by Marquetta Smith | Jul 15, 2015 | Prophetic Words
I was reading a passage in the Bible the other day about David the shepherd boy. While attending his father’s sheep, a prophet was given orders from the Lord to go and anoint the next king. The prophet Samuel was viewing David’s older brothers, and was probably hoping that God would tell him to anoint one of these fine men as king because of their outward appearance and statue. But God told the prophet to anoint the youngest one, who at that time did not have the outward appearance of being a king.
I am not the brightest person on the subject of sheep tending, but I do believe that when one is attending the sheep, you may be smelly and dirty because you are outside in the elements and with the animals. David would not have been the likely or favorable first choice for a king due to his outward appearance. David did not have time to spruce up or clean himself first.
Consider this: sometimes God has different ways of choosing people to do certain things. His choice may not be what you consider the most popular choice. I heard someone brilliantly put it like this: maybe God picked David at that specific time, while he was dirty and not looking his best, because David’s time of being revealed to the world or being anointed came sooner because of his assignment. God had need of David at this particular time because of what he needed David to do. He had an assignment to kill Goliath. (I Samuel 16)
When the prophet Samuel went to Jesse’s house to anoint the next king (David), at that time, David was yet in the field tending the sheep. He was dirty and smelly. Some of us may think that we are dirty and smelly right now. You may even think that you are not educated enough, you may think that you do not know all the right people, or that you lack experience, or just maybe you may feel that you are too old, too young, not the right size, height, or appearance.
Whatever you may think or feel, God has already picked you out of the crowd and said, “Yep, that’s the one.’ The one over there that no one has noticed, the one that everyone has said they would never be anything, the one that has been in and out of jail, the one that has been picked on and put down all of their life. You know the one. God is saying, “It is time for me to use you…the very one that everyone overlooked and rejected.”
You are the one God is looking for.
David’s time for anointing and being publicly revealed for his assignment, being the next king, had come sooner and when he was yet not cleaned up because he had a Goliath to kill now.
Think about it: Some of us will have to go now to the Goliaths we must kill now. God has anointed us to kill Goliaths, and he needs us to go now.
Article by Marquetta Smith
by Marquetta Smith | Apr 13, 2015 | Prophetic Words
Have you hugged someone today? I can remember when I was living in another city and working at one of my very first jobs. Employees at this place would start the day off by embracing each other before they began carrying out their daily duties. I thought it was rather strange, and at times, simply crazy. When I look back at where I used to work, I think to myself it wasn’t such a bad place. People at that place were a lot happier and productive.
Even now in my life, I take notice when I am given a hug and how it makes me feel loved and appreciated. Sometimes I go weeks without receiving a hug or being embraced, and I notice that I may feel down in the dumps. But there is something about being hugged that makes me feel that I am loved and that I matter. Wow, the power of a hug goes a long way.
Think about it: Have you had a hug today?
Article by Marquetta Smith
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by Marquetta Smith | Mar 6, 2015 | Prophetic Words
You may be wondering why your life is so chaotic and crazy right now. At certain times in our lives, we all face this problem, whether we are a mother of four, a first year college student, a caregiver of a loved one, a coach on a little league team, a professor of a well-known college, or a single dad who is left with the responsibility of caring for his young children. Let’s face it, we all will go through this at one point in time.
My quiet place
How do we deal with this and what is the answer? Peace. The answer is peace. Finding our peaceful place can seem to be hard to do. But this one simple answer can make the world of difference to some, and to others, this may be the last string of hope before doing something they may regret. This may be the difference between life and death.
I used to be a social worker for a social service agency who dealt with child abuse cases some years ago. I had to go out to the homes of children who had been abused to check on them and their caregivers. Most of the cases had one single thing in common: the parents or caregivers allowed life problems to overwhelm them and they ended up taking out their stress on the child. They went too far with discipline because they were not able to deal with life’s issues. For most of these cases, the parents just needed someone to show them how to find that calming, peaceful place in their life. They needed a break from all of the chaos and craziness. There was no peace around them, and so they did the unthinkable when faced with one more problem they could not deal with and they went too far.
My peaceful place is going outside, enjoying nature, and meditating. I would spend time outside for 30 minutes or an hour along with nature and breathe in and out, meditating on good things. Sometimes I would make a “zoo day.” This is one of my favorite places in the world. There are a lot of quiet places to curl up in at the zoo and lay back and rest.
The zoo or nature may not be your thing, but the point is to find your quiet, peaceful place for a certain period of time of the day and go there. It could be the bathroom for some people, your home office, the laundry room, the attic, the basement, etc. It does not matter where you go, as long as it is peaceful and quiet.
I want to challenge you today to ask God to help you find that quiet peaceful place. In this place, God will begin to minister to you and quiet your soul. You will find comfort and renewed strength in this place.
Think about it: Have you spent time in your quiet place today?
Article by Marquetta Smith
by Marquetta Smith | Feb 3, 2015 | Prophetic Words
Have you ever been around someone or a group of people for a period of time, and when you went home you were completely exhausted and did not know why?
I recently had a family function, and you can imagine how draining family can be sometimes. Just the idea of going to this function made me tired. To my surprise, after attending the event, I was surprised that I felt great. I was not tired or drained at all. I asked myself what was different about this family function for me not to be so drained and exhausted…nothing. Everyone was still themselves. They had not changed at all.
I realized that the night before, my best friend challenged my thinking. She told me that if I go to the function thinking that it would not go well, then it will not go well. I had spent days rehearsing how bad the family function would be, and didn’t even realize it. I played the negative thoughts in my head over and over again. By doing that, I became tired and exhausted before the actual event. But thank God for positive friends who can challenge your thinking. She told me to fill my mind with good things, things that were positive about my family.
The Bible tells us in Philippians 4:8, “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things.”
But you see, I had forgotten about that until my best friend challenged my thinking and changed my perspective. She represents positive energy. I also received more positive energy by meditating on good things and spending time with God, not bad things. And before I knew it, I felt energized and ready to go to the family function.
Let’s look at two definitions:
Power source or supply: A power supply is an electronic device that supplies electric energy to an electrical load. The primary function of a power supply is to convert one form of electrical energy to another.
Energy: Energy is the capacity of a physical system to perform work. Basically, energy is the ability to make something happen.
With those two definitions, we see that computers or any other electrical components will need some source of power to work. If we look at this simple idea, we can see this working in our own lives.
Now I am not saying that we all need to be plugged into a power outlet before we go to bed to receive our power or energy for the next day. But what we do need is to be connected to someone or a group of individuals that can provide positive energy, support, encouragement, understanding, wisdom for us. And once you have identified those groups of people, or maybe it’s just one person…”charge up” before you leave home. Think about it, you may not be able to change negative situations or people in this world, but you can change your circle of friends who can provide positive energy and support to face the world.
Think about where you are receiving your power from. Where is your power source coming from? If it is positive energy you are receiving, “charge up” before you go out. You will be surprised how you will feel after you leave. It is all about what you do before the negative energy gets around you.
Article by Marquetta Smith
by Marquetta Smith | Jan 9, 2015 | Prophetic Words
I Am a “Change Agent”
When I walk into a room or a place, the atmospheres must change because I am a “change agent.” Change agents change everything around them that must be changed. Question: What have you changed today?
