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God’s Bigger Picture: The picture we don’t see

Two weeks ago my aunt and I went to a painting class. My aunt is an artist and I thought it would be a great birthday outing to celebrate her. This was for her because I am convinced that painting is not my strength. I find myself trying way too hard for only the final picture to not turn out, well, not so great. I have been to several of these painting classes with friends and family so believe me when I say, I just tag along. I knew this experience with my aunt wouldn’t be any different. Once we made it to the class, the instructor already had everything in place for us, the paint, brushes, a blank canvas, and to the side was a tiny little picture of how our paintings would look once we were done. My aunt said let us take a picture of the blank canvas so that we can show people how we started and then later our final picture! Great idea! I took a photo of the blank canvas and thought nothing much of it. I was too worried about how mine would turn out anyway. Sometime this week I was reminiscent of our time painting and decided to look at our photos and looked at where we started, our progress, and our finished paintings. It was the blank canvas that led me to want to write about God’s bigger picture for us that sometimes we don’t see.

Clearly, there is nothing to see with a blank canvas and I would like to think that all of us start from there in our lives. Newborn babies are a great example of this, especially when they blankly stare into this new world and do not know what to expect. A blank canvas could turn out to be anything based on the painter’s direction. Trust me when I tell you that it could be anything because all of us in the painting class based on how we followed instructions or just tried our best (pointing fingers at me), we all had different paintings despite us all referencing the little tiny picture of the final painting. With our lives, just like each painting was different in that class, our lives are different. But one thing that is universal for all of us is God’s bigger picture. What is God’s bigger picture for us?

What is God’s bigger picture for us?

As I continue to read God’s word his bigger picture continues to be much clearer. From start to finish, his picture has been the same. This picture does not look any different, the picture is the same for the poor, for the rich, for the one who struggles with sin, for the person who doesn’t believe, for the one who believes, it is for us all. God’s bigger picture is to dwell with his people. It was the same then and is still the same now. From the creation of man in the garden, God has desired to dwell with his creation. Unfortunately, with the fall of man, this picture got distorted making it hard for us to see what God sees. We shifted our focus to our own picture, and we have missed it all together. Every plan by God has been to fulfill the bigger picture for all humanity. Even when it meant him giving his only son Christ Jesus to redeem us. He did that with us in mind so that he may dwell with us. (read Ephesians 3:16-17).

When we dwell with God, we live with him and he lives in us, this means in more modern language, we do life with him. Doing life with God is one built on trusting him and knowing that through him all is fulfilled. He knows your beginning and he knows your end (read Revelations 22:13). Think of him as the instructor of your incomplete painting/picture, he will guide you through the fear, the joy, the frustration, the excitement, the regrets, the assurance, you can name it all so that ultimately you can see what he sees. It is a beautiful picture of you and him in it. Dwelling together as it was always meant to be from the beginning.

How can I see what he sees?

We too desire to dwell with God but as I mentioned earlier this image was distorted. The world became increasingly evil after the fall of man in the garden and this shifted our focus. However, there is a longing in all of us that sometimes can not be explained and if we dug deeper it would point to dwelling with God. Sadly, It can be hard to see what God sees when we are in a broken world that is filled with so many distractions. We may find ourselves focused on the wrong picture because when it is in front of us, it is impossible to think there is something else beyond it. If a person is presented with a picture of continuous pain, regret, fear, or loneliness, how can they believe in a bigger picture? They can only believe if presented with something different. We can only see what he sees when we re-align ourselves to his word. Reading his word daily and keeping it in our hearts for his word is truth. This means focusing on God in a world that may want so badly to draw us away from him. It is easy to fall into the trap of focusing on self and comparing our life to others in this distracted world. What this does is that it further distorts us from seeing God’s bigger picture. To see beyond this, may require you to realize that your life needs God’s guidance and much of your trust in him. (read Proverbs 3:5-6). Will you give God permission to dwell in you so that you may see clearly his bigger picture for you?

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.

revelations 21:3 NIV

I hope you can see it now that God’s bigger picture is to dwell with you! He desires to live life alongside you. Trust me when I say that he is the best instructor/guide when it comes to painting a clear and meaningful picture. He wants to take that distorted image and make you see what he sees and that is a fulfilled life with him by your side. It is time for you to take your rightful place, it is time to trade thorns for crowns!

Much Love,

Xholiwe

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Steadfastly walking with the Lord: Is it worth it?

I had a conversation with my friend a while back who is an avid runner. This girl runs in any type of weather, mind you we live in the Midwest so you know we experience all seasons. I asked her how she does it and never skips a beat, and she said it is her continuous walking that has helped her build this momentum over the years. This momentum has allowed her to complete several 5k races and I am always so impressed by her passion and consistency. Her passion and consistency made me think about steadfastly walking with the Lord, which she is also great at! Steadfastly walking with the Lord is quite similar to what my friend does as an avid runner. It requires continuous walking that helps build one’s momentum to even do more walking. It is the commitment to walk alongside God through every season.

Merriam-Webster defines Steadfast as firm in belief, determination, or adherence. It further breaks it down and says that steadfast implies a steady and unwavering course of love, allegiance, or conviction. Our walk with God when all summed up in one requires all the things mentioned above. Unfortunately, it does get difficult in some seasons to hold on to a steady pace and build momentum. So what do we do when start to lose our steadfastness? We examine our hearts and see if anything has changed our pace or entirely has made us quit. Several things can disrupt our steadfast walk, but in this blog, I want to highlight a few that we may experience.

Hope Deferred

Typically, when our steadfast walk with the Lord is disrupted, we know that our hope has been deferred (read Proverbs 13:12). When our hope is deferred we consciously or unconsciouly conclude on the impossibly of the desired change ,our actions begin to somtimes indicate that we have taken another route in search for hope. You may have had hope for a long time that things will get better for that difficult situation, you were trusting God and the more this hope felt far off or put off for later you, the less you felt inclined to walk with the Lord. To make matters worse, you decide to walk this alone. What a difficult walk it is when done alone. I have been there and might I tell you, it is not an easy walk. I wish at that time I could have thought of people like Abraham who steadfastly walked with the Lord even when the hope for his promised child with Sarah felt impossible. I had to pick up again on my steadfast walk with the Lord. But the good thing about the Lord is that he is ready to walk with you once you decide that your hopelessness will not take you away from steadfastly walking with him. Even when the walk may feel uncertain for you, your part is to stay firm on what you know to be true.

SIN AND SHAME

Do you remember the story of the prodigal son Jesus told? The son went on his own leaving his father to a far-off land and with the money he inherited used it wrongfully for worldly pleasure. He committed sin through how he lived his life and later shame came upon him when all his money was gone. We know the ending is a beautiful story of forgiveness, but I want us to look at this story with us in mind and our steadfast walk with the Lord. Like the prodigal son when we allow sin in our lives and are overcome by it, it is quite easy for it to disrupt our steadfast walking with the Lord.

Sin gratifies only the needs of the flesh, pushes aside the Lord and like the prodigal son takes us to a far-off land away from our Father. With sin comes the shame and feeling unworthy to walk with the Lord when all he has been doing is waiting for you to come back home. Sin and shame tell us we can’t walk steadfastly with the Lord anymore, these two things try to convince us that we are unable to continuously walk with the Lord and build momentum. Oh, what a lie from the enemy. Indeed sin and shame can cripple us from steadfastly walking with the Lord, but then because Jesus died on the cross for our sins and shame there is redemption for us! We repent from our sins and re-commit to steadfastly walking with the Lord again. We then stand firm and determined to walk with the Lord and no longer make the choices that took us away from him. (Read 2 Peter 3 v 17-18).

Is it worth it?

Walking steadfastly with God is 100% worth it! I speak for myself and for many others who have chosen to stand firm on the belief that God is truly the best to walk with on the journey of life. Even for the most difficult times, because walking with him when all is well is quite easy. However, we are to maintain our pace even when steadfastly walking with him feels difficult. Because in the end, we know that God is with us. (read Isaiah 41:10; Matthew 1:23).

5 Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord [always doing your best and doing more than is needed], being continually aware that your labor [even to the point of exhaustion] in the Lord is not futile nor wasted [it is never without purpose].

1 Corinthians 15:58 AMP

Be encouraged that your steadfastness in the Lord is not futile nor wasted. The reward for it is greater because you decided to stay steadfast. Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. (James 1:12 ESV). It is time for you to take your rightful place, it is time to trade thorns for crowns!

Much Love,

Xholiwe

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Cultivating your relationship with God: Being rooted in it

The idea of cultivating a relationship with God to many may feel like a daunting task and for some nearly impossible. I personally was quite intimidated by the idea of cultivating a relationship with God because I wanted to believe that I did not have what the others had. I would think to myself, I do not pray as eloquent as this person, or give my time as the other person, how then would God want a relationship with me? I single-handedly talked myself out of cultivating a relationship with God. If this is you I hope after this read, you feel encouraged to cultivate a relationship with God. It is not as intimidating as you think! If anything, it is quite easy because you have a God ready to build a relationship with you!

A relationship with a God you can’t see

Many may argue and say how do you build a relationship with a God you can’t see? And in all realness, it is a good question. My answer would be through having knowledge of him. You are unable to cultivate a relationship with God if you have no personal knowledge of him. Fortunately, God made knowing him quite simple, you can get to know him through the bible (his word). If you are like me and grew up in a Christian home, I grew up being taught of him, but I personally did not know him for myself. It was what was taught to me that helped me believe in his existence, but seeking him is what helped me know him. The amazing thing about God is that he is not hiding himself from you, he is in plain sight wanting to be known by you. Our part then is to seek knowledge of him.

Think about how we get to cultivate relationships on earth for a second, we first get to know the person who a minute ago may have been a stranger to us. We ask questions such as; how are you like? what do you enjoy? what matters to you? and the list goes on. These are the exact questions you can ask God if you want to cultivate a relationship with him. It will require you to seek these answers in his word (the bible) to know him better (read Jeremiah 33:3). While with earthly relationships it may feel easier because you can see and touch the person that does not mean you can not have a similar experience in your relationship with God. The key is to know him and cultivate this relationship with him. Doing so is not as complicated as it seems to be or even as intimidating. You can have a relationship with a God you do not see by seeking to know him better. (read Jeremiah 29:13).

communication with God

Any long-lasting and fruitful relationship requires communication. With our earthly relationships, we communicate quite regularly with people we know. The constant communication builds even deeper and more meaningful relationships. Our approach to making communication essential in our earthly relationships would also apply to our relationship with God. Cultivating a relationship with God requires you to communicate with him regularly. We do this by praying to him, we have the privilege of communing with God daily through prayer. Our constant prayer to God starts to grow our relationship with him because, with each prayer, you invite God to be a part of your life and relate with you. Similar to how you call a friend when you receive good news or even bad news, is the same way God would like to hear from you. His desire is to be known by you and commune with you. (read 1 Chronicles 16:11). It will surprise you how much your relationship with God will grow because of your constant prayers to him.

Becoming rooted

From my experience with earthly relationships, I can tell you that my strong and meaningful relationship had to be rooted so they could stand through it all. If you want your relationship with God to become meaningful, it has to be rooted. It is the type of relationship you want to stand and stay anchored in. Becoming rooted comes from your constant desire to know God, to be known by him, and to commune with him through prayer. Becoming rooted in other words is a commitment to your relationship with God. You stay in it until the very end.

17 [I always pray] that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may grant you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation [that gives you a deep and personal and intimate insight] into the true knowledge of Him [for we know the Father through the Son]. 18 And [I pray] that the eyes of your heart [the very center and core of your being] may be enlightened [flooded with light by the Holy Spirit], so that you will know and cherish the [a]hope [the divine guarantee, the confident expectation] to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the [b]saints (God’s people), 19 and [so that you will begin to know] what the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His [active, spiritual] power is in us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of His mighty strength

Ephesians 1:17-19 AMP

Again, God wants to be known by you and I hope that you want to know him too. Cultivate a relationship with him, he has been waiting for you to come around. Tend to this relationship like you would to the dearest relationships you have on this earth and watch it grow. Share with God in your good, and in your bad and see how making him part of your life transforms you. It is possible to have a meaningful relationship with God. You have to cultivate! It is time to take your rightful place, it is time to trade thorns for crowns.

Much love,

Xholiwe

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The Grumbling Christian: Is it right for you to be angry?

Hello Crowned Royals! This blog post I am sharing with you today is several months late, but better late than never like my mom would always say. I remember thinking about this several times when I caught myself grumbling, and if you were doing it too, I would hope this would help you. Yes, I have grumbled several times and I am a Christian, I know we have all been there. In a world full of grumblers, it is quite easy to find yourself complaining even when you know all so well that you have a God that provides. I found myself grumbling way too many times last year, and last year was not too long ago, so clearly I have some work to do. So let us do the work together! The million-dollar question for the grumbling Christian is; “Is it right for you to be angry? This was the exact question God asked Jonah right after Jonah grumbled at him (read Jonah 4 v 4). So why did God ask Jonah this question? and why would God today ask you this exact question?

pROVISION AND CONTENTMENT

If you read the entire chapter 4 in the book of Jonah, there are two big things you need to notice between God and Jonah in this chapter, it is provision and contentment. Then soon after the provision and contentment comes the grumbling from Jonah. We may want to know how possible is it that one was provided for and was content, but quickly grumbled? Well, similar to Jonah, we have been provided for by God, and with God’s provision we then found contentment, but what happens when that is suddenly taken away from us? or the next provision does not come in our scheduled time? We grumble and in many instances believe it is right for us to be angry. Just think about the time when things were going in your favor and suddenly the unexpected happened, how was your approach? were you like Jonah grumbling at God or were you leaning towards knowing that God would provide just like he did before? I personally have done both and the times that I grumbled at God, I found this approach made me less content, and the more I grumbled, the more I felt anger and frustration towards the situation. It certainly is an unhealthy approach to handling situations, even for you. Take it from me who has found herself grumbling far too many times. You have a better chance of coming to a place of contentment for your situation when you spend less time grumbling.

The biggest understanding when it comes to provision and contentment is that it comes from God. The minute we start to grumble, we tell God in our grumbling that we prefer our comfort and how dare he take that away from us. We get angry and miss the lesson. And just like with Jonah, God is teaching us to not allow our grumbling to overshadow God’s provision for us and to also find our contentment in him.

Aren’t I DESERVING?

The argument of old times is that as a Christian I am deserving of all things good and indeed you are! You serve a God that provides even when you are not deserving. But when it happens that you do not have the provision, do not be quick to grumble and turn away in anger from God. Many have missed God’s next provision, assignment, and confirmation because they reasonably concluded that if the situation was not good then it is best to walk away from God grumbling in anger. Do not walk away in anger just yet! Think about the Israelites in the wilderness for a second with me. Evidently, they were miraculously provided time and time again by God, but that did not stop them from grumbling. How can people who have seen God provide in several miraculous ways still grumble? But we do this too, we quickly forget how God provided for us not too long ago in several situations that seemed impossible. Yet we grumble and if we are not careful with this, we go from grumbling to resentment.

HOW CAN A STOP GRUMBLING?

There is no formula that will magically stop us from grumbling, but there are several practical steps you can take that could help you. I will share some that have worked for me and I pray it helps you too;

  1. Continued gratitude to God – constantly reminding yourself of how God provided for you in other situations.
  2. Finding contentment in my current situation (even the unfavorable ones)
  3. Catching yourself when you start to grumble and acknowledging it sooner than later.
  4. Constantly reminding yourself that situations do change.
  5. Being angry and frustrated at God does not make the situation any better

The list is not long, but if you are like me and you want to stop with the grumbling then I will leave this here for you.

I know it can be hard to see God sometimes in these difficult situations we have to handle through life’s journey. It may feel like grumbling is easier when we are faced with unfavorable situations, but might I borrow the words of one apostle who in all situations found his provision and contentment in God. Even when he was arrested, Apostle Paul wrote this in a Roman Dungeon;

10 I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. 11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Philippians 4 v 10-13

May God renew his concern for your current situation so that you are not found grumbling, but instead finding contentment in his provision for you. It is time for you to take your right place, it is time to trade thorns for crowns!

Much Love,

Xholiwe

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Holding on to Hope: Why hold on?

“I am sorry, mom is no more” My aunties sat close by me as they told me this and waited for my reaction. Denial quickly set into me and I asked, “what do you mean mom is no more?” then the news settled, my mother just passed away. I went into a panic and began to cry frantically, but that was not my state a few hours before this devastating news. A few hours before this I was holding on to hope that my mother would be healed from that illness. I said a prayer before taking a peaceful nap and held on to whatever small hope I had left, but this news killed the little hope I had stored up. I was hoping for a different outcome, but it quickly began to feel unfair and I remember thinking why did I even hope. Why did I hold on to hope when the situation was hopeless? What did the little hope I held on to do for me? I know those are a lot of questions, but I want to share on what holding on to hope can do for you even in the most hopeless situations.

I did a little research on Google and asked Google how many times the word hope is mentioned in the bible. Well, Google doesn’t know it all, but from the few numbers that came up it is at least over a hundred times across the different versions of the bible that the word hope is mentioned. It gave me much reason to understand the significance of holding on to our hope, I am certain that when God mentions a word over a hundred times, then we should know what it means to him. Hope like many other words gives so much meaning to one’s life, to many of us it is a core of our continued will to stay alive. Our plans, aspirations, desires, goals just to mention a few are encompassed by the word “hope”. As christians we find our confidence, strength and motivation is in the things we hope for. Let hope not be mistaken for a wish, hope is holds much weight than a mere wish. Hope is literally a pushing force that ignites our faith and gives us much reason not to quit. The unforeseen power of hope is that it is the peaceful reassurance even in the midst of a hopeless situation. That is why we must hold on to it knowing that in our hope there is reassurance that whatsoever the outcome, things are going to be just fine. I look back now to when I was told the news about my mother’s passing and think to myself, it was my hope that helped me endure the grief and loss of my mother. Also, it is now hope that reminds me that hopeless situations are not all the way hopeless if you hold on to whatever little hope you have left.

Anchored in hope

The purpose of an anchor is to keep something from moving, to stay grounded. When we are anchored in hope even though we did not get that positive outcome we wanted, our anchor sets us up to stay grounded in our belief in God and also reminds us that it will not always be this way. We hold on to hope knowing that our hope will see us through several other difficulties we may face in the future and we will not be shaken. Understandably, we have been faced with some difficult times in our lives, it could be the loss of a loved one, loss of opportunities to better our lives, just to mention a few. In those difficult times we have hoped and prayed for a positive outcome, only to be faced with a different outcome. Hope after the different outcome is what builds us up to persevere this halt or set back we are face to face with. It is important to stay anchored in such difficult times before we drift away into despair.

Why hold on?

The big question is why should we hold on to something that is not even certain? We hold on because our hope is the essence of our continued lives lived on Earth. By holding on we save ourselves from going into to despair (a state of hopelessness) from the many struggles we face and will face in the future. Have you ever met a person that let go of hope and you saw their despair? they don’t have to verbally say it because it could be felt. Despair just like many other undesired feelings comes because we let go of our hope. Therefore, holding on to our hope is important because it is what pushes us keep going on in this life long journey filled with many twists and turns. Again, holding on to hope is where you find your strength, you peace and your willingness to keep going despite all things. So hold on to it!

GOd and hope

You know I will not write a whole blog post without quoting the bible verse that speaks of hope and like the church girl I am, I find such joy in reading this verse over and over again especially when I feel like I am losing hope or I am getting low on faith.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Hebrews 11 v1

Hope brings about faith, both things that God desires we have in our lives. While we hope, we build our faith, is that not amazing? why not hold on to something that actually builds even greater faith within you for the things unseen. I believe God wants us to hold on to hope for several reasons, but mainly for him to fulfil his promises over our lives. God knows that our hold gives us confidence to even overcome the next (2 Cor 3:12). Another amazing thing about hope is that it brings us peace and joy (read Proverbs 10 v 23). It doesn’t end there, remember what I said earlier, hope is our anchor (read Hebrews 6:19). All the good comes from us hold on to hope, and that could be even the smallest hope you have left in you. hope anyway because;

For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees?

Romans 8 v 24 (ESV)

We are saved in our hope! Let that sink in the inner depth of your soul, especially if you have been not been doing well with holding on to your hope. If we saw it all we would hope, but then like the verse says, who hopes for what he sees?

In ending this post, I urge you to hold onto your hope in God, in your life, for your family, for your aspirations and for your healing (we are need it, trust me). Fight your way out of despair and hope again. What brought you to despair was not meant to keep you there and leave you there. There is hope in the things unseen and yours is to pick up on that hope and hold on to it and never let it go. It is time for you to take your rightful place! it is time to trade thorns for crowns.

Much Love,

Xholiwe

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The Fight of your Life: How can you win?

Hello Crowned Royals, I hope all is well with you and that you are doing your best to stay above ground as we wrap up this year. I know for some 2020 has been a long and hard year and for others it has been a year that allowed you to reflect on your life on a much deeper level. Looking back to this year might just show you at how much you had to fight off to stay above ground. While some had to fight a little harder than others, I think is safe to say that we were all fighting. We had to fight to stay sane, healthy, present, just to mention a few, nevertheless, life was still going on. I decided to write on the fight for your life because fighting for your life is not a one and done thing, but a continual fight that requires your resilience and will to stay standing in every battle ground you are thrown into. If you have ever been thrown into a fighting ring without any knowledge on how to fight your opponent then you might already be fighting a losing battle, but if you come in ready to fight with knowledge of who you are up against, then chances are that you are likely to win. Winning is the result we all should aim for, and if we have to win we need a whole lot more than only acknowledging that we are in a fight for our lives.

Story time: Before I became the girly girl I am today, I was mostly hanging out with my guy cousins and like very young boy back in the early 2000s, the boys loved to watch WWE (wrestling) and later play it on their video games. Because I was outnumbered by the boys, I too eventually got to love WWE and playing video games with them that involved fighting. Now that I think of WWE and playing fighting video games, there was one thing that was common, it was intimidation. How wrestlers in the ring would intimidate their opponents or how my bigger boy cousins will intimidate me was a common trend. In the fight of your life, you will also notice that even before you decide to throw any punches, your opponent will use intimidation to lower your chances of winning and most of us will flee without a fight. Once we give in into intimidation, we let go of our chance to fight and give the opponent the upper hand. One fighting story that just came to my mind is the historic biblical fight of David and Goliath. Goliath was David’s opponent and he did use intimidation to scare away David from attempting to fight, but little did he know that David was ready and had knowledge of his opponent and was training for this epic fight way before it happened. If you want to win the fight for your life then maybe you can start off my realizing that every fight requires your attention. If David was dismissive of this prior fights, how would he then have known how to fight Goliath? Pay attention, every fight is preparation for the next.

Know your own fight

The fight of your life may look nothing like another person’s fight because we all have our own circumstances that we are to overcome. One’s strategy to win may or may not work for you, but yours is to fight anyway. While others have to fight a little harder, others have less to fight for, but yours is to fight. I consider myself a fighter and in the amount of time I have been alive, I would like to think my fights were much more than others and at first I did not receive this revelation well. I thought why can’t I fight a little less like my friends do and just chill, but God knew best that I needed strength for the several other fights that will come my way. God has to build me to not be intimidated by my enemy, but to stay standing confidently knowing that God has my back. Maybe you are like me and you feel like you are in a constant battle that you want to win, I would encourage you to keep fighting. Will you like it at first? absolutely not! But nothing is more rewarding than the victory over a fight for your life.

Who are you fighting against?

Understand that the fight of your life is more spiritual than it is physical. Yes, your physically body does respond the your spiritual battle in some way. I remember when I was depressed, my body was just losing weight, even though I ate food normally. My body was responding in stress when things and people were constantly frustrating me. My physical body was extremely tired and beat down even though I was not in a physical fight. The fight of your life will require more of you and your spiritual attention. The bible says we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places [Ephesians 6:12]. Who have you been fighting? Have you been fighting the wrong person all this while and have been unable to win? The Bible let’s you know who you are up against and in order to win your battle the first step would be knowing who you are up against. When you are constantly fighting people and not what is backing their fight towards you then winning will be a far reach for you. So how can you win?

6 ways that can help you win your fight

  1. Know your opponent: you have to know who you are up against, you have to study their ways and build your strategy in order to win. You can’t come to a fighting ring without knowledge of who you are up against. So who are you up against for the fight of your life? Your answer is in Ephesians 6:12. So where is the fight ring? in the spirit, how do you fight in the spirit since it is not physical? answer is #2
  2. Prayer: Because you can not fight darkness, principalities, wickedness physically, you fight them in prayer grounds. Prayer is your weapon, use your words to win the fight of your life. Pray unceasingly because the fight for your life is a continual battle.
  3. Faith over fear: Some battles we have never experienced can be scary at first glance, but build you faith from it. Place your faith in God’s ability to help you win. Remember that this is not the first battle God helped you through.
  4. Don’t be intimidated: If you know your opponent, you know that they use intimidation to stop you from fighting, but you will make the choice to be bold and brave knowing that God is backing you up and that yours is the victory.
  5. Remember your training: If this is not the very first fight of your life, then you are to remember how you overcame and won your other fights. Even those small fights you consider irrelevant, there is something that could be used for your next battle.
  6. Apply your training: No, you will not just allow intimidation scare you away, but you will apply what you have learned over the years. Your will pray precisely and physically identify the wickedness, power, darkness that showed up in the people around you before taking your win in the spirit.

Once you begin to fight the right opponent and do it unceasingly for every battle ground you are thrown into, I tell you from experience that you will win. I will leave you with this encouraging verse as you pick up your weapons and fight for your life.

Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

1 Timothy 6 v 12

Much Love,

Xholiwe

Posted on by thornstocrowns

Find your rest: Rest beyond sleep

While putting the effort into finding rest, I believe that the ultimate rest comes from God

Hello crowned Royals! I hope everyone of you are doing well in midst of all panic and fear around the world concerning the Corona virus. While all this is going on, God gave me this reminder and I want to share it with you just in case you are fearful right now. He said be still and know that he is God! I thought that was a great reminder for me as well because just a couple days ago I was faced with fear. This week I thought of writing on rest because a lot of us including myself can use some of it. Resting is an essential God given crown that most of us only relate to sleep, but I hope with this blog you look at rest beyond sleep. While sleep is important and necessary, we also need to know that there is rest beyond sleep. How do we find rest in the midst of what sometimes feels like a never ending race?

Race and Pace

Have you ever competed in a race or observed another person compete in a race? Notice how pace is dependent on the distance of any type of race? Running is competitive and pace matters because it is what determines the win. A runner in a short distance race requires fast pace while a marathon runner is better off keeping a steady pace. There is a reason why these different racers decide the pace for their race and it is evident that one compared to the other requires a regulated pace because of the distance. I always compare our lives to a marathon runner because of the long distance we have to take in order to get to the place of rest. The unfortunate thing is that most of us prefer to keep a fast pace for a long distance race and we get frustrated when we are unable to find rest. I say so because there were times I wanted to maintain a fast pace for what requires a regulated pace. I did it in school, relationships, career growth and the list goes on. Have you ever experienced that too? I bet you have! And I totally understand. Once we wake up every morning it is almost like we already begin to compete with the hours of the day and as if that is not enough we compete with so much more. Think about all the competing thoughts in your mind and your competitive nature towards others that often leaves you restless and missing out on what could be a restful life. I know it is a lot, but many of us do it even without consciously knowing what is going on. I hope we begin to regulate our pace and start to find rest.

Finding your rest beyond sleep

For someone that appreciates physical sleep, I have also found such great importance in mental rest. When you find your mental rest, getting enough physical rest is a walk in the park. Once you are able to bring your unrest to God, regulate your pace and know when and when not to react to situations that would take away your rest, you will be able to find your rest. Not an easy task if you ask me, but by the grace of God and determination to get rest you found some. If I found rest in all my restless days, so can you! But you would have to want it bad enough to be able to find it. Here is how you do it;

  • Have an honest conversation with yourself about what pace you are currently maitaining. Is it fast? or regulated? or no pace at all?
  • Think of the past, current, future situations in your own life that take away your rest. (write them down)
  • Bring all these situations before God because he is the God that gives your rest.
  • Identify people that take away your rest.
  • Maintain your distance from people that take away your rest, but still love them. (side note: people pleasing is not cool. especially at the expense of your rest)
  • Remind yourself that life is not a competition, mind your own and keep your pace. (manage your time well on social media)

There are several ways one can find rest, the ones listed are what worked for me in finding my rest. While putting the effort into finding rest, I believe that the ultimate rest comes from God. God gives you rest once you bring it before him in confidence. There are many situations, thoughts and people that can easily take away rest or give us a reason to fast pace, but when God is involved he brings rest and regulates our pace. It is a beautiful thing! Don’t believe me? Here is some scripture for you;

31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

Mark 6:31 (NIV)

I want to end this blog with my thought on the bible verse above. While many of us are coming and going, God calls out to a quiet place with him to find our rest. Our rest is found in him and so our efforts to finding rest should lean towards him. The way we pace ourselves and eventually find our rest is determined by God’s involvement. The beautiful thing with God’s rest is that even when situations around you can easily take away your rest, once you go with him to a quiet place, he gives your rest. Do your part first and may your soul find rest in Christ alone! It is time to take your rightful place. It is time to trade thorns for crowns.

Much Love,

Xholiwe

Posted on by thornstocrowns

Let your faith be greater than your fear

Giant leaps are not for wimps.
-Xholiwe

I am notoriously known for displaying inspirational quotes and bible verses and quite honestly find the pleasure in hanging up each and every one of them in almost every room in my apartment. These inspirational quotes and bible verses serve as a reminder for me especially when I am not so in tune with myself and just feel discouraged. I can’t pick a favorite quote or bible verse that is hang up in my house, but I would like to point out the canvas that hangs right above my bookshelf . I have many times glanced at this canvas that reads “let your faith be greater than your fear” and for the many times I have looked at this canvas, I have needed those words to help me look pass my fears and activate my faith. You probably don’t have this canvas that reminds you time after time that you have to let your fear be greater than your faith, but I hope this blog serves as a reminder for you. For those that are like me and have this displayed or hanging somewhere in your space, good for you, but let as dive more into the quote and learn ways we can apply it to our lives.

Fear often times has a way of limiting our abilities and strength to conquer all the obstacles we face as we journey through life. As humans we face some many different fears that it is very easy to notice each other fears without verbal confirmation. Have you ever noticed the fear the shy girl displays when she is asked to present her project to the whole class? Yeah, that fear of public speaking is easy to recognize, but what of the fear that you personally have and allowed it be greater than your faith. So maybe you fear is public speaking and because you have allowed this fear to limit your abilities to speak to larger crowds, it ends up taking away from your the desire to engage with larger crowds. I would like for us to understand that fear takes away, while faith adds to our lives. However, it is easy to hold on to our fears versus letting go because fear has a way of keeping us in our comfort zones while faith requires us trust God and step out of our comfort zones.

Understand that fear starts small and progressively gets bigger. In the same way, faith starts small and progressively can get bigger. In this case, the choice remains entirely up to you. You have the choice to either make your fears bigger or make your faith bigger and I would say pick the second choice. When you start to increase your faith, it is becomes easy to overcome your fear. Here is a practical example; I was feeling adventurous last year in Zambia and decided I wanted to zip-line from Zambia to Zimbabwe, but I feared! The thought of being over water at such a great height and only hold up by a couple of ropes was frightening. I remember shaking and thinking of backing out last minute, but I was already strapped in and only a few steps away from what I thought was my death. When the man that operated the zip-line let go of me for a second there I felt my heart drop, but once I saw the view, I was amazed and glad i did it! This whole experience that lasted only a minute was so profound for me that I am glad I did it! If I allowed my fear take over me, I would have missed out on such a beautiful view!

Faith requires more from us than fear does, but the difference is that faith is rewarding. I have met some people that have such great faith and they testify of how they stepped out in faith and that their lives were never the same again. They talk about the blessings that came from overcoming their fears and allowing their faith to be greater. These are people who took huge leaps and had faith only in God to step into their situation. I want us to realize that sometimes what stands between our fears and faith is us. We have to make the leap, whatever your leap is, you have to make. Giant leaps are not for wimps. Giant leaps require that unshakable faith that can withstand all your fears.

For we walk by faith, not by sight

2 Corinthians 5:7 ESV

All this was to say to you, let your faith be greater than your fear. You can overcome whatever fear that has stood between you and the life you much desire. Let faith arise in you and increase progressively so that it gets so big that there is no room for fear any longer. And whatever you ask you in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith (Matthew 21:22 ESV)