Welcome to Hustle in Faith. This podcast is dedicated to helping you find your trail to a happier healthier you by discussing topics regarding Christianity, health & wellness, beauty & so much more! I’m your host Tosha Johnson.

This is episode 113: Are you getting enough rest?

Are you getting enough rest? With all of the chaos going on in the world right now, the answer to this question is most likely, “No.”  Although I understand the reason why, nonetheless, rest plays an essential role in our lives.

A lack of rest creates havoc in our bodies that lead to diseases and other problems. The majority of our attacks from Satan come when we are weary and tired (Lk 4: 1-13). It is during this period of time when Satan inflicts us with his negative traits such as anger, fear, frustration, depression, etc. what many fail to realize is that our mental health issues stem from a lack of rest. 

The events of Elijah in 1 King 18 & 19 demonstrate the pitfalls and mental anguish that stem from a lack of rest.  If you recall, Elijah’s ordeal left him truly exhausted emotionally, physically, and spiritually. When we are mentally drained, our thought life (heart, soul, and mind) is weakened and we become easy prey for Satan.

Exhaustion gives us less control over our spiritual life. As a result, confusion and depression can easily descend upon us, which is what happened to Elijah. In many traumatic situations, we need to calm down, rest, and reprogram our thinking to focus on God, His power and promises to us.

This mindset combined with rest and nourishment was God’s response to Elijah (1Kin 19:5-8). God’s prescription for Elijah confirms that simply getting enough rest and nourishment both physically and spiritually play important roles in maintaining our thought life. This is why Christ insisted on His apostles following the above prescription (Mk 6:30-32).

While we are resting, God uses this time to cleanse the entire body both spiritually and physically. Even Christ took time to rest from His busy schedule (Mk 4:38-40). To see the changes we wish to see in this world, we must get spiritual and physical rest.

1.    Spiritual Rest

Only through Christ can we rest our mind and soul. Hence why Christ said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (matt 11:28-30). Christ continues to say, “ Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am ^[f]gentle and lowly in heart.” Through this process, you will find rest for your soul.  Christ’s yoke is easy and His burden is light.

When we truly seek spiritual rest, we pray often and don’t allow our souls to be consumed with worry (Matt 6:33). This is what Christ did. To maintain His sanity Christ often sought places of solitude so He could gain guidance and comfort by talking with God. Talking with God is what keeps us calm and gives us the ability to carry on.

There was a period of time when I felt like my life was spinning out of control. Everything that could possibly go wrong went wrong. When I took time to examine my life, I noticed I left God out of my daily life. I was trying to do everything myself. So much of my dependency was focused on maintaining my 9 to 5 job at all costs.

In hindsight, focusing on a 9 to 5 job was dumb on my part; even if there was a job shortage. My desire and motto has always been, “I work to live, not live to work.” Sadly, I had lost sight of this fact. All of which caused me to forget that God is my Source and my 9 to 5 job is just one of many resources that God can use for my livelihood.

It was when I started studying the Bible more and really seeking God’s guidance for my life is when He led me down a path that introduced me to so many talents and opportunities that I didn’t know I possessed. Many of those skills are why I’m finally living the fulfilled life I always wanted to live.

I have a great 9 to 5 job in an industry that I never would have imagined myself working in a million years. I must say, many of those talents I discovered when I was unemployed. What I thought were just hobbies like voice over work, teaching English and dance classes, creating video tutorials, and my t-shirt shops God turned into side hustles. 

Taking advantage of my unemployment so I could get spiritual rest enabled me to put God first. As I stated before, God uses rest to cleanse our entire being. All of which brings me to physical rest. 

2.    Physical rest 

Our bodies are temples (1 Cor 6:19). A temple is something precious and requires proper care. One of the major ways to accomplish this feat is to ensure that we get enough sleep. It’s so sad that many of us (myself included) have either intentionally or unintentionally chosen to work ourselves to death. As a society, especially in America, it’s been engrained in us to be workaholics.

However, this was never God’s intention. God doesn’t want us to work harder. He wants us to rest so we can work more efficiently. His goal for us is to work smarter not harder. The only way this will be accomplished is by getting enough rest. In order to reinforce the importance of physical rest, God incorporated rest into the 10 commandments (Ex 20:8). 

Whenever I feel like life’s negative circumstances are starting to gang up on me, I take time out to pray, meditate, and go to sleep. Will my problems magically disappear? Most likely no. However, the combination of prayer and sleep renews my spirit in such a way that positions me to see life from a new perspective as well as offer me a solution to my problems. 

The aforementioned is why Jesus was always encouraging His disciples to take time to pray and rest, especially during life’s storms (Matt 11:28). Prayer and rest gives us the clarity we need. This combination will help us to recognize why God allowed certain circumstances in our life (Mark 6: 45-52).

It’s up to you how you choose to spend your time in the storms we encounter in life. Worrying and anxiety accomplish nothing. Focusing on God and His Word will place you in a position to rest spiritually and physically so He can calm the winds and waves that occur in your life.

Do you want to donate to Hustle in Faith? Click here!

Thanks so much for listening to today’s episode. Don’t forget to check out the Prayer and Gratitude Journal for Men and Women of Faith that is available for sale on Amazon. 

If you enjoy Hustle in Faith’s content, please consider becoming a supporter by donating or purchasing a Prayer and Gratitude Journal for Men and Women of Faith from Amazon to help offset the cost of producing this show.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook and Pinterest. Remember, if you’re everything to everyone then you risk being no one. You never know who will inspire, see you in the next episode!

Welcome to Hustle in Faith. This podcast is dedicated to helping you find your trail to a happier healthier you by discussing topics regarding Christianity, health & wellness, beauty & so much more! I’m your host Tosha Johnson.

This is Episode 91. (Season 3 Episode 25) Timing is Everything!

My mind is always racing. Being a creative person can be a blessing and a curse. A blessing from the standpoint that you possess ideas that can be useful and bring joy to me and into someone else’s life. A curse because sometimes you may not have the resources to implement those ideas. 

 I’m constantly coming up with ideas, but due to time or money constraints, I’m not always in a position to immediately implement them. It’s always been a battle for me to have these delays and not allow them to frustrate me. Due to my impatience, I feel like God is moving in slow motion.

However, the problem lies within me. I’m impatient when it comes to fulfilling my goals. I want to see my creation come to fruition right then and there. 

When I calm down and put things into perspective, I realize that sometimes, God gives us ideas and solutions ahead of time. Later down the road, He gives us the time, energy, and resources to implement what He placed in our heart to do. If we don’t put things into perspective, we would be under the impression that God is slow to act.

What we fail to realize is that God is not slow. He works ahead of us. I have learned that God provides us with ideas and solutions ahead of time so that we are ready when He gives us the time and resources to implement what He has already entrusted to us.

God is big on us not missing out on the journey. We learn more in the journey than the actual accomplishment. Through the journey of implementing our ideas and solutions, we learn the attributes of Christ such as patience, faith, and praying to include God in our decision making, etc.

Since I have learned that God is more concerned with our journey (learning), I keep a prayer and gratitude journal. I take it out whenever I need to remind myself of how far I’ve come. Yet, it also serves as a painful reminder that I could have gotten there faster with less frustration if I would have picked up on the signs that God was trying to give me.

In life, there are three possible answers to a problem. Yes, No and Not right now. It’s pretty apparent when God has blessed us with a ‘yes’. However, things get tricky when you’re facing a situation and the answer is ‘not right now.’ Why? At that moment in time, the outcome looks exactly as if God said, ‘no.’

Think about it. We don’t have the object we desire, so naturally, you assume the answer is ‘no.’ However, I’ve learned over the years, that many times this is not the case. If the desire that you are asking for is not going against God’s word then rest assured that if you didn’t receive an immediate ‘yes’ to your request then most likely the answer is 9 times out of 10, ‘not right now.’ 

Ecc 3 confirms that timing is everything to God. It may seem like it’s taking forever but remember to God that 1 day is like a thousand years, which means that He’s not in a hurry. Now even though God isn’t in a hurry, there are things we can do to place ourselves in a position that would reduce the time it takes for God to make our dream come true.

1. Examine your life. So many times we have temper tantrums and wonder why God won’t bless us without taking time out to see if we have any sin in our life. You may feel like you’re a good person or you’re living your best life better than someone else, but we’re not the standard. The Bible is the standard. If your life is out of alignment with God’s Word then you need to address this first before you see any type of blessings come forth from Him.

If you’re having a hard time comprehending this concept, think about it this way, let’s say you want to play professional tennis. You want to win, but you’re not sure how to accomplish this goal. What would you do? You would make sure that you know the rules inside out, hire a coach and practice, practice, practice. 

It doesn’t make sense to hire a coach that doesn’t know the rules or the ability to help you outsmart your opponent. Yet, many people do this when it comes to how they run their life. They seek counsel from people who couldn’t fight their way out of a wet paper bag. Nor do these people have any true “success” stories that demonstrate that they know how to triumph over circumstances. The irony is that many people who seek guidance often do so from someone who is unqualified. 

I think deep down, one of the main reasons this happens is because we secretly want to find someone who instead of telling us the truth, will reinforce the action we want to take in the first place. However, if you go to the Bible for guidance, it’s a lot harder to hide from the truth. We make life much harder than what it needs to be and it all boils down to the fact that we’re missing our next point…Faith.

2.) Faith. Having faith in God’s ability to answer our prayers is one of the hardest struggles Christians have to endure. However, how you answer this question will help you fight back against doubt, “Would you go out of your way to help someone who clearly does not have any faith in you? Absolutely not! Well, guess what? God feels the same way. How many times do we pray and then deep down secretly think, “ I hope He heard me” or “I hope He answers my prayer…” 

If we’re not in sin and our request to God is not sinful, then we should be confident that God is going to honor our request. However, if we’re wavering in our faith then according to James 1:6-7 it shouldn’t be a surprise when God doesn’t answer our prayers. We are to view our relationship with him like a parent/child relationship. A good parent wants nothing but the best for their children. If the child is behaving well and their request is reasonable, that parent will do everything in their power to grant their child’s wish. Good parents take pleasure in seeing their children happy. 

God works the exact same way. He wants us to be happy! However, we have to do our part and make sure that we don’t limit His ability to grant our requests. In Matt 13:58, God clearly informs us that our lack of faith will limit His ability to answer our prayers. He has nothing to prove. Therefore, God will NOT waste His time showering us with blessings if we don’t believe He wants to nor has the ability to do so. Many times we lack faith because we don’t have patience.

3.) Patience is another area that we struggle in because like children when we want something or a situation to change, we want it to happen right now. Life doesn’t work that way. If we know we’re not in sin, what we’re asking for is not sinful and we’re demonstrating faith in God’s ability to answer our prayers then we need to be patient. 

I know it’s easier said than done, but we can’t expect God to be on our timetable. Regardless of whether we like it, time is measured by using God’s watch–not ours. After all, He created us not vice versa. God already told us that 1K years is like one day to Him (2 Pet 3:8). Meaning, He’s not in a hurry y’all!  If there’s something that He wants you to have then He’s going to get it to you no matter what. God is in charge.

Case and point, in Daniel, prayed to God in order to gain an understanding of a vision he had. He didn’t get an answer until 24 days later. Why? Even though God answered immediately answered and granted Daniel’s prayer; sometimes, it takes longer for the answer to materialize due to unseen obstacles occurring in the spiritual realm like in the case of Daniel.

The angel that had been sent to provide Daniel with the answer to his prayer was stuck fighting for 21 days against the king of Persia aka a demon. This demon was so bothersome that the angel had to call in Michael, one of the chief angels to help defeat the demon. Had Daniel decided to give up, this angel would have done the same thing. That sounds harsh, but if you aren’t willing to fight why should God bother? He already said that He would give us the desires of our heart if we obey Him. Keeping the faith is one of those rules.

Again, this is one of the main reasons why I keep a prayer and gratitude journal. It helps keep me honest.

Hopefully, by now you have a better idea of how you can handle your prayer request in the event that God’s answer to your request is, “ Not right now.” Keeping the aforementioned in mind will place you in a position to reduce the time it takes to answer your prayer. If you’re living a righteous life and still feel like you don’t have an answer, then remember that there are obstacles taking place in the spiritual realm that are causing the delay in the manifestation of your request.

Regardless of what the hold up is in you receiving your blessings, recognize the fact that God is a just God. He’s a parent that takes pleasure in giving His children the delight of their hearts provided His children are willing to exercise the type of faith that has the power to overcome any obstacle that Satan sends our way (1 John 5: 4).

Thanks so much for listening to today’s episode. Don’t forget to check out the Prayer and Gratitude Journal for Men and Women of Faith that is available for sale on Amazon.

If you enjoy Hustle in Faith’s content, please consider becoming a supporter by donating or purchasing a Hustle in Faith notebook to help offset the cost of producing this show.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook and Pinterest. Remember, if you’re everything to everyone then you risk being no one. You never know who you will inspire, see you in the next episode! 

Welcome to Hustle in Faith. This podcast is dedicated to helping you find your trail to a happier healthier you by discussing topics regarding Christianity, health & wellness, beauty & so much more! I’m your host Tosha Johnson.

This is Episode 90. (Season 2 Episode 25) Who Empowers You?

When you run into a problem, what’s the first thing you say and do?

If you’re like me, you’re most likely going to do the following:

“What am I going to do?” and then immediately brainstorm ways to get out of that situation.

Now although my approach to solving the situation may seem completely logical, it’s a habit that I’m trying to break. Why? I don’t want to unnecessarily carry a burden that I don’t have the power to lift. 

I automatically viewed myself as the one who has the ability to resolve the problem. If you take a closer look at my sentence notice I said, “I”. Not once did I acknowledge God.

Many times, when we encounter a problem we don’t even think about God until all of the other options we came up with have been exhausted. We go around trying to open locked doors when God has the master key. 

All the while creating more stress and anxiety in our life. God is the fuel we need to empower us to make it through difficult times. However, He can only do so when you have taken the time to go to the station so you can fill your soul with His word.

If  you don’t have enough of His fuel inside of you, you’re going to find yourself on empty pretty quick. When you don’t view God’s word as fuel, you’re driving around on unleaded gas instead of Premium. 

There’s no need for this to happen. You can get the resolution you need but if you don’t have enough faith to get to the station aka His Word, then you will forever remain tired or even worse, completely stop running because you ran out of fuel.

I’ve always worked in fairly demanding roles. Early on in my career, I would get assigned difficult projects that would oftentimes leave me feeling overwhelmed. I would immediately get a case of analysis paralysis because I had no idea where to start. I wanted so desperately to do a good job to impress my manager. I eventually discovered that some people regardless of how well you do on a project are never satisfied. 

This really bothered me and I would unnecessarily suffer from sleepless nights because I kept trying to please people instead of God. That was dumb on my part. God already told us in Col 3:23 that we are to work for Him and not man. If we’re performing our job to the best of our ability that’s all God is asking for us to do. We don’t need to kill ourselves striving to attain approval from people, especially those who don’t share in the desire to please God. 

The moment I realized and accepted the fact that I’m working for Him and not people, I started seeing a change in not only how fast I could create and deliver projects, but just in life in general. Regardless of what I’m facing, I recognize the importance in taking a step back so I can pray for guidance. Doing so positions you to have Him take the pressure off of you and ensures that whatever happens, it will be for your good (Rom 8:28). 

This is why it’s so important to take time out to fill up on His Word so you can continue to drive effortlessly through life.

Thanks so much for listening to today’s episode. Don’t forget to check out the Prayer and Gratitude Journal for Men and Women of Faith that is available for sale on Amazon.

If you enjoy Hustle in Faith’s content, please consider becoming a supporter by donating to help offset the cost of producing this show.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook and Pinterest. Remember, if you’re everything to everyone then you risk being no one. You never know who you will inspire, see you in the next episode! 

Welcome to Hustle in Faith. This podcast is dedicated to helping you find your trail to a happier healthier you by discussing topics regarding Christianity, health & wellness, beauty & so much more! I’m your host Tosha Johnson.

This is Episode 89. (Season 2 Episode 24) How will you view adversity?

The past couple of weeks have been an absolute blur. This episode has been in my head for a while now but I finally got a chance to record it, so I’m super psyched about that victory!

Keeping busy and staying out of trouble comes easy to me because my schedule is filled with my passions.  Lately, things have been going crazy good for me.

Many of the things that I’ve wanted to do for years are slowly but surely starting to come true. I have a newfound appreciation for my ability to do these things because of the time I’ve spent in life’s valleys.

Valleys are those seasons in life when despite your best efforts, nothing seems to go right. Valleys are inevitable. Some last longer than others, but the only way you can pull through is by placing your trust in God. I know this is going to sound weird, but due to things going so well for me caused me to reflect on the times I spent in the valley.

There are two reasons in how we end up in a valley. One we’re in sin and God is trying to get our attention or two, and this one may be a harder pill to swallow, God wants you to use your valley experience as a stepping stone to further His will. 

Regardless of what the reason it is, I’m sure it’s safe to say that none of us want to be in that valley. Yet, the only way you can emerge from it is to determine how you got there. Did you lose your blessings or are you moving forward? 

Now I know that this may seem like a strange question, but trust me, it will make sense, so stay with me.

Looking back on my life, I can pinpoint several instances throughout my life, where I lost my blessing and the culprit to this occurring was sin. During many of those times, sin was the reason I was in the valley. Now I know a lot of people like to assign various degrees to sin like, “Oh, it was only a little lie,” or console themselves with thoughts like, “I didn’t rob or hurt anyone, so it’s okay if I (insert sinful behavior that you know you shouldn’t be doing).” This may make us feel better, but God will still be displeased. 

When I reflected on my valley experiences I recognized many of those experiences were because I lied to myself. Instead of having faith in God, I often viewed myself and the resources as the Source to solve my problems. This was wrong. God is and always will be the Source. This is why I lost some of the blessings that God had given me. Much like Samson, I didn’t realize what I had until it was gone. My mom would constantly warn me about a variety of things, but because I was young and stupid I kept on doing my own thing until my world started to fall apart.

I’m just blessed that my mom was there to help me identify where it was where I went wrong so I could rectify the situation. If my world had not fallen apart I would still be going down the wrong path. I was stubborn but also had a strong desire to succeed which can only be accomplished by obeying Him.

Once I repented and truly turned my life around I started to see so many things change in my life. Everything started going my way! I got a new job making more money, I was able to travel more, a new place, and so much more! Man, you couldn’t tell me nothing! So imagine my surprise when once again I found myself in a valley and I was trying really hard to live my life according to God’s Word.

I was trying to follow God’s Will. No matter how hard I prayed, I still ended up losing the things I wanted to keep. However, little did I know, that in this instance I wasn’t losing anything. 

Since I had been praying and diligently trying to obey His word, God was removing things from my life to make room for more of the blessings that He wanted me to have at that point in time in my life. However, He was only able to do this when I had demonstrated faith that the things being taken away were for a reason. 

For example, when I was laid off from my job, I remember being so angry. I’m a hard worker, so why is this happening to me? There were so many other idiots who didn’t work but still had a job.

It took me a minute, but I realized that those times I was unemployed was God giving me a much-needed opportunity to rejuvenate. I was able to spend more time studying His word, hanging out with family and friends, learning new skills, and the list goes on.

Most importantly, I got to spend more time with Him. He taught me so many lessons and showed me so many signs that He was and always will be with me provided He remains first in my life. Guess what?!

Every time I have ever been laid off I ended up getting a better job somewhere else making way more money than the previous job. Yet, had I not stayed in faith this would not have happened. Again, in life losing things and God removing things in your life look exactly the same. 

There’s a hole in your life that you desperately want to fill. However, the method in which you choose to fill it will determine whether it will hold or turn into a sinkhole. 

The only way you will ever make it through adversity is by acknowledging how you got there in the first place. If you’re in sin, repent if you’re not in sin stand firm in your faith.

Just take solace in the fact that God is working on a plan for your life that is better than you could ever imagine. 

He has proven through stories like Job, Joseph, and so many others that a win can come in the form of a loss if you stay in faith. 

Thanks so much for listening to today’s episode. Don’t forget to check out the Prayer and Gratitude Journal for Men and Women of Faiththat is available for sale on Amazon.

If you enjoy Hustle in Faith’s content, please consider becoming a supporter by donating to help offset the cost of producing this show.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook and Pinterest. Remember, if you’re everything to everyone then you risk being no one. You never know who you will inspire, see you in the next episode! 

Welcome to Hustle in Faith. This podcast is dedicated to helping you find your trail to a happier healthier you by discussing topics regarding Christianity, health & wellness, beauty & so much more! I’m your host Tosha Johnson.

This is Episode 88. Will you ride through the rain?

Ever since I was a child, I’ve always loved sports. One of my favorite sports is bike riding. I can literally ride all day. Just give me some snacks and I’m good to go! I don’t know why, but I just find biking to be incredibly relaxing and some of my best ideas happen when I go biking.  You can imagine my frustration with our rainy weather.

Every time I was ready to go for my bike ride, it rained. For the past couple of weeks, we’ve gotten a lot of rain, which is pretty uncharacteristic for my area; especially, this time of the year. This was killing me because I had been wanting to go on this 20-mile bike ride (to an area that I hadn’t biked to in ages).

Finally, one day I got fed up and decided I was going on this ride no matter what happens. The day of my bike ride, it was cloudy, but it wasn’t raining so I thought it was all good. I was only like 5 miles into my ride and then it happened…I felt a raindrop. When I felt that raindrop, part of me thought, “You should go back.”

Although I felt disappointed and frustrated, yet I didn’t let the rain stop me from enjoying my bike ride.  Instead, I changed my state of mind to view my rainy bike ride as an adventure. Besides, I had come too far to turn back. Since my desire to make it to my destination was stronger than ever, I opted to ride through the rain. I’m glad I did.

As I got closer to my destination, it wasn’t raining. Believe me, making it to my destination this time was much more memorable than all the other times I had biked to this area. Why? That bike ride got me thinking about my life. Especially, over the past couple of years. This entire adventure made me think about my rainy life.

Like my bike ride, every time I tried to go forward, my life seemed to be a downpour of never-ending obstacles that made me feel like retreating. Through my rainy bike ride, I was able to understand the triumph that God was trying to teach me. He allowed me to see completion is the answer to true enjoyment. Regardless of what the weather looks like, my focus should be on finishing my ride.

My rainy bike trip brought back to memory all those times God had helped me through the rainy days in my life. I honestly did NOT start enjoying my life until I stopped being afraid of the rain. I thought about how I tried to wait until I thought it was “safe” to go after my dream, and I would see all these clouds start to form and then it would start to rain with all sorts of problems. 

What helped me to stay strong and focused was remembering that God never promised us that every part of our life would be easy. In other words, we will encounter rainy days; meaning, “problems in our life”. However, He did promise us that He would not give us more than what we could bear. Remembering God’s promise helps me to take comfort in the fact that I can enjoy life; even during those problematic rainy days.

Check out the prayer journal I created that inspired this series called Prayer and Gratitude Journal for Women of Faith: A 3 Month Guide to Prayer and Gratitude that is available for sale on Amazon.

• Prayer and Gratitude Journal for Women of Faith
• Prayer and Gratitude Journal for Men of Faith
• Prayer & Gratitude Journal for Adults & Teens

Thanks so much for listening to today’s episode. If you enjoy Hustle in Faith’s content, please consider becoming a supporter by donating to help offset the cost of producing this show.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook and Pinterest. Remember, if you’re everything to everyone then you risk being no one. You never know who will inspire, see you in the next episode!