Would you just FIGHT!!!!!!!

Why me? One of the most popular questions of the typical selfish person! It is usually accompanied by its cousins "This is to hard", "I can't", "When will this be over", "I'm tired" and my favorite "Why has God abandon me"! I know all of these questions oh too well! In fact, I have asked myself each of these questions on so many occasions that I have lost count! Pretty depressing, right? I mean really who wants to be around such a negative person all the time? NO ONE! And believe me I know that feeling too well too! Over the course of a year I managed to "loose" just about everyone closest to me! I put loose in quotations because they didn't pass away, I pushed them away! I made the choice to "do me" and that choice had consequences. One of which was unfortunately being "alone". In my choice to "do me", I chose to allow lies to become my truth. My truth was now formed around the fact that, in my eyes, it was too hard! Life was unfair and I couldn't keep up. I couldn't win the battle. The battle over my mind. I couldn't win the fight against my flesh. I couldn't even stay in the ring. Heck, the devil was knocking me clean out before I could even get my hands up to fight back. When in reality, it wasn't that I couldn't it was that I refused to try! I was loosing time after time.

I was once told that once you truly become tired you'll know! I use to get SO mad because in my mind I was tired. I wanted out of my situation. I wanted to be "free" from my thoughts. I wanted to be released from this bondage. I wanted my relationships back. I wanted my joy back. Now looking back on it I realize I wasn't tired enough! When you're truly tired you'll do something about your situations. When you're truly tired you'll fight back. When you're tired, your situations will change. You'll have this overwhelming feeling of fight come over you. You'll gain a sense of strength, in God, that you never realized you had. Until then, you're just a attention needing person. You just want to throw a pity party! You just want people to feel sorry for you! You just want to keep singing the "whoa is me song". Let me tell you something THAT SONG IS PLAYED OUT!

Someone very wise once told me that the battle is in your mind! Conquer that, and you've already won half the battle! I know that was true for me. I had so much going on in my mind that I couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel no matter how hard I looked! And trust I looked!!! Now don't get me wrong, I had good days. That's just it, good days don't equal a good life! Good days don't equal joy! Joy is so much more than a good day! True joy enables you to stay consistent in an inconsistent world! True joy allows you the ability to persist and fight through your obstacles with a "I got this" mentality! True joy allows you to keep a smile on your face as well as in your heart when everyone would understand if you broke down.

1 Chronicles 16:11 says "Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always". Let me tell you, it is IMPOSSIBLE to fight without God! You can NOT try to fight this battle without staying hidden in him! The devil will knock you out EVERY time! I am evidence of this! I was so caught up in myself, so I stopped seeking God, I stopped going to my accountability people and I took on the "I don't need anyone mindset". It was only a matter a time before that shifted to "I just can't..." and that mindset almost destroyed me!

You have to realize your strength! Luke 10:19 says "Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall by any means hurt you." Now that is some good news. We have power over ALL, not some, of the power of the enemy and NOTHING can hurt us! On the other hand, no matter how GREAT that news is, it means nothing if we don't know it! I would like to encourage every person to do a little homework after reading this especially if your a person that likes to give up! Especially if one of your favorite songs to sing is "whoa is me".

1. Get on Google and look up how many people got killed today! Find out how many people got their lives taken from them.

2. Research how many people are homeless today! How many people have no idea where they will lay their head, or where their next meal will come from!

3. Take into consideration how many people know nothing about God or his truth! How many people don't have access to the freedom you do. How many people don't know even a glimpse of the joy that you could know. How many people are still bound.

4. Get on your face and repent for your selfishness!!! Ain't no body got time for your "its all about me" show! Get your mind off of yourself! ITS NOT ABOUT YOU!

5. Get in your word! That truth will save your life time and time again. It will keep you in perfect peace if you let it. It will keep you praising! It will....keep you!!! You can be free! You can fight! Its your choice to be bound! Its your choice to keep feeling sorry for yourself and stay in the place your in!

6. FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT!!! This is not a one time thing! This is not a I'll fight today and the devil will leave me alone. WRONG!! My pastor teaches us to read between the lines in the bible. For example in James 4:7 it says "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." Now if you don't resist the devil, what do you think he will do? Exactly, he will stay! Its not enough to pretend he don't exist or he can't touch you! You must fight him! Run from him! Tell him NO! Tell him he's a LIAR!! The devil will continue to attack you! You must put on the armor of God DAILY and be prepared for battle!

7. Keep in mind the devil can do NOTHING new! He may come in different forms but its always with the same thing! Pay attention to previous attacks! Know what it is that you struggle with then find out what God says about it. Find out what God says about you. Know your worth! Know who you are in him! When you know, you can't be lied to. You can't be tricked. It will make the fight not only easier but you will see the devil coming. You will stop him before he even gets his fist up instead of being knocked  out before round one even starts!

These are just a few things to help you but the moral of it all is...FIGHT!! No matter what NEVER stop! Even when you're thinking your loosing. Even when you feel you have nothing left. Even when you feel life just isn't worth it! Even when you can't see the end! DON'T STOP FIGHTING!! God will send your deliverance through your persistence. He will pull you out at just the right time! Always remember God loves you more than you'll ever be able to wrap your mind around.

A last thought: 1 Corinthians 10:13 "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it."

"I just wanna be...I just wanna be SUCCESSFUL"

Yesterday at church the question was asked "How do you define success"! After what seemed like forever, a few answers came and I put emphasis on FEW lol. All of which were what seemed to be answers everyone thought the pastor wanted to hear. When in reality how many of us have ever given much thought to the question. Although I can almost guarantee we'd wished it! Almost everyone says they want success but what do you actually know about it! Do you even know what success means to you? Have you spent the time to see what it'll take to get there? We sit back and look at the signers, actors, pastors, models, millionaires and so forth and we say we want success! Everyone just wants to be successful! But what does that success look like to you? Is it getting your dream car? Or maybe success means having your dream job or a huge house? Maybe success to you is having all the money you need.

The dictionary defines success as: 1. the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors; the accomplishment of one's goals. 2. the attainment of wealth, position, honors, or the like. Isn't it ironic that even the worlds definition doesn't even define success as being wealthy or your position until the second definition? It is nothing more than accomplishing a goal!

 If your defining your success by money, possessions or once your reach a certain position ask yourself this question:  how much really is enough? You cant predict the future nor can you plan for every financial 'burden' that may come across, so in that sense how do you know what enough looks like? The truth behind the matter is that the human is a 'needy' being! We naturally are not satisfied! You will always want the bigger or better something! We will never be fully satisfied through money, cars, houses or the like!

There must be more to life than things! There must be more to success  than money and materialistic things that will fade away. If you ask me I have two beliefs on success. First of all, I believe the ultimate peek of success that point of "there is nothing else I can do" will be reached once I see my name in the Book of Life! Until then I am nothing but a spiritual being, trapped here on earth trying to fight this battle called life! Trying to kill myself daily and obey God! I say that is the ultimate success because if I reach the end and don't get that what in life really mattered? Once I die, that is all that will matter so why not make that the ultimate now?

With that being said I also believe that life is a series of small successes! Things that you overcome as you go through each stage of your life. For me, my "success goal" changes just about every season, and for this one it happens to be 'loving me'! Once I can learn me, who I am, love me and not be molded into what people want me to be or think I should be I will be successful in that area! Even then I am not done! I will have something else I'll want to work on, pursue or work towards! So in that sense, success is just a continual mountain with small mountains along the way!

Success is more than what you have thought of! Success is more than what the world says it is! Success is loving yourself! Success is living when you've wanted to die! Success is moving beyond hurt, depression, sorrow, tears, fear, etc. Success is waking up and praising God when everything in your life is falling apart! Success is a single mother leading and upholding her family with God at the for front. Success is giving in midst of your lack! Success is overcoming when all the odds are stacked against you! Success is going to school, getting a job, making something of your life, etc when all you've grown up around was drugs, guns, gangs, etc. Success is not being a statistic. Success is choosing to make your own beat instead of dancing to someones! Success is not falling into peer pressure! Success is standing up and say no! You can be successful in your everyday decisions! You can be a success everyday you choose to be! The choice is yours!

"Money NEVER made anyone rich"

"Happiness is a choice not a response"