You will be blessed by the new guest blog, by another family member, my niece, Nicole “Nikki” Ballance on A.B.I.D.E. (Always Be In Divine Energy)! It speaks to the energy flow that we should grasp and carry, as we deal with the many “real talk” challenges of life. Nikki’s heart is speaking… You will be touched. Enjoy!
JULY 12, 2016
A.B.I.D.E. (Always Be In Divine Energy)
In 2006, I traveled to the City of Brotherly Love (Philadelphia, PA) to attend my very first Delta National Convention. Far be it for me to say that for a brief moment in time, this wonderful group of ladies transformed Philly PA into the City of Sisterly (Delta) Love.
It was during this moment that I remember attending our worship service where the sorority’s chaplain, Bishop Vashti T. Murphy, encouraged and offered guidance to the sisters of how to ABIDE (Always Be in Divine Energy) in our daily routines, fellowships, and encounters.
As I recently began to reflect and remember these words imparted to us on that day…I’m often faced with the relevant question…How can I ABIDE when…
1. Workplace shenanigans are pulling at you from every direction;
2. Personal struggles are trying to take you out;
3. The people you call “friend” throw under a bus for personal gain/satisfaction, or
4. You allow frustrations to manifest themselves into hurtful words toward another?
WOW!!! Hard to imagine anything close to Divine Energy surrounding this, RIGHT??
Well…the great news is that in spite of all these examples, there was a Divine Energy always there, unbeknownst to us, just overlooked and ignored in a moment of forgetfulness.
When I looked up the word “divine” in Merriam-Webster, I found “heavenly, godlike.” Then I looked up “energy” and found “a usually positive spiritual force.” It is this heavenly force that can stop you dead in your tracks in between those two directions to remind you “I Got You” in example 1. It is this heavenly force the helps you find peace in the midst of struggle & tears letting you know to just trust ME (Him) in example 2. It is heavenly force that reminds us to forgive others & more importantly yourself when the hurt seems unbearable in example 3. And it is this same heavenly force in example 4 that helps you muster up enough courage to say ” I’m sorry & I hope that one day you can forgive me.”
This Divine Energy as we know it is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient – when we hurt, laugh, love, pray, and even YES – when we reject it. It is a constant reminder that in spite of, He still IS and on the other end of that direction, pain, person, and apology everything will be ok. We, you & I, just have to remain in energy.
Some reference points to help us all remember how important it is to ABIDE:
John 15:4-5 – “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”
John 15:10 – “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My father’s commandments and abide in His love.”
1 John 3:24 – “The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He is him We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.”
I hope that in some way this little piece will touch you in such a way that you begin to ‘always be in’ and crave more Divine Energy in your life.