It's Quite Okay... To Be Great

As I whiteness myself methodically and ever so slightly blooming, petal by petal, into the greatness that I am destined to be, I feel myself internally recoil. Even when the pullback is slight I am still very much aware of it. I asked God why it is the tendency of humans to drawback when we notice our ascension into the great and divine. The answer He gave me was, fear. Once I was able to put a title to this I began to quote all the fear-revoking scriptures that came to mind. These helped, but what cemented my acceptance of my grand transition was the heavily quoted Marianne Williamson quotation. However, it was not until now that I understood (completely) what her words were speaking to.

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” ~Marianne Williamson

This quote was definitely the result of God’s rhema (spoken) Word, and I truly thank Him for it. I thank God that He is continuously inspiring great thinkers, and that I now know it’s okay for me to take my rightful position in such a prestigious group. I must no longer sit still and hoard the God-breathed words which stir in me daily. So look out world, Nicole Stokes has something to say!

Nikki

Fearful: For What?!

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:7

The spirit of fear is a very peculiar emotional response initiated by the enemy in order to detour the people of God from His divine plan. The Bible clearly states that God has not given us the spirit of fear. Thus, why do so many of us operate in it? This spirit manifests hindering strongholds, denying the destiny that God has appointed for every individual life.

When contemplating the emotional responses of fear, I began to understand the lack of substance in the enemy’s booby-trap. It becomes apparent that many of us are fearful of possible outcomes to situations that have yet to be tried and/or experienced. This is absolutely insane! We fervently pray asking God to help us better our current realities, and when He shows us the avenue to grant our requests we run and hide. How do we expect God to help us? On the contrary, the enemy never offers a solution to our problems, but we rather lean into his spirit of fear than to trust God!

Just for a second think about the two sides of this scenario:

You have a job that you hate for whatever reasons, and know that you posses the credentials to be better paid and/or self employed. You could either A) step out on faith and say God I’m miserable here so I'm willing to try another route, or you could B) stay in your current reality.

The enemy makes us fearful of failure, but in reality we don’t fail unless we never try! Even if your leap of faith does not produce reciprocals worthy of your efforts, what did you really lose? You would still have your job; however, you would now have gained knowledge that would help you step out again wiser and smarter. Moreover, our trying of something never attempted is what builds our faith in God. You won’t know how much you trust Him and can really depend on Him until you step out of your comfort zone!

The gifts and passion that God has placed within your heart are not haphazard or coincidental, so go forth and posses the land! The fear or anxiety will eventually subside, but God remains steadfast through your times of good, bad, and indifference. He loves us just that much! Take a leap of faith!

Nikki