I know that we are all gearing up for the holiday season. Or you know what? Let me not assume. I am gearing up for the holiday season. If you happen to be listening to this podcast episode on YouTube, then you already know that I'm gearing up for the holiday season because there is a whole Christmas tree behind me and Thanksgiving ain't even happened yet. That being said, I know that if my mind is gearing up for the holiday season, yours probably is too, Which means, you might not be thinking about internal development, spiritual growth, or even goals right now. Maybe you are, but I understand if maybe you're just kind of focused on the holiday season and excited to be taking some time off and hopefully spending time with family, friends, or loved ones. That being said, even if your mind is there, I am still showing up on this week's podcast episode, sharing something deep, sharing something that I hope prompts growth within you. Growth is a never ending process, and it's truly a beautiful journey if we allow it to be. And if we're focused on growth God's way, it makes room for consistent joy, peace, and success in our lives, no matter the circumstances we might be going through in any season or in any stage within our lives. So there's always room for growth, right? There's always room to be a better version of who God is calling you to be and to do what God is calling you to do with full on confidence. But, in order to do that, In order to be a part of that gradual process of growth day by day, year by year, we got to open up those wounds. We have to be aware of certain things within ourselves that are toxic or may be harming us and we don't even realize it. We got to open up. We got to be honest with it and we got to deal with it by allowing God to help us deal with it. So, what aspect of growth are we going to talk about today? Well, my friend, I got a question for you. Who is your master? Who are you serving? What are you serving? Who or what are you a slave to? Yeah, that's a deep question. And I really want you to think about that. Because whatever or whoever you are a slave to, whatever or whoever is mastering you, mastering your mind, mastering your life right now, other than God, we got to talk about it. We got to dig it up. We need to be aware and we need to get intentional in healing that part of us so that we can refocus and relook to God as our ultimate master, our ultimate creator, our ultimate caretaker, provider, Lord, that we lovingly and trustingly serve with our lives and for good reason. Now you might be listening to this and you might be thinking, I already serve Jesus. I already know him. He is my God. Okay, you might think that. But, many times we are not aware that in our daily busy lives, we are actually serving someone or something else. Someone or something else is our master. And we don't even realize it a lot of times because we're just going with the flow of our day to day lives. So, what are some examples of some things that might be mastering you in an unhealthy way that you might not be too aware of right now? First one, popular one, money. Your finances could be mastering you, could be controlling you. Another one, your bad habits. You struggle hard with trying to detach from your bad habits to the point where they have just become your norm. You might know that they're a bad habit. You might have this desire to let that bad habit finally go, but you are so attached to it that you don't even realize that it masters you so much to the point where you can't let it go. Another common one, is your career, your work, and your success in that. Without you being aware of it, that could be mastering you. It could be controlling your thoughts, controlling how you move, even sometimes moving in ways that ends up distracting you from God himself. Those are just some examples and maybe one of those resonates with you heavily and it's got you thinking. But maybe you have another thought of what is mastering me right now, and how can I refocus so that God becomes my ultimate master and focus again? Why is this so essential that we do this kind of inner spiritual work as we go about pursuing the calling that God wants us to walk towards and who he's calling us to be? The reason why is because you will never feel satisfied. You will never feel fulfilled. You will never have consistent joy, peace, and contentment. If you are serving anything else, if you are a slave to anything else, if something is mastering you other than God. God, his divine, beautiful being, the one who created your beautiful, unique self, is the only one who can satisfy, fulfill, and bring life lasting joy, peace, and contentment in our lives. Everything else, everything else that we are serving with our entire being before God, everything else that we are a slave to, everything else that is mastering us will always end up leading us to a dark place eventually. Why? Because God is not put first. God is not seen as your number one. God is not prioritized. You are not trusting God to be the master over your life, the provider, the caretaker over your life. That is why this is so important. So many times we want external success. We want the money growth and the financial freedom and that home over there and this family right here. We want all those things we have to ask ourselves, do we want a stronger relationship with God more than we want all of those things? And if you're not sure how to answer that question for yourself, you need to take a look at your daily actions. What does your day look like? What is your norm? What do your habits look like? What does your approach look like? What is the way you talk to people look like? What does your time look like? What does your stewardship look like? We gotta do a huge, deep reflection. On our daily actions, because we can think things all day. We can feel things all day. We can think that we're serving God. We can feel like God is number one in our lives. But thinking and feeling are on the back burner. What's in the forefront is your actions. Your actions tell me who you really are, how much you live out what you think and what you feel. Now, I know, I know, I know I'm hitting you deep, but I promise you, it's all out of love. It's all out of the desire to help you grow and for me to grow too. We got to talk about the hard stuff. We need those reality checks. Okay, so I want to talk about how to know, how to be better aware when something other than God is mastering your life. When you are a slave to something in your life that you should not be a slave to. How can you recognize that more quickly? So that you can refocus your attention on God. First thing, something is mastering your life. You are a slave to something. If it takes up a lot of space in your life, And when I say taking up a lot of space in your life, I'm talking about it taking up a lot of space in your thoughts, a lot of space in your habits, a lot of space in your daily norm. What is that thing that takes up truthfully just a lot of your time and energy that is not God himself? And going back to the examples that I gave earlier, is it work in your career? Is it this hustle, hustle, hustle mentality so that you can find success and build this status for your own self? What is it? Because I can guarantee you that whatever that is, it is taking up so much space in your life that there is no room left for God. And you wonder why you struggle so bad with insecurity. you wonder why you struggle so heavily with depression. You wonder why you struggle so bad with anxiety. You wonder why things just seem like they never feel right, or are going right. We point fingers all day long. It's because of this and that and that person and this job and this circumstance and this problem over here that's causing me to feel this way. When it's like, you are the reason why you're stuck in that circumstance in the first place because you don't even have enough room to invite God into your life, into that problem with you, to help you, to get you out of it. You might think that you're giving God room, but are you really? Take a look at your daily actions and that will tell you a lot about yourself. It will tell you a lot about how much room you really truthfully have for God in your life. God needs room to move in your life. If it's way too crowded, you are focused on all of those things that are surrounding you, that are crowding you, that are making you feel overwhelmed. God can't reach you or touch you if you do not let him. How do you let him? Say his name, cry out to Jesus, get down on your knees in prayer. Open the word of God. Anytime you're overly consumed or overwhelmed by whatever is mastering your life right now other than God himself Let God know let him know that you are now aware Invite him in ask him to help you This positions you to take more actions, daily actions of active live trust. That is necessary to make space for God to come into your mind, come into your heart, come into your daily life, put his hand on it, and step by step, day by day, help you to make necessary changes. Opening certain doors that you are ready to walk through one day soon. Healing things within you that you didn't even realize were there in the first place. Aiding to completely shift your mind, shift your perspective to the point where you feel like a brand new person, an upgraded version of yourself. Oh, I got deep on that one, but let's keep moving on to the second thing that I want to say in how to be better aware when something is mastering your life other than God himself, whatever it is that you are unintentionally a slave to. That second thing is you prioritize it more than God and most likely more than your family. Biblically, it's very clear on the order of things. When it comes to your priorities, number one should be God. Number two should be your family, husband, wife, kids, things like that. Number three, your calling. What God is specifically calling you to do in this life And serving others through it. However, he's asking you to show up or however, he's asking you to position yourself within that field of work, But you got to ask yourself, are your priorities a little messed up? Because if everything else is coming before God and before your family, then things are going to start to feel problematic in your life. God designed you to prioritize Him first and to prioritize your family second. He literally designed you that way. It is innate within your cells, within your being. And if you go against that by prioritizing things before God himself and before your family, then you are literally going against your God built human design. That causes friction. It causes conflict. Within yourself, within your home, and with everything around you. So ask yourself, are you right now prioritizing your career over God? Are you prioritizing money? over your family? Are you prioritizing that hustle, that chase over God? Are you prioritizing your goals over God? Your status? Just take a moment to be aware because that is the first step to fixing it, my friend. All right, and the last thing that I want to say in regards to how to be better aware when something is mastering you is recognizing how much you struggle with setting boundaries with it. Think about that because that's a deep one. If you struggle with setting clear, healthy boundaries with whatever it is that is mastering your life right now, then my friend, it's got a strong hold on you. And we gotta work on it loosening its grasp and letting go of you so that it can make room for God for Him to come in. So again, think about that. Do you struggle with setting boundaries with work? Do you struggle with setting boundaries with your money goals, your health goals? What is it? Because if you struggle with setting boundaries with it, It's got control over you. And it's time to recognize it so that control that it has over you begins to disappear. Because that is not what God intended for you. That is not God's plan for you. All right, now you might be having a lot of thoughts, and I understand because like I said, this is a But as I mentioned, it's important to be aware. That's the first step to healing. That's the first step to finding solution. That's the first step to becoming more of who God is calling us to be and doing what God is calling us to do. I don't care if he is calling you to be an entrepreneur, a writer, a coach. If he's calling you to this career field or this job over here or to start this nonprofit, I don't care what it is that God is calling you to. This right here is a message for anybody that is open and willing to listen to it. Walking in your calling confidently and successfully means that we have to do the internal reflection in who is mastering our life. What is mastering our life other than God himself? and refocusing our attention so that God can master our life again, so that we can feel satisfied, fulfilled, joyful, peaceful, and content as we go through that road, walking in our calling. The blessings, the circumstances, everything that comes with it, God is right there, opening doors, helping us, providing these amazing outcomes. And like I mentioned at the beginning of this podcast episode, growing you. You are growing because of this. Now the question is, how do we do that? How do we detach ourselves from whatever is mastering our life right now? Because it's hard. We're living this day to day life in this crazy, cold, messed up world. We are constantly in survival mode, making sure that we are okay and that our family is okay. So how can we actually make God the master of our lives again? I want to talk about that, but before I do, I want to be very clear here, Because when I say God being the master of your life, I am not talking about this super demanding, controlling situation. Why am I not talking about that? Because God gives you free will. He is a patient and loving holy God. He gives you free will to make your own choices. If you were a slave in the general worldly sense of things, you are not able to make your own choices. You are living by the demands and the control of an authority. God being your master is not like that. Are there certain rules that the Bible wants us to live by? Are there certain characteristics of Jesus that we are, Taught and empowered to live by. Yes. But these boundaries, these things, these traits, they are for the purpose of protecting you, of helping you live a peaceful, content, joyful life helping you implement a solution to any problem in your life. And helping you become the best version that God is calling you to be. So when I say God being the master over your life, I am talking about a loving, trusting relationship between you and Him. You love and trust God with your life so much that you want to serve Him with it. You have the desire to serve God with your life and have the desire to want His will for your life. That is what I mean by allowing God to be the master of your life. But again, how in the world do we get there when we're so controlled, when we are mastered by other things? First thing I'll say, you need to practice trusting God with the little things, not just the big things. A lot of times when we pray to God, we are praying for the big things. The money, the health, this goal that we want. We're praying for the big things. And it's good that you are. You should pray to him about it, but also pray to him about the little things. Learn to trust God with the little things too. What little things are you maybe skipping a prayer for? I'll give you an example. I am learning to pray over a random meeting that is happening on a random day. That doesn't feel very big to me because it's such a normal thing. I have multiple meetings, multiple times a week. So to pray over a meeting feels random and it feels little. It doesn't feel like this big goal for me. But I started to because God can do a lot with the little. I don't know how that meeting is going to go. Is there an idea that's going to sprout there? Is there a new client in the works there? Is there a change of heart? Is there a conversation that needs to be had where God is in the middle and is in the center of it all? I don't know, but I started to because when I trust God with my meetings and how they go and the outcome of it, no matter how random the meeting is, I tend to feel more trusting of him. And maybe nothing comes out of that meeting, or it feels like nothing, and that's totally fine. The point is that I'm practicing bringing God in the little things that just feel like my norm. So think about that for yourself. What does it look like for you to trust God with your morning workout? What does it look like for you to trust God with your evening walk? What does it look like for you to trust God as you're cooking in your kitchen? And I know all of these sounds so random and you're like, how do you trust God with this? And that, that's for you to think about. I just want you to think about it. Like, how can I better trust God with whatever it is that I'm doing right now? And why do I need to trust him with this? Trust him with the little things, practice that. every single day. And as you do, your faith grows. As you do, your faith makes room to trust God with the big things. So much to the point where He is naturally the master of your life again. The next thing that I want to say when it comes to God being the master of your life and everything in it, you're calling your family, yourself, all that stuff again, how we can do that. You need to practice letting it go and letting God. This is especially for my people that are full of aspirations. So determined they're hustlers. If that is you, you oftentimes Try to find a solution to everything, especially when you feel like you're not hitting the goals that you set for yourself. For example, if you set certain financial goals in your business and that creative project in your career, in your work, and you did not hit it, you are scrambling to try to figure out a solution, starting this new thing over here, trying this strategy over here, launching that over there. To try to hit your financial goals. It's good to put in effort and faith towards those things, but you should not be obsessing about it. If a goal was not hit, let it go. Do not obsess about it. Do not get so overly worried and anxious and start asking yourself all the what ifs because you did not hit that goal. Instead, recognize that you didn't hit it. Give yourself grace, let it go, and let God, let him put his hands over it. Invite him in to help you. There's this beautiful visualization that always comes back to my mind in helping me let something go, where I literally picture Jesus standing right in front of me. And I'm holding that thing, that goal, whatever it is that I want or wanted. I'm clinging to it so tight. And Jesus is standing right there in front of me with his hand out, waiting for me to give it to him. And in this visualization, I'm sitting there anxious, I don't want to let it go, I'm clinging tight to it because it's a dream of mine or I want this or I wanted this and I'm sad that I didn't get it or don't have it yet, and I just envision Jesus smiling at me, waiting for me to trust him enough to let him hold it. Not only to hold it, but to keep it in his arms instead of mine. And I envision myself finally working up the courage to give it to him. And he takes it in his hands, smiling. It is one of the best visuals that I love painting in my mind because it helps me to let it go. Now, this doesn't necessarily mean to give up. It just means that you stopped obsessing. You still put in faith, you still put in effort, but you stop obsessing over the timeline of things. You stop getting so down on yourself if a goal was not reached in a specific timeline that you wanted. And instead, you have faith, you've still put in the effort, you just trust God with the timeline of that thing. Or even trusting Him to pivot that thing entirely if it is in His will for you. Learn to let go and let God. That can help you position yourself for Him to be the master in your life again. The last thing that I want to say to help you have God be the master of your life, your business, your family, yourself again, is to stop doing what is not in God's will for you. There is something that you're doing right now that is not God's will. That is not who He empowers us to be or how He empowers us to act. I want you to think about your mindset, your stewardship, your ability to manage things. How do you approach things? How do you deal with your emotions? How do you treat other people? How do you prioritize things? How are you spending your free time? And think about how much or how little it aligns with the word of God. I say this all the time in these episodes, and I will say it time and time again. The Bible is the ultimate roadmap. You need a solution to anything, I can guarantee you will find it fully in the Bible or a hint of it in the Bible. It is all there. So if you're not sure if what it is that you're doing, or how you're approaching things, or how you're showing up, or how you are, or how you feel, how you think, how you act, how you treat other people, whatever it is, if you're not sure if any of that is in alignment with God's will, you first need to start by opening up your Bible. Learning what God says, learning the boundaries that He sets for us, what He wants us to live within out of true love and protection for our spirits so that we can have lasting joy, peace, and contentment in this life, no matter what we go through, so that we're quick to implement solutions when we're down, when we're weary, when we're exhausted, when we're going through something problematic. And not even just the boundaries, but the characteristics, the characteristics to put on that reflect God's character, Christ like character in you. You gotta learn to stop doing what is not in God's will for you. And like I said, that starts with you opening up the Bible, but it also starts with you having more deeper conversations with God and asking Him, is there something that you're doing right now that is not in alignment with what He wants you to do? Because yes, can you find solutions in the Bible? Of course. But to find specific steps that God is wanting you to specifically take That is a conversation between you and Him. There is something that God has asked you to start doing or to stop doing for a long time, but you hesitate because you're scared, or you hesitate because you're asking all the what ifs, or you hesitate because it doesn't make sense to you, or you hesitate because you just don't want to do it. If you want God to be the master over your life again, it's time to be beautifully obedient. Stop doing what is not in God's will for you, biblically and specifically in your current season of your life. So, my friend, that's it. If we want to get into a place where God is the master of our life, our career, our money, our family, ourselves, and we trust Him fully with all of those things. Life becomes so much better, so much more clear. And I know that that is a possibility for you. It absolutely can happen for you. So let's refocus. I know you have goals. I know you have that business idea, that creative calling, that shift, that move, that, that goal, that idea, whatever it is, I know. But does that take precedence in your life over God himself? And if it does, let's change it up. Let's refocus our attention on God. You will not be disappointed when you do. Even when things are hard or don't make sense, God works everything together for your good, as long as you love him and trust him and allow him to be the master of your life again. All right, my friend, I hope you found this episode helpful. If you want more guidance and empowerment on a topic like this, I actually have a free course that you can get in the link down below this YouTube video in the podcast show notes if you're tuning in to the audio version of this episode. That course is a seven day email course where you're going to get one video per day dripped out over a period of seven days. And each day is going to teach you how to have the mindset, the mentality, and the strategy to be a God empowered entrepreneur, how to be a God empowered creator in your field of work. So if you're looking for day by day guidance and steps, that course is for you. It'll teach you all about how to show up the way that God wants you to as an influence in the industry and the field of work that he has you in. And therefore, position yourself for success God's way. So if you want that, sign up for free down below. This is a version that will be going away at the top of the year because we are working on revising that entire course. So if you want it just the way that it is right now, now is your time to get it before the top of the year. Much love to you, my friend, and I can't wait to see you next week.