When was the last time you did a heart check?

 

I just did mine, and I realized that my heart has been heavy these past three days—filled with anger and constant thoughts of how to respond to the conversations I had received.

Then, as I reflected on today’s Word, the Holy Spirit asked, “Have you done a heart check recently?”

And I thought, okay… the more wronged I feel, the more there is silence and withdrawal from God’s way.

I know it is the season of love, and one thing I prayed this season was, “God, help me bring love to the table of every conversation.” I choose to respond in love. 

But you know what? It has felt as if war drums were being beaten on my behalf, and constantly, I have fallen to the rhythm.

Doing a heart check made me go through Psalm 23 again.

David declared, “The Lord will lead me in the path of righteousness… He restores my soul.”

I believe that after going through fragments of hurt and betrayal from people, all he could have felt at times was pain and brokenness. There were probably moments when the heaviness stung so deeply that his desire might have been to treat people the way he had been treated.

But what if those thoughts lead us out of the way of righteousness—out of the path of the One we call our Shepherd?

It felt hard. It still feels hard. But when we choose the way of love, most times we must ask God to heal our hearts, to restore our souls, to heal us from the soul injuries we have encountered as we journey through life.

God doesn’t just want to heal us of physical or spiritual pain. He wants us to bring every pain to Him so that, in that surrender, we become whole.

“Lord, restore my soul” might feel like a far-fetched prayer. But when we present our spirit, soul, and body to God, He desires to find a whole person.

Today we ask, O God, that You would restore our souls. Heal us of every soul injury, every brokenness, and cause us to walk in the righteous way.

Stay Revived!

From Diligence to the table of Kings.

Diligence is careful and persistent effort toward what has been placed before you—what is already in your hand.

Scripture says:

“Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.” Proverbs 22:29

This shows us that there is a protocol for standing before kings. It is diligence. It is being consistent in excellence in what is already in your hand—not consistent in error, not consistent in mediocrity.

We cannot pray for the hand of God to rest upon our business or career while doing a tacky job. We cannot ask God to close the eyes of those who see our poor work. And even if God closes their eyes at one stage and you pass through, what about the next level?

You cannot pray for the best while tolerating mediocrity and expect a seat at the table of kings. In the absence of excellence, the table that was meant to announce you can become the table that disgraces you.

Attributes of Diligence:

• Consistency

• Excellence (not mediocrity)

In this season, the Lord is calling us to take a posture of diligence—diligence backed by excellence. Because it is your diligence that will bring you to the table of kings.

Standing before kings may look like:

• The job you desire

• The career breakthrough you are praying for

• The opportunity you have waited for so long

But God watches for diligence. Even people watch for it. They say, “Let’s see how long she can continue,” or “Let’s see how far he can go.” Consistency reveals character.

When you back your diligence with excellence, God brings you to tables you would not have been able to enter by yourself.

Heaven responds to alignment—to diligence, to strategy, to posture.

To truly live an excellent life, you must take on the posture of diligence. Show up in excellence, and watch God set you at tables where you will be favored.

Stay Revived!

''That I may know you''.

 

“That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection” (Philippians 3:10) is more than a scripture—it is a prayer of daily alignment with God.

When the Holy Ghost comes and quickens our minds and spirits, we begin to realize that Jesus can be seen in everything around us. Creation itself bears witness to Him. The beauty of creation reveals that there is a Supreme Being who designed all things. Nothing simply comes into existence by chance; creation points back to the Creator.

Romans 1:20 (KJV) 

“For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.”

This is why our regular prayer should be that the Lord quickens our minds—to comprehend His Word, t and even His spoken instructions to us. The Lord often speaks in parables (Matthew 13:13). He shows us things and then watches to see our willingness to search them out.

Scripture tells us, “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the honor of kings is to search out a matter” (Proverbs 25:2). In the process of searching, the spirit of wisdom is activated. The Holy Spirit begins to impress His thoughts upon us—“For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16). He thinks through us.

Quickening is a process. You grow in it. “But the path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day” (Proverbs 4:18). So do not be in a hurry. Stay with the Word until understanding comes. It is the Word you truly know that you will stand upon in the day of challenge—“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).

Let our daily prayer be:
“That I may know You and the power of Your resurrection” 
Lord, quicken my mind to see You, to sense You, and to comprehend what You reveal to me.

Stay revived.

God Wants to Be Your Partner

Whenever I read the Psalms and hear David speak of God with such intimacy—almost like a lover—I used to struggle with that posture. God as my lover? It felt distant, even unfamiliar.

But today, during my commute to work, I reflected on the bond between a husband and wife, and something became clear: this is exactly the kind of relationship God desires with us.

He longs to be the Husband; we become His bride.

Jesus reveals Himself as our Bridegroom—a partner who gives us room to choose, yet keeps His arms open wide, always whispering, “You can always come back to Me.”

He speaks in gentle whispers of devotion:
“I am able to love you like no other.”
“I care for you with a tenderness beyond words.”
“I see you, and I know you more deeply than you know yourself.”

I find myself yearning for such a lover. This deep oneness with the Divine is why God uses the analogy of marriage when speaking of His relationship with the Church. He desires a marriage of true minds.

In my African culture, the groom pays a bride price, and from that moment, two lives become one. Jesus did the same. He paid our bride price with His very life, and now He asks, “Can we be one?”

Still, He continues to woo us:
“I want to be the rhythm in every love song you dance to.”
“I love better than any soul on earth. I know how to give the purest kind of love.”
“Would you give Me a chance to love you?”

I am not yet married, but I am told that when a woman marries the one she loves, a certain radiance rests upon her—a glow that cannot be hidden. Jesus gives the best glow of all.

David captures this intimacy perfectly when he declares:
“O Lord, You have searched me and You know me.” — Psalm 139:1

Stay revived !