Today's post is one of my most personal experiences and I believe if you really internalize what I am about to say, you will be able to see how God truly lifted me when I almost drowned. As you all know, I held a professional position that left me completely drained at the end of almost every day. For many years, I endured so much it was unbelievable. But because God was is so gracious and loving to me, He finally released me from all of the heartache and pain. During this time, I was crying for help. For whatever reason, those in positions to help me, chose not to. However, when God finally removed me, those who could and didn't had the audacity to ask me to come back for me. Me, being who I am, I smiled and said, "thanks but I'm good!" This for me was a life threatening situation; and yes, I mean it literally. I had grown sick and tired of being sick and tired. I felt as though I was in the middle of the ocean, with tears in my eyes and my hand extended; but they chose to watch me suffer. As I am writing this post today, I am reminded of God's word in Psalm 30:5, "For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." Further, I thought about James 1:2-3, "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 3Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." I know you probably don't understand your situation right now, and I get that. But always be reminded of what He tells us in Isaiah 55:8-9, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts." All I want to say today is when you find yourself sinking and needing lifting read Psalm 30 and step in and stay in the presence of the Lord; and I know with 100% certainty, He won't let you drown. Be encouraged! I will extol thee, O Lord; for thou hast lifted me up,
and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me. 2 O Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me. 3 O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. 4 Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. 5 For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. 6 And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved. 7 Lord, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled. 8 I cried to thee, O Lord; and unto the Lord I made supplication. 9 What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth? 10 Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me: Lord, be thou my helper. 11 Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness; 12 To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever. God has done some amazing things in my life. First, He allowed me to be born. Jeremiah 1:5 says, "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." In Genesis 1:27, He meticulously created me, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." Not only that, He tells me in Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." Wow! He was thinking about me before I ever thought about Him. If this isn't enough to make you shout, consider this, Philippians 4:19, "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." We know that God's word is full of promises. He fights for us, He gives longevity when we honor and obey His word. He increases our power when we are weak. He is ALWAYS with us. He holds our hand and tells us not fear because His presence is with us; and because His presence is with us, that is all we need. Just added a little more sweetness to His sugar, consider Psalm 23, "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever." Now, who wouldn't serve a God like that? Do you remember who you used to be? Do you remember what you used to do? Do you remember when your life changed? Do you remember when the transition took place? Who, what, and when are not important. The most important thing to remember is how. How did you get where you are today? How did you become who you are today? For me, I know exactly how I reach this point in my life. Jesus did it. Just like you, I have had my share of life's ups and downs. I have always had a spirit of boldness however, I haven't always been as bold in ministering to others as I a right now. Instead, I used my mouth and my boldness to do things that were not pleasing to God. Romans 15:13 states, "Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost." I am so happy I finally learned how to use both my spirit and my mouth for the work of the Lord. I make a conscious decision every day to be mindful of the words that come out of my mouth. I am determined to use my mouth to build up instead of tear down. I am determined to not let Satan rob me of any more time that God has blessed me with. Whether its something in our present life or something in our past, If we are honest, we all have something. The only difference is some of have Jesus and some of us don't. This being said, I want you to know it is my experience that Jesus made the difference in my life. Ephesians 2:8-10 tells us, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." For this reason, I will make an assertive effort to honor God and His word as it is written in Romans 12:2, "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." Sister girls, consider me your #1 cheerleader. I am standing with you all the way. Though it seems hard right now for many of us, let us make a girl pack and follow God's word in Romans 8:28, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." I want to preference this post by saying; the contents of my life have not always been good. But I know a God who is good. I can almost not believe the things God has done and is still doing in my life. Every day something happens that leaves me speechless. For example, this past week, I was traveling for work. The weather forecast was severe thunderstorms and rain, to the point of flash floods. But, God held back the storms and the rain while I was on the road. Now, once I arrived to my destination, the weather was true to its forecast. But, to be honest that was irrelevant to me because God had allowed me to get to and from my destinations; safely I must add. This may not seem like a big deal to someone reading this post but to me it is. Why? you may ask. Because once I was safe and watching the news this week, there were numerous reports of car accidents, and water rescues. Just think, if God didn't have His hands on my life, that could as well been me. In case you are wondering why I am excited about something that may seem simple to someone else. Its because once again, God has kept His promise to me. Psalm 145:9 tells us, "The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works." I take this very personal since all includes me. Further, Ephesians 2:1-5 makes me even more excited, it reads, "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)" If you read carefully, verses 1-3 reminds us of who we were before we came to Christ. At one point in our lives, we were all spiritually dead. This analogy helps us understand even though we are physically alive, without Christ, we are spiritually dead. This is a good way to recognize the condition of an unbeliever, as well as, pointing out how more often than not, they don't recognize their own conditions and therefore, it's difficult to correct. This is not a situation that is unique to one person or group of people. Remember, at one point, we were all spiritually dead. This condition is rooted by Satan and therefore, he rules the hearts of non-believers with controlling influence of the fear of death. |
In Memory of: Charles T. Wilcox
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