Painted Pretty

An excerpt from my new blog post:

"God is not just here for the pretty moments but also the not so pretty ones. He's not afraid of your worst neither is He surprised because before you were born He knew all the contents of your heart. What's beautiful is that despite how messy the human heart can be God still thought us a masterpiece worth dying for, and proved it by giving His only Son. "


To read more visit my new website michelle-z.com 

God bless <3

New Beginnings

Hello everyone!

I'm excited to announce that my new website is officially live <3

You can now get all my blogs, videos, social media, and products all in one place.

Check it out ( michelle-z.com ) & make sure you subscribe the the mailing list to get all the updates!

God bless you and stay tuned for all the new goodies i'll be sharing soon :)

Journey to an Expected End Video series

Hey everyone!

As I said in my previous post, I'm having a seven day video series which went live yesterday (May 4th) and will continue through May 11th. I wanted to personally invite everyone who reads this blog to join in on the series. Follow the LINK and check out all the episodes that have gone live already.

God bless you!

The Thin Line

When I first got my driver’s license years ago, I was excited and a bit terrified as I despised the highway. Though it was faster, I would rather use the back road even it added almost 20 extra minutes to my drive. One of the reasons being that I’m not fond of trucks, because they are just so big and always appear to be rolling over into your lane. Also the speed of the other cars would throw me off and the cars beside me would look so close, like they were about to run into my car.

Eventually I realized my 'phobia' was quite expensive and Mimi (that's one of my nick names) was not going to be burning all that gas because of fear..lol. It's safe to say I've overcome my phobia by God’s grace.

Often times we are so afraid of things that appear bigger and we don't move along in our journey adequately, because our speed is being determined by whats around us. Our pace is determined by those things that look greater than us. Those trucks always looked like they were crossing into my lane but every time I peeped through my mirrors I would see that my fear of them made them appear closer than they really were.

Honestly, I probably spent more time making sure I didn't get run over than I did trying to get to my destination. Sometimes I took wrong turns or missed my exit because I was no longer being directed by  the GPS but by those things that intimidated me.

But isn't this parallel to our walk with Jesus? We get so distracted by other people’s walk with Him. Measuring our pace and progress by them and we miss turns because we begin to neglect the one directing us, God. We quickly forget that even though all the vehicles are on the same road, their speed is different and so is their exit. See, if I turn my focus to them I'll never get to where God wants me to go because He only graced me for the path He has for me and not the one He set for them.

Look at the children if Israel for example (1 Samuel 8), they wanted a king to rule over them the way they saw other nations even though they had God himself on their side. Maybe they felt intimidated cause from the outside looking in those other people appeared to be more secure. But it's not about "them" rather about you and God.

I've learnt to appreciate that thin line that separates us on the highway and have understood that the demarcation is there for my good. That the sizes of vehicles are parallel to the purpose attached to it. Smaller or different doesn’t mean inefficient but shaped to serve a unique purpose. You might feel like your life, ministry, business or even family is smaller in comparison to others around you. “They” might even seem to be going faster but here’s the truth. God has structured you to touch certain people’s lives and if you went as fast or slow as those “trucks” then they will never hear of His goodness. If you were as big as they seem then you wouldn’t be able to pass through those tiny spaces to reach those people God is preparing you for.

We are not in competition with anyone, but in an individual race and the reward is eternity with Jesus. Remember that all plants do not bloom at the same time but they must individually go through the process to reach their expected end. Be encouraged!

Announcements

• ·       My book “Journey to an Expected End” is turning 2 years on May 11^th  J  and in honor of that two things are happening.

-          There’s a huge book sale going on (copies are limited), soft cover book at just $10 and hard cover is $20 plus free shipping (For domestic orders shipping is free but international order may accrue extra charges. Please email michelleziregbe@gmail.com for more information). Here’s a link to order paypal.me/MZiregbe and please make sure you specify the quantity and type of book in the notes.

-          A seven day video series addressing some key topics in book will begin May 4^th, so make sure you are following me on my social media and YouTube to get the updates. I’m excited and I hope you are too J

Rising of the Sun

A couple years ago, I was in this season of my life where everything seemed to be going downhill. I mean finances dipping by the second, health diminishing, no job, and the list goes on. It seemed to be a lot happening all at the same time but despite this physical decrease there was something phenomenal that God showed me through the process. Although it looked like I was depreciating physically I was growing muscle spiritually.

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16, NKJV)

When we read Genesis, we discover that God made the sun and the moon. He declared something that was so profound. In His wisdom, He caused both to emit light but there was one that ruled and was greater than the other; the sun. No matter how much light the moon might give, it can never outshine the sun.

So I want you to take your Spirit man (inner vessel) as the sun, why? Because God is Spirit so we worship and commune with Him by that channel. Now take your physical side (outward vessel) as the moon. With that mental picture, think about the attributes of the sun and the moon that we see today.

One profound observation is that both are necessary but cannot rule at the same time. One must be greater. One is greater. And that is the sun.

At some point in life we get to that place where our "moon" seems to be weak or not shining as we've hoped but I encourage you that in that moment choose not to be discouraged.

See, lacking all those things physically gave me "space" to read, worship, study, pray, and spend so much time with God. I believe I had an unconscious perception that my moon constituted as the source of my power, but even in a physical sense we see that the moon draws its ability to shine from the sun.

Our ability/strength needed to work outwardly should be drawn from our inner man. Both our sun and moon cannot "rule" at the same time either in our thoughts or in our actions. And this is what God was showing me through that season and I believe He wants to show you as well.

It may not be all you've hoped for in a physical sense and you could even be doing everything right but yet nothing is working. I encourage you to not get weary by focusing on your situation, but rather use the opportunity to worry to get filled up. Let your sun rise because when your inner man is filled then it would pour out and be manifested in the physical.

I remember the day I felt God so tangibly in my house. I was washing dishes and cooking, which i'm sure sounds like a weird space to encounter God but I've learnt that sometimes we don't find Him where we except. But we will find Him or rather He will find us in a perfect way where we least expect.

Till this day I can't explain it but I fell on my face in tears worshiping Him. Not that He did something special for me at that moment but I felt His strength, majesty, love, & grace so deeply! And I wondered as I wrote this post why it was that time when all was lost that somewhere I felt Him the most and He laid the answer on my heart.

It's so I can be a witness to His word that says "even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil because thou is with me." So I could bear witness that even amidst the storms God is there because those issues can never overcome Him. So that I could encourage someone not to be scared when they go through physical loss because often times it gives room to find Him.

Growing Pains

I’m usually a person who would write or share after the fact but here are a few nuggets while He’s taking me through the valley. My hope is that someway somehow you’ll find His voice soothing you in this post. That even if there’s not a visible end in sight, that you’d find the strength to push for tomorrow.

Truth be told, I’m in a place and I’m not even entirely sure what’s going on but I don’t want to beat around the bush. To hide around the ideology of political correctness and image of perfection that is far from the truth.

I feel broken. I feel like in some way God let me down. I feel like He left me when He said He wouldn’t just like I feared, and a part of me also feels like I deserve it. So many conflicting thoughts, like a rushing wind, are speeding through my mind by the second.

“Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything” (1John 3:20, NLT)

Yes, the Lord said He desires above all things that we will prosper and be in good health just as our soul prospers, that He would give us the desires of our heart, and that He will answer us when we call out to Him. But what do we do when we “feel” like He hasn’t done those things He promised?

We choose to remember.

In those times, we must repeat His words from 1 John which tells us that no matter how we feel, God is greater; He is greater than our hearts. In the times we cannot feel Him, we must know that He will never and can never go back on His word.

Trust me I know that when your issue is starring you in the face, your focal view is zoomed into the apparent reality but life is about choices. We choose whether to continue to believe God or accept where we are presently. See, God’s promises speak of an eternal and final work so we must remember that today is temporary, and no matter how long it takes to get to that eternal promise, it will last much longer than today.

Be rest assured that He caught every tear and He stored it (Psalms 56:8). He hears us even when we feel we cannot hear Him. Life might even look burdensome but in our weaknesses, His strength is magnified (2 Corinthians 12:9).

So today, tomorrow, and forever, choose to remember that because God is in you, no matter what today looks like you cannot fail!

Be encouraged.

You were built for this!

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” (Romans 8:18, ESV)

Can I trust you?

Honestly, I’m not even sure how to start this post, or how to explain the millions of thoughts rushing through my mind. Earlier today, God reminded me of a message He gave months ago for a sermon and it was titled, Can God trust you?

Most times when we think about God trusting us, we think about blessings and things that appear “good” to us. But when He spoke it wasn’t about trusting me with the sunshine because almost anyone would say yes to things that look good, but about trusting me with the storms. Philippians 1:29 reminds us that we are not only privileged to trust God but to also suffer on His behalf.

Let’s be real, the very first time we gave our lives to Jesus I don’t think we fully understood or counted the cost. Most didn’t know that when the bible says to carry our cross it wasn’t just an artistic expression but a fact that requires physical action. So when the bible talks about suffering it’s not a light matter. And the question is that how many of us view it as a privilege?

There’s suffering that comes as a result of sin and one that comes as a result of relationship. The bible tells us that the righteous will have many troubles but God will deliver them from every single one (Psalms 34:19). Look at Job for example,

“And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.” (Job 1:8-10, ESV)

It wasn’t because he was in sin that the devil got access to him rather because God trusted him enough to allow his faith to be tried and tested. If God knew Job didn’t have what it would take to pass through that valley then He wouldn’t have given the devil access. If Job couldn’t handle it and God still let him go though it then God would have gone against His word that says He will not let us be tried more than we can bear.

So for everyone out there who believes and is wondering where God is because you are trying to live right but yet trouble is hitting on every side; He is still with you!

What if God is in heaven bragging about you to the devil saying “No matter what you do, I am confident that My child will not bow down to you”

Chapter after chapter Job cried out and God did not say a word, but we must trust His silence as deeply as we trust His word. The silence does not change His thoughts towards us, so don’t let what should make you better make you bitter instead. If someone told Job that he would live to see brighter days after all he endured I’m sure he would have laughed in their face. But he did and so can you.

Can God trust you with the storms? Can He trust us to stay even when it pours, I mean pours heavily and we are soaked with issues after issues?

Do we want all of Him or just the parts that make us feel great? Will we stand confident and boast of His love even when He slays?

David said that even though he walks though the valley of the shadow of death, he will fear no evil because God is with Him. The same God that was with him in that valley is with us and in the times where we cannot “feel” Him, then we must know that He is. Some days might appear better than others but we will not die in the valley, rather we will gain a greater confidence in God. The kind of confidence that caused God to trust us with these mountains even though they look great, because He is certain that He that is in us is greater!

After Job’s faith was proven, God got the glory and the enemy was shamed. The only way the darkness can overcome the light is if the light chooses to give way to the darkness.

Can He trust you with the storm?

Prayer: Father help me! It’s not by might or power, so please help me allow Your Spirit to empower me to move through this situation. Help me to trust You enough to walk me through the storms of life without a doubt. May my faith come forth and the enemy be put to shame in my life. I declare that I will live and not die! I declare that I will trust You even when I can’t feel you. I will not be bitter, but I will get better in Jesus name, amen!