Facing Forward:

Turning Away from the Past Towards a Brighter Future

Houston, TX
ph: 713-922-4706
deejohnson@facingforwardonline.org

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God's Girl Devotion Archives:

Small Beginnings Can Hold Big Blessings

Zechariah 4:10 reads “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin…”.

Sometimes we find ourselves in a place that we'd rather not be. We often fail to realize that where we are is exactly where we need to be to receive the blessings of God. Over a decade ago, I graduated from college but could not find a job. I ended up taking a job that I considered beneath my level of education just so I could have some money coming into the house. The pay was ridiculous but some money was better than no money. The hours were long and the daily drive across town was even longer. The work was not what I had in mind when I decided to get a college education. But God knew what I needed and this door was the only door He opened for me.

At the time I took the job, I didn't realize that I was pregnant. The job had wonderful insurance benefits and I didn't have to pay anything to have my baby. Being a pregnant, underemployed woman living at home with her parents was one of the most difficult challenges of my life. I had gone to college so that I wouldn't have to face such challenging times. I was disappointed in myself and in my situation for being so foolish. But at this new job God already had someone lined up to minister to me and encourage me to put my trust in Him. After 10 months on the job, I received a promotion that included a $10,000/yr raise. The man that I met and who eventually became my husband also received the same promotion at the same time. We ended up becoming good friends and now have been together for almost 11 yrs. This job also came with an educational scholarship and paid for half of my tuition to return to school to further my education. The woman that God used to minister to me throughout my pregnancy is now the God mother of my child and a dear friend of mine. All of these blessings came my way because I decided to go to a place that I didn't want to be. The lesson: Don't despise small beginnings they may hold the key to big blessings.

God's Girl Lesson: God's Girl realizes that God knows exactly what she needs to position herself to receive blessings from Him.

Marathon Running

"I took another walk around the neighborhood and realized that on this earth as it is—
The race is not always to the swift, Nor the battle to the strong, Nor satisfaction to the wise, Nor riches to the smart, Nor grace to the learned.
Sooner or later bad luck hits us all" Ecclesiastes 9:11.

Life is similar to a marathon. There will be times of intense training as you follow your dreams towards your destiny. There will also be times of rest when you can enjoy the fruits of your labor. During any marathon, there will be twist and turns and uphill battles. That’s when you must dig deeper and force yourself to overcome the challenges on the road. In order to be successful, you must pace yourself. You cannot sprint the entire course or you’ll soon give up and quit. You must train yourself to run at a comfortable pace so you can finish the race. It’s not about coming in first, second, or third place it’s about making it across the finish line. You may need to slow down, speed up or dig deeper but continue running until your race is complete.

God's Girl Lesson: God's Girl doesn't give up just because life has become challenging. She leans on God and uses what He has given her to ensure that she completes her race.

The Pilot

“Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear” Isaiah 59:1.

Whenever you board a plane, you’re putting your life into the hands of a pilot. This pilot has never done anything for you. You have never met or spoken to the pilot. You don’t second guess his capabilities even though you know nothing about his flight experience or previous training. You don’t know if the pilot is under the influence of drugs or alcohol. And although he doesn’t have a personal investment in you, you trust him to get you safely from point A to point B. You board the plane with the expectation that he will do his job well. Why then do you have such a difficult time trusting God? God has never left you and has always expressed His enduring love and devotion towards you. God has a proven track record and His credentials cannot be questioned. Yet, you hesitate to put your life into His capable hands. You second guess His promises and attempt to be the pilot in your own life. But in order to get from point A to point B successfully in your spiritual, financial, emotional and mental journey, you must trust your Pilot. If you can put you trust in someone you have never met, then you should be able to put your trust in someone who is deeply concerned about your welfare.

God's Girl Lesson: God's Girl realizes that it is foolish to trust human hands and doubt the hands of God.

Web of Destruction

"When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the LORD" 2 Samuel 11:26-27.

We often get caught up in a web of destruction, not from making 1 mistake but from making multiple mistakes. Rarely does 1 wrong choice get us into a situation that we cannot recover from.

This is how King David got caught up in his own web of destruction. He saw Bathsheba, a married woman, taking a bath. He thought she was beautiful and sent his servant to bring her to him. She conceived a child so David ordered that her husband come in from battle. David was attempting to cover up his wrongdoing by having Bathsheba's husband sleep with her and everyone would think that the child belonged to her husband Uriah. His plan didn't work because Uriah never went home. David then ordered that Uriah be placed on the front line during battle so that he could be killed. After Uriah's death, David took Bathsheba to be his wife. What started out as 1 bad decision ended up being several bad decisions. The first mistake forced David to make more mistakes in an attempt to cover up his original choice. Consequently, David had to face God. The child that Bathsheba gave birth to died. David's selfish mistake would not only affect him for the rest of his life but it also effected Bathsheba, his wife and cost his son his life. Don't think for 1 moment that you will get away with sin. The bible is clear when it says that the wages for your sin leads to death (Romans 6:23). It may be a physical death, spiritual death, financial death, emotional death, mental death or a combination of any of these but you will not get away with anything.

God's Girl Lesson: God's Girl understands the importance of making righteous choices. She knows that by living a Godly lifestyle she can keep herself and her loved ones from pain and destruction.

Don't Give Up the Fight!

"Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD" Psalms 27:14.

It’s not time to give up yet. Your breakthrough could be 1 day away. You would feel awful if you had fought all of this time and gave up right before your blessings were due. Keep fighting! Understand that most women who are reading these words are also fighting to keep their heads above water and their dreams alive. I know it’s hard. I know it’s unfair. I know you’re tired but so am I. So are the other women on the other side of this devotional. We have to stick together, ask for prayers and support. We have to pour out our hearts to God. We must NOT QUIT. Our children need us to fight. Our families need us to fight. God needs us to fight. Stand strong. Don’t give up and keep fighting. Trouble will not last always.

God's Girl Lesson: God's Girl refuses to bow down to her circumstances and give up her fight. She realizes that if she gives up she may never recieve all of the blessings that God has in store for her.

Words Unspoken

"Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives" 1 Peter 3:1-2.

As women, it's really difficult to behave reverently when we feel as if we're not getting our needs met. The last thing that we want to do is to submit to someone who we feel is being neglectful towards us. And the concept of being "without words" is something that most of us are unfamiliar with. We always have plenty to say and sometimes our words aren't pure or reverent. But as I looked at this scripture more closely, I began to think that maybe the reason that God hasn't answered our prayers about our relationships is because we haven't submitted. We haven't submitted to our husbands or to God's word. I began to recognize that God will only do His part, when we make a decision to do our part. When we begin to act respectfully, lovingly and kind towards our spouses on a consistent basis, just by observing our behavior towards them, our husbands will be "won over". They will not be won over by our crying, tantrums, insults or words, they will be won over by our behaviors and our interactions with them. So we need to practice getting into the habit of leaving our words unspoken. Our actions should speak for us.

God's Girl Lesson: God's Girl recognizes that the old saying that actions speak louder than words is true. She has committed to showing her husband that she will behave a God's Girl at all times and respect and adore the life partner that God has given her.

The Harvest Will Come

"For whatever a man sows, that and that only is what he will reap" Galatians 6:7b.

Once a seed is planted, it must be taken care of in order to produce a crop. In my efforts to become a better wife, I try to plant seeds in my marital relationship as often as I can. The problem is that I'm not consistent and always expect instant results. If I have made an effort to call or text my husband frequently throughout the day to express words of love and devotion, when I come home I expect him to be eagerly awaiting my arrival. It doesn't matter that I may walk past him without a kiss hello. Or that I instantly begin complaining that the kids haven't been fed or the homework hasn't been completed. I expect that the seeds that I planted earlier in the day to produce a plentiful crop. The crazy thing about it is that no seed that has been planted will produce a healthy crop if it is neglected. A seed must be watered and get sunlight to become fruitful. Don’t plant a seed and let it die by neglecting it. Pray over it constantly until you see your crop. Speak God’s word over the seed. Don’t get weary because seeds don’t produce a harvest overnight. It takes time, but if the original seed is well taken care of, your crop should come out healthy and full.

God's Girl Lesson: God's Girl recognizes that each seed must get plenty of attention to produce the results that she desires. She is not neglectful, inattentive or uninterested in her seed. Instead, she ensures that it is has all of the elements it needs to become a plentiful crop.

On the run

^"Ahab told his wife Jezebel what Elijah had done and that he had killed the prophets. She sent a message to Elijah: "You killed my prophets. Now I'm going to kill you! I pray that the gods will punish me even more severely if I don't do it by this time tomorrow." While Elijah was on Mount Sinai, the LORD asked, "Elijah, why are you here?" 1 Kings 19:1-2, 9.

Elijah ran from the threat of the enemy. He allowed what the enemy said to cause him to become fearful. He ran far from the path and place that God sent him and God caught up to him and asked why he was at that place. It is natural to become fearful when the enemy is in hot pursuit. The enemy may be more powerful than you or have more resources than you and you may truly be scared when he/she plans an attack on you. However, you must never allow your fear of the enemy to supercede your faith in God. God sets the agenda regarding your life here on earth. Nothing that the enemy plans will succeed when God is in battle with you. Don't allow your fear to put you into flight. Stand your ground, call on God and serve the enemy notice that nothing he/she plans against you will prosper.

God's Girl Lesson: God's Girl doesn't allow the enemy to lead her from the path that God has placed her on. She consistently takes her fears and concerns to her Father and let's Him deal with her enemy.

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Houston, TX
ph: 713-922-4706
deejohnson@facingforwardonline.org