Hey beauties! I suggest you cue some Kirk Franklin, because it’s about to get spiritual UP IN HERE!

The past two years for me have been quite a transition with so many areas in life. Jobs, figuring out what I want to do and how to go about doing such, relationships, friendships…the list just goes on.

But one thing I’ve haven’t touched on that is a big part of my life journey is my faith and how I found. Many of us have or are currently struggling with finding faith (if interested at all in doing so), keeping it and living it.

            Your belief in a higher being is always tested, so I’m not going to lie to you and say the journey is smooth and once you find your faith, that everything will go your way, because that is the furthest from the truth.

            So how do we find our faith in order to live as faithful beings? It’s not as complicated or lengthy list as many believe. Allow me to present to you…

THE 3 ASPECTS IN FINDING YOUR FAITH

1.     Forgive & Seek Forgiveness

So you’ve had a revelation and have decided to get closer or even get to know God, fantastic girl! The long yet beneficial spiritual journey requires us to strip ourselves from the person we were before seeking God. Forgiveness is a major key in finding and living your faith.

Often times when this subject comes up, we think of forgiving others for wronging us, even if we don’t receive an apology, which is true but have you forgave yourself yet?

It took me some time to practice this aspect, and I’m still doing such to this day. Just like God forgives us for our trespasses, we must also forgive ourselves and stop condemning the person we left behind in the past. Your future has no room for guilt my dear. Yes, those that may have known and have even gotten used to the old you and your old habits will have a ball bringing up the things you’ve done, but it’s not your job to feed into that.

            There were many things I’ve done in previous years that I sometimes still feel ashamed of, but what I had to do was tell myself whole heartedly that the choices I’ve made doesn’t equate to me not deserving a blessed and prosperous life.

When we know we’ve done a bad thing, we beat ourselves up for a very long time and that stunts our growth. In order to receive the blessings that were intended for you, you have to first believe that you deserve them and forgive yourself of the things you may have done long ago, or even last week! Are we clear? 

It’s also important to seek forgiveness as well. Seek forgiveness from others you may have wronged. Whether you get an acceptance or not, just know that you stepped forward with a sincere apology. If someone doesn’t forgive you, they’re only hurting themselves.

And but of course, seek forgiveness from God. That’s the easiest part because before you even confess, you are forgiven. However, what has worked for me was verbally asking for forgiveness, actually changing my behavior and praying for the strength to continue to forgive myself, forgive others and seek forgiveness when necessary. It might work for you too 😉

“He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”- Colossians 1:13-14

2.     Detox Your Life (a.k.a shake the devil off)

The devil is a lie chile. Anything or anyone that serves as a threat to keep you from your spiritual goals and blessings is toxic and you must detox your life from all the mess that isn’t helping you in the long run.

            I’m sure we’ve all heard of or have tried those popular detox fitness teas, or have even done a homemade juice cleanse. When someone drinks those teas, or juices for a certain amount of time, the body begins to rid all of the bad stuff. This process usually results in frequent trips to the bathroom due to the fact that the ingredients being taken in are quickly ridding the toxic within. Detoxing your life operates the exact same way.

            First things first, identify what or whom exactly it is that is not serving your spiritual life positively. Every problem needs to be identified then eliminated. For some, excess drinking of alcohol can be a catalyst for toxic behavior ending in horrible consequences.  For others, it could be their anger, judging others, putting up with people that don’t have their best interest at heart, self-doubt, smoking, high-risk sexual encounters, etc. Just know that there’s a reason for that feeling deep down inside tugging at you whenever you’re about to do or have finished doing whatever activity is holding you back from growing within your faith.

            It’s so easy to do the wrong thing vs. the right thing. We live in times where we just love instant gratification and majority of the things that come easy and quickly are usually not all it’s crack up to be, go just as quick as it came and can leave you feeling empty every single time.

            When you begin to find your faith, it’s impossible to still lead the life the way you did before. Once you fully accept God into your life, there is no way you’ll ever be the same again. Welcome the detox, embrace it and don’t be afraid to do what’s right for you during your journey to finding faith and living in it.

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10

3.     Trust

Trusting is such a hard thing to do. And I’m going to keep it real with you when I say, during your journey, it’s going to be hard at first to even trust God if you didn’t before.

            For many, many years, I had it in my head that God was always picking on me, especially after my father passed when I was 14. I didn’t trust that God would make things better and felt as if anything to do with belief in God was forced upon me. From 14, to 25 I didn’t have any kind of faith, which is ironic seeing that I went to a faith-based university.  

            What people misunderstand about those who believe in a higher being is that life should be sweet and easy if you are spiritual/religious, go to church, and claim to believe. That is false. The point of having a relationship with God and finding your faith is learning that through trials and tribulations, you’ll always be okay because you believe and know that Gods’ got you no matter what. I used to question God when I didn’t get my way, which is why many situations went wrong during my adolescent and young adult years, so I had to reverse that thinking during my journey.

            You have to TRUST that in the long run, things will work out in the way that God sees fit for you, even if that means losing some people you hold near and dear along the way, or getting blocked from an opportunity you were sure had your name on it. Trust what God blocks. It’s hard to grasp this aspect, but it must be done girl, it must!

            You have claimed to love God, so do the only thing asked of you and trust Him/Her, it’s the best thing you’ll ever do.

Those who know your name trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you. –Psalm 9:10

Finding your faith is not a microwave ready situation, and there will be some bumps along the way, but I do hope you remember these 3 aspects and begin to act upon them. Once you do this, believe me girl, everything else will work out in the end. 

“For as the body without spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” –James 2:26

TREAT YO’ SELF GIRL & STAY BEAUTIFUL