Wednesday, February 27, 2013

WHEN YOU STUMBLE


Mighty Woman of God, I thank the Lord for each of you and your prayers daily.  "Spiritual Growth for Women Ministry", started one year ago and the group has grown to over 300 women.  I pray that through this ministry you have been blessed by the daily devotions.  I have had the opportunity to pray with several of you, either by phone or messages and I pray that you have found that I am a vessel of God and I will never betray your confidence.
 
(Psalms 37:23-24), If the Lord delights in a man's way, He makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with His hand.

When you stumble, why not say, "if you stumble?" It would be unrealistic for me to assume that you would never stumble at some point in your spiritual journey. You will stumble, that's a given. We all stumble at some time, even the most elect in the churches. We are imperfect people and therefore we are always doomed to that awful thing called "sin".

When I got baptized into the Body of Christ, I immediately thought that all my sins were washed away as soon as I came up from that pool. The bible says, “All things are new, the old has passed away and that I would be a new creature in Christ.” That was exactly what I was expecting, right then and there, right on the spot. I was under the assumption that as soon as I left the church, I would not smoke, drink or do any drugs. I thought all those things fell off in the pool. Boy was I sadly mistaken. Nobody told me that I would actually have to work at keeping myself away from those things.

As soon as I left the church, I got in the car and had my cigarette. Why didn't this stay in that pool of water? Once I got home, I slipped into my comfortable clothes and smoke a joint. Why didn't that stay in that pool of water? I wasn't done yet, I had to have my drink, that didn't stay in the pool either, imagine that. What did I get for being baptized? What special powers do I have? That was exactly what I was thinking. I later came to realize that I did have power, but I did not know anything about the power of the Holy Spirit. So to me, all I got was really wet.

Well, I mind as well keep going to church. It's not that far from the house and I did like the pastor and the choir. I had a great time at church when it came to fellowship with the other saints. I kept going back, I just kept going back. Sunday after Sunday, then Bible study after Bible Study. Eventually the power that I was expecting finally showed up. I begin to get convicted of those things that I just wasn't ready to leave at the altar. That power was the Holy Spirit and He wasn't giving up on me without a fight. Thank you Jesus.

I stood at the altar and had hands lay upon me three times for drugs, twice for alcohol and I can't even count how many times for cigarettes. Each time that I got up off that purple carpet, I thought things just magically disappeared. Nope, they didn't. I stumbled again and again, until finally I had to make up in my own mind that I was worth more. I had to come to the realization that I was valuable to Christ.

Woman of God, don't spend time worrying about how many times you stumble, as long as you don't stay down. If you are having trouble with a particular sin in your life, keep stepping and the Lord will take care of it, if you truly desire to be free from whatever it is.  Don't let the enemy trick you into thinking that God is not going to kept helping you. Yes, He will, if you keep going back. Think about how many times you help your own children that you love. God loves you more than that so just keep on stepping. The bible says that a just man will fall seven times. Consider yourself a just woman and you will stumble, it’s in your nature, but you have to make a conscience decision that you are going to be a fighter; not only will you be a fighter, but you will be a winner.

The scripture clearly states that the Lord will make your step's firm, if He delights in you. The Lord delights in you every time He sees you trying, striving towards perfection. He will not let you fall; He will uphold you with His hands. Praise God! Amen!
 
If you are ever in need of prayer, need someone to talk to or someone to touch and agree with you in prayer, please don't hesitate to call me @678-629-3179.  God bless you!  See you in May.

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