Dusty Crowns: Not Forgetting who You Are and Whose You Are

The LORD is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving (Psalm 28:7).

I remember a time in my life when I was not so happy. I remember even asking my mother to put me in some type of facility because I thought that I would find peace there. What was I thinking and why would a thought like that cross my mind? I had no idea who I was or whom I would become in Christ. I just knew that I wanted peace.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7 ESV).

No one had ever talked to me about changing my mindset, all I understood was that I needed counseling and depression medication. I didn’t understand the power of prayer or the extent of deliverance that I would need to overcome the things that I was battling with. The devil is so precise with his plans against us. He watches us. He watches our families/ lineage and he sets up weapons against us with the intention of taking us out before we take the opportunity to know who we are in Jesus.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17).

I got saved for the first time when I was 16 years old. I went to church with a friend and that same day I gave my life to the Lord. I felt a physical push and a pull to go up to the alter and so I did. I had no idea about the gifts that would begin to awaken in my life and I also had no idea about the level of war fare that I was against because of my gift.

For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12 NLT).

God is so very real to me because I have seen him work in my life on multiple occasions. God has done more than give me a passing grade in school, he has healed my heart and delivered me on so many levels. God has healed me from multiple heart aches and allowed me to live through car accidents. God has healed my mind and given me joy. I have a new dance because of grace.

Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp (Psalm 149:3 KJV).

At 29, God is still moving in unimaginable ways on my behalf. I trust him. I know what he has promised me and I believe him. There are many firsts that are occurring in my life and one of them is learning to praise. God deserves every thank you in the world from me because I know where he brought me from. I was in a place of loneliness and I felt worthless, but God saw beauty in me and decided to create something new in my heart. God gave me friends and even restored furniture in my life. I have been battling with this testimony, but someone needs to know that God does not forget. As a child I slept on the floor for a period of time because a parent took the bed that I was sleeping in with them. I used to have an “imaginary” bed that I would cover with sheets and pillows, but God has restored that memory and allowed me to buy something new and unused. I thank God for the new things that He is doing in my life.

I will be unashamed of where God has brought me from. All of it is not pretty but through Jesus Christ even those ugly things are beautiful. I pray that you know that seasons change. Don’t take off your crown of glory because things get hard. Dust your self off and believe that God is a redeemer of all things. God hears our hearts desires. He has not forgotten about you. I pray that your faith is restored and renewed in Jesus mighty name, Amen.

Let everything that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD (Psalm 150:6 KJV).

Comments

You are Seen

“Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the LORD, who had spoken to her. She said, ‘You are the God who sees me.’ ” (Genesis 16:13) Hagar was unexpected. She was an Egyptian maid who turned into a baby mama, given to a man so that his wife could bear a son before her time of blessing had come. and she was a track star. My girl was a track star too. She got out of the house of Abram so fast when she became mistreated. Hagar never asked to be placed in the position to become a wife while still being called a maid. Her yes impacted her greatly and a ‘beef’ was the result. Hagar knew the house rules, “We serve the big G and not the little g’s over here.” She saw Abram praying and observed him meeting with God, but then it happened. Sari commissioned her, and she was given to a man. Hager was never really asked, she was never really considered a wife and was more lik...

You are Not Lost in the Crowd. God Sees You!

Someone asked the question Why do we sing? When we lift our hands to Jesus What do we really mean ~Kirk Franklin “Why we sing?” It’s very very easy to get lost in the realm of religion or to get caught up in the hype of “church”. God has blessed so many of his people with gifts and talents that range from writing and composing, to worshiping, preaching and dancing. At my church, it seems like every one has some sort of gift and I must admit that I feel lost in the shuffle, but that brings me to point of asking myself questions such as ,“who am I going to church for?” and “whose attention am I aiming for?” Everyone wants to be noticed. We want to be praised and we want to be the favorite child, but at what cost? What are we paying to be number one in the congregation’s eyes? and do we even care if God is pleased with us right where we are? I’m the queen of being offended and I often compare myself, my progression in Christ, and my life to others. This should not be so and...

Be Still and Know

“Be still, and know that I am God”- Psalm 46:10a KJV Today as I was driving to work, anxious, knowing that I needed Jesus, I saw “In God I trust”, and “ Be still and know” on two separate cars, one after the other. I needed both things, and that is what I am clinging to. The past can make you feel as if you are in a track meet running from it. It seems faster and more advance within the race, but God says, “Be still and know that I am God.” Being still in a world full of thoughts is its own task, but the command of God is bigger than that. “Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words.” -John 14:23a Above anything, God’s word is the answer. It is what halts the past and brings stillness instead of constant worrying. I considered Moses today. This man, who literally ran from his past, was asked to lead others to a future that God...

Gut Check of the Heart

“But [like a boxer] I strictly discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached [the gospel] to others, I myself will not somehow be disqualified [as unfit for service]” (1 Corinthians 9:27 AMP). If you need to be told that you did a good job, “You did a good job. You gave, and you submitted to man. You showed up and did what they asked. Good job.” “But I have this [charge] against you, that you have left your first love [you have lost the depth of love that you first had for Me]” (Revelation 2:4 AMP). Gut Check: Don’t love the applause of men more than you love God. Why do you show up? What do you gain from that, and what happens when the way that they applaud you does not meet your need of this kind of fulfillment? Beat your body into submission to God. Serve Him well. Become an early riser and seek the Father to release the strategy for the day to you. Sit in His presence and bask in His love. Thank Him for what He has a...

Who Are You Married To?

“Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’ for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly” (John 4:17-18 NKJV). Over the last few days, I’ve missed someone. You may wonder why I would even start things off in this way, but this type of stuff has to be confronted because it’s how people get caught up and entangled in what God loosed them from already. As I was thinking what I was thinking, each time I heard, “What part of toxic do you miss?” I can’t argue with the question. The situation was beyond toxic, but with this being so, what causes me to miss something that left me so shattered? The answer: the familiarity. Being familiar with a thing will cause you to run ...

The Process of Faithing It: Trusting Jesus with Your Faith

“Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction” (Mark 5:34 NKJV). Can you imagine Jesus in a crowd? Everyone has a need, but His target in that moment is to go and build the faith of a little girl’s family at the request of her father because they think that she will die. The father is scared, but Jesus was on the way until He felt something. This feeling was different, but powerful. Jesus turns around looking, asking questions, but finds his answer in the form of a woman, standing and looking amazed at what just happened to her. After 13 years of anemia, tiredness, dizzy spells, soiled clothing, and impacted relationships, she is healed. This woman with an issue of blood had spent all of her money, but decided to trust Jesus with her faith, which was all that she had left. Jesus was not too busy to stop and ask, “Who touched me?”. The disciples reminded Jesus of all the people that were around them, but this touch was different. Some...

Beauty for Ashes: Release the Urn

“ The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord ’s favor , and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion , to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair . They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. ” - Isaiah 61:1-3 NIV A vessel of God told me to write the real story. The one that was uncut, raw, and honest. I was to write the TR...

Keep Your Lamp Filled

“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept” (Matthew 25:1–5). Everyone had the same mindset to go to the same place for the same reason. Everyone was on their way, but partial action was taken by five of the virgins. The bridegroom had the capacity to care for all ten. Everyone had a lamp, but everyone did not have oil to see Who they were waiting for. The oil was available, but five virgins did not take the initiative to get more oil. What they had was not enough for the journey they were on. Five of the virgins were wise; they did what was needed to obtain more oil. The other five virgins were foolish, thinking that what they had was enough and that getting...

Waiting for the Promise vs. Moving in Impatience

“Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child? ” And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!” Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him” ( Genesis 17: 17-19 NKJV). Isaac was desired, but Ismael was birthed out of impatience. If God told you that you were going to birth something beautiful, no matter what your season may look like, bank on the Lord’s promises. Your Ishmael does not have to be a man, your Ishmael can be an opportunity. Don’t walk into just any ole thing because you got tired of waiting on God. If God promised you something in 2016 and you didn’t see it in 2017, that does not mean that He forgot about what He promised you. Isaac had a set season and ...

Refreshment for the Journey

You cannot tell everybody your dreams because your dreams might be bigger than their expectation of you. You will do things for God that man did not see coming. Learn to lean on the opinions of Jesus instead of allowing yourself to become esteemed by the opinions of man. Those folks do not know you or the potential that God has placed on the inside of you. Some of you even have family members that don’t know the real you. Think of yourself as a plan that God has up His sleeve. You are unexpected, but powerful through His grace. Nobody saw Joseph coming. His own brothers did not even know who he was to God. People don’t always treat you like the One who created you. That is why you have to learn to see yourself the way that God sees you and have no bitterness in your heart toward man. Forgive those people who talk about you and use you. Joseph had to forgive his brothers because God was going to use him to protect them. People have no idea that you may be the one that God is...

JaNina B.

Search This Blog