I Looked In the Mirror

Who said this walk was easy?

Who said that once we gave it all to God, our lives would drastically change?

Remember, 2025 was a Year of Pruning for me, and here I am in 2026, and God is still Pruning me. Pruning means cutting away, trimming, or removing something so that healthy growth can occur. In gardening, a gardener prunes a plant by cutting off dead, damaged, or unnecessary branches so the plant can grow stronger and produce more fruit or flowers. Spiritually, pruning often refers to God removing things from our lives that hinder our growth. John 15:2 says, “Every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth (Prunes) it, that it may bring forth more fruit.” Even fruitful believers go through seasons of correction, testing, and refining, not because God is punishing them, but because He is preparing them to be more productive and mature. I mean, He’s literally digging my gut out because whatever He’s trying to get to me, there can be no CONTAMINATION, there can be no COMPROMISE, and there definitely can be no CORRUPTION.

I need to take a SIDEBAR…. Hear Me OUT!

There are times in our lives when we think, because we are not where we used to be, and we are in a GOOD PLACE, that we’ve arrived. Nothing could be further from the truth. Often, the very seasons we call “good” are the seasons that require the most PRUNING and REFINING. We become comfortable. I’ve become comfortable. We stop seeking God with the same urgency because things are going well. I stopped seeking God with the same urgency because I was in a “good place,” Not intentionally, but subtly. We begin to lose sight of the bigger picture and the assignment attached to our lives. I lost sight of the bigger picture and the assignment attached to my life. A good place should never cause us to neglect God’s presence. A good place should never replace the altar. A good place should never distract us from our assignment.

The question is: What happens when life shifts? What happens when the season changes? If we have neglected the altar because everything is going well, we may find ourselves unprepared for the next assignment God is calling us to. I did, and sometimes life has to shift and seasons have to change to put us back in the right PLACE and POSTURE. May 17, 2026, my LIFE SHIFTED, my POSTURE CHANGED, and Honey, I LOOKED IN THE MIRROR! Let’s just say I will NEVER find myself there again.

Whew, that sidebar, but I’m back. Leaving 2025 and entering 2026 was a blessing; some days, I didn’t think I would survive, but that season showed me who people really are: they don’t correct those they love; they side with those they are “loyal” to at the moment. But is it really LOYALTY, or is it CONTROL that one who’s in a “GOOD” place and not in a God Posture can’t see? Truth is, if we do not stay before God, if we do not stay at the altar, we will continue to be fooled by the “Good” place we are in, while what’s been assigned to our hands SUFFER. Too often we get caught up in the “at the moment”, the what’s right at the moment, the what’s good at the moment”, not realizing 1 Peter 5:8 “Be Sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” A word and a lesson I will not forget this time. Oh, I LOOKED IN THE MIRROR!

Since I have talked less, diminished my use of social media, limited my phone use, and labored in Prayer and Intercession, which has become my LIFE LINE, not just for myself but for what has been assigned to my hands, I have had to REBUILD MY ALTAR. I had to return to the place where God could CORRECT MY POSTURE, KILL MY FLESH, and REMIND me of the assignment attached to my Life.

SIDEBAR: This is how I know I’m moving in the right direction (God Posture), and hell is Big Mad.

During my downtime this week, the enemy whispered to me, “It would be easier if you just kill yourself.” As those words came, I saw visions of different loved ones who have gone on before me. The enemy tried to convince me that it would be easier that way.

Immediately, I cried out, “I HATE THE DEVIL! You are a liar!” I sent that thought back to the pit of hell from where it came. Why? Because I still have purpose. I have a book to write, I have a 2nd Masters and Doctorate to complete, I have tests to pass, I have a teaching license to obtain, I have students to teach and mentor, I have a business to run, I have two more houses to build, I have a ministry to fulfill, I have people to impact, I have prayers to pray, I have assignments to fulfill. And the list goes on.

The enemy only attacks what threatens his kingdom. He only fights what still has purpose.

I am not embarrassed by what happened. My eyes are open. My posture has been corrected. My flesh is dying. My altar has been rebuilt. And my focus has been restored. I don’t want to simply be BETTER for ministry. I want to be better for myself. I want to be better for this world.

Looking back now, I understand something I didn’t understand before. IT HAD TO HAPPEN. IT DIDN’T HAPPEN TO ME. IT HAPPENED FOR ME. Jesus Knows! Sometimes God will allow a MIRROR MOMENT, not to shame us, but to show us what still needs to be surrendered.

The blessing wasn’t in what happened. The blessing was in what I saw when it happened.

Baby, I looked in the mirror. I saw exactly what God was trying to show me. Not condemnation. Not failure. Not defeat.

Correction. Pruning. Refining. Restoration. Proper Positioning.

Because when I LOOKED IN THE MIRROR, I couldn’t allow something that happened for me to become about me. It forced me to see what I had missed. And that changed everything. I was in a good place. But God was calling me to a God Posture.

There may be someone reading this and wondering, “What’s wrong with being in a good place?” The truth is, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being in a good place. In fact, many of us have prayed, fasted, cried, and trusted God to get there. The problem is not the good place. The problem comes when we become so comfortable in the good place that we stop pursuing God’s posture. As believers, we were never called to settle for a good place. We are called to maintain a God Posture.

For me, what was wrong with my posture? I’m glad you asked. I lost sight of the assignment. God has entrusted me with the gift of giving, but He has also called me to be an intercessor, a discerner, and a seer. For years, my commitment was to meet God every morning at 4:00 a.m. and every Sunday at 5:00 a.m. before service. That time wasn’t just routine; it was where I received instruction, direction, and burden for the people, the Ministry, and the Region I was called to cover. But somewhere along the way, I became distracted. Not by sin. Not by rebellion. Not by anything evil. I became distracted by life. Things around the house that could have been done during the week suddenly became Sunday morning priorities. Instead of entering into prayer and intercession, I found myself cleaning, organizing, handling tasks, or simply moving from one thing to the next. I would thank God for waking me up, turn on some music, get into a groove, and convince myself everything was fine. I was getting up early enough, but what was missing was prayer. What was missing was intercession. What was missing was intentional time at the altar. Then I started arriving at church late again. Not because I didn’t have enough time, but because I had lost sight of what mattered most.

I was operating from a Good Place and no longer functioning from a God Posture.

The good place had become comfortable, and comfort slowly created distractions.

One thing God has been showing me is that moving beyond being in a good place is essential for reaching the next level. Good can never become a substitute for God. Comfort can never replace Consecration. Activity can never replace Assignment.

Sometimes the greatest threat to our calling isn’t a storm, it’s becoming comfortable in calm waters. God is teaching me that the altar is not just a place I visit when life is hard. The altar is where I belong when life is good, too.

So if you’re in a good place today, thank God for it. But don’t stop there. Make sure your POSTURE still points toward Him. Make sure the ASSIGNMENT still has your ATTENTION. Make sure the ALTAR is still a PRIORITY.

Because good is GREAT. But God is GREATER.

I LOOKED IN THE MIRROR!

Romans 12:2 EASY “Do not become like the people who belong to this world. But let God completely change the way that you think, so that you live differently. Then you will understand what God wants you to do. You will know what is good. You will know what pleases God. You will know what is completely right.”

Romans 12:2 TPT “Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God’s will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes.”

Romans 12:1-2 MSG “So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you, take your everyday, ordinary life, your sleeping, eating, going to work, and walking around life, and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well informed maturity in you.

Romans 12:2 KJV “And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Author’s Note: God gave me this title months ago, but for months, it was difficult to gather my thoughts and put pen to paper. Every time I tried to write, the words simply would not come.

Today, May 31, 2026, God finally gave me the words to complete what He had placed in my spirit months ago. In fact, this was the first blog I finished in one sitting.

As I reflect on everything that has transpired, I can honestly say that I am not the same.

And I don’t want to be the same. I want to be BETTER. Better in my walk with God. Better in my stewardship. Better in my prayer life. Better in my response. Better in my posture.

There is too much work to be done, too many lives to impact, too many assignments to fulfill, and too much purpose attached to my life to remain the same.

Another lesson I have learned is that when God allows you to LOOK IN THE MIRROR, it is not to embarrass you. It is to expose the areas where comfort has replaced consecration, and where a good place has taken the place of a God posture.

There is WORK to be done. And there can be no FLESH in sight if I am going to complete what God has assigned to my hands.

The ALTAR has been REBUILT.

My VISION has been RESTORED.

My FOCUS has been RENEWED.

My POSTURE has been CORRECTED.

And now, it’s time to get BACK TO WORK.

More Grace…