‘To deserve’: a concept that is breaking my brain...

We live in a world where we are conditioned to believe that 

you get what you give. We mostly commit to things or relationships based on what we can get out of it and on what we are willing to invest back into it.

Unfortunately, this mindset has been influencing how we relate to God. We ask for things our hearts desire, but deep in our hearts we believe things like, “I’m not gonna get it, because I don’t deserve it.”

A very basic example of where we were taught to think like this was in school when we prepared for a test. We were taught that if you worked really hard, then you were ‘allowed’ to pray that God would help you to get really good marks… ‘cause you’d ‘deserve’ it, right?

And when you didn't prepare that much, then you pray something like, “God, please help me with this test. Help me to remember everything that I have studied.”

I have to ask…

Why ask to help you remember only what you have studied?

Why not ask to help you with every single question regardless of what you’ve studied?

‘Cause that’s not what we ‘deserve’, right?

You can’t ask for something unless you have worked for it… and deserve it…

I honestly think that that is NOT how God works.

That is not how Grace works.

Grace is undeserved kindness and forgiveness from God.

There is NOTHING you can do to ‘deserve’ it. Nothing. 

It is a GIFT.

To you. From God.

You ask for good marks, He wants to give you the best marks.

You ask for enough food to survive, He wants to give you dessert as well.

But then you might ask, “Leigh-Ann, if it is as simple as that, then why am I not driving a Ferrari?”

Well, the answer is just as simple: 

Because YOU are not allowing yourself to have what you deeply want and what He so excitedly wants to give to you.

You ask, you beg, but you ask with hands closed. He wants to give you what your heart desires, but you won’t take it. Because deep in your heart you are convinced that you won’t get it… that you don’t deserve it… how can you have what you don’t take?

Jesus’ words to YOU:

“I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve (past tense) received it, it will be yours.” Mark11:24

Then you might ask, “But Leigh-Ann, I am ready to take what I want, but I still don’t have it?”

That, I believe, is God protecting you. He will not give you what you cannot handle. For example, a mother won’t give her baby a piece of steak when the baby can only handle milk and soft baby food.

Another question might be, “Leigh-Ann, does this mean that I never have to study for a test again since God will just help me when I ask Him?”

That is not how God works either. He wants to and will help you unconditionally, yes. But, along with the gift of Grace, you have also been given many talents. 

And these talents you have to develop and mature in to fulfill His glorious plans for you. 

You can’t just sit back and let Him do all the work for you. I am sure He will do it out of complete love for you. But then you basically end up hiding your Godly talents and abilities…you end up being average… 

So study. Not so that He can help you, he will help regardless and if you allow it. But study so that you can grow into an influential individual who can change the world with the talents He has given to you.

 (The "study for a test" concept is only an example of where we think in terms of what we deserve. Where else in YOUR life do you think like this?)

Love

How I know that [HE LOVES YOU]

Last night I asked a girl whom I barely know how her relationship with God is. She said something like this: “Um, I don’t really know. I know He exists and everything, but I’m not really sure how our ‘relationship’ is or even supposed to be…” And isn't this something we can all relate to at some stage in our lives?

The thing that striked me the most about what she said was the way that she wasn’t exactly excited about pursuing her relationship with God either. No motivation. She was under the impression that in order to have a relationship with God and a strong faith meant that she would have to start following a bunch of rules and steps to get there. And that didn't sound like a lot of fun. It sounds like a guilt trip and trap of condemnation. FALSE.

TRUTH: God passionately desires to have a relationship with each one of us - regardless our past or present doings. We were primarily created to have an intimate relationship with Him. He doesn’t expect us to follow step A to Z in order to deserve His love and appreciation. No.

There is NOTHING 

you can ever DO to deserve/earn 

His love, protection, guidance, approval, comfort.

God is UNCONDITIONAL.

He doesn't want a perfect you. He wants to be in a relationship with imperfect you. That is His biggest desire for you.

You don’t have to become a better person first or know all the rules off by heart before you can go on an adventure with Him. You just need to embrace the love and support He has been giving to you your whole life and at this moment.

Look around you. Look at your life. Look at all of the beautiful things: 

your family; your pets’ unconditional love for you; 

your kodak moments with friends; friendly strangers greeting you; 

a little leaf swirling down to the ground; babies laughing from their chubby bellies; glorious lighting and sunsets; amazing drool-worthy food; a beautiful song to match your every mood and emotion; going on spontaneous dates; falling madly in love; and the list just goes on and on.

YOU, 

regardless of your past and present situation or relationship status with God, 

have been blessed and you are still being blessed. 

He loves YOU.

 He is revealing His love to you all around you all the time. 

Can’t you see that?

[S U F F E R I N G]

Suffering is an ocean I have been plunged into countless times. I have been forced to learn how to swim because often I would reach out to others to save me from drowning and no hand would grab mine. Many times my suffering would be as a result of choices I have made and other times it would be because of someone who unexpectedly pushed me off the edge for whatever reason. I know that you can very much so relate to this.

Before I began to pursue my relationship with God I would run to others for help, or I would indulge in food or series or books or shopping or gym. I would mostly indulge in self-pity: “Why is this happening to me? I am not such a bad person, why am I then being punished like this? Am I supposed to try harder? I am not enough? Cause surely if I was enough things would be easier. If God liked me more he wouldn't have let this happen or He would at least make this pain stop.” Sounds familiar?

Then, in my relationship with God, He revealed to me that He NEVER said that being a Believer meant only having things easy. In fact, He promised that this world WILL throw you into the ocean – whether you believe or not. The difference is that if you believe, He can help you. I mean, you won’t reach out to someone for help if you don’t believe they exist.

Jesus said: “Take my yoke upon you, (Insert your name here). Let me teach you, because I am a humble and gentle heart, and you will find rest for your soul. My yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Mat11:28-30

This is Him inviting YOU. He wants to take your hurt and make it easier to bear. You will still carry a yoke, but He promises that it will be light! Now who wouldn’t want to accept an offer like that?!

“The righteous person faces many troubles, but the Lord comes and rescues EACH TIME.” Psalm34:19

“Your promise revives me; it comforts me in all my troubles.” Psalm 119:50

“In this world you WILL have troubles. But take heart! (but don’t worry; have hope; be encouraged) For I (who live in you) have conquered the world.” John16:33

Jesus was rejected, abandoned, insulted, physically abused, betrayed, lied to, etc. EVERY kind of suffering YOU have experienced, Jesus also experienced it. And He did it so that YOU can realize that if He can survive all of that, then SO CAN YOU, because He lives IN YOU. He overcame everything this world can possibly throw at us. He was victorious over the one thing that all humans fear – death. How can we then allow troubles (of all kinds and degrees) to defeat us so easily if He is on our side?

We are not fighting FOR victory.

We are fighting FROM victory.

Nothing has the power to steal your hope. Your JOY. Your dreams and passions. NOTHING.

How long still do you want to continue to suffer on your own by indulging in things that are like fast food: they are satisfying in the beginning, but in the long run they make you sick and fat and results in you sinking deeper into the ocean.

OR, do you want to allow God to guide you in your suffering and help you carry your yoke. This is like healthy food: It’s nutritious, and keeps you light. AND, because God is the chef, this food will not only keep you from drowning, but it will let you walk on water.

We ALL suffer, 

but how you will survive 

is a CHOICE 

that YOU have to make. 

This is a little reminder on my wall of what God wants to be and do for me in hard times.

Go Listen to this AMAZING song! If you are going through a tough time, make this your anthem!!
God of Angel Armies - Chris Tomlin

In the next post we’ll look at things in a practical sense. 

#IChoosePurity Series [Part One]: What is Purity?

So, the other day I sat next to a stranger on the train and made some conversation with her in stead of putting in my earphones and zoning into my own little personal world. We ended up having a two hour convo about God. When the train had stopped, she asked my number and I thought she wanted to meet again for coffee or something - boy was I wrong... a few days later I received a phone call from her saying that she works at a radio station (Impact Radio 103fm) and that our conversation had inspired her to invite me into studio to talk about our conversation some more! So, a week later, I went on air and had spoken to approximately 45,000 people about our God.

She sent me some questions before hand so that I can think about them and pray about what God wants the people to hear. The talk was about #IChoosePurity and the response was amazing! Here's an idea of the conversation on the train combined with my prep for the talk show. I have made this radical view about what Purity really is into a blog series. This post is Part One and serves as an introduction. 


Note: This series about Purity will have some hard truths, but there's hope for ALL in this message... And no, this is not an attempt to discuss how horrible sex before marriage is or how awful you are if you have compromised... Purity is more than the physical... And the purpose of this series is to show  you that 
                          YOU ARE  PURE. 

Seth: Leigh-Ann, what do you think Purity is?

LA: Purity is more than just the physical - even more than just technical purity.

"Whoever loves a pure heart and gracious speech will have the King as a friend."Prov 22:11

Thus, purity is a matter of the heart. "Guard your heart for all else flows from it"Prov 4:23

“All else” refers to body, emotions, thoughts and actions. 

Thus, everything you do, say, think, feel, etc. comes from the heart. And if you are thinking and doing things that are not 'life giving' or coming from a place of love and goodness, then you have some matters of the heart to attend to my friend... we all do. 

Are you constantly exposing yourself to sexual images that are planting lustful seeds in your thoughts (and thus heart)? Are you thinking vengeful or condemning thoughts about other people? Are you constantly breaking yourself down? Are you feeling guilty (I hate what I've done) or shame (I hate me)? 

If you have said yes to any of these (which we all have), then this series of what Purity really is will definitely inspire you and help you get to place were you live with a pure heart  - regardless of what you have done in your life - mentally, emotionally and physically. Yes, even physically.