Advanced From Slavery

There are times when people abandon you so that you can see that God never will. It may sound strange, but people hurt you so that you can be advanced. A bad situation, no matter how traumatic or painful it is, can do things for you that your loved ones never could if you just allow God to navigate you through the process.

Pain is a unique opportunity for you to see 2 Corinthians 12:10 manifested in your life. It is one thing to hear about the scriptures, but it is totally different to have those scriptures come to life for your personally. Can you imagine loving God, but still becoming a slave? Joseph, Nehemiah, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego know that feeling all to well. These men loved God, but they had to go through some things to see that God loved them also, despite their situations. In today’s society, we may not be slaves that have to do what the people in the bible had to do, but we are still slaves in some way.

God is having to sift through the love of money, personal ambitions, social media, television, cell phones, fast food, and the love of pleasure just to get to our hearts. Ladies and gentlemen, the things that I have just named or idols. We worship them by allowing them to rob us of the time that we should be spending with God. The people in the bible had idols made of wood and other natural materials. Our idols are made of technology and have opened the door to more complex sin.

What set Joseph, Nehemiah, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego apart from others is that although they slaves, they didn’t have a slave mentality. They loved God although everything and everyone around them told them not to. These men went through various persecutions because they chose to remain faithful to God. Theses men went through the extreme trauma of being uprooted from their home and taken to strange places in order to live under rules that they knew were wrong. These men defied what was logical and decided to pursue that which was heavenly. As a result, they were advanced in both heaven’s kingdom and in earthly kingdoms.

Lord, I feel so weak even through I pretend to be strong. I feel so alone although I am surrounded by people. I have to defy all logic in order to reach your heart and I have to learn to defy myself in order to be where you want me to be in you. We can cause ourselves to sin if we are not carful. The change that God wants to work in us takes our cooperation. It’s not about a feeling, you have to intentionally act like you are free. Whom the son sets free is free in deed (John 8:36). It does not matter if things around you try to make you feel as if you are a slave. You are free in Jesus name. There is so much power in the name of Jesus if you only grab hold of it.

Your trauma is a testimony waiting to be told to the world. It does not feel like it, but trust God no matter what your environment looks like. Refuse to submit to temptation and know that your gift will make room for you. People will have no choice, but to see that the God you serve is real, true, and living.

Today, I pray for your strength in the Lord. I pray that you know that when you are weak, He is strong. I pray that you press forward, and I pray that you know that God is with you every step of the way. Remain faithful. Praise God even when it hurts. There is advancement waiting for you on the other side of this. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Comments

Why Are You Here?

During an encounter that I had with a young person recently, I told them that things were difficult for them because there were some things that they would need to do that had never been done before. The analogy that I used to help this person understand what I was saying to them was that of a wilderness full of trees. I told this young person that they would be the first one to cut down the trees in that wilderness to create a smooth path for those coming behind them. The same is true for many of us. There are large trees that we must cut down so that those coming behind us won’t have to fight as hard as we are fighting, and they will not stumble because we are destroying everything at the root that is attempting to block us. The task of doing this may seem difficult but the testimony is worth it. You have to be able to identify the things that have hindered individuals in your lineage, know what the signs of those things are in your own life, and then eliminate it. ...

Can You Praise the Lord in Prison?

“Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening” (Acts 16:25 NLT). Paul and Silas were some bad boys! Can you imagine doing the right thing and being locked up because of it? These men had a freedom that the people they encountered needed to see because they were not bound although others could visibly see the chains that had been placed on them. They did not misrepresent Christ because of their circumstances and they did not try to give up serving Him because of the predicament that they had found themselves in. ~~~~~ Stop being mad at God because things do not go the way that you expect them to. ~~~~~ “ 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” (Romans 8:28). Paul and Silas knew who their God was and they knew that He was going to come through for them no matter what their situation looked like. They knew enough about God...

The Private, Matters

“And Zacharias said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.” And the angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings. But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time.” ( Luke 1:1-20 NKJV). Zacharias’ prayer was not answered in the way that he thought that it would be. During his prayer time with the Lord, he asked God to allow him and his wife to have a baby, but years passed, and they got older. Zacharias’ went on with his life until his season changed, and it was time. Time for what you may ask; it was time for the blessing of the Lord over this man and wife to come to pass. The issue was that Zacharias had allowed this prayer to leave his heart, and unbelief took its place. Wha...

Why I won’t date

So many women define themselves by their relationship status. I used to be one of those women. It didn’t matter if that man cheated on me, lied to me, or insulted me; I was not going to leave him. I needed a relationship to make me feel beautiful and wanted, but at the same time I knew that the men that I was trying to make love me were not ordained for me. Women don’t consider that word, ORDAINED. It’s easy for a man to make us feel loved, wanted, less lonely and desired, but that man cannot make us feel full. That is what I need in my life, fullness. I understand that God is my husband and that my fairy tale love story has to begin with him before I bring a man into the mix. You see, marriage is a union. You become one with your husband. You live with him, you love him, you worship with him and you fight (spiritually) with him. The not so tricky thing about the before mentioned aspects of marriage is that all of those things have to begin in your singleness. I have a tendency...

You Are Not Alone: Wilderness Chronicles pt.2

“But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers” (1 Kings:19;4 KJV). The wilderness is a different place to different people. Some people consider the wilderness to be a dry place full of nothing. Other people may consider the wilderness to be a situation. Whatever you consider your wilderness to be, know that you are not alone. The devil uses the wilderness to isolate you, but God uses the wilderness to teach you, advance you, equip you, and then eventually release you out (or back) into your purpose. God can also use the wilderness to refresh you. Elijah was an awesome man of God. He literally prayed down fire and he went against kings in the name of the Lord. Elijah was bold, but he was also human. On one particular occasion, Elijah went into the wilderness after an encounter he had wi...

The Healing Prophet

I did not desire to write this, but I heard this title and agreed to be obedient. I once read a statement by Tasha Cobbs Leonard. She shared that she would go and sing, return home, and then feel depressed. I understand that feeling more than I would like to admit. Depression is a weapon the enemy uses against those whom God has anointed in many areas. Depression has stagnation attached to it, and its assignment is to either kill you, isolate you, or both. As a therapist, I help many people navigate through depression. I advise increased therapy sessions and medication when needed. I tell them all the ways to battle what has been battling them while being in the very same fight myself. Depression is nobody’s friend. It is an enemy that wounds. The Healing Prophet is an intentional title. It speaks to the heart of the one who carries and speaks the oracles of God, and today, God has a word for you, and for me. “Get up and believe Me.” I...

Those Are Fighting Words!!

If you would, imagine that words can be cloth in armor, have a helmet on, and can carry a sword. Now, imagine that the words are powerful and can be gathered into an army. The words are strong on their own, but in a large number, they can either propel you into your next step or stop you in your tracks. With a battle field full of words with helmets on in mind, do you see the seriousness of this powerful tool that pushes us through life? Words are spoken to us and around us in our mother’s womb. The words help to shape us and to influence our thinking patterns. Now let me ask you a question, what are you allowing the words that have been spoken to you to do? Are you using the words to fight for you or are you allowing the words to war against you?” “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1 KJV). In the beginning was the word. The word was with God and the word was God (truth). Everything that God had to say about you from the...

Pass The Test

People have a tendency of telling me that I am nice. Some people say that I am too nice and other people attempt to take advantage of my niceness and mistake it for weakness. The truth is that I am really not that that great, I just get convicted. I cannot treat people any way that I want to and receive the things that God has for me. I cannot kick your cat just because you kicked my dog. There are many instances where I have to apologize, work on my heart, and repent instead of blaming other people for how I feel they treat me. “For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart”. (1 Samuel 16:7) I cannot go before the Lord with a filthy heart and truly believe that he is going to bless me. You have to know who you are in Jesus regardless of how people treat you and you have to respond with wisdom and with the heart of Christ. “Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I...

Preparation in Waiting

One thing that I have learned about God over the years is that his plan for my life is so much greater than my own. I have also learned that his vision can be more than I can bear at times because I have a tendency to try to make the parts that he has revealed to me come to pass on my own. I ask God why and when, but the truth is that I am not ready. My faith has to grow and I’m still being prepped. It’s easy to feel like a failure when you’re trying to meet the expectation of others. I come from a family of all stars. I was expected to go to college. I expected myself to have what they have and to live how they live, but God…… God is expecting something different from me. He is expecting me to do and to move how he tells me to. This is hard…I have people expecting success from me. God is expecting success from me to. He is expecting me to listen and to wait. Waiting is hard. Jesus waited. At 12 Jesus was wise, but he had to wait. People expected things from Him also. They expected...

Your Baby is Crowing, So Push!

Many people want a baby. Babies are cute and huggable, but before the manifestation of the baby can come, there is a process that has to be completed. People make saying yes look easy. The journey that they have to take because of that yes is usually a little harder though. It’s easy to look at cute pregnant women and want what they have. If they are married, we think in our minds that we want to get married too. We want the wedding, we want the attachments like the kids and the great house, but we don’t think about that cute woman’s responsibilities. When we look at people in the body of Christ, some of them look like they have it all together. They look free and their prayers are beautiful, but we never think about their process. We don’t consider the babies that they have lost along the way and we don’t consider the pain that they had to go through to birth the beautiful baby that we see them carrying around (purpose, freedom). The birthing process is not that pretty. ...

JaNina B.

Search This Blog