Hello Everyone! This has been a season to reflect on matters for most of us with the social distancing and working primarily from home. The verses in Ecclesiastes Chapter 3 A Time for Everything comes to mind as I am drafting this post. During this season in 2020, you may be finding yourself in one or more areas (I know I have):
Ecclesiastes Chapter 3
1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace
June 30, 2020 was the last blog I had wrote from this website, after holding an awesome session on IG LIVE about Blogging with a Purpose, which is a passion of mine to offer knowledge sharing opportunities to others. I went through a period in the month of July that I chose not to blog – thinking maybe it was time to do something else. I had grown tired of social media and the lack of interaction on certain (not all) social media sites when I would share my blog posts, or any other successes from this site, which caused me to reconsider sharing encouraging messages from these platforms if there wasn’t going to be any interaction (i.e. dialog).
In my last post, Labor Pains, I had offered a question to readers, thinking it would encourage feedback, but it resulted in no comments. Silence. I felt as if I was on an island by myself writing, without knowing if this was helping anyone at all.
Now, do not get me wrong, I have received great feedback in the past, which has led me to believe God’s purpose is being served from this website. I have surrendered to God’s calling of sharing the good news of salvation through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ from isurrender2jesus.com. According to analytics, my blog site is being read across the world (praise God!), but no one is really saying anything via comments. So, I thought it was time to move on. I prayed to God about it in June and proceeded to work on other things, also taking a break from social media postings.
My church started revival this week on Sunday, August 2, 2020. The guest pastor shared his initial reaction to having to take his church online due to the pandemic. He was initially apprehensive because he was used to hearing feedback of Amen, the choir keeping Him encouraged so He could deliver the message, and the interaction while He was preaching. This would all go away when he went online. This is when I had my ah ha moment and that my prayer was answered. Remember the prayer I prayed in June – God’s timing to respond is not always ours, but He responds.
James 1:5-7
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.
The pastor shared that you may not get an Amen, but you are not just preaching to a crowd but sharing the gospel (which is a greater assignment for me). He spoke about a prophet who was not liked by the people and did not get an Amen, but he still did God’s work. He said in his own reflection that he had to get it together because the only one who may be speaking to him is the Lord and the Holy Ghost. At this point, I realized the mission had to continue, whether I received a comment, like, or none.
We have been blessed with technology to share the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ from an array of platforms. A lot of churches are still closed due to the pandemic and are live streaming. Encouraging messages and online resources are needed more now than ever. I choose to be obedient and continue what God has laid upon my heart with this website.
I decided to be vulnerable and share this post because I think a lot of people may feel this way at times, and I want you to know it is OK. If you ever feel you are going down a different path, or feel that it is time for a change, I encourage you to pray about it first. God has the blueprint, so before you start building or making changes, consult Him first in prayer. Our heavenly Father is Omniscience (all-knowing), Omnipresence (all-present (everywhere)), and Omnipotence (all-power).
I pray this blog encourages you to keep the faith brothers and sisters. We serve a God who is in control, nothing takes Him by surprise, and He never fails.
If you’re not saved today, then I encourage you to visit my Salvation Prayer page. It is written in Revelations 22:17, The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.
Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, has already paid the price for us. He is the Lamb of God. Welcome Him into your heart today. You will not thirst again.
Love you all in Christ,
Ayesha L. Shoulders 💞
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I Surrender 2 Jesus 
thanks for writing this post…and so true. There are seasons in interaction sometimes yet the calling remains…and even in that, times of rest and times of conversation. Keep on sharing as He calls you too. I appreciate this post and you.
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God bless you and thank you for your encouragement. I appreciated it and you. What you have shared concerning seasons has enlighten me as well on times to rest. It’s during these periods when I hear God clearly.
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Great word. Sometimes God requires us to take the time to reflect. Not only on what we are going through but to remind us what we are called to do. You see, His purpose and His will requires us to pick up our cross and follow Him – completely, whole-heartly and undeniably first. Life can drain you, heck people can drain you But when you put God first – PEACE & JOY will be with you Always. Rejoice in the quiet times and “still” seasons. That’s when He is preparing you for what’s yet to come.
Remember when we see our reflection we are looking At ourselves. Well, When we reflect spiritually we are growing in God, seeing more of Him in us. Continue to Be obedient, no matter what it looks like, feels like or the responses are like. God is more concern with “not what you do” But how you do it.”
Be Intentional 💞🙏🏾💞🙏🏾 AMEN!!!
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Amen! God will definitely give us the grace to do what He has called us to do. It’s typically when we take our eyes off Him and look outward at the world that we become distracted. Thank you for sharing. ❤
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