Psalm 27:14(NLT) “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord.”
Jeremiah 29:11(ESV) “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare (health, happiness, prosperity, well-being) and not evil plans to give you and hope and a future.”
God has not forsaken us. On the contrary, God will restore seven times everything the devil has taken. While God’s plans don’t always make sense, His purpose is to lay a foundation for our future and provide hope for the journey. But, first, we must follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit in obedience to God’s commands. Walking in obedience is the key to securing that future in Jeremiah 29:11. God gives us grace, and He loves His children and wants to see every one of us be prosperous.
But we have to fall into alignment with what God wants to do in our lives. God is telling many of us to move forward, but we allow our fear to stop us. For many people, the fear of rejection is real. So we hold back and refuse to share the word God has given us. We are afraid that people will reject us. Or maybe you’re too spiritually weak to fight our spiritual battles. Perhaps you feel like the warfare would ease up if you don’t move forward when God tells us to.
I am here to tell you that the warfare started when you gave your life to Christ because the enemy knows that you are determined to be all that God is calling you to be. The enemy’s job is to steal, kill, and destroy, and he will not let you go to your next level in God without a fight. The devil, our enemy, will always be a liar. Every defense against the devil’s attacks is in God’s word.
While everything the devil says is tempting to believe, it is all a lie. He twists the truth for his demonic plans. He will lie to mislead, confuse, and trouble your spirit. Test the spirits for truth, apply the blood of Jesus to every decision. Then see what flees and what stands firm.
The only two people immune to demonic attack are the physically and spiritually dead. So if the devil is attacking you, there’s a good chance you are on the right track. The enemy will do anything to stop you from going forward. He will invade your family, your job, extended family. Even use random people to control your progress. The enemy isn’t going back to heaven, so he is trying to stop you from going. I refuse to live in hell on earth and then die and go to hell. God wants to save and deliver you and set you free.
God is an on-time God. He knows everything about you and me; He knows when to bless us with what we’ve been praying. However, God’s not giving you a million dollars if you’re a careless person. Therefore, you must learn how to be a better steward. Becoming a good steward was a lesson I had to learn because I grew up very poor. We would spend everything we had and then have nothing to show for it.
So, where does God need you to grow up? We must all go through the process of developing into a godly maturity. Then, he will start to give you financial backing for the ministry that He has given you. So, you need to know that it is to go toward your ministry and do the assignments that God has given you. I will not throw my resources away on frivolous spending. God has to know without a doubt that He can trust you before He gives it to you.
Many times in my life, God has been on time for my husband and me. For example, God worked a miracle in my husband’s business where he lost a contract because the company he was working for said they needed specific paperwork. We kept sending them the information, but they refused it, so my husband worked until the end of the contract. In the meantime, a local church hires my husband to clean every other weekend. He accepted the job so he can replace what was lost.
But God wasn’t done! My husband’s previous company had contracted his previous job to another company. This new cleaning company hires my husband to clean the same building, but for more money. He is definitely an on-time God. This is the truly amazing result of totally surrendering to God and walking in obedience to His will.
God is trustworthy. He is the all-knowing God who loves us unconditionally. God wants each of us to trust Him when He tells us what He will do in our lives. If it doesn’t happen in a week or a few months, or even a year, many of us start trying to figure it out on our own. But we must be patient and lean on God, or we will end up making a big mess out of the situation. If God has told you to wait on marriage, then wait on God, so we don’t make a big mistake. That person could be your husband or wife, but now would not be the right time to do it because they are not ready spiritually or mentally.
We have to allow God to work things out of our hearts. Especially if we have had a rough childhood and other romantic relationships have left us broken and bruised. Give God time to heal you in those areas before you jump into another relationship that neither of you is ready for now. God loves each of us, and He wants to heal the wounds and traumas from our childhood and past that we refuse to talk about because it hurts us so. But if God is bringing up those areas to you, you need healing in those areas. Wounds and traumas that are buried have a tendency to come back up in your future if you are not healed and delivered from them. When you allow God to go deep down in your heart in the dark places of your heart and heal those areas, only then will you move forward. The only person that can heal us is Jesus. He has the healing Balm in His hands, and He wants to heal those hidden places in your life.
We put on the mask, but we can’t cover up the wounds and traumas. God can see behind the smile and see a little girl or little boy still hurting from their past. God wants to heal all of you; He doesn’t want to leave any stone unturned -physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. But, unfortunately, the enemy wants us to be unstable, double-minded, too weak to move forward.James 1:6-9 (NLT) “But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such a person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.”
So, if we are unstable, then we can’t receive anything from God. Our faith will waver, and we won’t trust God. Living in an unstable place is a bad idea. Remain rooted in God’s word and trust God that good things will happen because of it.
Remember, God has not forgotten you. Doubt is power, but it is negative power. Refuse to doubt God’s word and promises. I would rather believe in God than someone who is always critical and negative. Get those negative people out of your sand replace them with people who will believe God at His Word. God is the One to be trusted, and we have to trust people too, but the answer to that is to pray and ask God about a person, and He will let you know if you can trust them or not. Remember that God is everywhere, and He is listening to every conversation concerning you. God knows the motives of people’s hearts toward you, so if you see people dropping out of your life, you know that God is working to remove them.
God is dependable, and you can depend on Him. God cannot lie, and if He said it, then He will do it. But it all goes back to His timing and not ours. For example, I tried to start a business several years ago when my husband and I first got married, but it fizzles out. I tried it again later on, but it didn’t make it that time either. But look at what God did; in the middle of the Pandemic, He had me start a business (November 2020). It has now been nine months, and my business is going strong. When He told me to get a business page on Facebook, I didn’t even know how to make a Facebook page. But I watched YouTube videos, and now I have a Facebook page. I contacted another “Woman of God” who created my Facebook cover and logo and added it to my page. Everything is moving along very well.
I am successful because I obediently moved when a dependable God told me to move. God’s stamp of approval was already on it. The name of my business is Angela’s Designer Crafts, and everything is homemade with love. I am spreading the love of God one item at a time. After many sales, I am still going forth and doing what God has told me to do, and I can see the fruit from walking in obedience.
Now I have learned to do my own Facebook covers and logos. But, I would have never become successful if I hadn’t moved and trusted and depended on God. So, God is no respecter of persons in what He has done for me, and He is more than willing to do it for you. But, you have to be obedient and move when He says to move.
Isaiah 1:19 (NLT) says, “If you will only obey me, you will have plenty to eat.” God is looking for people who are willing to move when He says move. He is looking for someone to help further the kingdom of God on this earth, and He is going to use you if you only cooperate with Him and let Him have His way in your life.
Life with God as the head of my life is amazing. God is opening so many doors in my life that I am in awe, and I thank Him for all that He is doing. If God has told you to write a book or books, then get busy writing them. Don’t worry about the finances; He will give them to you once your start writing. God will do it with whatever level of trust that He has in you. If He knows you will use what He sends for the book, He will send the finances sooner. But If He sees that you may not be a good steward, then He will wait before He gives it to you. When God can trust you with finances because He knows that you will do the right thing, you will see provisions coming from places you least expected it.Get connected with Jesus. If you haven’t, it will be the best decision that you have ever made. Everything that you have been searching for in this world is in Jesus. True love is in Jesus. You will never know true happiness until you get in touch with Jesus. Jesus will not judge you; He wants to love you past all the pain you feel. He wants to give you something so much more than you can get from anybody else. He will teach you how to love Him and learn to love yourself regardless of what you have been through in your life. He is the only one that can give you the true meaning of life and why you are here on earth. He will let you know what God created you for and what your future will be if you surrender your life to Him today.
Dr. LaRose Angela Richardson is the wife of Richard Richardson and the mother of Satar Cowan. She has one granddaughter, Allara Cowan. She has lived in Southeast Georgia all of her life. In May 2016, she graduated with a Doctor’s Degree in Theology from Crossland Christian University in Orlando, Florida. She is the co-author of “It Cost Me Everything” written by Prophetess Kimberly Moses. She also has two other books that she has written. The first one is “Waking in Total Freedom after Healing from Deep Inner Wounds,” and the second one is “Prayers That Availeth Much.” Her new book is “180 days of Communing with God Daily devotional.” She has also started a blog this year under the name of Grace Ministries Walking in Freedom, which can be found at ministerrich0628.blogspot.com. Her ministry pages can be found on Facebook, “Grace Ministries” and “Walking in Freedom.” You can go on those pages weekly and hear a LIVE word from the Lord. All the teachings are words of encouragement that will inspire and to help you move forward in ministry. She can be contacted on Facebook on her ministry pages or her personal page “Angela Richardson.” You can also email her at ministerrich0628@gmail.com.
