The Lord has been dealing with my heart personally for about 6 months on the heart of a leader. A leader can mean that you are an influencer of people/person. You speak into people’s lives in times of need; You shout with them on the mountain tops. You give of yourself to see people know Jesus more. You live a life poured out to see the Kingdom of God advance. But what about when your heart isn’t seeming to go this direction anymore?

We are in a culture where many people don’t wake up on a Sunday morning ecstatic to be heading into the House of the Lord! Many have lost their zeal to have the opportunity to be used by the Lord to bring an impact to someone’s life. Some don’t even desire to sit in service anymore to hear what the Word of the Lord is for that particular house. Many are filled with frustration more than joy. So, the real issue that arises is it’s time for a #HEARTCHECK!

Psalms 73:26-28 NKJV

26 My flesh and my heart fail;
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
27 For indeed, those who are far from You shall perish;
You have destroyed all those who desert You for harlotry.
28 But it is good for me to draw near to God;
I have put my trust in the Lord God,
That I may declare all Your works.

It’s time to ask yourself… when is the last time you had an intimate encounter with the Lord? When is the last time you let God reveal and bring correction to your heart? See many times we forget where we’ve come from… we forget that we were redeemed, we were set free, we were healed, we were made new in Christ. But lets be honest when you’ve been following the Lord for some times our journey tends to go through seasons. Some are close seasons with the Lord where you can literally feel the heart of God so close to you; while others are more trying and you have to intentionally pursue Him to feel close. It’s a give and take in some seasons.

When reading in Revelation chapter 2 we see there was a letter written to the church of Ephesus… it was a hard letter to swallow but packed with reality that many of us have found ourselves in before. We do all the “church” things for God but we’ve lost what really matters… Let’s read it together…

The Message to the Church in Ephesus
1 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Ephesus. This is the message from the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven gold lampstands:
2 “I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars. 3You have patiently suffered for me without quitting.
4 “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! 5Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches. 6But this is in your favor: You hate the evil deeds of the Nicolaitans, just as I do.
7 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give fruit from the tree of life in the paradise of God.

We just can’t ever forget our ‘first love’. Our story of where God brought us from. That moment of great brokenness but yet great love from the Father…that nothing else could ever have given us. He wants nothing more than to be close to us…not just the day of salvation but daily with Him. It’s truly an everyday kind of love.

When we don’t take time to keep Him first…everything else falls out of balance. The enemy loves when we hit these seasons.

You fall into seasons of doubt, fear, anxiety, shame, condemnation, comparison, pride, hurt, insecurity, the list could go on and on for how the enemy tries to bring accusations against you. But when you keep God first and your eyes stay fixed on Him daily it’s much harder to fall prey to these lies. (Not saying it can’t happen but when is the last time you were loving on the Lord and felt full of fear? Yeah that’s what I thought LOL Light and Dark can’t happen at the same time, if you get my drift)

We have to keep our heart and mind postured towards the Lord at all times! Keep pursing Him, even when you don’t feel like it! That’s when its MOST necessary! Together we can all keep encouraging others to keep God first in ALL things! Not just when it’s easy or convenient but in the most difficult times of our lives… KEEP PURSUING HIM! He’s so worth it!

He will fill you with AWE & WONDER, with JOY unspeakable JOY, with PEACE like you can’t comprehend, and fill you with LIFE! When you’re filled with these things, this is what pours out into others you’re leading! So, together lets lead by example and keep our sights fixed on Jesus and then tell everyone we know of what God is ‘currently’ doing in us! So, they can also have all this and MORE in their lives!

With Love,

Jessica

#NotMoved #StandFirm #Leadership #Pursuit #EyesonJesus