete with my own logic and God’s infinite power. I try to figure out what God is doing in my life off my own limited perspective. In all honesty,  I actually find myself attempting to think like God. I try to figure out what's going to happen next, when it's going to happen, where, etc.   Some may say I'm a planner and I just like to think ahead, nothing wrong with that. However, the Bible tells us in Proverbs 3:5-6 that we are to TRUST in the Lord with ALL our heart…..and here’s the hardest part (well for me anyway)…. AND DON'T DEPEND ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING.  Whew!  This scripture is my life verse, but yet it’s ironically the hardest scripture to put into practice for me.  I know I’m not the only one who struggles with this lol.  It’s so hard to not depend on your own understanding….especially when you think you know what’s best for you!  We get so caught up in how we always expect things to work out and then God comes in and shakes that whole plan up!!!! But despite how He shakes things up, we must always trust and obey Him.  ESPECIALLY when we don’t understand!  That’s the point! Lol.  God wants us to get to a point in our faith where even when we can’t make sense of anything, we can still say, “but Lord, I trust You.”  Believe me this is wayyyyy easier said than done, but we can’t keep using the excuse, “one day I’ll get to that point.”  If we truly desire to trust God, we have to put this in to practice EVERY SINGLE DAY. 

"We don't know what our future holds, but we must learn to place our whole heart in the One who does."

God is not the Riddler from Batman.  He doesn’t want us to walk around being confused, unhappy, or disappointed….but these things kick in when we try to match our point of view with God’s point of view.   We will never be able to think like Him and no matter how well we get to know Him, we’ll never be able to predict His ways!  But if we can just get to place where we stop trying to figure Him out and stop trying to push what we want and what we think we need and just trust Him…..He will blow our minds.  I say it all the time, God is God for a reason.  He’s Sovereign…..He can do what He wants to do, when He wants to do it and how He chooses to do it.  All He asks us to do in return is trust Him.  Proverbs 3:5-6 is a scripture that I quote to myself literally every day.  I have to constantly remind myself to place my full trust in God and not just rely on my own logic about what I think is best for me. Then as we find in verse 6…..it says that God will show us which path to take.  That’s why we trust Him.  We don’t know what our future holds, but we must learn to place our whole heart in the One who does.  He see’s our ending just as clear as He see’s our beginning..…and you’ll find once you start trusting Him, you’ll end up exactly where you were supposed to be all along.

-Leah

Bible Study

*For more dealing with this topic, check out the following scriptures:

Proverbs 3:5-6

Jeremiah 29:11

Proverbs 16:9

Proverbs 28:26

The Blank Canvas...

".....And God, who makes everything work together, will work you into His most excellent harmonies." - Philippians 4:8-9 (MSG)

Last week I had a great conversation with one of my closest friends, Tiffany.  I have to shout her out because this girl has truly pushed me and encouraged me to be a better Christian and our friendship is the epitome of the scripture, “iron sharpens iron.”  We were talking about the things that hold us back from reaching our fullest potential and we both expressed fear.  Fear of the unknown, fear of failure and fear of what it looks like right now.  That “fear of what it looks like right now” is the clincher!  So often we can’t see past our current situations and current circumstances, therefore we pick up an attitude that it’s impossible to get beyond this point.  We allow the enemy to trick us into thinking that “this is as good as it’s going to get” and “you gotta deal with the cards you’re dealt” and this is a big fat LIE!  When we accept new life in Christ, we are given a new hand of cards. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person.  The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” While talking to Tiffany it was like I had an “aha” moment:

So it's like as if God is the painter and we're both standing in front of a blank canvas and God says, "if you trust me I will take this blank canvas of nothingness and make it into a masterpiece, but I need you to have faith and never doubt that despite what it looks like, I'm working it all together to make a beautiful picture." So after we say yes, I trust You, God starts painting.  However, a masterpiece takes time...so naturally, we begin to peek over his shoulder and look at the random mixes of colors splattered on the canvas and say, "God what are you doing!? This looks a mess!!" Our prospective of this current picture now gives the devil an opportunity to step in and say, "you're waiting on God to turn this into a beautiful picture but look at what it looks like right now...a hot mess!" Then we turn and look at the picture again and we're like you know what it IS a hot mess! At this point we start trying to take the paintbrush back from God because clearly it doesn't look like He knows what He's doing because "right now" it just looks  like a big blob!

"God what are you doing!? This looks a mess!!!"

 But…..we forgot the first question God asked us, “Do you trust Me?”  See, when we begin to sit back and allow God to work on our blank canvas of nothingness, and allow Him free reign to do whatever He wants to do, we see over a period of time how each little blob, and splatter and mixed color are all really working together to create this big beautiful picture....because He knows exactly where and when each color needs to fall into place.  God is the best painter I have ever come to know, I'm so glad He asked little ol' average me if He could work on my blank canvas of nothingness.  Whenever I begin to get fearful of “what it looks like right now” I begin to look at my once blank canvas and see that even those dark blobs, and splattered colors of paint are all working together for my good. J

-Leah



Bible Study

*For more on this topic, check out the following scriptures:

Philippians 4:8-9

2 Corinthians 5:17

Romans 8:28

You Do the Math...

If it’s one thing I’m learning more and more each day, it's that it is imperative to surround yourself with people who are going in the same direction as you.  This is something our mothers have told us a thousand times before, but yet somehow we still thought we could move forward in God’s plan for our lives by keeping everyone we started out with in our circle.  As much as I wish this could be true, it just doesn’t/can’t happen this way.  When God is calling us to a closer relationship with Him, it causes for some things to change….including but not limited to, a shifting of friends. 

 “Do not team up with unbelievers……for what does light have in common with darkness?” -2 Corinthians 6:14

I’m often asked the question if I lost any of my friends when I made the decision to become more committed in my relationship with Christ and what did I tell them?  The answer is yes, I did…..but I didn’t have to tell them anything.  See when you begin to move in a certain direction in life…only one of two things will happen: either they jump on board or they jump ship.  From my personal experience, I don’t ever remember having to sit down and formally “break up” with a friend.  As your interests and desires change as you grow in Christ, it will be inevitable for your friends to take notice.  They’ll either accept the change they see in you or they will reject it by distancing themselves from you.  I mean let’s be real….if your friend is trying to get it in at a club on a Friday night, the last thing they’re trying to hear is you wanting to go to a Young Adult Bible Study! Lol Eventually enough of these “mishaps” will result in them to stop hitting you up.  Honestly, it sucks when it happens that way, but the Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians 6:14 not to team up with unbelievers, for what does light have in common with darkness? We should be moving to a point in our relationship with God where we won’t even want to associate ourselves with things that are contradicting to His word. 

“We should always associate ourselves with people who ADD to our lives and not people who SUBTRACT from it.”

Now right about here I probably lost someone. Lol  Let me guess, your next question is, "does this mean I can’t be friends with someone who’s not a Christian?" The answer is: of course you can! However, there is a difference between being friends/acquaintances with someone and being “associated” with someone.  When you’re associated with someone, you now risk being labeled under whatever reputation that comes along with that particular person or group.  Truthfully, this is where many of us go wrong.  We try to hang on to CeCe or Tyrone from around the block because they were our first real friend and every time God makes it beyond obvious that y’all are headed in two different directions, you pretend like you don’t see the clear lifestyle differences! This ultimately results in you continuing to go places and do things that you KNOW God has called you away from.  Let’s take a minute to do a self-evaluation.  Think about the people you talk to on a consistent basis.  Do these people add peace or do they add drama to your life? Are they bearing fresh or rotten fruit on your tree?  Simply put, are they making you better or making you worse? We should always associate ourselves with people who ADD to our lives and not people who SUBTRACT from it. 

It’s true, people who aren’t on the same page as you as far as the direction you’re headed, can and WILL stunt your spiritual growth. In Proverbs 27:17 it tells us that “As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.”  Iron is such a strong element that only something of its kind can make it even stronger.  Same thing applies with our friendships.  If we truly want to grow in our relationship with God we have to surround ourselves with people who are also trying to do the same thing.  It’s time to do a serious friend check.  Everyone can’t go where God is taking you…..and that’s okay.  You may lose some people along the way, but the blessing is the people who choose to stay with you find that their lives will also begin to change for the better all because YOU made the decision to choose Christ.  Don’t worry about who’s not with it….God never takes  something away without replacing it with something far better. 

"God has great things in store for your life and no dead-end friendships are worth you missing out on it."

So you do the math in your own life.  Identify the people who aren’t adding anything positive to your life and SUBTRACT them from it.  Better yet, continue to grow closer to God and watch them subtract themselves.  God has great things in store for your life and no dead-end friendships are worth you missing out on it.  Allow God to add peace in your life by subtracting people and things that no longer hold your interest and watch how your happiness and joy will multiply….yes, God is the ultimate mathematician lol :)

-Leah



Bible Study
*For more dealing with this topic, check out the following scriptures:
2 Corinthians 6:14
Proverbs 27:17
1 Corinthians 15:33
Hebrews 10:25