BeyondSeeLevel

I’ve been in some mighty low places in my lifetime. Woke up crying. Went to bed crying. Forcing myself to move when I wanted to crawl in a hole somewhere and die. At certain times, wishing that God would just take my life and all the pain be over. I would pray. Sometimes, I couldn’t pray. I just sat with my eyes closed. Numb.

I’m not sure what people saw when they looked at me, but I was a mess on the inside. In the span of a few months, I lost my mother to cancer, ended trying to save my marriage to a drug addicted, violent spouse and I lost a job. Somehow, I had to keep going to take care of my children. It seemed like things weren’t letting up and the pain continued.

I remember, after finally realizing my limitations, praying “Lord, if you choose not to change my circumstances, change me.” Talk about breaking some chains! This what definitely a “But God!” moment.

Somehow, God started working on the inside of me in a way that couldn’t even be touched by what was happening on the outside of me. I accepted what I couldn’t change. And I did what I could do for myself. I shifted my expectations, my energy and my focus. What the enemy tried to use to destroy me, was the exact thing God used to develop me.

I’ve learned that the pain doesn’t last forever. I’ve learned that what the enemy means for evil, God will and can purpose it for my growth and His glory (if I’m willing to surrender all to Him). I’ve learned that while I was waiting on God to show up, He was waiting on me to realize that He was already there. He was ALWAYS there! He sustained me!

*Tressa Jo

Faith requires us to stand still and wait on the Lord for what our hearts hope for. We don’t just wait, but we wait for it to be delivered in a package that glorifies and pleases God.

At an opportune time of vulnerability, depression, impatience and desperation, the enemy will present a facsimile of the package we’ve been praying and hoping for. That package may pleases us, but it doesn’t automatically please God. So now we’re faced with denying and rejecting what pleases us because we know it won’t please God.

We may develop this underlying resentment toward God and our walk because it seems to keep us away from what or who we want. But we can’t take possession of it because of what and Who we know. It feels right. But it’s not righteous.

Now the struggle in our human nature is trusting God in the waiting room of obedience while being frustrated, disappointed and tired of waiting for what we hope for.

Know this: The enemy will always send counterfeits. Counterfeits are demonically designed to deceive, debilitate, then destroy. Your faith walk with God is Divinely designed to protect you, not to restrict you.

God sees what we can’t and knows what we don’t know. In His will, we are benefactors of His protection. Outside of His will, we become fair game for the enemy.

We must understand that the enemy isn’t just trying to give you a bad day or a bad season. He’s trying to destroy you. And very often, he uses your own desires as bait to do it.

Keep your desires holy and wait on the Lord. Remember, our lives are purposed to bring God glory, not just ourselves pleasure.

*Tressa Jo

“‘But you, mountains of Israel, will produce branches and fruit for my people Israel, for they will soon come home. – Ezekiel 36:8

Our Father, in heaven

I thank You for being so high and so holy. I thank You for being our hope in a desolate land. You are a merciful Father, truly loving us beyond our faults. Thank You for dealing with us, in our waywardness, with much love, mercy and grace. Lord, we surely don’t deserve anything good, but because You love us so much, You continue to bless us anyway. Thank You!

You chasten those You love because You love us enough not to leave us in our sin; in our mess; in darkness. Thank You for complicating our lives when we stand a sinful distance from You. Thank you for the discomforts of discipline that usher us back to You in repentance.

Lord, as you restore us back to You, I pray that the mountains of life we face produce branches and fruit for us. You tell us in Your Word, that all things will work out for our good. So I pray that the mountains that we once faced that challenged and chastised us, now spring forth peaceful blessings in our lives. Blessing that will constantly remind us of Your goodness and grace. Let the mountains produce the fruit of obedience; the fruit of Holiness; the fruit of faithfulness; the fruit discipline in us. Let the mountains produce in our lives all things that will bring You the highest glory and help us grow in Your grace.

Help us learn from the error of our ways. Help us walk in humility that we may see the “us” You see in us. Lord, it’s so easy to be blinded by pride. Pride has blinded many of us from seeing and hearing what You want us to hear; what we need to hear. Lord, open our ears, that we may hear. Open our eyes, that we may see.

Create in us a clean heart that we may worship You. Give us an appetite for Holiness. Transform our minds that we may know Your will for our lives. Work in us to will and to do what pleases You. We need You to guide us and to tell us what to do because we can’t direct our own lives. We are sheep in need of a Shepard. Help us not lean on to our own understanding.

Lord, God, You are our only Source! You are our coming and our going, our beginning and our end. Help us honor You with the lives You’ve given us every day we live, in word, thought and deed. Help us never to become so cavalier or too comfortable with You or Your blessings that we start to think and act like You have to do what You do for us. Help us always have a heart of thanksgiving toward You. You are the Holy God of heaven and no other is above You! We bless Your name God!

Amen

*Tressa Jo

Psalms 69:16
Answer me, Lord, out of the goodness of Your Love; in your great Mercy turn to me.

Lord, I thank You For being a God that informs, instructs and admonishes your children out of love. I thank you for being a listening ear. I thank you for hearing the concerns of our hearts. Lord, help me to approach Your throne in humility, always seeking to hear Your answer–and not my own answer. I know that You will always lead us in the paths of righteousness for Your name’s sake. And because You love us, You always seek our good. Help us fully trust in Your precious promises and your answers for our lives. You are a trustworthy Savior. We will not lean unto our own understanding, but we will fully trust You for guidance in our lives unto death.

In Jesus’s name I pray

Amen

*Tressa Jo

For You are my hope; O Lord God, You are my confidence from my youth. By You I have been sustained from my birth; You are He who took me from my mother’s womb; My praise is continually of You. Psalm 71:5-6

Lord, I thank You before being my Father and my God. You are such and awesome God, and worthy to be praise. Thank You for loving me in spite of me. Thank you for using me as a vessel for Your glory. Thank You for creating me on purpose and with purpose. Help me to always recognize any walk in my identity, value and worth in You, God. Help me resist the world’s attempts to conform me and assign me its identity and draw me away from You.

Thank You for being my hope. Thank You for not leaving me to what I only can see in this life. Thank You for Your precious promises for eternal life with You in glory forever. Forgive me for putting my hope, faith and trust in things of the world. Help me to hope in You always.

Thank you for being my confidence. I have no fear. I boldly walk in Your Light, fully trusting Your strength and power. Even when I’m in the valleys of life, I’m confident that Your power will cover me and protect me. Thank You for never being intimidated by any force of darkness or any storm that comes into my life. You are All Powerful! You are my strength and my refuge! And even when I’m too weak to do anything for myself, You tell me in Your Word that Your strength is made perfect in my weakness. Thank you Lord for that! I don’t have to know it all. I don’t have to have it all. I don’t always have to have strength. For when I am weak, then You are strong. Help me learn how to be weak in You and not lean to my own understanding or trust my own strength. Help me submit to Your guidance for my life in everything.

Lord, You’ve sustained me from my birth. And You sustain me now! You sustain me! You’ve kept me in times when I didn’t even have enough sense to know I needed to be kept! Bless Your holy name!!

You are simply an amazing God! There’s none above You! Thank You for calling me out of this dark world into Your marvelous Light. Thank You for working in me, both to will and do what pleases You. Any and everything good in me, is because of You, Lord. And I thank You. Thank You for being mindful of my most pitiful self from the beginning of time. Thank You for affording me this opportunity of a life time to share in the likeness of Your Son, Jesus! I pray that You increase my appetite to love You, to worship You, to serve You and to praise You all the days of my life.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

*Tressa Jo

It’s obvious that the martial union is under attack by the devil. The devil knows that marriage between a man and a woman was Divinely designed by God to exemplify His love and relationship with His bride, the Church. No wonder there are so many divorces among children of God. It’s a direct attack against the Kingdom of God.

We know that the enemy attacks from the outside-in. He seeks to use worldly systems to infect the heart of our marriages. (Primarily in the before marriage stages) He uses perverse agendas to deviate people of God away from biblical and godly stewarding of their marriages. In other words, he convinces us that we can infuse our marriages with the ways of the world and still manifest God’s design. He blinds us to the fact that the world’s systems may feel good to us, but they aren’t good for us. And they surely won’t bring God any glory.

What happens when the forces against us and our marriages aren’t coming from the outside, but they’re actually coming from the inside–not spouse against spouse, by self against marriage? What happens when you have a blessed union, but your inner man is opposing what God has put together?

The world isn’t against your marriage. You are! You may have good intentions. But consider for a moment that you may actually be a problem within your marriage. One ploy of the enemy is to consume you with the beam in your spouse’s eye so that you can’t see the plank in your own.

Does finding the “me” in the mess of your marriage mean that you exonerate your spouse of any wrong doing? Absolutely not! What it does is open the door for you to work on you and your marriage at the same time. You can’t have a better marriage without becoming better individuals.

The reality is that all marriages aren’t ending in divorce because of infidelity, abandonment or abuse. Many are ending because the “I” is bigger than the “us”. Whenever the “I” is bigger than the “us”, one or both are being lead by a spirit of individualism, pride and self-centeredness.

What if your mindset about marriage is the problem? What if how you see your spouse has created an unfair and unreasonable approach toward your spouse and your marriage? Could your reasoning be part of the problem even when your behaviours aren’t?

Consider these two thoughts: (there are more):

>You must manage your expectations of your spouse.
>You must make sure that God is your primary source for fulfillment and sustainment.

“Manage your expectations.”

Make sure that you’re not expecting your spouse to be something for you that they shouldn’t be. Too often, we hold our spouses responsible for what we’re responsible for — our happiness, our peace of mind, our emotional wellness, our self-esteem, etc. Your spouse affects and influences these things. They are not responsible for them.

Make sure that you’re not expecting your spouse to be for you what somebody else is for their spouse. Many of us have taken Satan’s bait of fantasy. We’ve fantasized about the perfect mate and the perfect spouse so long that we’ve made it impossible to enter into any relationship with realistic expectations.

We look at the movies, read the books and listen to the love songs and use them as references as we map out the future for our relationships. Then we look at images of the happy couple next door or on the television and say to ourselves “I want that kind of love.” #RelationshipGoals #PowerCouple

As we continue to gaze on the lives of others and fantasize about what could be, we pull ourselves farther and farther away from reality and contentment. And we don’t even realize that we’ve embraced our spouse with an expectation that they’ll eventually be the culmination of those we’ve imagined and fantasized about for years. You didn’t marry your spouse. You married your fantasy and imagination. Now you blame them for your disappointment for not measuring up to what’s in your imagination.

“And make sure that God is your primary source for fulfillment and sustainment.”

God should be your primary source for every level of emotional, mental, and spiritual health and stability. You set yourself up for disappointments when you transfer that responsibility onto your spouse. Your spouse is your partner, not your God. And remember, they’re just as human as you are.

The Bible teaches us that “every man is right in his own sight”. Walk with a humble spirit in life and in your marriage. You both are works in progress and subject to be wrong, even when you feel you’re right. Pray and ask God to show you “YOU”. Especially, when your relationship with your spouse is strained. God may reveal to you that you’ve been submitting your spouse to Him to fix, but you haven’t been submitting your own heart to God to fix.

Marriage is a beautiful thing. It’s a holy union.  Marriage can bring out the best in you. But it can also expose you to the worst in you. Submit yourself to God. Then submit your marriage to God. You can’t expect God to work on your marriage when you won’t allow Him to work on you first.

*Tressa Jo

When I was younger, I remember distinctly being able to hear the birds chirping in the morning and throughout the day. I paid attention to them. It was easy. As I child, I spent lots of time outside playing. I was carefree. I didn’t have many worries or responsibilities then. But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve noticed that I don’t hear the birds as distinctly as I used to. I see them all the time, but I don’t hear them. As a matter of fact, for the longest, I haven’t paid much attention to them at all, unless they poop on my car.

I realized that just because I don’t hear the birds, doesn’t mean they aren’t chirping. On Saturday mornings, I wake up but lay in the bed for a while. My home is surrounded by trees and when the house is still and quiet, I hear the birds loud and clear. And after I hear them, I pay attention to them. I can hear the different ranges of serenades from the outside.

Of course this had me thinking. When life speaks to us, what distractions in life have made it difficult to hear? Life around us and in us is communicating with us constantly. But what are we actually listening to? What are we sitting still long enough to actually hear? Are we too busy and distracted to hear what we need to hear because we’re too consumed with life?

It’s interesting. Once the house wakes up, the sounds of the birds seem to become more distant and faint. It’s not the birds that shift that makes them become distant. It’s my attention that shifts. The birds are still there. They’re still singing and chirping. But I’ve stopped paying attention to them.

Sometimes in life, we become so cavalier with those consistently around us, it’s easy for their voices to get lost in the crowd of life’s distractions. We hear them talking but we’re not listening. Why? Perhaps familiarity breeds contentment. We’ve become so used to the voices that we’ve stop paying attention to what’s being said. Unfortunately, too often, desiring to hear that voice won’t become a priority until that voice is no longer around to speak.

What about God’s voice? He speaks all the time. But do we hear His voice? Or has His voice been lost in the daily chaos of our lives. Has the voice of God become so familiar to us that we can no longer distinctly hear Him? Are we able to decipher His voice from another’s? Are we even paying Him any attention? Are we sitting still long enough to hear what He wants to say to us?

My sheep hear My voice. – John 10:27

But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. – Luke 5:16

…Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.
– Luke 6:12

*Tressa Jo

We are in this world, but not of this world.
“Out of sight. Out of mind” does not prove or develop spiritual maturity. (Spiritual) maturity and strength is developed when a muscle is used; not when it’s put in a cast for protection and isolation. That actually weakens the muscle because it’s not being used.

Whenever you’re challenged externally, don’t attack it with complaints or criticism. Attack it with prayer and the Word of God. What’s on the outside of you is fighting to come in. But what’s on the inside of you is fighting to come out.

Therefore, we must understand that our input will determine our output. If you allow the world and sin to come in, worldliness and sin will go out of you. If you allow the power of God’s Word to go into you, Holy Ghost power will come out of you.

You will never be able to consistently control or manipulate what’s happening around you to cater to what’s happening in you. The weights or pressures around you will either aide in destroying you or making you stronger.

Whenever you are met with a reminder of your struggle, weakness, sin or brokenness, this just proves that you still have work to do. You’re still a work in progress. We all are.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that just because you don’t “feel” attacked by the enemy, that he’s not attacking you. The enemy knows that “feeling better/good” is one of the most effective ways to deceive a person into letting their guard down. They become comfortable and complacent. They become less vigilant and even grow weaker.

When we ask God to help us with our weaknesses, expect Him to provide opportunities to exercise and work out that weakness in order to strengthen us.

You can’t isolate, nor insulate yourself from the attacks of the enemy. If you choose to ignore the enemy’s attacks in your life, it still won’t make him go away. If you’re not resisting him intentionally, you’re not resisting him at all.

So you have a decision to make. You either prepare by clothing yourself in the full armor of God. Or you remain fair game for the enemy. Either way, he’s still coming for you.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel. Ephesians 6:10-19

*Tressa Jo

How easy it is for us, as children of God, to be distracted from what really matters? The enemy uses legitimate situations to pull us away from what matters most. The enemy knows that all he has to do is shift our focus, intentions and priorities. And we’re so easily deceived because most of the time we’re still doing everything that we’re supposed to do, but over time, the main thing becomes less of a priority.

But we still feel a sense of pride and accomplishment because we’re taking care of business.

As servants in the Kingdom, it’s important that we serve and we make contributions to the works that are going on in our local congregations. Faith without works is dead.

When God commissioned Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egyptian bondage, Moses would stand before Pharaoh and say “Let my people go so that they may worship me.” God knew then, that the Israelites were conditioned and accustomed to working for their task master. The intentions of their hearts did not matter.

But as God would lead the Israelites out of bondage and into the Promised Land, they were simultaneously being led into a liberated relationship of worship. God knew then and now, that it’s easy for us to give Him our hands without giving him our hearts. Unlike the taskmasters in their Egyptian bondage, God cares that we want to be in this relationship with Him. Likewise, He also wants us to love and serve Him.

Sincere worship towards God will manifest work and service for God. However, work does not always manifest worship. You work with your hands, but you worship with your heart. That’s what God wants. Our hearts.

The enemy knows that everyday, all over the world, children of God have replaced worship for work. We have consumed ourselves with the works in our local congregations at the expense of having worship experiences with God.

As we work harder and harder in the church, we become weaker and weaker in the faith because we have failed to keep the main thing the main thing. This is the result of the enemy’s plots and schemes against the Kingdom of God. The enemy knows that if we get busy doing good works and feel a sense of security in those works, that it can potentially shift our focus and eventually our faith. Over the course of time, we will be like the lost coin in the house. We will be in the proximity of God, but not in His presence.

Look at Martha, the worker and her sister Mary, the worshipper.

Luke 10:38-42
38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, He came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” 41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” – Luke 10:38-42

38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, He came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him.

Martha opened her home to Jesus. She wanted Him there. When we assemble in the house of God, we come into the presence of God, but we still have to be intentional in order to have a worship experience with the Lord. Martha invited the Lord into her home to be in His presence, but she was too busy to pay Him any attention, as she attended to Him.
Wow! This blew my mind because it shows that you can be so busy committing yourself to serving Jesus, that you don’t even worship Him when you invite Him in.

We can find ourselves in this very position on any given Sunday. We invite Jesus into the homes of our assembly. We sing “We have come into this house to magnify the Lord and worship Him.” This moment is supposed to be about Him and for Him. But between hospitality, ushering, children’s church, the sound system and fellowship, somewhere along the way, Jesus has to sit and wait for us to give Him some uninterrupted, first fruit attention.

The enemy always seeks to contaminate that which is good. No good effort or intention is exempt from the enemy’s attacks. Martha has the best of intentions to get things ready for Jesus. She busy for Christ’s sake. Her hands are in the right place. But where is her heart?

There’s a time and a place for everything. Like many of us, we can allow the enemy to distract us so much with working that we miss our opportunity to worship in His presence.

Martha wants to make sure the food she was preparing was good, the flower arrangement on stage was in place, the sound system was set, the hospitality sweet was decorated nicely, the temperature in the building wasn’t too cold or too hot, all the bathrooms had paper towels and tissue, the front desk has hand sanitizer and mints, all the guest were greeted at the door with a smile when they came in.

All of these things are necessary to take care of. But when Jesus comes into the house, what’s more important? Is He important enough for us to make a priority to make sure things are in order before He gets there? Is He important enough to stop what we’re doing to make sure that He knows that He’s our most honored and important guest?

How would you feel if you were invited into someone’s home but they never paid you any attention? How would you feel if you were invited to come again? “Don’t be a stranger.”

39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.

Martha’s sister, Mary, is listening to Jesus.
Jesus was invited by Martha, but Mary is the one giving Him the attention. She’s sitting at His feet listening to what He has to say.

Sitting at Jesus’s feet, signifies readiness to receive His word and submission to the guidance of it. 

Mary wasn’t being lazy by not working in this moment. She was just as intentional as Martha was. But her priorities were different. Mary understood the importance of the opportunity to hear the Words of the Jesus. Jesus was in the building! She was in the presence of Jesus, the Word! Not only was Mary in the right position, at the feet of Jesus oh, but she also had the right hearts posture. She was ready to receive the Word of God.

40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

Martha was distracted away from Jesus, the one whom she opened up her home to.
She was too busy working. It’s one thing to be busy working. But it’s something different when you’re too busy working. When you’re too busy working, the main thing is no longer the main thing. Priorities have shifted. Focus has been distorted. You’re doing a good thing. But not necessarily the right thing.

Sometimes, the enemy only wants us to consider what we’re doing. He doesn’t want us to consider what we’re NOT doing.
What Mary was doing was ok. But what she WASN’T doing wasn’t ok. She had her priorities mixed up in that moment.

“She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

Martha asked Jesus did He care that her sister had left her. She focused on who Mary left and didn’t consider Who she had come to. In the presence of the Lord, Mary was consumed about her sister serving her, and not her sister worshiping the Lord.

Mary had left her work experience, for a worship experience. MARTHA ABANDONED HER WORSHIP EXPERIENCE FOR A WORK EXPERIENCE.

Martha demanded that Jesus tell Mary to help her.

Some of us act like we take it personal when others don’t serve the way we serve; work the way we work in the church. Martha said do you care that she left ME by MYSELF. Tell her to come help ME.

Homegirl! This isn’t even about you right now. You are not the standard for servitude. Even though you’re working right now, understand that another servant stayed up late and got up early to make sure the work was done before the guest came.

Always talking about, I’m the only person…. Everybody else…. Nobody else….

Don’t fool around at let your work make you the object of your own worship.

Some us jump at the chance to point out what others aren’t doing in order to glorify what we ARE doing.

We have to be careful about judging, what we call “pew members”. In the moments of assembling in the presence of God, focusing on Jesus should be the main event. It’s not about your work. It’s about your worship. Because an intentional heart’s posture of worship in the pews, is better than a distracted, busy body working in the presence of God, but too busy to pay Him any attention.

You being an example, goes beyond your willingness to serve in the Kingdom. You are also an example by how you choose to prioritize worship in the presence of God. What and Who do you make a priority of at any given time?

Do I pay my mortgage and buy groceries or do I make sure my yard is groomed and the inside of my house has taken care of?

The reality is both of these are important. But one of these things takes precedence over the other one. Because if I have a nice yard and my house is always nice and clean but I’m not paying the mortgage, I won’t have the house for long. What good would it be to get the house in order for your guests, but neglect them when they get there?

41“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things.

Jesus responded to Martha and called her name twice. He was showing concern and tenderness towards Martha. This wasn’t a rebuke. He recognized that Mary was consumed with things to the point of worry. She had good intentions. But she was still out of order.

Pay close attention to this moment.
Mary was listening to Jesus in a moment of worship the moment. But Martha is now listening to him in worry.

Pay attention to when you’re more attentive to the voice of God. Is it when you are in worship mode? Or is it always when you’re in worry mode?
One is God centered. The other is you centered.

Mary was listening to be filled. Martha is now listen to feel better. Martha didn’t position herself at Jesus’s feet to listen to Him. But Jesus had compassion for her because, even though she’s not worshipping Him, He knows that her heart is in the right place and desires to please Him with her service/work. So Jesus meets her where she is even though she’s not meeting Him where He is.

Martha’s efforts aren’t about her. They’re actually purposed to prepare for Jesus. Jesus honors that, but has to teach her a lesson on what’s better.

42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Jesus basically says, it doesn’t take all of that. There’s a time and a place for everything. As a matter of fact, all you need is one thing in this moment… Sit in My presence and heart My words.

Jesus points out that Mary is giving attention to what is “needed”. Mary had chosen what is better. And what Mary had chosen can’t be taken away from her.

What did Mary choose? She chose to worship over work in that moment.

What did that choice look like for Mary?

Humility – She sat at Jesus’s feet. It’s sad for children of God to come into His presence and fail to see the urgency of just how much we need Him and to hear His Word for our today and our tomorrow

Priority – She understood what was most important. Her giving attention to what was most important in that moment did not mean that she abandoned or neglected what was important. She just had her priorities in order. She kept the main thing the main thing.

Conviction – Big sister leading by example and putting pressure on her to follow suite, didn’t make Martha budge one bit. She couldn’t be guilted out of her worship experience to be pulled into work. She had an unapologetic conviction to worship Jesus.

Focus – Mary didn’t allow Martha’s criticism or chaos to pull her away from what she thought was important. The more intentional you are about having intimate time with God in worship, the more focused you become on the things that are important to Him.

Jesus says “and it will not be taken away from her.”

Is Jesus saying that because Mary has chosen what is better, I will not take this worship moment away from her by telling her to go work?

Or is He saying that because she has postured herself to listen to the Word of God, that can’t be taken away from her
because it’s now hidden in her heart?

Either way, Jesus is making it clear that hearing His voice is what’s better. And that it’s our responsibility to keep it a priority when we come into His presence to hear His voice above all else.

Mary understood what was better. Jesus taught Martha what was better. He is also teaching us to choose what is better.

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16-17

Your word is a lamp for my feet,
a light on my path.
Psalm 119:105

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
James 1:22

How can a young person stay on the path of purity?
By living according to your word.
Psalm 119:9

He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”
Luke 11:28

The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God endures forever.
Isaiah 40:8

As for God, his way is perfect:
The Lord’s word is flawless;
he shields all who take refuge in him.
Psalm 18:30

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
Matthew 7:24

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
Matthew 24:35

*Tressa Jo

It’s interesting how as a single, we can have our eyes set looking for the man of our dreams. We even get real specific with God, and start asking Him for our future Boo to have characteristics that fulfill our pleasures. “Please Lord, let him be 6’+, dark skinned, bearded, etc.” We pray, convinced that God wants us to be so satisfied with who we marry, that He’ll consume Himself with fashioning a man just to fit our shallow desires. We pray for pleasure, but God is fulfilling purpose.

We fantasize about the man of our dreams coming into our lives and sweeping us off our feet and living happily ever after. It seems the picture gets clearer and clearer as time passes of what we want, to the point of being non-negotiable. But the prospects of him coming gets further and further away.

I’ve come to realize that sometimes our imaginations can hinder us from our reality. Being consumed with this fantasy-filled perfect picture of the man of your dreams can blind you to God’s plan and God’s man for you.

Years ago, I had a close friend recommended that I try a dating site. I resisted at first, but decided to give it a try. I was annoyed with the experience because it took too much effort to weed out all the wolves (that’s actually all I encountered). But at the same time, I was drawn to it because of all the attention I was getting. It stroked my ego a little bit. I’d never gotten this much attention from men before. But I had to admit to myself, I didn’t like the kind of attention I was getting. I knew the men didn’t want me. They just wanted access to me. We weren’t on the same page about what we were looking for at all. Some were even bold and honest enough to make it obvious that they were looking for an arrangement, not a relationship.

That was very short lived and I decided that wasn’t for me. I remember as I was disabling my website account, I prayed to God. “God, I trust You with this area of my life.” As I truly surrended my singleness to God, God would take me on a journey that changed the course of my life, my focus and my prayers.

Initially, God placed this verse on my heart:

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is —his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12:2

I began to see as clear as day, how we allow the world to shape our world views. Specifically, in the area of marriage and relationships. I’ve even heard “spiritual counseling” on marriage that involved more worldly perspectives than biblical perspectives. In other words, the world’s opinions about what would make a healthy marriage, became more of a voice than God’s. And God created marriage!

I committed myself to purpose living and purpose thinking. That meant that I had to unlearn what I thought I knew and allow God to teach me His truths. I didn’t just want a good man to come into my life. I wanted God’s man. And I understood that if I wanted a God product (a relationship/marriage that glorifies God), I’d have to be willing to submit to a God process.

Romans 12:2 led the way. I was actually in a season of contentment in my singleness. I had desires for companionship and marriage, but they didn’t consume me. I was just trying to walk in my purpose calling and that gave me a sense of fulfillment.

Focusing on Romans 12:2 triggered a series of questions in my heart. As I ask God the questions, He revealed to me the answer in layers.

As I reflected on my past relationships, I started to ask God “Why?”. Not the “why?” most would ask after failed relationships. I didn’t ask why it didn’t work out. I didn’t ask why they did what they did. I asked God, “Lord, what was it in me that made me choose them?”.

I understood that my past was a direct result of me chasing what I wanted. But in this journey, God was preparing me to see what I needed.

As I reflected on the “me” of my past, God showed me the magnitude of my brokenness. Then He showed me where it started. Then I was able to see how that brokenness showed up in different areas and in different seasons of my life. I learned that my past relationships represented my brokenness. I couldn’t have chosen a healthy man because I wasn’t a healthy woman!

I believe that we all have a degree of brokenness within us. That doesn’t disqualify us from finding love. But knowing what that brokenness is, will empower you to know what you need, not just what you want.

There’s a difference between when someone ministers to your brokenness and when they enable you in your brokenness. Both can make you feel good. But they both can’t help you be better and heal.

When a man has the capacity to minister to your brokenness, he faces your brokenness. He doesn’t deny or ignore it. And he certainly won’t guilt you for being broken. He addresses your insecurities by creating security within the relationship. And he creates a safe environment for you to be you. And as you both dwell together in a safe place, you both are free and clear to start a healing process. That’s what true liberty affords you. Too often, we enter into relationships guarded and still functioning in survival mode. We’re never allowed the opportunity to let our guards down long enough to address our inner hurts. We’re too busy defending and protecting ourselves from real and potential threats.

As God revealed to me my brokenness, simultaneously, He started to reveal to me what I truly needed. Moreso, what I would need from the man that would become my husband. I realized that attraction and compatibility can provide a sense of happiness with a person, but it cannot minister to your brokenness and aide you in a healing process when it’s not from God.

Although society was telling me that I needed to be whole, complete and have everything in order before the right man would come along, God showed me something different. My commitment to God made me healthy enough to be an asset and not a liability, if I were to enter into a relationship. But the man that God had for me would be assigned to minister to the places in my spirit that God would later heal.

My prayers weren’t consumed with asking God for what I wanted in a man. They were consumed with what I needed within myself. And when my heart was postured to receive what I needed from God for myself, He positioned me to receive what I would need from the man in my life. Once again, Romans 12:2 ushered me into another revelation. The world will tell you not to need, but want a man. But the Word makes it clear that the woman was man for the man and that the woman is not independent of the man. We actually do need one another.

Not only did my prayers shift, but I shifted as well. Some of us are good people, but we’re not ready for what we’re asking God for. But you can trust that God hears every word. Instead of Him giving you something you’re not ready for, He’ll help you get ready to receive what you’re asking for. And when you finally received what you’ve been praying for, you’ll understand why God made you wait. When God blesses you with the man of your prayers and not just the one of your dreams, all of heaven rejoices.

Proverbs 10:22 The blessing of the LORD makes a person rich, and he adds no sorrow with it.

*Tressa Jo