There are times when I struggle with getting the words out right. The revelation is present so deeply in my spirit that words fail. So sometimes, I don’t even try. I just bask in the glory of His truth and the extreme gratitude for its power in my life. I let the warmth of my tears of joy streak my face in times of intense and wonderful worship. Then…I feel this unbelievable burden to attempt to share because, “God, I know others need to experience this very same truth.” People are hurting. People are living in pain and anguish all around me. I see it sometimes up close in family and friends, and sometimes hear or read about it from a far via the news and social media. So here is another attempt because after hearing of yet another suicide, the burden is heavy. And after all, it’s not about me and the insecurities that sometimes I allow myself to hide behind. It’s about Jesus. It’s about His love for us ALL and its power to break chains and set us ALL free. And if it takes me all day, I am going to get these words…HIS WORDS…out.

Time is short. There is an enemy and he knows that time is short. He knows he has ultimately already lost but he is working very hard to bring as many people down as possible. The more people he can deceive the better. But here is the thing. DECEIT is his only weapon. That’s it. It’s all he has in his sorry little bag of tricks. He is not that smart. He isn’t all that powerful but unfortunately, he has been allowed to whisper in our ears. He knows that if he can just get God’s children, to believe the opposite of what our divine truth is, the life that Jesus already died for us to live in abundance and joy, he may just be able to ruin. We always have a choice whether or not we will listen and allow his lies to take root in our lives or not. But I know the choice seems so difficult to make because we sometimes allow our emotions to overwhelm what wisdom says. Wisdom says, “I am loved.” But because of how people may have treated you and maybe even told you in your past, your emotions say “No one really cares about me.” Notice that I said how people may have treated you? That’s because the enemy thinks that if he can get you to think your battle is with PEOPLE and not him, you’re too distracted to actually do what it takes to defeat him and his debilitating oppression in your life. Ephesians 6:12 tells us that “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” But if you can stay focused on what so and so said about you, what so and so did to you and what so and so thinks about you, you will stay bound in fear, doubt and sadness.

But the moment you decide to call the enemy’s bluff and recognize he’s literally shaking in his boots about who you will become as soon as you have the audacity to embrace what God says about you instead, the lights will finally come on in your life. The struggle is real. but the battle has already been fought and won. Truth is truth. And walking in whatever your truth may be for your very unique life, leads to the greatest peace you will ever experience on this side of Heaven. Because no matter what the circumstances look like in your life, you know you will come out on top.

But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1).png

When I learned that my daughter was going to need care for the rest of her life. I immediately wondered what I did to deserve such a life of difficult abnormality. The next few years were tough. I fought depression and feelings of inadequacy. Maybe you’ve never experienced this before but I felt like I just wasn’t good enough to get to have an easy life. Then came the comparisons and the repetitive glares at other people’s lives and kids which all SEEMED so…easy…so…normal. There’s another one of those deceitful tricks. No one’s life is easy…NO ONE’S! Furthermore, when I think about what I thought “normal” meant, it meant that life was void of imperfections. Well we all are smart enough to know that is impossible in this very imperfect world, right? So my eyes were on everything else BUT God’s truth. I realized later that instead of identifying myself as God’s child with unending promises and an eternity full of His joyous glory at my fingertips, I had been holding on to MY OWN IDEA of what my life was supposed to look like. I thought I had it all figured out at the ripe age of 27, thinking “Wait God! This isn’t what I had planned for my life!” The rest of the story is intricate but the moral of my story is that I had to be willing to let go of the inferior identity I had for myself and my life, and embrace God’s much more superior plans and purposes. And no…I had NO idea what they were at first. But I had faith that He’d show me. I became desperate for His presence because it’s there where I sensed so deeply his most perfect and powerful love for me. I became desperate for His Word and consuming the scriptures because it’s there I found how His truth could be applied to my situation. It, God’s Word, became a weapon to fight the deception that my life wouldn’t be as great because of the imperfect situations in my life. Can I just tell you something? God uses, (not causes), the imperfections in our lives to actually prove how amazing our lives can be when we walk in His truth for us! And ya’ll, that recipe of those many times of praise, worship and thanksgiving in His presence and planting God’s Word deep into my soul and spirit was and still is the seal of defeat over the lies and tricks of the enemy. Every time he tries, I go back to that recipe of God’s presence and His Word. I am not saying that I never experience heartache and grief. I am saying that even when I do, His presence and His Word has become my medicine for a broken heart. It’s powerful enough to bring me from pain to peace. It’s strong enough to bring me from sorrow to joy. It delivers a destructive blow to whispers of negative and deceptive thoughts.

I highly recommend this recipe! We are living in a time when many factors are at work against our peace. The media, social media, the glorification of sin and unrighteousness, etc. Don’t even get me started on the effects our food supply on our mind’s ability to fight against depression. That is another blog for another day. Nonetheless, be vigilant. Choose to listen to wisdom over your emotions. Focus on Jesus and the work he’s already done on the cross FOR. YOU. Because you matter to this world. You matter to the Creator of the universe which is why you even have breath in your lungs. If a little skinny, shy, brown-skinned, gap-toothed girl from St. Louis can be used in an awesome way in the earth, why not you? You were indeed born for such a time as this and God’s Word says that you are VICTORIOUS in overcoming the trials we face through Christ Jesus! Walk in that powerful truth, Friend. You are His and He is yours. LIVE.