I know you’re probably trying to figure out why you have to endure such heartache, financial hardships, trials and tribulations, storms, peer pressure, bullying, sickness, being lied on, talked about, abused by folks who are supposed to love you, walked on by folks you thought cared and even pushed down by those you thought would be happy for your elevation; but baby, I stopped by today to let you know that what you’re going through is simply preparing you. Preparing you for what, you’re asking? It’s preparing you for your next move, which just may be your great move. See, we sometimes take stuff for granted and in order for God to know if you’re be able to handle what He has for you, He has to test you. So He sends the rain to see if you’ll appreciate it as much as you appreciate the sun. He sends the repo man to see if you appreciate the legs He’s given you. He sends sickness to see if you actually appreciate the body you have. He sends backstabbing enemies to see if you appreciate the real friends you have. He sends the no good boy/girl; wife/husband to see if you’ll appreciate the person that He has for you. He sends pacing to see if you’ll appreciate the hours of sleep you take for granted. He sends miserable folk into your presence to see if you’ll finally appreciate all the times He has tried to talk to you. He sends hand wringing on some days to see if you’ll use your hands for good sometime. He sends pain to see if you’ll give Him some praise some days. He sends you to hell and back to see if you will appreciate the peace He gives you so freely. Yea, I know you’re tired and worn out but hold on because Psalm 34:19 says, “The righteous person faces many troubles, but the LORD comes to the rescue each time.” I know you’re sick and tired of being sick and tired but don’t give up just yet because Isaiah 41:10 says, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” I know you are tired of suffering but Romans 8:18 says, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” So go on through your hard time(s) because when it’s all over and done, you’ll have a reward that no man can take away, joy you wouldn’t give away, love you couldn’t do without and caring others talk about. It’s alright to cry but after you’ve cried your tears of suffering and pain, stand up and cry tears of joy because it’ll be then you’ll know that trouble don’t last always!
Daily Devotional – 10/25/12 “Turn Thursday around .. “
I know that today may be a terrible Thursday for some filled with trouble, temptations and tribulations but why don’t you turn it into a triumphant, testifying Thursday filled with thanksgiving? I mean you woke up, you’re walking instead of wandering lost, you got warm blood flowing through your body when it could have been withdrawn by the funeral home one last time, you’re well enough to read this when you could be weary and weak and God still deemed you worthy even though you barely worship Him. Isn’t that enough for you to stop with the “woe is me” attitude? Baby, let me tell you; you aren’t the only one going through right now, all you have to do is look around. While you’re complaining about the $20 you have, someone doesn’t even have enough change for a bag of chips because they had to give it to the kids for lunch. While you’re complaining about the car you’re driving, somebody lost their job yesterday because they didn’t have anybody they could depend on to take them to work even with them giving gas money. While you’re complaining about your spouse, somebody is sitting in the doctor’s office with theirs while the doctor is breaking the news that there is nothing more they can do. Yea, I know it is Thursday and even though tomorrow maybe payday, you’re still trying to figure out how to rob Peter and Paul just to pay Saul enough to keep the lights on but I’m here to let you know that trouble doesn’t last always. You’re probably saying, it’s easy for me to say when I look like I have it all together but honey, just because I don’t look like my problem it doesn’t mean I don’t have one; I’ve learned how to praise through my storm. See, I’ve realized that it does me no good to hold on to my circumstances because worrying won’t solve them so I read and obeyed 1 Peter 5:7 that says, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” For Psalm 70:5 says, “Yet I am poor and needy; come quickly to me, O God. You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay.” Then Psalm 71:1-8 picks up and says, “O LORD, I have come to you for protection; don’t let me be disgraced. Rescue me and deliver me in your righteousness; turn your ear to me and save me. Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress. Deliver me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of evil and cruel men. For you have been my hope, O Sovereign LORD, my confidence since my youth. From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother’s womb. I will ever praise you. My life is an example to many, because you have been my strength and protection. That is why I can never stop praising you; I declare your glory all day long.”
See, God hasn’t left you just because you’re going through but He is simply allowing you to go through in order to make you stronger. So appreciate the struggles, the sacrifices, the sickness and the sorrow so that your shout is real, your soul rejoices, your strength renewed and your serving redeemed. And on today, I am asking God to renew your mind, revive your hope and refresh your spirit my brother; my sister. For you whose hope is slipping away, who joy is fading and who heart is hurting; I am pleading to God on your behalf today and it will be done. Open yourself to God and allow Him to do it for you now. Revive your faith right now and don’t go back to your old way of thinking because God hasn’t left you and you are not alone! Yea, you are drinking tears for water but they won’t last. You heart is filled with so much pain that you can barely sleep but it won’t last. Your pacing has replaced your rest and worry has taken over your thoughts but it won’t last. Your trouble won’t last but you’ve got to believe it! Turn this Thursday around and make it better than your yesterday because you have that power!
Daily Devotional – 10/24/12 “Making it personal!”
I normally try not to get too personal in my devotionals but sometimes you have to let folks see you going through your test in order for them to understand your testimony. So this morning, I had to make it personal because even in the midst of my storm, I am yet standing strong. Why, because God has made me strong just for this. Yea, see; when I was doing the 7 day prayer fast on last week it seems like my storm was raging tougher than it ever has and I didn’t recognize it at first but I realized that it was simply a test to see if I would continue and for those who was praying with me, you know I did. And as the days went by, the clouds got darker but that was alright because I simply put on my raincoat (that’s God’s blanket of protection) and my rain boots (that’s my faith in God’s promise) and I kept on praying because somebody needed to hear what God had to say through me. I couldn’t allow my storm to take me out because then I would have been defeated and how could I claim victory for you if I wasn’t claiming for myself? So yes, even I need encouraging sometime. Yes, even I have moments of wanting to be selfish. Yes, even I have tears that I sometimes shed. Yes, even I have times of being temporarily out of funds. Yes, even I have moments I don’t feel like talking, praying, encouraging and fighting but I do them anyway. Why, because God chose me for this purpose! God chose me for this purpose and that makes my purpose bigger than any problem I could ever face. When I accepted this calling that God placed on my life, I knew that with this calling my trial would last longer than most, my storm would rage harder than most and my hills would get harder to climb over and obstacles wider to go around but I won’t give up. No ma’am, no sir! So, today as I write this I am claiming victory over my own life. I am claiming victory over debt, sickness, circumstances and situations. I am serving the devil notice that I will not give you my joy, you cannot have my children, you will not disrupt my family, you will not take my blessings and you cannot deter me with temptations because I have my prayers stored up. Yea, today this may be for somebody but I am making this thang personal because I need you to know that I am not perfect but I’m willing. I am not perfect but I’m able and I may not have all the answers but I’ll keep on studying. I am claiming that everything my hands touch, in God’s name, will be fruitful and every place my feet walks will be blessed. I am claiming that folks will know my name not because of gossip on the lips of others but because my gift has made room for me. I am claiming that the words I share reaches those who need to hear and read it. I am claiming that I will receive all that God has for me and that I continue to be lifted up, in His name!
Thank you for trusting me to pray for you. Thank you for allowing me to come into your lives daily and thank you for praying for me, for encouraging me and supporting me. I am simply just a sinner who God is cleaning daily to make me a saint! So know that no matter what you go through I am here for you as long as God gives me breath and know that no matter what you face .. God will take care of you.
Daily Devotional – 10/22/12 “Eulogize your past in order to live in your present!”
Yea, you have to eulogize your past in order to appreciate your present. See, if you keep allowing the past to hold you hostage, you’ll never be free to enjoy the life that you’re supposed to have. No, I am not saying you have to go out and purchase a casket, print obituaries, pick a color for the family to wear or even plan a program but what I am saying is; you need to bury the past and leave it there. You’re constantly comparing your current husband/wife to your ex which in due time will make them your ex too so stop with all that. Obviously whatever you had with the past one wasn’t what you needed or wanted because they became your ex otherwise they would still be here. Stop constantly bringing up the bad things you used to do because if you don’t do them anymore then they shouldn’t matter. Now let me make this clear – there is a big difference in sharing your testimony and moaning about your test (you’ll get that in a minute). See, sharing your testimony is telling about all the things you’ve been through by rejoicing in the place you are now but moaning about your test is having a pity party every time you think about some of the things you got yourself in. Sharing your testimony is showing the scars you have after going through some things by praising God for your deliverance and healing but moaning about your test is when you still cry each time you see the scar on your body. Sharing your testimony is not being afraid to let folk know that you used to be a drug addict but now you’re addicted to God and His word. Sharing your testimony is when you aren’t afraid to let folk know you used to be an alcoholic but now you’re a worship-aholic, a shout-aholic, a dance-aholic and a rejoice-aholic and willing to walk on for God. Sharing your testimony is when you are aren’t ashamed for folks to know that you used to walk the streets but now you walk for God with your head held high. Sharing your testimony is when you don’t answer to what you used to be called, you don’t allow what others to say to change your mood, you don’t let how you used to look to decide how you look now and when you don’t folks talking about you because it means you’re on their mind.
Yes ma’am, yes sir; you’ve got to eulogize your past because if you’re still holding on to it then it’s burying you. If you used to be in an abusive relationship and you got out; stand and look at yourself in the mirror and bury it so that it will no longer haunt your present. If you used to steal, then stand up and look at yourself in the mirror and bury it so that it is no longer hanging on your back. If you used to be a miserable mean person raining on everybody’s parade, stand up and look at yourself in the mirror and bury it so that it is no longer hanging over your head. Baby, the only way for you to let go of the past is simply by letting go. You can’t keep visiting it every chance you want to have a pity party because then you’ll bring up all the past emotions that came along with it. If you keep visiting the place you buried the fact the person you thought was your “boo thang” did you wrong, you’ll keep bringing up the hurt you had when you found out they weren’t all that and a bag of chips. If you keep visiting the place you buried the things you used to do and the person you used to be, then you’ll keep bringing up the way folks used to make you feel, the hurt you had when folks did you wrong and the betrayal you felt when folks turned their backs on you; so stop going. This is why the bible says in Isaiah 43:18, “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.”
Don’t you know that God has brought you through all of the old things you’ve been through for a reason? If He wanted you to die in your past then you wouldn’t be living now. If God wanted the drugs you used to do to kill you then you would have overdosed a long time ago instead of having a chance to overcome it. If God wanted the cancer to take you out, then He wouldn’t have allowed you to be 1, 3, 5 or even 10 year cancer free. If God was meaning to kill you in your past then He wouldn’t have allowed that bullet to miss your heart by mere inches or that car to stop just at the time it should have hit you head on. If God wanted you to die at the hands of that man or woman who found joy being an abuser, He wouldn’t have allowed you the chance to get away that night they almost beat you to death. See, God has a purpose for your life and He has a purpose for the things we go through and He doesn’t allow those things to dictate who we are meant to be. Oh, you don’t have to believe me but believe His word because the bible says in Acts 3:19 “Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away,” Isaiah 44:22 that says, “I have swept away your sins like a cloud. I have scattered your offenses like the morning mist. Oh, return to me, for I have paid the price to set you free,” and Isaiah 43:19 which says, “For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.” Still not enough, read Ezekiel 36:26 which says, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” Don’t you get it yet? God doesn’t care about your pasts because it is not your past that defines you which is why Isaiah 1:18 says, “Come now; let’s settle this,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool.” If God only chose folk who had a clean past then He wouldn’t have anybody on His side. If God only blessed folks who did no wrong, we’d all be tore up from the floor up. If God only called folks who never do wrong, then where would we be? So, if God can forgive and forget, then why do you allow folks to keep bringing up the things of your past? You need to tell folks who can’t seem to see your change – “Yea, I know I used to do this but I don’t anymore. Yea, I used to go there but I don’t anymore. Yes, I used to be that but I’m not anymore so stop acting like it and stop bringing it up and if you keep calling me by my old name, my old self and my past I will no longer answer. Get to know the new me that is now and you’ll find that you’ll like me better and if you can’t, then put one foot in front of the other and keep walking!
Daily Devotional – 10/20/12 Day 7 “Prayer for the weary”
Our Father,
As I come petitioning your throne on Day 7 of our prayer fast, I’ve got to thank you once again. I’m thanking you for giving me a regulated mind that is stayed on you. God, I thank you because my storm has become harder during this fasting of prayer but you never let me down so my faith, in you, never wavered. God, thank you for never taking your hands off of me and for always being a whisper away. Now, God I ask you to send a special blessing to the person reading this because they’re coming to you for a specific thing today, so God have your way in their life now. Grant them the request they’ve been crying out for. God, if its healing send it now because I know that you’re capable of doing surgery without cutting open the flesh; I know you’re able to heal a broken heart without doing a triple bypass and I know you’re able to regulate blood pressure without medicine. God, if its a financial blessing that they stand in need of now, send it like only you can because I know that you’re able to given them an increase in their bank account without them applying for a loan; you’re able to zero out balances without making a payment and able to release debt without a second thought. God, I know you’re able to do it now. Father, for the person whose burying a loved one, for the one making funeral arrangements, for the one searching for a loved one and for the one whose loved one is consumed by an addiction; comfort them today. God, send hope to the person whose hope is slowly leaving, send joy to the person whose allowed the world to take theirs away, send love to the person whose only felt hurt from others and guide the person whose taken the wrong turn on their journey. God, somebody wants to know you but they’re too concerned about what others say, somebody wants to come back to you but they are too scared to let the world go and someone is fighting the calling you’ve placed over their life but I know that you’re able to deliver them on today. God someone is fighting a battle that’s not theirs to fight, strengthen them on today. Someone is about to give up because they can’t seem to stop drowning but I know you’re a life jacket in the time of need. Someone is about to give in because they feel like they can’t hold on to the cliff they’ve fallen over but I know you to be a cushion when they fall. Someone is about to let go of their rope because its breaking but I know you’re able to give them the strength they need to reach beyond the break. God someone’s legs is buckling under the pressures of the burdens that are on their shoulders but I know you’re able to help them carry them even without them knowing it. God, I ask you to do it now because I’m claiming victory! Yes sir, I’m claiming that we shall not be defeated in this round because you are patiently waiting to be tagged in. Yes, I’m claiming that we shall not be moved while in our storm because you’re the best raincoat that we can have. Yes, I am claiming victory during our sickness, our financial troubles, our heartaches, situations, circumstances, trials and tribulations because there isn’t anyone who can do us better than you! God, I thank you now and I’m still believing this things and I’m still claiming these things and I’m still speaking these things because you’ve given me the power too! Do it God! Do it God! Do it God! These things I ask in your name, in Jesus name and in the name of the Holy Ghost. Amen
Lakisha, the Author 