I'm About To Lose Control

Till this day, I struggle with control..or should I say losing control. In my years growing up until this point, I always felt frazzled. Where am I going to sleep? What am I going to eat? Where am I going to work? How will I get to work? When all those aspects kind of fell into place, then, I knew it was because my own will that I was where I was based on my own efforts. However, God just revealed to me that I was never in control, not even then. 

Pause. "What chu mean, God?! During some of those times I wasn't even serving you with my life like I am now?" Yet He reminded me of the infamous verse while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. In other words, While I was out "doing me", making plans, and trying to figure it all out, God was still working on my behalf!! Why? Because He loves me!

So here I am today. Right now. In this moment. Am I really where I want to be in life? If I compare my life to everyone else..well, no. Do my finances look all that great..eh they "aight". Am I super confident that what God has told me to do will come to pass...hmm ask me tomorrow! Why am I feeling this way? Because I am a control freak! I try to control the very a God of the universe to meet self made deadlines and emotions. What is wrong with me? Well as studies show, it only takes 21 days to build a habit, but it seems like forever to break that same dag on habit!! It feels like I will never be able to fully lose control! 

Now, This just blew my mind. If God can totally take care of me when I was not fully living for Him, why wouldn't He now when I am basically sold out?! I mean, He took care of me in the way of at one point I was working two jobs, with no car, on the outskirts of a well known college campus in Tennessee. My day began walking at 6 am to job A ,and ended with me walking home at 1 am from job B. Never was I snatched up, kidnapped, raped, or put in any danger. I can solely remember one night walking home and this man just sitting in the dark said "young girls like you ought never to be walking the streets alone at this time of night," yet he never got up. Brotha, never bust a move! He even did a creepy glance at the end of his statement. Years later, the Lord showed me that exact night, along with some other moments, and He replayed that moment when I walked by that man and He showed me how He had Angels walking right beside me! I cried that night. Hard. 

He took care of me then, and He took care of you way back when. So he can take care of us now...right where we are. Yet, why is is so hard to believe that?  Sometimes, we have to give ourselves a playback on what God has done, in order to move forward. Everybody that knows me knows I LOVE sports. So it's just like in basketball [Let me set this up for the Glory, ha!]..It is tied In the fourth quarter...20 seconds on the clock. The ball goes out of bounds, yet there's a discrepancy on who touched it last. Officials will stop the entire game to watch the playback...More than once so they'll know for sure the right team is awarded the ball. Those last minute replays can be very crucial to a game! They play a big part in determining the victor of that game! They don't give the ball to whomever they feel like because they're deep in their emotions (well..most times...Lord bless it). No! They know they review the play because they know it is crucial to moving forward in the game. Now, what if they never replayed that possession, and gave the ball away based on feeling alone. Victory may be given to someone less worthy.

Just like our God playbacks are very crucial to moving forward in our lives. Without them, we'd make emotional decisions about moving forward with life based on our emotions. Then those decisions birth consequences (giving short lived victory to someone/something less deserving) and now we have no control on how to fix them! Then we're on our faces asking or complaining  to God about how are life isn't going the way we want. Fix it Jesus! 

If you're like me and struggle with this area of life, Let's skip a step and just be on our faces and give God full control from the start. Then He will birth consequences that were meant just for good. All consequences aren't bad ya know? People equate losing control as a bad thing. "Girl, she done lost control!" "Honey she done lost her mind!" Well...if we lose control for the sake of Christ than that's not a loss, it's an eternal gain. 

I'm fixin to lose control!!!! #LetTheShoutingCommence How about you?!!

Loving you,

Chelsea Elizabeth

Biblical Refrences 

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (‭Romans‬ ‭5‬:‭8‬ NIV)
But you will not leave in haste or go in flight; for the Lord will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard. (‭Isaiah‬ ‭52‬:‭12‬ NIV)
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭28‬ NIV)

Good Friday

Today, I as a Christian acknowledge Good Friday. I acknowledge His death on the cross for me more than two thousand years ago when He declared that IT IS FINISHED. This day represents why I am free, why I worship Him with my life, why my sins are eternally forgiven,  and why I will ultimately spend eternity in Heaven with Him!

This day brings such a bittersweet feeling. It depicts Christ's gruesome death while simultaneously depicting His unrelenting love for me. I can't imagine my life without Him. He is the greatest love I've ever known.

If the darkest day in history can still be called GOOD than that should show how powerful Christ truly is! He is Holy, and although I commemorate His death today, I know I serve and honor the One True Living God every single day!

The Barren Woman

Isaiah 54:1

God instructs the woman, who is unable to bare children, to rejoice, sing, shout for joy and worship! Now why would He say that? Sometimes we ask God the same question. How can I worship when the very thing that I want, I can not have?

The barren women of that time were considered useless, basically not women at all. If a woman could not bare children for her husband they were considered of no value, but Inspite of all that God instructs the woman to rejoice. Why? "More are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband."

We may go through the unimaginable, even, the unspeakable, yet God says to rejoice. Why? To worship is to be obedient, and people are attached to our very obedience to Him. The barren woman, of whose name we do not know, would raise more soldiers for the Kingdom of  Heaven than she could ever naturally bare. She could spiritually bore children of God by showing and teaching them how to overcome such pain and rejection. We can not teach what we do not know.

In the bible it says that Jesus became flesh. (John 1:14). He endured all that we have to endured, yet He did it without sinning. (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus is our ultimate example, our spiritual Teacher. I personally would not be able to trust the words of advice or guidance of someone who has never experienced what I've been through.

Growing up, I experienced immeasurable amounts of rejection, which I carried on into my adulthood. Those feelings of rejection would often times become too heavy and unbearable. Yet now when those feelings arise, I know I can go to Jesus.

The very God of our existence turned His back on Jesus as He hung there on the cross for our salvation. (Matthew 27:45-46). So, Jesus was the ultimate reject! He endured. He is victorious, and if He can do it, by His grace and strength, so can I (Phil. 4:13).

Don't sulk, become weary, or be embarrassed of your story (Oh! How I've there). You go through the fire to assist the ones, some of whose names you do not know, to glorious victory and freedom! Rejoice, burst into song because God has hand selected you to reach others for His glory.



Loving you,


Chelsea Elizabeth

While He Is Silent

Sometimes, in our Christian walk we can feel as though God is silent. We can feel that our prayers only reach as high as the ceiling, or that they are simply rituals without feeling or passion. Our circumstances give us a sense that our ever-present God is not so present after all. The results? It can lead to depression or despair and it can have us asking "Where is my God?"

As I read today in 1 Kings 18-19, I looked deeper into the life of a prophet named ELIJAH. In chapter 18, Elijah is used as a vessel to display God's glory to the prophets of Baal. After doing this, in the last verse of chapter 18, the bible says "the power of The Lord came upon ELIJAH." In the beginning of chapter 19, we see that ELIJAH becomes depressed. I can relate to ELIJAH in feeling overwhelmingly depressed after having such a strong spiritual high! The enemy, Jezebel, was out for his life. As followers of Christ, the enemy hates the God in us, and will do anything to distract us from keeping our eyes off Christ and on our current life issues.

So circumstances arise, and like ELIJAH, we run and wallow in our misery. As we run and wallow and run and wallow, we become weary. After wallowing and crying out to The Lord, ELIJAH falls asleep. I believe this represents how God just wants us to rest in Him. In the bible it says in verses 5-8, that an angel came to bring ELIJAH food and it strengthened him to make to take the next steps of his journey. When we rest in God, through His word and prayer, we allow Him to strengthen us to take the next steps of our own journey: life. Once ELIJAH was strengthened, God was able to speak to Him and instruct him on where to go next.

So, His silence isn't deafening, it's strengthening. It instructs us. We want God to show up and rescue us from our circumstances with a big flash so the world can see how He came through for us. That's not always His will. On in the story, God instructed ELIJAH to "go and stand on the mountain because the presence of The Lord is going to pass by (I Kn 19:11)." God did not come through the wind. He did not come through the earthquake. He did not even come through the fire. After all of the that, He came with a gentle whisper to speak to ELIJAH (I Kn 19: 11-12).

ELIJAH never would have experienced God in this way without being threatened by Jezebel. We can't look at our circumstances as death sentences. Let's look at them as growing pains to be able to experience The Lord in ways we never have before. In Ways that don't consist of standing in front of thousands  for God to meet you, or getting prayed over by some preacher/prophet. I'm not saying those are bad things, but often we look to creation for strength and answers before we look to the Creator. Let's grow by experiencing His gentle whisper today.


Loving you,

Chelsea Elizabeth

Brave

—adjective, brav·er, brav·est.

1. possessing or exhibiting courage or courageous endurance.

There's this song that's been heavy on my heart. It's called "You Make Me Brave" by Bethel & Amanda Cook. 

Now as we now not every fight or test in this life will be a sweat-less victory. Sometimes we have to fight to the death to be victorious. This, in life, can be overcoming any addiction or just learning a life lesson. For me, it is trusting God with my very life and everything that's in it.

I have always had to fight for survival growing up. When you don't have constant parental guidance what else is there to do? This has become my habit, even my addiction. Now that I have a personal relationship with Christ, He is showing me that I don't have to fight any more. However, it is a hard concept to grasp. I have been fighting to release complete control to Him, but something in me always wants to keep just a piece of control: fear.

Fear is the concept of not having control. If you lose control of your car on a busy street, you'd become fearful, right? Your life is hanging in the balance and you are genuinely afraid! Why am I afraid to release my very life to a God who controls the universe?!

Recently, some issues arose that I had no control over, and I began to become angry because I was afraid. God sat me down and just comforted me. I turned on some worship music and what do you know?! The Bethel and Amanda Cook song came on! 

There's a part of the song that simply says:

You make me brave
You make me brave
You called me out beyond the shore
Into the waves

You make me brave
You make me brave
No fear can hinder now 
The love that made a way

When the waves of this life become overwhelming I do not have to be afraid. My Savior walks on water! He's defeated death!  Through Him, I am strong. He makes me brave and courageous that I can conquer anything in this life! I pray this concept not only inspires you and I, but is also rooted in our hearts! 


Romans 8:37 We are overwhelmingly victorious through Christ Jesus. 


Loving you,

Chelsea Elizabeth 

Psalm 103 Reminders: Never Forget

HE:

Forgives ALL my sins
Heals ALL my diseases
Redeems my life from the pit
Crowns me with love and compassion
Satisfies my desires with good things
Is compassionate and gracious
Is slow to anger and abounding in love
Will not always accuse
Will not harbor His anger forever
Does not treat us as our sins deserve
Does not pay us according to our iniquities

Bow and Arrow

Assume the shooting position.
Nock the arrow.
Draw and anchor the bow.
Aim.
Release the string.
Follow through.


These are the steps to shooting a bow and arrow. God spoke to me and said sometimes our life can be like these six steps of shooting a bow and arrow. Now God would represent the shooter because He has all power to hold things in this life steady and of course He has great instincts on where He would like for us to go. We would be the arrow, and the bow would be the position of life we are currently in. Let's break this down step by step shall we?

Step 1: Assume the shooting Position
Now with God being well....God, He is always in a position to place us where we need to be at any time. Due to Him being the Almighty, He has all authority to direct us to where He wants us to be and what place would be best for us. His stance or "position" is being holy in our lives.

Step 2: Nock the Arrow
Honestly, I had to look up what this meant. Basically this step is positioning the arrow in the bow. So we as the arrow would be positioned by God in this very moment of our lives. Now remember, the bow represents where we currently are. Now can this place be uncomfortable? Absolutely, because ultimately this is not where we are headed. We are just put into position of where we are going to be!

Step 3: Draw and Anchor the Bow
This step is very important! Drawing the bow is where the shooter pulls it backwards in order to get in position to release. When God is drawing us in life, it may seem like nothing is going the way that it should. We may feel like we have taken a few steps back, and well we have! We may feel forgotten and abandoned and it may be dark and feel lonely, but that's not the case! As the Shooter is drawing the bow, He is also anchoring it. He is holding it steady, so that it won't be released prematurely. We are right where we need to be!

Step 4: Aim
God will begin to open doors and position you to right where you need to be.  We may be here for a while, and that's ok. Sometimes the target isn't quite ready to be hit. Pray constantly and seek Him.

Step 5: Release
Now He has released you to the very place He wants you to be in. Remember, It has to be at the proper time. If He releases too early the target place will be behind you and pass you up, and if it's too late...well we know how that goes.

Step 6: Follow Through
Watch God protect you and enable you to walk through His desired place in this life for you.

I hope this has encouraged you as it has encouraged me. This gives me hope that God has way more in store than where I am at this current point in my life. Hey...#WontHeDoIt?!?! Share this with someone who needs it a dose of hope.

Loving You,

Chelsea Elizabeth

Sometimes vs. All The Time

Sometimes, I just can't wrap my head around how good You are.
Sometimes, I can't see how you could bless someone like me.
Sometimes, I wish I was better for You.

Yet, all the time, Your grace envelopes me.
Yet, all the time, Your blessings are abundant.
And
Yet, all the time Your love for me never changes.

Thank You for finding me in my shades of sometimes.
There, I find You waiting patiently for me.
There, Your iridescent presence puts my darkness to shame.
And
There, my sometimes evaporate in your, all the time, love.