God Asked Me To Give Up My Relationships With Men
Faith breeds obedience. And obedience to the right thing (God), leads to peace.
The most important thing I've learned through my trials and tribulations over the past two years is that the valley between where I was and where I wanted to be could only be crossed through fully committed faith and obedience. I had to take a leap of faith to believe that whatever God was calling me to, was far greater than my current situation of comfortability.
My first test of obedience was the hardest. The first thing God asked me to give up was the thing I least wanted to – men. I don't mean that God asked me to excommunicate myself from the world, but he asked me to give up any romantic ties, relationships, or “situationships" that I had with anyone possessing a Y chromosome. This of course included giving up sex, but deeper than that, God asked me to let go of my false gods:
My worship like infatuation with love (or the idea of it), and the need to be validated and wanted by men.
After men, God asked me to remove everything else that I had put before him. For me, that included social media and secular music. Although these were both difficult to abstain from, the funny thing about obedience is that shortly after you begin to be obedient to God, your obedience is rewarded. It's not rewarded in a worldly way, like the way we reward children by giving them medals or candy if they do something well. It is rewarded in that soon after being obedient, you begin to see why God asked you to do something or stop doing something in the first place - to move you in the direction of God's purpose for your life.
After giving up the key things that pulled me away from God, two things began to happen: 1) I begin to realize WHY those things were damaging me and, 2) I began to hear God more clearly. I'm sure God was always speaking to me throughout the day, but I was now able to feel his presence more distinctly. It was like listening to someone talk through a closed door for years, and then finally letting them in the room.
Once I got good and clear about what I needed to STOP doing to hear God, He began to tell me what I needed to START doing in my life to build a closer relationship with Him.
Simply put, He wanted me to seek Him and Him alone, with everything in me.
Specifically, He told me to pray more, read His word (the Bible), and begin volunteering my time in the service of others. For the first time in my life, I wrote down bold prayers for myself. I prayed for others. I wrote down lies that I had believed for years, and next to them, I wrote the truth of the scripture that invalidated those falsehoods. I gave my time without expecting anything in return, and in return, I was humbled by realizing all God has blessed me with that I never had to ask for.
Although I still fall short daily, I look back in astonishment at what God has done in my life. This year alone, I've received two new job offers, a raise, formed new lifelong friendships, learned to really respect and value myself, and most importantly, learned to surrender and trust God with every little detail of my life. The peace that has brought me was worth tenfold everything I left behind.
Faith breeds obedience. And in the end, this faith and obedience to God is the only mode of transportation to take you from where you are right now, to where you need to be.
LeNette Battle is a teacher by day, writer by night, Jesus lover all the time. She resides in Houston Texas, home of the greats (Queen B), and loves to empower others through writing. You can follow her on instagram at @lenettemb.
Featured image by Shutterstock
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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Rihanna Talks Shedding Expectations And Finding Balance As A Mother
Since becoming a mother in 2022, Rihanna has defined parenthood by her terms and hopes to pass that sense of autonomy on to her children.
For Vogue China’s April cover story, Rihanna shared her perspective on raising her two sons with A$AP Rocky, and how she hopes to preserve her children’s uniqueness, devoid of societal expectations.
"The most beautiful thing...is that [children] come into the world with their own individuality and sincerity, without any logic or conformity,” she told the publication. “Which usually makes you feel that you must fit into a certain group."
The “Work” artist, known for her trendsetting style and captivating persona, expressed her desire to support children in fully embracing their individuality and encouraging them to be whoever they want to be. "It's really beautiful to see and I want to continue to help them navigate that and make sure that they know they can be whoever they want to be,” she says.
She continues, “They should embrace it completely, because it's beautiful, and it's unique. I love them just that way."
From shattering music charts to shaking up the beauty industry, Rihanna has forged a path that has since created the “dream” life we see today. One that she says has made her parents proud of.
“I’m living my dream,” she continued. “My parents were very proud of that because they just wanted me to be happy and successful. So, I think the key thing is to find some kind of balance. Yes, balance is important. Do this and you get the best of both worlds. You can write your own life the way you want, and it will be beautiful. Sometimes, you just need to let go of everyone’s expectations and start living your own story.”
Rihanna, who shares sons, RZA, 23 months, and Riot, 8 months, with rapper A$AP Rocky, recently shared her vision for expanding her family in the future in Interview Magazine.
When stylist Mel Ottenberg asked about the number of additional children she hoped to have, Rihanna replied, "As many as God wants me to have.”
"I don't know what God wants, but I would go for more than two. I would try for my girl,” she adds. “But of course, if it's another boy, it's another boy."
Featured image by Neil MockfordWireImage