The "Right Nows" of Life

For those who follow me on social media; for the past couple of weeks- even months, I have been sharing a lot on the subject of contentment. The Lord has been leading me into this place of contentment, and I know it transcends beyond the “four walls” of my life, He wants everyone to be content in the season they are in.

You may ask why? Why be content when I can do better, I can be better. Aren’t we supposed to have a spirit of excellence and not of mediocracy? The answer is yes, yes and yes. Of course, God doesn’t want us to stay stuck; He wants us to go from glory to glory. It is His desire to see us grow and prosper in everything that we do.

 

What I mean is to enjoy the “right nows” in life, in spite of what season you find yourself in. It’s a choice. How will I react upon adversity? Will I count my blessings or my troubles? Will I look over my shoulder and see how everyone else’s beautiful curb appeal is while my grass is withering? (Maybe they just put really cool filters to make it look greener…I mean, I’m just saying) The point is that contentment starts within. It's a decision, a decision to be happy. Decide to be happy with what you have today without being consumed with the worries of tomorrow. In every season there is a beautiful lesson to be learned and before you can advance to the next level, you must learn the lesson and pass the test. So often we are sucked into this idea that if we don’t have what we want now, we are not happy. I want to make something clear to you today, the devil is a liar. You may have 99 problems, but that one solution, that one blessing, that one ray of light is enough for you to stop yourself and say “Wait a minute, let me take this time and be grateful for this ONE thing.” If you were to take a piece of paper and draw a line in the middle, on one side you put blessings and on the other side you put problems or goals, or dreams; I can assure you that your blessings will outweigh your troubles.

Don’t ever allow the enemy, or people make you feel that you need more. You are enough; you are complete in Jesus Christ. I quoted this a few weeks back on Facebook, “Don’t be consumed with what lies ahead that you forget to enjoy what’s right in front of you. God has provided everything you need for today and new provisions will be added on for you tomorrow. God wants you to be happy with what you have now, instead of worrying about what you need later.”

I strongly believe that God wants His people to be appreciative with what they have today. Celebrate your small victories. Enjoy your every milestone. Be thankful for the small dosages of progress that you’re making each day. Stop comparing your custom-designed journey to someone else’s; you will never fit in because you were not meant to fit into someone else's mold. You’re meant to fit in yours and yours alone.  No matter how little or insignificant it may seem today, if you genuinely decide to be happy with what you have, God will open up the heavens and pour out abundant blessings over your life.

Learning to be content with what you have will bring complete fulfillment. Comparisons create unnecessary voids while contentment offers unconditional joy. Enjoy the “right nows” of your life, no matter how your season may seem. Don’t look for validation in anyone else’s life; everyone has a distinct journey they’re traveling. God has orchestrated every single detail in your life to His perfection. You may say, Landy you have no idea how my life looks like, it’s a mess. I tell you today, it may be a mess, but it’s beautiful. As disastrous as it may seem, as disappointed you may feel right now, it’s still your beautiful life and it’s perfect and fitting for you! A single season does not determine your destiny or the outcome of your life. A season is simply a fragment of your life; it’s not your entire life. It does not define you.

Learning to be content with who you are and what you have, gives you grounds to experience a liberating feeling like none other. You’ll be able to enjoy and savor the “right nows” of your life; leaving absolutely no room for the worries or concerns of tomorrow.

Decide to be happy, decide to be free.

“Learn to be happy with what you have while you pursue all that you want.” –Jim Rohn

 

For further Scripture readings, take a look at these: Philippians 4:6-7, 10-14,  Matthew 6:25-34, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, John 10:10,

Be Encouraged, Be Blessed!

landypf

Keeping up with the ...

Ever heard of keeping up with the Joneses or the grass is greener on the other side? Why do we often feel as though everyone else has it better than we do? Stop trying to keep up with the Joneses, you're going to drive yourself crazy! There is a spirit of competitiveness that binds you into slavery when you start comparing yourself to others. When you start coveting what others have and you don’t appreciate what you have is a clear indication of ungratefulness. Society has bombarded us with a message of more is better, that the more we have the happier we will be and our standards outgrow our reality. The more the merrier is a false illusion in which we set ourselves for failure. Place your feet on solid grounds and let go of the unrealistic expectations.

Your freedom begins when you surrender your desires to God and become content with what you have. Don't misunderstand me now, I am a firm believer that we should all strive for the best and never settle for less. BUT when you are content with what you presently have you can live and enjoy the moment while you work hard and strive for better. We miss "the moment" all too often, we never really enjoy the present because we're either stuck in the past or too busy making plans for the future.  Take some time and savor your "now" moment. Many people put forth too much energy on what what they do not have rather than focus on the blessings they do have. Remember this; before God can bless you with the more, you have to be faithful, content and appreciative with the less.

Thank God for what you have and for what you do not have. If you don't have it, it's simply because you don't need it. Sometimes we confuse need with want where we think we need something when in reality we don’t.

God has given you everything you need in order to accomplish your task. Yes, someone will always be better than you, someone will always have more than you, someone's life will seem more appealing than yours but it will not faze you because you've learned that nothing in this world can make you happy but God. The stronger and closer your relationship is with God, the more content you become with what you have. Why? Because you have placed your trust in the Source- in your provider who will supply all of your needs according to His riches and glory. God’s grace is sufficient- it's really more than enough. When we learn to be content in whatever our circumstances are then we are able to live life fully. His grace will fill in the gaps; his grace will provide fullness, a fullness that will over exceed your expectations.                                                                                                    {Read Philippians 4:11-13,19 and 2 Corinthians 4:9}

Next time you look to your neighbor and desire to have what they have or desire to do what they do, think of God's grace! He's given you the wisdom, capacity, talents and resources to achieve God's purpose in your life. Whatever you lack, his grace fulfills. Grace meets yours needs!

So stop hopping onto your neibors grass thinking it’s greener than yours to only find dead weeds. Stop keeping up with the Kardashians who have their own issues!!  Stop keeping up with the Joneses and every other families you see that are “doing well”. Keep up with the Holy Spirit, that’s who we should all strive to keep up with.

The Holy Spirit will release His grace upon your life and that is more than enough to make you a conquerer  and obtain victory. When you're in need, His grace will never fail and will never run out.  And the beauty of all of this is that we can ALL keep up with the Holy Spirit without feeling threatened because His grace is more than enough for each and every one of us.  He is ready to pour out grace until it overflows. Who are you keeping up with?

 

Be Encouraged, Be Blessed!

Landy Perez-Feliciano ♥