Hidden, not Overlooked
Soooo, many of you may already know that I launched my YouTube channel last week!!! In the days leading up to it, I was feeling so many emotions. Of course I was excited, but I have to be honest, and say that I was feeling a lot of fear as well.
It’s one thing to put myself out there with words on a blog, but it’s another thing to step in front of a camera every week, and press record.
Starting my YouTube channel really made me think back over the past several years, and how everything has come full circle to this moment.
I remember being on the phone with one of my best friends six years ago. I was telling her that I was thinking about leaving the military, and going back to school. Even though that’s what I strongly felt in my heart, this plan sounded so crazy when I said it out loud.
I was scared y’all. As a single parent at the time, I didn’t know if I would be able to make ends meet. I didn’t know how things would work out with college. I was afraid that I would fail, and if I did make it through school, I had no idea what would come afterwards.
My friend encouraged me that God would lead me on what to do. He did, and less than six months later, I was a civilian again.
Things definitely haven’t been easy, but I can say that I’ve always had food to eat, I’ve always had a roof over my head, and I’ve always had clothes on my back. I may not have always had everything that I wanted, but God definitely provided me with everything that I needed.
Hindsight is 2020, so let me share this little secret with you...
“God doesn’t give us ALL the steps at one time. ”
When I was trying to decide which decision to make back in 2014, why didn’t God just tell me EVERYTHING then? Me knowing everything would’ve made my decision so much easier. Why didn’t He say…
“Daughter, you’ll start off as a Psychology major, and you’ll hate it. You’ll be confused, lost, and you’ll want to quit. Then when it’s almost senior year, you’ll change your major to leadership. You’ll delay telling your family about your graduation date, because you’ll be afraid that you won’t pass all your classes. But in the end, you’ll graduate on time.”
Or…
“Daughter, I know you’ve been waiting on your spouse. Don’t make the decision to stay where you are. If you make the decision to leave, you’ll meet your husband, and get married three years from now.”
OR…
“Daughter, in 2019, you’ll start a blog where you’ll share your experiences, and creativity. Then in 2020, you’ll start a YouTube channel as an extension to your blog.”
I knew none of those things back then. I just decided that even though I was afraid, that I was going to trust God.
I wouldn’t have received the next step, the next set of instructions, the next revelation, or the next idea, if I didn’t take the first step.
“So many times we’re looking for all the answers. We’re looking for everything to make sense in our minds before we move forward, but God usually doesn’t give us steps B, C or D, if we’re still stuck at step A. ”
I realize now that while things seem like they have taken forever to unfold, God wasn’t overlooking me, he was hiding me.
God wants us to trust Him, and trust His plan for our lives. God is preparing us for the thing we were born to do. While you’re going through your processes, it just looks like a bunch of random things that don’t make sense, or have no correlation whatsoever. But God is strategic.
During your season of hiddenness, like me, you could begin to believe that God has been overlooking you. You could feel forgotten, but don’t fall into this trap. It’s the processes, the pressing, and everything that you’re experiencing right now, that is developing your voice. You may not understand everything now, but if you continue to move forward, and don’t quit, everything will start to make sense.
Without the things God has taught me over the years, I would have nothing to share on the platforms He has given me. I’m thankful that I was hidden, but not overlooked. Believe me when I say that you’re not overlooked either.
Today’s Prayer
Lord, I thank you for my journey. Everything may not make sense to me right now, but I know that everything in my life is working out for my good. I thank you for preparing me for the calling that is upon my life. I choose to believe that you haven’t forgotten, or forsaken me, for you are with me always. Show me which steps to take. I rebuke the spirit of fear, and anything else that is trying to hold me back from your will for my life. Have your way in every area of my life. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Today’s Reading: Philippians 3:13-14
Philippians 3:13-14 (AMP): “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have made it my own yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the [heavenly] prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”