Consistency

Day 27: Consistency

Scripture

James 1:4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Luke 16:10-12 One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own?

Song: Intentional- Travis Greene

Happy Twenty-Seventh Day of Thanks Everyone!

Today, I give thanks for consistency. It is always great to know someone who is faithful and dependable when you need them. Knowing routines and the reliability of a thing or situation also creates comfort.

The other day, I was having a conversation with the Lord about the Thirty of Thanks Journey. I was actually thanking God for allowing me to be consistent for the last four years in preparing and writing these daily reflections. Many times, it was difficult to carve out space among my busy schedule to get the reflections done. Other times, the level of warfare was so great that my computer would somehow mess up or suddenly experience things that there was no logical explanation for; one year my screen completely broke and another year the keys would no longer allow me to type. That year, I had to switch back and forth from phone devices and kept losing paragraphs to the point that I had to do a repost when I finally got the computer intact. With all the many challenges that would arise for me to provide this content, and do it for free, one would think that I would have waived my white flag and called it quits. However, like clockwork, during the November and December months of each new year, God gives me a list of themes to write and, sometimes, the complimentary experiences that should pair with each theme.

For the last two years, I’ve had several groups tell me that they would take the thirty-day journey with me. I got excited, thinking that folks would buy their “Thirty Days of Thanks: A Journey Toward Healing and Deliverance,” books and be disciplined enough to do the journey. But, at the last minute, they didn’t buy their books nor did they take the journey. The discouragement I felt at knowing that I’d, once again, have an audience of one (myself), when I was pouring out golden nuggets of wisdom and sharing my testimony in hopes that it would be a seed for someone else to be blessed, didn’t bother me too much. After all, I started this journey “in secret.” I had always done my own days of thanks privately and gave to charity organizations. It was God who told me to go public. I would have been just as content staying “in secret” and giving what I could to my favorite charity organizations to fill my heart with joy.

One year, when I was brainstorming ways to market the content of these reflections, God told me that I had to give it away for free. (Mind you, this was in the midst of me not working and there being no prospects of job opportunities or money to come!) Yet, in spite of there being a lack of money, few viewers on the blog, and minimal book sales, I have remained consistent to this journey-- believing that one day things will change. God gave me a word about my book and about this journey. I fasted and prayed for quite some time for every person who would read my book, asking God to touch their hearts and lives with gratitude and to bless them beyond measure with healing and deliverance. I even dedicated my book to God and told him that it is His book. I know there is still more to come for this book and the journey. I feel it in the depths of my soul. I started working on the audio version of the book, which has yet to be finished, and my friend’s studio flooded out. The other studio in my neighborhood where I asked to record to finish the recordings also flooded. (Go figure!) There is supposed to be an in-color charity version of the book, that cost more, so that the majority of the proceeds can go to charity organizations each month. Because God spoke it, His plans have to come to fruition, in spite of my present reality and what I see right now.

This is not the only area where I have been pouring for years. I have been actively discipling and counseling people for years (for free) as well. When my mentees call, they know that they will, consistently, hear my voice, receive an email or any other form of communication on my receiving end. It is very important to me, if God has placed them “in my boat” and “under my covering,” to keep each one of my mentees under the covering so that they are not lost. I use Jesus as my model when He prayed to the father saying that He never lost a disciple, except the son of perdition, Judas, who betrayed Jesus and later killed himself. I pray for my mentees and always ask God to give me the knowledge, wisdom, understanding and encouragement they need to mature and develop in God and in the natural ways they are supposed. Although there is no personal financial gain in pouring into all of my mentees, it is an amazing reward for me to see them grow from faith to faith and glory to glory. You should see me. I’m usually more excited than they are and rejoicing with them when they have excelled in something or received breakthrough in a challenging situation. In my mind, they are like my children. And you know nothing stops a proud parent from gleaming ear to ear when their children achieve their respective visions of success.

The consistency doesn’t stop there. I’ve been consistent in jobs. I’ve been consistent in the ministries that God has given me. Since God placed me as an overseer for Morning Glory, 6 a.m. prayer, every Monday through Friday I’m in attendance, whether folks show or not. For every “Freedom Friday” and many “Worship Wednesdays,” I am praying and speaking the word that God gives me to prepare for His children. I’ve been consistent in my giving, whether it be my tithes and offering to the church, or to charities and people who are advancing the Kingdom (whether they know it or not) with their amazing work for the “least of these.” Many people try to “clown me” for my giving efforts or make me feel that I’m wasting my time or “stupid” for not getting the appropriate or adequate financial gain from many of my efforts. (What’s always interesting to me is that these same people who try to make me feel this way are not paying for what they receive either and hardly ever, consciously and intentionally, pour back into me the same way I pour into them! Thus, they get ignored.) But, I know that God has a purpose and plan for my life and it will not be denied. What I see now is not what it will be. God sees and has seen ALL my worship in my sacrifices for His kingdom. My simple declaration to myself and to you is, “I’ve been faithful with my little so I know that I will be just as faithful and consistent with my more.”

Are you the person that others don’t and cannot call on because you are “consistently” unreliable and your reputation proceeds you? Today, as we give thanks for consistency, I invite you to assess the areas in your life where you are not consistent, dependable or reliable and clean them up. God is able to help you in these areas of your life too. I also invite you to give your time and resources to Hope Is Alive Ministries, https://hopeisalive.net/, a sober living ministry that is completely transforming the lives of men and their families who have been destroyed by addiction.

Love Ya,

Have a Great Day of Thanks!