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God Pleaser not People Pleaser

Nowadays I see Churches and Christians becoming more of people pleasers than God pleasers. Church services have now without a doubt formed into concerts and entertainment centres rather than a place of exalting God. It’s a shame to see people lose focus on God because He deserves that moment of adoration and praise for all the goodness He has done in our lives.

We need to focus on our relationship with God, begin to grow stronger in Him and restore that true love for God that is weakening. There was a time where I, myself, was no longer doing the things of God (Such as worship and prayer) because I wanted to do it for God. I started to do them because I felt that was what I was expected to do, I was doing it out of my desire to please others, it was no longer about doing it for the love I had for God. If you read my post “The war is not over yet” I mentioned how there was a time where people would give me many ideas and thoughts wanting to rule my life. However, that is wrong! Nobody can govern your life except God, He is the one you should be trying to please.

The fact is people will always have opinions and a certain way they want you to behave and think. Let me tell you today, forget that, forget them, JUST KEEP DOING YOU! We were not brought on this earth to please mankind, we were put here by God to fulfil what He has purposed for our lives, not what others have purposed for it. It’s by His grace that He gives us a new day every day and allows us to live. If that’s not enough to want to please God then I don’t know what is, because last time I checked people are not the ones who formed us, planned our lives and created a destiny for us before we were even born “Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.” (Psalm 139:6)

We need to start becoming God pleasers again, doing what God finds pleasing. Which is having faith and putting our trust in Him, obeying His commands in our lives and relying on Him always, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for He who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6). Only then will we see His love flow in every aspect of our lives. Let’s stop pleasing people and start pleasing God! Stay blessed!

He wants to do so much in your life, His just waiting on you to give Him your life.

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Prayed? Now What

Ever had that feeling that God is not answering your prayers? Then you start to wonder has God really forsaken you? It’s funny how quickly we as humans find blame in something other than ourselves. We are quick to point fingers at others, though find it difficult to point at ourselves and realise when we are at fault.

There was a time in my life where I would pray and pray and pray, yet see no results. I started to become convinced that God was not hearing me at all, I felt alone and abandoned by God. Wondering all the time what I had done to anger God, was it fixable and could I make him love me again? It was hard to tell people this problem because no matter how much I love my family and friends I didn’t want them to see me in this position. I was afraid of what they would think, what they would say about me to themselves and I was afraid of them thinking less of me. I was stuck in my own bubble of confusion, fear, sadness and hurt.

Then one day I got a revelation as I was reading the bible, the problem wasn’t my thoughts of God abandoning me, it was within me. It was about where my heart was at after prayer. When we pray at times we have these little doubts afterwards, has God really heard me? Is he going to make it really happen? I knew then that my heart was not in the right place. All these thoughts would come and I would allow them to develop and grow with each prayer. God wants to do so much in our lives and he can only do them if we allow him to. Our lack of faith after prayer limits God’s power and blessings towards us. I was limiting God from answering my prayers, I was allowing doubt to cloud my faith and to silence it.

Faith is a critical component to enable God to work upon us, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). The important part of prayer happens after the prayer, so it is very important for us to have faith after prayer. If our hearts are not set right we may block what God had planned to give to us. It’s not that God hasn’t heard us, it’s that we have built a wall and limited his access to our lives. We need to learn to break that wall and have faith and trust God wholeheartedly “Blessed are those who put their trust in Him”(Psalm 2:12). God is ready to give us all he has promised us, however it is up to us to let him in and do so. Stay Blessed!

“For [his] love [for you] is as strong as death” (Song of Solomon 8:6)

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The Truth Shall Set You Free

“the truth is unless you let go, unless you forgive yourself, unless you forgive the situation, unless you realise that the situation is over, you cannot move forward.”
– Dr Steve Maraboli

A Christian life is hard at times and that is the truth. Don’t be fooled by those who tell you it’s all rainbows, sunshine and lollipops. The fact of the matter is that a Christian life is supposed to be hard. Look at Jesus, he died, NAILED on the cross, that all may receive salvation and be free from the bondage of sin. It was not an easy task, even Jesus knew that as he prayed on Mount Olives (Luke 22:39-46) before he was crucified. Where were the rainbows and the sunshine then?

The world full of trials and temptations, we as Christians sometimes forget that we are not meant to be perfect. Every so often, we are bound to fall and become weak, this is only so that God’s power may be seen through us. “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9), this means at times we will end up on the wrong path. This is why God is a forgiving father, his mercy endures forever and will guide us on the right path again.

One of the feelings that stops us from embracing this concept is GUILT. The guilt produced when we have done something wrong or believe we have done something wrong in God’s sight. This guilt convinces us to bury it deep inside “act” like nothing has happened and move on. What we fail to realise is that something already is happening, the more we keep it in, the more it will consume us. We become distant from God, we fear to go before him in prayer, even for a simple thank you, for deep down we still feel that we are not worthy to go before him after what we have done.

Personally, I have been through this road, it’s a dark and lonely one. Our guilt will try and persuade us that everything is okay if we keep staying our distance from God, but that is not the case. As the quote indicates, if you don’t let go, if you don’t forgive yourself and the situation then how can you move forward with God. God said, “come now, let us reason together, though your sins are red as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow” (Isaiah 1:8). God knew that at times we will go astray, but he will always receive us with open arms when we return to him like the father of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32).

God forgave the Israelites time and time again, even when he was greatly angry with them for their sins, he still showed mercy and love to them. So, what more can he forgive and show mercy to you? His most beloved child.

We just need to come to an understanding that all we need to do is bring all our burdens to him “Cast your burden on the Lord, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved” (Psalm 55:22). Present the burden of guilt before God, ask for mercy and surely his mercy shall shine upon you. Surely you will feel free, knowing that the situation is over will give you the capacity to move forward with God. Stay blessed!

Smile in your darkest hours and in your brightest days because God always has your back 🙂

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So the Journey Begins…

If you were expecting that same old first blog post theme, then I am sorry to disappoint. Also, If you were thinking instead, you’re going to be dazzled then you are most certainly incorrect, sorry again. And, to top it all off I am not an amazing writer or author, I’m just simply myself, starting a blog. Well, then what are you here for? Honestly, I can’t answer that however, something did bring you to this blog and read this far, so why stop now, right?

First, let’s paint a scenario, you are sitting there on your desk, laptop opened. Now time to let those creative juices flow and write one amazing blog post. Oh no! you’re stuck, where should you begin? Okay sure, drop down some ideas and pick one, except then what. AHA! Now you’re feeling me, this is where our story will begin…

So, that was yours truly a couple of days ago when I decided to start this blog. Numerous ideas and feelings running through my mind, forcing them to be silent were mission impossible. Let me tell you, it was one heck of a stressful rollercoaster ride with the triple loops and everything. I thought it would never end until I read an amazing blog post (annvoskamp.com) the blogger wrote: “The word of God wastes nothing and he heals two broken hearts with one story- the reader and the writer”. This really struck me and taught me that this blog is not about the views, comments or the followers. It’s about presenting my story to God so that it may benefit myself and those who read my story, YES! you the readers, yes you reading this right now.

This very thought reminded me of why I chose to start Stylishly Inspired. To see women working and supporting each other, sharing ideas, experiences and spreading the word of God. Letting every woman know that she is not alone, that there are others who have been in their situation willing to help them through this blog. Women who benefit from one another, instead of pulling each other down, claiming every man (excuse me) every WOMAN for themselves. YEA! I don’t want that either. I want to see what I hope to see, A WOMEN EMPOWERMENT COMMUNITY.

BUT, I can’t do this alone I need all of you lovely ladies to help and communicate with me. If you have something to share please don’t be shy, don’t hesitate to contact me through the contact page. Even if you just need advice, I’m your girl. Also, I will be posting every Tuesday so you’ll be seeing more of me. so please, join this journey with me because the ending is going to be marvellous. Stay blessed!

P.S. I thought it would be kinda sweet to always end every post with a happy positive vibe. So here goes…

You’re FEARFULLY and WONDERFULLY made! (Psalm 139:14)