Life often pulls us in a thousand directions, tempting us to settle for what feels safe or to pursue fleeting desires instead of God’s true purpose for us. Many times, we live wishfully, hoping for change without taking the necessary steps of faith. Yet, God calls us to more than just wishful thinking—He calls us to move forward with hope, grit, and resilience, trusting Him every step of the way.
Move Forward with Faith and Grit
The enemy can’t take your blessing, but could delay it if we give in. It’s easy to let pride, fear, or arrogance to blind us, causing us to live to please our ego and desires to be accepted instead of living in alignment with God’s will. Many may find themselves inside a church for decades, outwardly appearing righteous but inwardly ruled by sinful desires, hiding from God out of fear, and pride, or stubbornness. Many are living a pretend happy and successful life. We don’t dare to defy in areas of our lives that require us to stand up! We pretend we’re okay with what we’re being asked to comply with every suggestion, offer, or direction, to then turn around and live a bitter or double unhappy life. We may even deceive ourselves into thinking we’re following God’s desires and living our purpose, because we “are being obedient.” Meanwhile many of us live ignoring the gentle counsel of the Holy Spirit. The guidance that brings about blessings!
God Cannot be Mocked
He sees our hearts fully and knows whether we are truly walking in repentance, surrender to Him, His will or merely going through the motions. He knows when we’re standing in ground strong and courageously and when we are giving into temptation. It’s never too late to repent and turn around from whatever it is that we are doing and is tearing at our heart. True repentance is the foundation for everything—without it, there can be no genuine restoration, healing, or unity in our lives.
Think about someone who sets a goal to improve their health—they may buy a gym memberships, download different fitness apps, and even post about their journey on social media. They may have many followers and people looking up to them. But the true reason for their weight loss is a surgery they just got, or some form of medication to lose weight, they only post on social media a portion of their reality, and are not transparent—they would only be fooling themselves. Deep down in their heart they will never feel satisfied.
In the same way we cannot claim to follow God while clinging or giving in to the things He has called us to let go of. While complying with behaviors, actions and commitments that are against our values, and beliefs simply because we want acceptance, and momentarily gain.
“Real change requires action, and the Spirit of God is ready to guide us through that process, if we allow Him to!”
I can remember different seasons in my own life when I wrestled with my own plans versus following God’s calling. When I gave into what sounded pretty, politically correct, appropriate for an occasion or situation—or even allowed others to decide for me.
Let’s be real my friends, many times with silence and lack of defiance we give into other people’s “desires for us” or for what many times could be for their own gain. Desires and choices that leave us feeling empty and null inside. I know firsthand what is to ignore the subtle nudges to surrender my will, to defend my beliefs, and to kill the enemies’ pride with the word of God. I wanted to avoid disagreements and conflict at all cost. I asked for apologies in situations that required me to speak up. I had an issue with sounding wrong even when God kept calling me to stand tall! I didn’t understand that if I did His will and trusted Him, I would be right. It is in those private conversations that the true believers are tested.
It wasn’t until I hit a wall that I realized how emotionally draining it was to live a life complying with things and people that didn’t serve my purpose.
I woke up and realized I am not here to please people. If my honesty, values, and beliefs offend you, you’re not meant to be in my path. In order to be this bold, I needed to realign my heart with God’s calling, God didn’t want just my efforts; He wanted my obedience—in action. He wanted me to stand in faith, and grit. He was calling me to defy and stand firm on my ground and my values.
Let’s visit the story of Jonah
His story offers a powerful and PERFECT illustration of what happens when we resist God’s purpose. Jonah’s pride and fear caused him to flee from God’s command to go to Nineveh. READ THAT AGAIN, PRIDE AND FEAR. Yes, often time they go hand in hand. Instead of trusting God, he followed his own desires, he did what he thought was right, he was deceived by his own mind and heart—only to find himself swallowed by a great fish. We are not all doing to have a fish to hold us in their belly alive while we repent. Some of it might die before we can repent. It wasn’t until Jonah repented from the depths of his heart that God delivered him and used him to fulfill His plan.
When Jonah finally obeyed, the people of Nineveh experienced revival [your people might be depending on you to receive revival]. Jonah’s story reminds us that partial obedience; doing the right thing with the wrong heart—can limit how fully we experience God’s work in our lives.
You’re Still On Time!
Of course you’re still on time to realign yourself with God’s purpose.
In the book of Galatian, Paul reminds us that the flesh seeks what’s contrary to the heart, and encourages us to walk by the Spirit. A person who does not have The Holy Spirit of God will never be able to guide you to live to your God’s purpose and full potential. DEFY!
Let’s read, “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh.” Galatians 5:16-17
Move Forward
Hope and grit come from believing in God’s promises, but they also come from actively stepping forward in faith. True faith isn’t passive; it’s courageous. It faces the broken parts of our hearts, acknowledges our need for repentance, surrender, and trusts that God will lead us to healing and restoration.
If you’ve been living out of alignment with God’s purpose—whether this is due to pride, fear, or simply complacency, trust this: it’s never too late to realign your heart with His will. God is ready to meet you where you are and lead you toward a life of greater fullness, joy, impact, and full potential.
Take heart “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6
#DEFY
Our Defiance Must be Rooted in Love Guided by God’s Wisdom
To stand in your ground; in faith you will require both conviction and clarity. In this life we may feel pressured to comply with others’ expectations or lower our standards and beliefs to this world’s, even when they conflict with God’s truth. Even when they contradict our values. This type of temptation will be as real as the hair you’re breathing right now. But I tell you my friend that we need to understand something—oftentimes compliance stems from fear of getting in trouble or not being accepted, a desire to avoid conflict, and desire to be liked and accepted. Agreement in the other hand involves willingly aligning with something we genuinely believe to be true. To defy is to actively resist or stand against something that violates our values, but defiance must be rooted in love and guided by God’s wisdom, not pride.
Be honest with yourself, and transparent with others. To be honest means to speak the truth when asked, while being transparent goes a step further—it involves openly sharing information or intentions, even when it’s uncomfortable. When we are grounded in the Spirit, and we know who we are in Christ, we can defy what is ungodly—comply only with God’s will, and agree with what aligns with His truth.
Be well and be blessed 🤍
©️2025 Denise Kilby New Hope MHCLC. All rights reserved.
