Welcome to Motivational Mondays!
First things first, what is Motivational Mondays? Just like it sounds, to motivate, to empower, and to encourage you on the first day of a fresh week. I don't know about you but Mondays can be a drag for me, so sometimes words of encouragement and positivity are helpful to start my day off right.
Motivational Monday's topic is: Humble Yourself or God Will.
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you.
1 Peter 5:6
Many people equate being humble with showing weakness and this is a common misconception. Humbling yourself before God means to put your pride aside and seek him for help and letting him take care of you.
I know for many of you out there, if you are anything like me then you do not like to ask for help. For a while, my thought process was that people are unreliable and that if I wanted something done right then I had to do it myself. I had been burned too many times by others who said they would do something and then they ended up letting me down. As I have been on this spiritual journey over the past couple of years, what I have realized is that I can’t do it all by myself. I needed and still need help. I have been put in situations where I have had to put myself aside and ask God for his help, and his guidance. God will humble you if you do not humble yourself.
But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
James 4:6
God cares deeply for us. God is not asking us to humble ourselves so that he can control us, what he is asking is for us to humble ourselves so that he can help us. It is only after we have truly and sincerely humbled ourselves that we can really worship God. When we do this we are telling him that we trust him with our problems and that we know without a doubt that he will step in and make things better.
Oftentimes we as people attempt to carry the weight of the world on our shoulders and we in turn make ourselves anxious and stressed. We become so bogged down that we are often too tired to even give honor and glory to God.
An Example:
Jesus is our example. Jesus humbled himself and was obedient to his father even to his death on the cross. Jesus relied on God in everything that he did and it led to God-exalting him in due time. Jesus humbling himself was not a sign of weakness but a sign of his strength in his faith for the plans that God had for him.
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Matthew 11:28-30
In this Jesus is telling us to place our pride aside and bring our problems to him. Jesus is saying he will love us forevermore and that does not get weary. When we humble ourselves and operate under the will of God he will give us rest. He can handle our problems without getting tired. All we need to do is trust him and let him work. Trust in God’s character and remember his promises. God knows all, and he sees all and he has a plan that is for the better of us all.
God truly tested me on being humble. I will never forget this pivotal moment in my life because it was so profound. I do believe I passed the test because I had to put my pride aside and be obedient. The end result of being humble and obedient resulted in a lot of good things coming my way.
STORYTIME:
Backstory: Just to provide context, I was in a place of hurt and utter self-destruction. If you were to ask others around me, I was a ticking time bomb-carrying around 15 years of abuse (from both myself and from others), long-suffering from unhealed past trauma, anger, and rage. Anything, and I do mean anything would have set me off if provoked.
At the tail end of 2019, This particular day, I literally had just come from a funeral. Which meant that I was already messed up emotionally from that ordeal, and to top it all off my car started to run hot out of nowhere. I didn't think that things could get worse. With my car overheating, my sister takes it upon herself to call our father, who was about 10 minutes away from us, to help assist me with my car problems.
We all met up at a car mechanic shop and after waiting, the mechanic tells us that I am going to have to leave my car with him overnight for an evaluation the next day. This presented me with a major dilemma of how I was going to get home. My sister informed me that I should ask our father for help and to ask him to let me borrow one of his cars until mine was fixed.
Now y'all, deep down I knew that that was the right and logical thing to do but because of my pride and stubbornness I said no, I can do it myself. I can fix it. My father comes out and starts badgering me about having this car and needing to buy a new one. Saying all the things that I already knew.
I informed him that I was saving money on my own to buy a 2020 Toyota Camry, and that's when all Hell broke loose. It was at that moment that all of my patience left me. My father told me that I was being ridiculous for trying to buy a brand new car instead of buying a used one that's cheaper. He further insulted me by saying that I was going to be house poor and that I was making reckless decisions about spending a lot of my money all at once. My response as I clasped my hands together in front of me was, “Dad, do I tell you how to spend your money when you are out buying cars and other big purchases? No, I don't.”
PAUSE:
(This should have been the part where I should have walked away and kept my mouth shut. Discipline is key, yall. Remember what I said on Motivational Monday: Setting Boundaries To Protect A Good Heart!, you have to know and recognize your limitations and triggers, or else you will fall short.)
PLAY:
This conversation was heated and went on for more than 10 minutes. There were harsh words being spoken from both sides. I was heated and my father was grinning (this made me even madder) and not understanding me, plus I didn't ask for his advice in the first place.
Now mind you, my parents have always told their children to show respect to our elders, but listen, I ignored that lesson that day. lol. I was ready to throw hands, elbows, and anything else at my father if this continued any longer. I already had my fingers clasped together and was ready for anything.
Be quiet when you're in the process of pain and suffering,
you will say things you will later regret because,
it's not apart of your character in the first place.
My best friend was in the car with me, at the time, begging me to purchase a car with enterprise and avoid further tension all together. She literally said, “Sherronda, I know you're upset but look, I found a car for you all you have to do is tell me okay and I'll purchase it, right here and now." Like y'all, she had my card and everything ready to go.
At that moment, I began to cry, and my chest got tight. I was hurting. Not because of the car, but because I had so much built up anger and I didn't even recognize myself. All of my judgment was compromised because they were wrapped up in hatred. I literally heard God tell me, "be humble and ask for help. There’s healing in the midst, but you have to be obedient." So, I told my friend no it’s okay. I got out of my car, swallowed my pride, and I spoke to my dad. I told him I needed his help, and he told me that I could use his car but he first had to ask for permission because it was not his but his girlfriends.
I was like COME ON GOD!! REALLY!!
I continued to hear God continuously say in my head, "humble yourself, you can't be picky. Humble yourself!"
He called his girlfriend, AND surprisingly she said yes. I rode off in my dad’s girlfriend's car pissed off at both God and my father. On the drive home I heard God say, "I got you here now FIX your wrongs and make them right."
THE END
Now, Here’s Where
Obedience and Correction
Comes In
I called my dad’s girlfriend and took her out to lunch as a thank you for helping me in my time of need. I apologized to her for all of the previous and unnecessary disrespect towards her. Y'all I was so mean and rude to this woman and she didn't deserve it. It was spiteful, vengeful, and it all came from a place of hurt and resentment that I had towards my father.
When you are in the wrong, it's hard to self-correct, but I was dead wrong on so many levels, it was ridiculous. Conviction is real.
In January of 2020, I asked my father to come with me to therapy so that I could discuss with him some of the past trauma that I was secretly dealing with. In March of 2020, (in the midst of covid-19) I wrote a letter to my mother informing her of the same things that I was dealing with but I never said out loud.
In the midst of ALL of it, a blessing was in it. Forgiveness. I had to forgive my parents, the people around me, and also myself. It's hard but it's possible.
Here’s the Blessing Due to
Obedience!
This year, I have a brand new car, not a 2020 Toyota Camry. But it’s similar to what I wanted.
Within 3 months time, I had paid off over $2700 dollars worth of credit card debt.
I gained a Financial Advisor who continues to teach me about Financial Independence.
August 17, 2020, A Golden Dream was born.
In the midst of Covid, I was able to have a steady job and multiple streams of income.
A Release Happened When I Forgave Others!
My parents and I are on better speaking terms and that was a blessing within itself!
The Moral Of The Story:
Obedience Is Better Than Sacrifice
Self-Control is a MUST
Listen To God’s Guidance when you are in tempting territory because if you don't it will lead you into Sin.
There's Purpose In The Struggle
When You Come From Love,
Note: If anything, learn from this story and remain humble at all costs. In due time things will fall into place and your faith will elevate! Stay Covered. Stay Humble. Stay Golden!
God is a HEALER
God is a DELIVERER
He Is a WAYMAKER
And all of this worked together
for my GOOD
Because it was Necessary
**I hope everyone has a safe and blessed week and I will see you all on Saturday for our Weekly Topic Saturdays**
~Just Breathe...A Golden Dream~
Amen.