Daily Devotional – 12/29/17 “You are not alone!”

She walked the streets, some days out of her mind and talking to herself. Sometimes she would even give herself to the dude on the corner, when he was willing to give her what she needed to stop the voices in her head. Other days, she’d sit in one place staring out as the worst day of her life flashes before her. The day her uncle took her virginity, forcibly. She was 13 and at home by herself because her mom had a work thing. She didn’t think anything of her favorite Uncle Joe stopping by, so she let him in. But what she didn’t see was, Joe wasn’t his usual self, instead he was the monster that heroine turned him into. And that day, he changed her life. She told her mom but she just cleaned her up and told her to never speak of it again. She didn’t but it did not stop it from replaying over and over again, especially when he’d do it, over and over again. Now at 18, she can’t bring herself out of the depression that calls her name. She tried to get help but it never worked, they just didn’t understand. She tried to forget but how can she, when Uncle Joe is still invited to family functions. Tired, she stole cocaine from the dude at the corner and a syringe from the pharmacy. She went into the nearest alley and fixed it up, the way she’d learned. She pulled the belt, tight, around her arm and she stuck the needle in. As the drugs filled her veins, her head fell back and she whispered, “Lord, I’m tired,” before her eyes closed.

When her eyes opened, she was in the alley, belt tied around her arm and the needle still in place. She sits up, looking around because surely she must be dead but then she hears people talking and cars passing by yet no one comes into the alley. She throws the belt and needle into the dumpster and walks out toward the street where she bumps into a girl she knows who asks where she’s been the last few days. Confused, she walks in circles until she gets to the free neighborhood clinic. When it’s her turn to be seen, she tells them what happened, saying the drugs must have been bad. The nurse laughs and says, “Girl, it wasn’t the drugs, it was God.” For somebody who is trying to silence the voices of abuse and molestation, erase the images of losing a loved one or forget the terrible things you’ve been through and the enemy is telling you suicide is the option; it’s not! God is mighty to heal you, if you’ll let Him. God is powerful enough to let you sleep the effects of the sleeping pills off when they should have killed you. God is strong enough to make the gun jam when the bullet should have torn through your skull. God is great enough to take the sting from death just to let you live. And this time when you wake up, your story will change. For you’ll be saying like Psalm 119:67, “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word.” Your suffering can and it will save you, if you let it. This holiday season, don’t be afraid to ask for help. You are not in this alone.

Daily Devotional – 12/28/17 “Will you have the time?”

She had the house, the finest car and the custom-made clothes. She was top in her graduating class and her business was booming. She vowed to never go back to the place she was raised because it had nothing for her. Sure, she sent money home to her parents but all the siblings had to know it. Sure, she made the occasional calls but it was to brag, never to ask about them. When her mom got sick, she sent flowers. When her sister was losing her house, she sent a check with conditions. She never made time for anybody or anything unless it benefited her, even God. Yes, she joined a church but not to serve, she liked the honorable mentions of being the biggest tithe payer. But then a stroke knocked and it crippled her. The people at the church, they didn’t show up. Her employees, they didn’t come. Her family did. The same parents she hollered at whenever they asked her to come home. The same brother she “didn’t fool with” because of prior drug use, he was there. The sister she called a slut for having two babies out-of-wedlock, she was there. They wiped the mouth that had been so foul. They helped her learn to walk again even though she used to walk all over them. They help with speech therapy, although she never had anything good to say.

One night as she lay in the bedroom she grew up in, trying to find strength to make her left arm move, she cried. Not because of the stroke but because of the space she’d allowed to grow between her and her family. She wanted to hug them but it was hard to do now. So she cried, realizing the money she made didn’t mean nothing because all they wanted was her. She cried because the bragging she did couldn’t bless her, the hating couldn’t heal her and the fancy stuff couldn’t free her. And now, the bible she never read lay stretched open on her nightstand and the God she’d forsaken, she now prayed to; thanking Him for the chance to make things right. She had time because this story isn’t real but what about you? Do you have the time to forgive, forget and make things right? Will you have the time to say “I forgive you,” “I love you,” “I’m sorry” or will your ego keep you from evolving and your pride keep you from offering peace? Will you have the time? Before 2017 closes, will you have the time make it right before you’re weeping to a casket that can’t speak back?

Daily Devotional – 12/27/17 “Get in the fight!”

My husband is a football fanatic and he loves everything that comes along with it which means every day, especially Sunday morning, the TV is on some sports channel. His team is the Tennessee Titans and normally, he’d say, they hardly talk about them however last Sunday, the Titans were a topic of conversation. I even stopped, at one point, because the sportscasters were giving a play-by-play of the game. As I stood there, I realized, it wasn’t about the Titans but more for the team they played against and what they were playing for, a spot in the championship. Why am I sharing this? For somebody reading this, the very fight you are in is about to cast you into the place you deserve simply because of your opponent and what you are fighting for. See, you couldn’t understand where this mess came from, all of a sudden. You can’t explain why you seem to be picked on, suddenly. Why you are having to fight folk, unexpectedly but it is about to elevate you. All those times you tried to get noticed but your name wasn’t called. All the times you won but nobody celebrated you. All those times you showed up but they didn’t care. Well, I am here today to tell you, your fight, this time, is about to pay off.

In the bible, before David ever fought and conquered Goliath, he’d been brave enough to kill the lion and bear with his bare hands, when no one was looking. Yet, it was his fight against Goliath that got him noticed. Beloved, you’ve been in the background, fighting people and things that no one knows about. You’ve been fasting and laying on your face in prayer and nobody knows it. You’ve been walking around the altar of the church after everybody else is gone and nobody sees it. You’ve been preaching in places and people still don’t know your name. Helping and nobody gives you credit and serving, faithfully and what you’ve been praying for hasn’t shown up. Well, this next fight is about to shoot you into the place your destiny says is yours. Please understand, I am not saying the only way promotion comes is by a natural fight because the bible tells us in Ephesians 6:12, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” What I am saying is, sometimes it will be the hardest, biggest and most fearful spiritual fight you’ve ever been in, the one nobody knows about that will get you to the promised enlargement of your territory. Oh, you may lose but winning against them isn’t the goal. The real test is to see if you will get in the ring, in the first place.

Daily Devotional – 12/22/17 “You got this!”

I will not drag out the devotional today, there is no need. We all know this is the holiday season when there should be love, laughter and memories being created. Where we ought to be rejoicing for Christ but the sad reality of life is, it’s not. Not for everybody at least. So I will not bombard you with the usual today. I will not load you down with scriptures, you know them. Neither will I tell you it’ll be alright nor that God will do it for you; you know all this. Today beloved, I will simply tell you not to lose yourself this holiday season. Don’t lose yourself in the midst of grief, depression, low self-esteem, debt or even being who you’re not. This holiday season be happy, choose to be happy with who you are and what you have to offer. Stop forcing yourself to be what others say you are. Before 2017 is over, take back your life. Walk into 2018 believing in you because you are worth it. Whatever you’ve done, forgive yourself. Whatever mistakes you’ve made, forgive yourself. Whatever you’ve gone through, forgive yourself. You are still worth it! You’re worth waiting on and you’re doggone worth believing in. If no one else tells you, I will … You got this!

“My child, never forget the things I have taught you. Store my commands in your heart. If you do this, you will live many years, and your life will be satisfying. Never let loyalty and kindness leave you! Tie them around your neck as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart. Then you will find favor with both God and people, and you will earn a good reputation. Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” Proverbs 3:1-6

Daily Devotional – 12/21/17 “Free by your testimony!”

Tell your story! Yes, you … tell your story! Why? Because it has the power to not only set you free but defeat your enemy. I know you’ve held it in because you are embarrassed but it’s time you got free ma’am/sir. You’ve kept it to yourself out of fear of what people will think but it’s time you set yourself free. Come out of that prison where you’ve sentenced yourself to life, in your mind. Come out of the dark place that you visit when the quietness feels like it’s closing in. Come out of that place of despair, you go in, when you look at the scars. Come out beloved, it’s time for you to be free. And you can only be free by telling your story. Please understand, you don’t have to shout it to the world but say it out loud so that you can hear yourself declaring freedom. And please, for the sake of your sanity, stop counting the number of years you stayed but count the number of days you’ve lived. Stop beating yourself up believing you allowed it to happen. Stop acting strong because that’s what you were raised to do when there are folks waiting to catch you. Let go of the façade, blow away the smokescreen, remove the makeup, uncover the scars, open your mouth and tell your story in your words.

In Revelation 12, John talks about a sign that appeared in heaven. A woman (Israel) who was pregnant and in pain as she prepared to deliver a male child (Jesus) was confronted by a dragon (satan) who set out to devour the son she was about to birth. The chapter continues telling how the dragon and its angels were defeated. Revelation 12:11 says, “And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.” See, your testimony signifies you not dying. Your testimony is proof that you are no longer a victim. Your testimony is power to overcome whatever it is that is threatening to take you out. Your enemy can be defeated but you have to cry loud and spare not. It’s not about satisfying the nosiness/prying/questioning of folk but it is about acquitting you from the guilty verdict you’ve rendered on yourself. You can defeat the depression, the oppression, the guilt and the victim mentality that is playing with your mind with the blood of the lamb, your testimony and by not loving this earthly life. Don’t cling to what was but hold fast to what is. Take back your power because it’s your story to tell, in your time. Be free beloved. Be free!