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I’ve learned that when I feel busied, I need to hit the brakes.

When anxiousness or a feeling of drivenness fuels my actions for the day, and my thoughts are speedy or derailed,

when the tendency is to do more and faster,

when tasks pile up and I feel overwhelmed,

When I’m blinded by opportunities

crowded with all the things I don’t have time to do…

It’s time to STOP!

Because as believers, we’re not driven, we’re led.

The loss of the rhema word (The "right-now Word of God" spoken to the heart) in the noise leads to busyness and anxiety.

I could get lost at sea for days in this stormy state. Now I’ve learned to halt the ship and come straight back into harbour for fresh direction the moment I sense choppy waters ahead.

Why do I share this today? Because it’s precisely how I was feeling just 3 hours ago (at time of writing). Too much to do, not enough time to do it, and my heart and mind racing for ways to pack three weeks into three days.

What to do when there’s too much to do?

Stop. Pray. Rest. Listen. Reset.

Let tumultuous thoughts settle in His presence.

Stay there until you hear.

How do you know you’ve heard?

When you see, sense or hear words spoken (God speaks in many ways) that carry a supernatural peace. Peace that disarms the lies of self-preservation, fear of missing out, or lack of time and talent.

This morning, amidst a storm of ideas and opportunities and demands, I instead took two hours to get still and seek God (not a testament to my spirituality, more an indication of my stubbornness, because that’s simply how long it took to tame my soul and it shut it up long enough to listen).

“Words Are My Way”

“Words are my way,” He said to me.

In fact, I think it was actually my own spirit relaying to my mind what the Holy Spirit has spoken inwardly to the real me on the inside. The one who never worries. The one who trusts in God come what may.

“Words are my way”, I repeated. Several times. With each utterance peace washed over my troubled soul and I was reminded.

God is in charge. His timing is perfect.

And words are my way.

So I wrote some.

I hope they are helpful to you.

Grace,

David

PS: What’s the Holy Ghost speaking to you? Give Him time. Make room for rhema. Your sense of confidence will soar, and the temptation to fear or FOMO will flee. hallelujah!

Condemned!

That’s what we once were.

Fated to failure, with of string of defeats paving the way to our ultimate demise.

Like Jean Valjean, we were miserable.

Despite our best and most noble efforts to harness our existence to some gracious end, we found ourselves in the Romans 7 grip. What we vowed not to do we ended up doing, and what we wanted to do ended up being impossibly beyond our grasp. Bad habits and hokey thinking were our taskmasters and jailors, keeping us small and hindering our every step. Caught in a circle of hopeless defeat.

Thank God Romans 7 leads into the victory cry of chapter 8:

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1 KJV)

Dude, you are no longer condemned to repeat the same cycles.

You can shake off the chains of yesterday and embrace new habits, starting today.

Here’s some habits I’m learning to hug:

• Believing I have something worth sharing.
• Acting on that belief.
• Not worrying so much about what others will think.
• Making (not just waiting for) time to pray, pray, pray.
• Having the sense to measure less by pounds, dollars and cents.
• Not waiting for perfect circumstances before taking action.
• Writing every day, even just a word or two.
• Saying yes to opportunities when they come,
• Saying no to opportunities when they come,
• Praying and waiting on God to know the difference!

What about you?

What habits are you learning to hug?

Grace,

David

PS: Check out this video interview with brand new published and now Amazon bestselling author, Dr. Gemima Fitzgerald.

Gemima’s book, RISE: A Christian Clinical Psychologist’s Story of Recovery & Restoration from Domestic Abuse, is incredibly personal and powerful. You’ll hear her heart for God all through this short interview, and I hope that you’ll also be inspired to consider telling your own story to benefit others. I’m inviting 20 more first time author’s to join me in September for the next ‘Anointed Authors’ cohort. Interested to find out more? Go here https://christiancreative.academy/anointedauthors

Habits.

Sometimes.

Need.

A good.

Kicking.

Here’s some of mine:

• Sabotaging my successes by talking myself down.
• Overthinking to the point of paralysis
• Feeling insecure and inadequate in the company of successful people.
• Fearing failure so never even trying (or procrastinating for so long the idea goes stale).
• Judging my worth by the number of dollars in the bank or followers on the social scales.
• Overestimating what others create and produce,
• Underestimating what I bring to the table.
• Worrying about what will happen tomorrow instead of focussing on what I can do today.

The list goes on.

What habits are you kicking?

Do yourself a favor with a comment or reply to expose those sneaky lies that hold you back. Burn it in the light!

Tomorrow we’ll talk about replacing the old with the new…

Quitting is sometimes the best foot forward.

Here’s an example…

Quit trying to be ‘someone’ and be your God-shaped self instead.

Just BE in His presence.

Enough.

And leave that place empowered to face the day.

God Himself led the way when asked by Moses, “Whom shall I say sent me?”

“I AM has sent me unto you.” (Exodus 3:14) was God’s reply.

Who are you?

You are!

And that’s precisely who the world needs to hear and meet.

Not a cardboard cutout Christian, or a cookie-cutter creative. Not an echo-echo-echo-entrepreneur, or a wonted well-worn writer copying the latest trend.

There’s an original living in that body of yours, and He or she is waiting to be welcomed.

First by you, and then by the world.

Don’t be swayed by what others see each day in their mirror, embrace yourself warts and all and find ways to express yourself that bring value to others.

In the book of Daniel, I discovered a tip to multiply your impact.

Daniel and his three friends set themselves apart to serve their God. The same God that we serve as born-again believers. The boys were not in church, not cloistered in a synagogue – they were right in the belly of an ungodly kingdom, requisitioned to serve their captors.

Offered seats around the heathen king’s tables, urged to savour the world’s delicacies and intoxicating liquor, they chose instead not to stray. To stay simple and sanctified.

There are so many seductive avenues we can be drawn to.

Compromises both small and large promising success and recognition.

A hustle culture that deifies busyness and bluster.

The constant cry to accumulate, compete, and compare.

It’s a loud world we navigate.

Shhhhhh.

Hush your mind. Still your heart.

Let peace be your umpire.

Sanctify yourself and your work to God as the children of Judah did. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah refused to sit at the table of greed. The greatness they sought was in the eyes of God, not in the estimation of people. They tempered their appetites and believed the Lord to lead and position them as He saw fit.

The results are remarkable:

“…in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king enquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm.” (Daniel 1:20 KJV)

A “ten times better” anointing.

Double-digit ability and insight.

Could we do the same in our domestic, creative, business, and ministry pursuits today?

I believe so.

Settle once and for all that God Almighty is your Papa and your Partner in every pursuit.

Don’t fear or fuss about what others will think or say.

Walk His way. Seek His Kingdom

And you’ll find your way to the final milestone.