Tag: progress

Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop

Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop

by Nikki Rich Writes ♥ 4 Comments

Last month I wrote about the importance of submitting your will to God. I wrote about the growth in your confidence once you realize that God is not here to harm you. I wrote my plea for you to give God a chance and allow Him to lead you, in His timing, to all your destiny has to offer. There were a few things I didn’t write, however. These things were principles that I learned this past month, after failing a few tests He gave me. These were things, that now I see, prove crucial to keeping your faith steady and strong during life’s shakiness. Let’s dive in.

Not too long after I wrote my last post, I found myself in a position to pursue some of the things God revealed about my destiny. Full of faith and expectant, I took a leap, believing that God gave me His “ok”. I made a connection here. A friend helped me there. My heart was overjoyed with the thought that I was finally focusing on something I really wanted. I felt like I was on the up and up until suddenly, I wasn’t. Out of nowhere, it seemed, a wave of “no” crashed into me so distinctly that I had to stop, feeling unsure of why or what to do about it. Instantly I looked at God for an explanation but I didn’t receive one. “Did He not give me the go ahead? Why would He do this?” I thought, upset and dejected. I let the disappointment settle on me until it turned into despair. I went from bad to worse, allowing my sadness to isolate me from others, to stifle my creativity, and to keep me in an ugly mood. Doesn’t this sound contrary to what I wrote about last month? God knew I had more learning to do.

“I meditate on Your precepts and consider Your ways. I delight in Your decrees; I will not neglect Your word.” – Psalm 119:15-16

Though in my feelings, I never stopped talking to God. While, admittedly, I went through some days of whining and complaining (I’m not perfect y’all), I did continue to seek Him out for understanding. I wanted to know how I could get a “yes” in my spirit and then suddenly, as my joy grew, get kicked back down with a “no”. Without answering my questions, He brought me back to a notebook I had laying on my table. If you’ve been reading for a while, you would know that I wrote a post about that notebook and how I used it to battle my insecurities. He reminded me of how I used that notebook to grow in my faith and to learn His promises. He also reminded me that I hadn’t written in that notebook in weeks and perhaps my answer might lie there. Sighing, wishing He could just explain Himself to me instead, I grabbed that notebook and my Bible, and went on a hunt for some answers.

Searching for scriptures that addressed disappointment, I found myself in the book of Psalm, reading how David encouraged himself in the Lord. No matter how difficult things got, how much David messed up, or how many struggles David faced, His eyes still focused on God. Though he might complain in the beginning of a chapter, by its end, David would be magnifying the Lord’s name, confident that God loved him and had a plan for his life. As I began to write these various verses down, the light bulb went off. Did I not know about God’s faithfulness before? Did I not know that God promised to bless me?  Was it that I didn’t know these things or was it, perhaps, that I allowed myself to temporarily forget? This revelation made me realize why God brought me back to the notebook in the first place. To avoid even the temptation of thinking God had an ounce of malice towards me, I needed to keep my focus on His word and His promises. If I wasn’t meditating on them daily, reading them, and writing them down, life’s highs and lows would definitely weaken my faith. This was a reminder to focus on Him, not just in theory but in practice, daily, so that I would be assured, no matter the circumstances, of who He said He was and who I was in Him.

“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.” – Hebrews 12:11-12

When I was able to recall the goodness of God and His care, love, and faithfulness in the lives of His children, I was able to humble myself enough to apologize and start the process of wiping away the ugliness I had in my heart.  Digging deeper into what the Bible had to say about God, that wave of “no” soon began to retreat. I realized then that the “no” had less to do with stifling plans and more to do with checking my heart. How could I say that God’s will came before mine but get mad when He exercised said will? How could I pray to be a light yet still operate in darkness? How could I say that I had faith in God yet crumble at opposition? It’s not that God expects perfection, but He does expect me to trust His word and stand firm. He doesn’t want me to be a baby in Christ forever. It’s time that I start eating solids.

“The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do it.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:24

I wrote this to remind and challenge you to make this Jesus journey a forever thing. While we may be motivated and uplifted in one season, there will always be opposition and trouble to threaten our peace in the next. We must constantly check in with God. We must faithfully study His word and seek Him for clarity and guidance. We must recall His attributes and allow them to encourage us always, especially in our low times. God loves us, even when we tend to forget. While it’s normal to have these moments, it’s imperative that we don’t stay there. Let’s level up.

We aren’t babies anymore, twenty somethings ❤️

Growing Pains

Growing Pains

by Nikki Rich Writes ♥ 4 Comments

growing pains = temporary difficulties and problems at the beginning of a particular stage of development. (Collins Dictionary)

Adulting seems to be all about making gains. Most of our goals include making more money, having greater influence and pull in our social groups, becoming more mature and responsible, and of course, loosening the dependence we have on our parents. While those are all great accomplishments in the adulting journey, truth be told, the process in getting there is extremely difficult. We may succeed for a while, thriving as “full grown” twentysomething adults, but inevitably, we always have that hiccup that pulls us back into the reality that we still have more growing up to do.

Growing up, spiritually, works the same way. It reminds me a lot of God’s pruning process, which I’ve touched on previously. Pruning is designed to get rid of those characteristics and habits that are less than who you truly are. It is also designed to stretch you, building a new and improved version of yourself. As I thought more about pruning, I couldn’t help but relate it to the term “growing pains”. Most of us know that growing pains occur when children are getting bigger, often growing in height. The Collins Dictionary definition really touched me specifically, as I could directly see the ties between growing pains in the natural and in the spiritual. Read over the definition again. For me, the two words that stuck out most were “temporary” and “development”. Let’s dive into each of these for a second.

The word temporary feels comforting. We can look at our most difficult experiences, both spiritually and naturally, and recognize that it didn’t last forever. Even in particular situations that still have lasting effects on our present day, there has been some relief, some healthier alternative, or at least, a growing mental capacity to handle the situation better than you once did. Similarly, pruning is temporary. The varying levels of discomfort that pruning brings never lasts forever. You may struggle through it, you may be annoyed by it, and it may stress you out in the moment, but always, relief does come and growth does occur. The second word, development, ties right in. Our goal, no matter what we are doing, is to be better than we were the day before. We can’t do that, however, unless we submit to the process of development: the stretching, pulling, and evolving it takes to become a better us. This process is one God specializes in. The question is, as always, will we take a backseat and let God do the work, even when we think we already have it together?

Thinking I already have it together is a problem I fall into, more times than I’d like to admit. Though I’ve touched on many of my insecurities and struggles, I do also have attributes and capabilities that I’m particularly proud of. Unsurprisingly, God recently decided it was time to test those capabilities out. Did I really have it together? Absolutely not. After I was put in multiple situations that tested my patience, my attitude, and my ability to “be like Christ”, it didn’t take long before the “absolutely not” was obvious. I could feel moments, at the peak of those difficult situations, when my temper rose, where my annoyance reigned, and where my desire to give up almost overtook me. The situations felt more like an attack than any standard and simple pruning. To be honest, I was highly annoyed at God for the unwanted turn of events. I wanted things to go back to how they were. I wanted to ease back into that comfortable space I once found myself in. I wanted my mom! (shout out to my awesome adulting skills!) Thank God for His love, patience, and comfort, however. Though He let me struggle and fight for a while, He soon enough came with a message. In my stillness, He let me know that this wasn’t about the painful attack, but rather, the opportunity for growth. Sitting on that word for a second, I immediately became frustrated. It felt like just another tick off my character. It was another fault or problematic issue that I had. God countered me quickly, assuring me that that wasn’t the problem either. This wasn’t about highlighting my faults so that I’d feel bad. This was about development. This was to prepare me so that I’d be ready for the next step in God’s Will for my life. Understanding this, I was left feeling humbled and grateful. Though the process was irritating and uncomfortable, knowing that this was for my future blessings and provision left me joyful.

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. -James 1: 2-4

I share this with you in hopes that you’ll be encouraged when attacks come your way. Before you jump to conclusions and get full of anger, take a step back and reassess the situation. Is there anything you could learn from the attack? Is there anything you’re praying for that may need this sort of character building in order to be manifested? If so, consider it an opportunity for joy. This is not a disregard to the ill ways others may treat you. This is not a disregard to your feelings or emotions during difficult times. This is, however, an opportunity to switch your perspective, allowing the painful but powerful work of growing pains. The result will always be taller, stronger, and wiser you.

Let’s see that height, twentysomethings. ✨

How Do I Win?

How Do I Win?

by Nikki Rich Writes ♥ 3 Comments

I’ve noticed that there’s a common thread tying many of my life problems together: insecurity. While insecurity is something we all go through, I believe many of us don’t discuss the work it takes to break free of it. Often, we don’t do the work at all, allowing it to be “just how I am.” As a way to break that belief, I want to share a journey I’ve been on in trying to overcome insecurity. While this may not be the solution for everyone, I hope that all of you who struggle with this can grasp something and apply it in your lives. We don’t have time to be jealous and insecure. More than ever, it’s time to fight back. Our destiny is on the line.

Insecurity is vicious. Starting seemingly from birth, we are surrounded by constant comparisons, competitions, beauty standards, and harsh words/ opinions from people. It can get so bad that no matter what you accomplish, you still can’t see your greatness. I was that person, someone so deep into feeling less than that I couldn’t see anything else. It wasn’t until I grew tired that things had the opportunity to change. We often cope with insecurity by shying away and lowering ourselves or by bringing others down to lift ourselves up. I definitely fell into the first category and while feeling sorry for myself “worked” for some years, I couldn’t let it continue to define me. I knew that if I stayed in that place, I would never get all that was meant for me. I would be too scared, too shy, and too blind to see my worth, my power, and my purpose.

Knowing that things had to shift, I began to pray about it and ask God how to overcome this struggle. After speaking with one of my friends (shout out to you Yung Claxton!), the solution became obvious: discover what God says about me, ask follow up questions to make sure the promises belonged to me, and be bold enough to accept it as true,  EVEN WHEN I  felt less than worthy of it.

This method may sound extremely cliche, but hear me out. For me, I always believed that I wasn’t pretty enough, I sinned too much to be worthy of God’s love, that I didn’t have talents or abilities that could hold a light up to my peers, and that my voice didn’t matter. I thought the lowest of lows about myself and it had been that way since I could remember. When I started this journey, I became extremely uncomfortable, as I had to face myself, discover why I felt the way I felt, and choose to believe God’s truth over the world’s truth that had been ingrained in my heart since the beginning of time. I used a journal to write exactly how I felt. It was sad but also therapeutic to confess how I perceived myself. There’s such freedom in being honest instead of giving the standard answers of “I’m fine” or “I’m not bothered.” As I read back what I wrote and got that sick feeling in my heart, knowing I shouldn’t be so hard on myself, I began searching for God’s responses to my feelings. I’ll give you a real example of one of my sessions, in hopes of bringing clarity and helping you start your journey towards victory.

Session 1

The Struggle: I feel unworthy of God because my flesh likes to rise up more times than I’d like. I have bouts of jealousy, doubt, and fear. I’m scared that I don’t measure up. I’m unsure about what I am even doing with my life. Is it enough? Am I doing too much?

God’s Response (1):

“Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” -Psalm 139:16

-This scripture hit me because simply, it told me that God gets it. He’s not surprised by my doubts and fears. He’s not amazed at how significantly I sinned. He’s not turned off by my weariness. He understands me better than I understand me. He knows me better than I know me. Despite all my perceived flaws, He’s still here loving me, growing me, pushing me forward, and favoring me. There’s nothing I can do that separates me from Him. If He knew all of that and still sent Jesus to die for me, I ought to calm down and breathe. All that self critique and condemnation isn’t necessary. He’s still at work in my life.

-Despite that realization, the stubborn part of me couldn’t let it go. I still felt like I couldn’t measure up and be all that God wanted me to be. God came through with the follow up.

God’s Response (2):

“For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified.” – Romans 8:29-30

-The beauty of this scripture was that while Psalm 139:16 told me that God already knew me, this scripture told me that because He knew me, I was predestined to be like Christ (the ultimate goal), that I was called by God and had a purpose in this earth, that I was justified or declared righteous by God, and that I was glorified and special.

-The understanding of Romans 8:29-30 gave me a rebuttal to the world’s truths that shaped me previously. How could I be unworthy, not talented enough, and not beautiful, when God JUST told me that I was righteous and had a purpose so great that He called me specifically for it?

At the end of this session, I was left with the final step of believing God’s truths. This is the hardest step because it’s a fight to actively agree with God over the lies you’ve accepted as fact for so long. This step takes time. The more you meditate on the promises over your life and talk back to the lies that flood your thoughts, the easier it gets.

I encourage you to stay in the fight for your destiny. There’s too much greatness over your life for you to continually play small and measure yourself against other people who are battling their own issues. Discover who you really are and walk in that power. You didn’t know before but now, there’s no excuse. Go ahead and live your best life, one truth at a time.

Keep winning, twentysomethings. ❤️

Learning & Refining

Learning & Refining

by Nikki Rich Writes ♥ 2 Comments

Sit. Breathe. Listen.

I ask myself often why I can’t take a seat?! My mind constantly races and I never allow myself to be at ease. I’ll catch myself stumbling over , striding towards or striving for something instead of resting. As you can imagine, this has messed with both my endurance and my emotions. There are moments when, at the height of my stride, I can feel on top of the world, handling responsibilities and feeling like I’m really plugged into God. Conversely, I can feel beat up and out of breath when all of my personal effort seemingly leads me nowhere or puts me in an unwanted position I didn’t foresee previously. I’ve learned, or rather have been reminded, that sometimes I disregard the voice of God in the entire matter. While I may have Godly people and Godly influences around me, God Himself will be on the back burner. That positioning often leads to issues like what I’ve described above. A more real example of this just occurred recently. Hopefully my story will be helpful to some of you.

For the past two or three months, I’ve been watching a church on YouTube that preached primarily to young adults. Grabbing my attention by preaching in fun but very insightful ways, I grew excited. As I know myself to do (I’m still a work in progress, y’all), I became obsessed. I listened to sermons night and day and didn’t think anything was wrong because, of course, it was the Word of God. The more time I spent listening to these sermons, as well as a few more from other pastors I loved, I began to feel heavy. They were all telling me to do so many things. I needed to evangelize more. I needed to write my vision down. I needed to have greater faith. I needed to rest more. I needed to put my faith into action. It was information overload. While all these sermons were all valid and all great in their contexts, that didn’t make them all valid and great for me to hear simultaneously. At the time however, I didn’t understand that.

Fast forward to a week or so ago when the heaviness, particularly to evangelize, weighed on me. The idea of evangelizing freaked me out because I’m quiet and introverted, especially around strangers (all prayers are appreciated, y’all). I was fearful honestly. The various sermons told me about the lives that needed to be saved. They told me how people can’t call on Jesus if they never heard of Him (John 10: 14-15). I felt that responsibility. I felt the compassion. I did actually care. I was so scared though. I had fears such as: “What will they say?”, “Will I even make sense?”,  “Will they reject me?”,  and “Will it matter?”.  Regardless of how “weak” those fears may seem to other people, they felt intensely real and strong to me. As real as they felt, the guilt was even more intense. I knew I didn’t need to be fearful. I knew I wasn’t supposed to shy away. No matter how many people told me to breathe and pray for opportunity, I always felt like there was always opportunity that I was cowardly avoiding. I kept holding this guilt and disappointment in myself, not even realizing the true severity of it, until I got a migraine.

My history of migraines runs deep. It’s too deep to get into now but trust me. Long story short, I’ve had chronic migraines since I was thirteen, filled with hospitalizations and prescription medications. By God’s grace, however, I haven’t had a migraine in about two years! As you can imagine then, when I got one, I instantly freaked out and was confused. I didn’t understand where it came from or what triggered it. Though I didn’t connect the dots right away, the following day, God let me know exactly what caused my migraine. He told me, and I paraphrase, “the devil is setting you up. He wants you to believe that you’re not worthy. He wants you to think that I’m upset with you. He’s trying to get you to believe that I’m disappointed in you. You’re believing him. I’m not mad at you. Let’s try again. Focus on Me.” When I heard that, the light bulb went off and everything clicked. The devil knew the right button to push. I’m very type A (again, prayers please!). I always want to do it right, be perfect, and do the best job. It seems to be heightened when it relates to pleasing God with my life. While that’s all great and wonderful, it’s also dangerous because I’m not a perfect person nor will I ever be. God understands our humanity (Psalm 103: 13-18). He knew we weren’t perfect from the beginning. That’s why He sent Jesus in the first place! He gets it. I am the one that so desperately needs to understand that truth! To accept that we aren’t perfect but that we are in God’s grace, is the biggest first step. To sit under Him, submitted, dependent, and obedient is how we win. He wants to help. He cares for us. (Isaiah 30:18)

So for me, focusing on His voice looks like fasting from listening to the zillions of sermons on YouTube everyday and just reading the Bible. I come to Him with questions or thoughts and I let Him lead me to answers and further understanding about who He is and who He says I am in Him. Am I, today, still fearful? Yes! Do I feel like a disappointment and a bad Christian? No! That’s progress in my book. It will only go up from here. That I definitely believe.

I write all of this to say that the devil is busy and working his hardest to defeat you. He will use any and every trick in the book to break you down and pull you away from Christ. Don’t believe his lies, no matter how true they feel. Even at your lowest, God loves you, wants you and is longing to take care of you. Remove the noise and listen for His voice. There’s always more learning and refining to do in us. When you get confronted with something, don’t shy away out of fear, shame, or disappointment. God loves all of you and will continue to work, correct, and shape you into who He’s called you to be. Let Him do it. God is preparing you for greater.

There’s more for you, twenty somethings ❤️

The Roaring Lion

The Roaring Lion

by Nikki Rich Writes ♥ 2 Comments

“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” – 1 Peter 5:8

 

Spiritual attacks are the worst! Here you are, minding your business, when suddenly, you’re thrown into an unexpected battle. Immediately, you feel unsteady. Before you can regain your footing, the devil jumps in your face, reeling off a list of your most terrible qualities, your unworthiness to receive all that God has promised to you, and your human inability to actually be successful in your journey of abiding. You attempt to fight back, reciting your scriptures, praying about it, or sometimes ignoring him all at once. While you make some headway, you admit to yourself that you’re already a little bruised. Your feelings got hurt, your confidence took a punch, and you’re looking at God like what did I do to deserve this?

“Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.” Luke 10:19

I was in the middle of this just last weekend. The battle left me feeling  upset, frustrated, sad, and mentally exhausted. Despite those feelings, an overpowering need to rest prevailed. God told me, clear as day, that I needed to chill out. I needed to sit down. I needed to stop talking back to the devil. Specifically, He told me to use my energy to give Him praise. He reminded me to say thank you. He urged me to think on thoughts that were true.

His love for me.
His patience with me.
His grace towards me.
The peace He had given to me.

I was reminded, as I shifted focus, that I didn’t have to go back and forth with the devil. The devil wasn’t worth my time. The devil was already under my feet. Furthermore, no matter what the devil tried to say about me, to hurt me or put me down, God already told me that I was His. I was His child. I was His baby. The devil could read me for filth and STILL, God loved me. “Relax.” He said. “You’ve already won.”

“It’s about progression, not perfection.” – Pastor Michael Todd

In moments like this, when you’re under attack, no matter the circumstance, it’s important to take a step back and observe. What’s really going on? Is the attack rooted in God’s truth or in the devil’s condemnation? You’ll find, oftentimes, that if all you’re hearing is how horrible, how unqualified, or how insignificant you are, that’s not God. That’s not God’s truth for you. Do you still need correction and discipline, humbling and guidance? Surely! God won’t give that to you by beating you up, however. Abiding is about the journey, it’s about the slow but steady change towards being all God purposed and planned for you to be. If you feel anything else, immediately step away and understand what exactly is going on. Lean into God. Don’t overact and throw yourself a pity party. Remember the promises He made to you. Know that the devil is mad that you’re moving forward in God’s plan and He’s desperately trying every trick in the book to keep you down and defeated. He’s hoping to make you forget who you are and Whose you are. Laugh in his face and keep on walking. The devil can’t kill you when you know your power.

You’ve already won, twenty somethings.

Meditate on this:

“The lion may roar but I see his leash, so I keep moving forward!” – Pastor Steven Furtick