fo(u)r·ward
"So obey the commands of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and fearing him."
Deuteronomy 8:6 NLT
Four years ago, at the beach of Siesta Key, Florida, I had a life-changing encounter. As I sat on the sand and looked out at the Gulf of Mexico, I experienced the greatness of God. I had a long cry as I made a decision to release my past and embrace the future. Life had gotten too heavy and this meant I was not resting in Him. The indescribable freedom I felt in this moment would serve as a call to remembrance for me on this new journey; when things felt too hard or burdensome, I would be reminded of His power and ever-present help. He will do everything He has said He will do. When I believe this, I can have peace that surpasses all understanding to do what He has called me to do.
Forty years past in my life before I started Authentic Existence®. God had shown me that I didn't completely fit in most places (nor should I try). He had urged me to be who He designed me to be as opposed to trying to adapt to my surroundings. Yet, my pride prevented me from abiding to His will, leaving me wondering through life on my own path - lost in the wilderness - longer than necessary. In His divine timing, I finally obeyed.
Four hundred years before I started Authentic Existence®, slavery began in America. Accepting my divine assignment intrigued me to learn more about my family's journey. There are still many unknowns, but the information I have found to date inspires me to embrace every part of the way God has made me. Knowledge is power. I realize there are deliberate attempts to keep this power stifled. But there is no stopping the power of the Holy Spirit!
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord's favor has come" (Luke 4:18-19 NLT).
It is time to open our eyes to all God wants to do in and through us! He paused the world for us to reset and see Him in everything! However, many are rejecting the new thing He wants to do, yearning for what is familiar. Yet, it is this familiarity that is keeping them blind!
Those close to us may also reject us when we finally allow God to do something new in us. They can’t see our gifts due to familiarity. Some of our greatest breakthroughs may not come from the aid of family and friends. But God will align divine relationships for us. When we are a blessing, we will be blessed. How He will bless us may be unfamiliar, but embrace it.
Don’t be afraid of what's to come based on past disappointments. Believe God's promise that He is working all things for our good. By faith, we do our best with the knowledge and wisdom God has giving us at any particular moment. Our best will change with time as we continue to grow in relationship with Him.
This time has been generations in the making and how we respond will affect our generation and the generations to come. By acting in obedience to God, He will provide. Through every challenge, every battle, every temptation, He’s got us and we will succeed according to His plan if we remember to obey.
Our obedience will determine how far we go. We must not be at the mercy of people’s opinions to define how well we are doing. If we have looked to God and He has directed our path, we are doing the right thing and will succeed in accordance to God's definition of success, not people's. People often strive get to the “top” and realize there was nothing there. Therefore, enjoy the journey He has set forth and do not chase anything!
Look to God. Praise, worship and obey Him. Then you will see and be ready to receive the new thing He has just for you! Father, Son and Holy Spirit - the Three in One - are waiting on you to accept the invitation to move fo(u)r·ward.
How are you going to respond?
Heavenly Father, thank You for who You are! Please open my eyes to Your greatness. Help me not miss what You want to do in my life and in all that You have created. May I not get comfortable in complacency, but find comfort in You. I believe You want to do a new thing and I submit to do my part! May I embrace this opportunity to reset, refocused completely on You, free to be how You designed me to be so I will accomplish all that You have called me to do! Through my obedience to You, I will succeed! In Jesus' Name, Amen
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Cynthia, this movement of God sounds very familiar. I feel that I am in the stages as the beginning of this passage. I know that there is a greater calling in me but I am trying to filter my way. The isolation, loneliness, being a out cast, trying to fit in and yearning for more. This is inspiring.
Cynthia, this is a deeply moving and powerful post. Thank you for sharing it in the transparency of your own Journey! Blessings for even closer Alignment and Agreement with that which God has ordained for you and assigned to you! – TP :-)
A powerful message for times such as these. Trouble on all sides, the country divided , a world in chaos with threats of war. We have endured a 2 year pandemic, decades of crumbling family structure, and religious beliefs steadily on the decline… A world truly in need of God’s direction at a time when it has lost its compass. It’s time that we “lean not to our own understanding“, but that we look to Him to find our individual and collective paths🙏🏽🙏🏽