Alive But Spiritually Dead

By Lakesha Harley

The boundaries between existence and purpose can sometimes become blurred when living a lifestyle in the world. "Alive But Spiritually Dead" helps navigate a life that is spiritually adrift but physically present in a life that does not serve your God-given purpose. This thought-provoking exploration delves into the human soul's yearning for a d

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bowker
• Release date: Dec 7, 2023
• ISBN: 9798989654314

Book preview

intro

We always look for someone else to blame our problems on. If we can be BOLD enough to face the choices, we have made that landed us where we are in life, it can and will empower us to encounter living on an entirely different level. I chose to do just that. It took a season of my life to figure out why I needed to search for the approval of the world, through relationships, friendships, and worldly pleasures.

I was living my life by worldly standards to force a storybook ending on my life on my timeline. That broken mentality created chaos for me. I accepted the bare minimum from people, while in return, they received everything I could possibly give to them. I ran through life ignoring the truth people constantly showed me through their actions.

Being lost and unable to recognize my own worth or value has led me to find myself in undesirable circumstances. I pretended to be happy and satisfied to remain blinded in lies to let the imposters and leeches disguise the real reasons they were really in my life. I allowed them to get comfortable in my boundary-less life to encamp around me. I blocked out the things that I felt. My spirit made numerous attempts to caution me, yet I deliberately disregarded the signs of warning that were visible to my sightless eyes. I could not face the fact that a person I called a friend was not really friendly, a lover I gave my body to did not exude love to me, and some family members did not feel familiar.

Choosing to be blinded, so you don’t have to grasp the fact that every smile is not grounded in kindness is a lack of self-worth. It’s a cold world we live in that waits, willing and ready to pounce on naivety. I have always gone to church since I was a child, so I knew of God, and his works, but I was not in a personal relationship with Him. I did not know Him as my Savior. I was living double-minded in all my ways. One foot in church, and one in the things of the world.

I made up my mind to change. I no longer wanted to accept my life as it was. I could pretend no more. I wanted real peace and happiness. I chose to release all the toxic thinking that led me down roads to nowhere, and to people that were unable to give me what I needed or deserved. Nor could I give them what they needed. I forgave myself for the foolishness I gave to others, and for the foolishness I invited into my life to feel loved and included. When I made that choice, a new path appeared for me to embark upon.

I had to confront the voids I had, and the fact that I thought I could fill those voids with anything other than God. I made a commitment to Him that day to seek Him relationally, and from that day on, I searched for an understanding of His Word to live my life differently. I move intentionally towards the life he created me to have. I now know that what I wanted was not what I needed.

This book speaks to that place. If you are where I once was, I hope these words will encourage, and heal you. I hope it sparks a relationship with Jesus Christ, and I hope it leads you to change your life to experience the abundance of joy, peace, and love our Father in heaven can provide for us.

chapter 1

Forgive Yourself And The People Who Haven’t Earned It

→ MATTHEW 21:22 ←

And all Things Whatsoever Ye Shall Ask in Prayer,

Believing Ye Shall Receive

The will of God has the power to guide us towards both exceptional and inferior paths. However, it is important to acknowledge that the majority of the time, the inferior paths we find ourselves on are a result of our own actions and choices. We can get distracted by what we want to happen in our lives, and become so anxious about it, that it can make us delusional. That mindset only attracts craziness to us. We invite people and things into our lives because it gives us a false sense of security. Happiness, which is dependent upon circumstances, establishes a framework in which life unfolds along inferior trajectories. Nothing will prosper for us when we want things out of the will God has for us. We do not seek him for any answers or for guidance before we jump into things willingly, because we think we know what is best. Our priorities are out of order. God is first, we must seek him, and his wisdom to direct our lives down honorable and prosperous paths.

Not having a relationship with God, we experience unnecessary trials. Life is tough enough without us voluntarily laying down a welcome mat for sinful troubles to find us.

You’re running for pleasure at a high rate of speed, and it always takes you around the same circle. Riding a merry-go-round is fun at first, but after a few turns of it, you become tired of it, and you’re ready to get off. The same scenario can apply to God. He’s waiting for us to get tired of running in those same circles, and when we are, He beckons to us to escape the redundant pattern, and slowly start walking towards him down the narrow road to be delivered to a life of peace. Detours to inferior paths can be avoided when you search for them. Things can always be turned around before they reach dead ends. There’s always an alternate route to change direction, and that will inspire the purpose of your life to be revealed.

A detour will seem like yet another mistake, but it will actually guide us to our personal promised land that God desired for us to have here on earth. Our faith has to be tried to be strengthened, and a detour does just that. A straight path to destiny would give us pride in our abilities, but detours drive us back to God’s path for us to rely on his power and guidance. Detours should only stop us long enough to make us regroup and realign with our intended destiny. Whatever you allow to become a detour, must be acknowledged for its level of good or bad influence, so it can unveil to you how you will need to move forward appropriately to change from the bad and grow to become the good. The detours will reveal who we really are in Christ because we’re in a state to receive living in a way that was once foreign to us.

The detours should eventually make us realize what we are doing right, and what we are doing wrong. We must choose to spiritually develop into the beings God created us to be. We are human; therefore, we are not perfect, and we will face multiple detours along this journey that will teach us plenty of valuable lessons if we’re open to learning them. God has his reasons that may not make sense to us, but we can trust it’s always for our good. We develop fears, unhealthy habits, relationship issues, and so much more that can lead us to experience the detours of life.

One morning, on my way to work, I approached a roadblock unexpectedly that took me from my normal, routine path. I had traveled that way for years, and I had never faced a roadblock where I could not get through the main road. I panicked! I did not pray or move in peace to another route. After about ten minutes, I had no choice but to back up, and turn around so I would not be late to