Separated for His glory.

Luke 12:51-53 "Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."

Matthew 5:30 "If your right hand offend you cut it off" (This verse emphasizes the sacrifice we need to make to follow Jesus)

Stephanie Ike Okafor said in one of her sermons, “You have to be mindful of the relationships in your life, because that’s the easiest way to lower your standards from trying to keep that friendship.” While in the process of dying to the flesh, and breaking ungodly habits, I found it difficult to be around some of the people I care about, partly because of my personality, as I was also in the process of detaching from my people-pleasing self in order to avoid compromising my faith. For those reasons, I felt it necessary to separate myself as I walk in God's will for me. The strength to fight temptations comes from God. We are made strong in Him, and as a result, we must partake in what will strengthen us spiritually and not weaken our stand in Christ. Mark 3:24 says that if a kingdom is divided against itself, it cannot stand. Therefore, we need to take heed to not walk in the ways of the world and avoid the circumstances that led us to sin, in the first place. When we are idolizing relationships out of not wanting to hurt or disappoint the ones we love by condoning certain situations and behaviors, that’s no longer who we are and goes against the word of God —this allows the enemy to take advantage of us and dampen our spiritual walk and authority in Christ. Not to mention, we don’t have the time. As said in Ecclesiastes 9:1, “no man knows when his hour will come.”

Matthew 10:38-39, “Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.”

All things considered, not all relationships need to come to an end. However, setting boundaries is crucial as women and men of God. And, to be clear, I am in no way trivializing how emotionally hard it can be to separate from the people we love. It was certainly not easy for me. But while these separations and changes in my relationships brought tears—fear and reverence for the Lord kept me going. I count it a blessing to be shunned to the “boring” category for walking away from the ways of the world. As mentioned in practically all of Ecclesiastes, “It is all vanity” if we don’t have God as our main focus. No one can save us but Jesus. And as said by Steven Lawson, “In the end, all that matters is whether we live for the glory of the Lord.” He should be our top priority; without Him, we are nothing but lost sheep on the path of destruction. (John 15:5 and Matthew 7:13-14). Have faith and trust that the path the Lord chooses for you is working out for your good. 

Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose”

Many blessings to you!