Tuesday, April 9, 2013

WRONG TURN

Good morning, Mighty Woman of God!  My prayer for you today is that you are blessed abundantly by the Lord our God.
 
When I first started this ministry, I promised I would always be honest about myself and my background history.  I feel that sometimes necessary for you to hear my testimonies, in order to give your comfort and encouragement.  I don't mind letting you know that the Lord, Jesus Christ had to reach way down low to snatch me out of the devils hand.  Anyway, I am going to throw myself under the bus once again.  I pray that you are blessed by today's message.
 
(Proverbs 3:5-8), Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.  Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.  This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.
 
I really like those scriptures, but how many of you know that it is not always easy to live by those scriptures.  In fact, if did, I would not have made a WRONG TURN in my spiritual journey.
 
One thing that I really can't stand is that when you are lost and finally get up the nerve to ask a complete stranger for directions, that person gives you the wrong directions.  Now you are worst off than you were before you asked for help.  Well, that is exactly the way I can explain that chapter of my life.  Notice, I said, I asked a complete stranger for directions, when I should have asked my Lord for directions.
 
I accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior when I was 19 years old.  I invited Him to come into my heart and soul and dwell there for the rest of my life.  I was on my first marriage at that young age.  I considered myself to have a close relationship with God.  My grandmother taught me a lot about God and from there I just started praying and talking to God.  God made me so happy even when I was going through a difficult time with my husband.  Somewhere along the road, my life changed, not because of God, but because I thought I wanted to do what co-worker and friends were doing.  I can remember hating to go to work on Monday's because I had to hear my co-workers talk about what a good time they had over the weekend.  I didn't like Fridays because they would talk about what they were going to do over the weekend.
 
I decided that I wanted to have some fun.  I met the wrong man and made a WRONG TURN.  He introduced me to cocaine and I feel in love with it.  That was the start of a downward spiral with my relationship with God.  I didn't have time for God.  If I did, I thought that I had messed up so badly that God wouldn't hear me anyway.  So I kept doing what I was doing.  I ended up spending my checks on cocaine and marijuana and got evicted from my home.  That WRONG TURN keep me bound for over 15 years.  I tried drug rehab and that only lasted for so long.  Yeah, yeah, 12 step program.  I still struggled on and off with drugs and then I picked up drinking.  I was already headed in the wrong direction and that WRONG TURN didn't help me either, it led me straight to hell.  Hell in my mind.  Not praying to God at all. 
 
Out of all the things that I did wrong while on that WRONG TURN, I really missed talking to God.  I didn't even realize that God never left me, I left Him.  He was waiting for me to return to my first love, HIM.  If I had trusted God with all my heart, I would not have made that WRONG TURN, that ended up with me being lost for 15 years.  I didn't shun evil, I had run to evil.  I should have been dead a long time ago, but God was watching over me.  There could have been a time when I might have gotten some bad drugs and I thank God for watching over me, having mercy on me.
 
Mighty woman of God, I gave you my testimony, not for you to judge me but for you to realize that through all the bad decisions that you made and might still make, God has not left you.  I don't mind sharing my past mistakes if it will help you and your relationship with God. I have come a long way, and I know that I still have a long way to go, but in this chapter of my life, I am not going to travel alone, I will have God guiding my footstep and making my path straight.  If you are struggling with something that you can't talk about, pray and ask God to have mercy on you.  Don't give up on God, because He won't give up on you.  He has made provisions for your mistakes.  When we are so deep in sin, we don't think that God still loves us, but I can assure you that He does.  PRAISE GOD!
 
If you are interested in supporting "Spiritual Growth for Women Ministry", please purchase a copy of my book, "Spiritual Growth - Breaking Shackles", visit www.amazon.com or www.xlibris.com.  Thank you for your support and may God richly bless you.