I woke up this morning with you on my mind. I don’t know what you are going through but I know that you need to hear a word from the Lord. Whatever your situation or your circumstance, know that when you’re down God will pick you up no matter how far down he has to reach. When it feels like you’ve hit rock bottom, God will and can reach you. Even when it feels like folks have knocked you down to your lowest point, God can still reach you. When you’re at your lowest, you’re still high enough for God’s hands. 2 Corinthians 4:9 say “We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.” You know how you drop something and it rolls out of your reach; do you not reach down to get it? Even if you can’t reach it, you find a way to get it, don’t you? It’s the same way with God. When you fall and roll back into your old habits, he reaches down to get you no matter how far he has to reach. It doesn’t matter that you’ve fallen before because Proverbs 24:16 say “The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again.” God doesn’t count the number of times you fall because all that matters to him is that you get back up. See, God knew you would stumble on this Christian journey because you are faced with temptation and attacks by the devil daily but Psalm 37:24 say “Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the LORD holds them by the hand.” God has promised that if you hold his hands through the good times, he’ll hold yours through the bad. Yes, there will be bad days but don’t allow them to outweigh your good ones.
Jeremiah 31:25 says “I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.” God says when you lean; he’ll be your leaning post. When your way is dark; he’ll be the light that lights your path. When you can’t walk any longer, he says he’ll carry you. When momma and daddy are gone, he’ll be a comfort for the nights when you’re drinking tears for water. When the doctor tells you grim news, he’ll be the peace you need to understand. When pain has you bowed down and you can’t seem to stand, God says he’ll be your healer. When enemies come up against you in your own home, God says he’ll be your protector. Psalm 54:4 say, “But God is my helper. The Lord keeps me alive!” You do know that you’re alive, right? Even though you walk around like the living dead, you are yet alive. Yea, the kids are acting like you didn’t raise them, your spouse is acting like a stranger in your home, death has knocked at your door more times this year than ever before and it seems like you keep getting knocked 4 steps back each time you move but you’re yet alive. Isaiah 40:29 says “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.”
When I look at my grandmother, I see a strong lady. Even in her 81 years of living, she is still the strongest woman I know. Because of her strength, she raised 10 children (all who are still living) including my mom, who I also consider strong. My mom raised 7 children as a single parent. She taught the girls (who are the oldest) how to cook, clean and provide for a home at a young age. She was hard on us but it was because she was raising girls during a time when the world, she knew was changing. She worked 2 jobs, so we had to be the women of the house. She molded us into the mother and wives that we are today, because she had a woman who taught her the same things. It is often said that women are like tea bags because you never know their strength until they are put into hot water. See a woman sees $5 and no way to feed a family but a strong woman sees $5 and says it’s hamburgers for dinner. A woman sees a flat tire and calls Triple A, but a strong woman pops the trunk to change it. A woman sees the bills, no money and worries, but a strong woman says they’ll get it when they get it. A woman faces a hardship and it consumes her life, but a strong woman sees a test that’ll soon be a testimony. See Proverbs 14:1 says “A wise woman builds her home, but a foolish woman tears it down with her own hands.”
Yea, your checking account may be negative but you don’t have to look like it. Yea, your kids may be acting foolish, but you don’t have to look like it. Yea, your husband may have left you, but you don’t have to look like it. Just because you’ve been dragged through the mud, it doesn’t mean you have to walk around with mud on your clothes. If you’re a fireman, do you have to walk around with fire equipment on your back all day? No, when its time for them to go into a fire, they dress like it and they get their mind prepared to come out alive. It’s the same way with dealing with a fire in your life. Isaiah 43:2 says “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” Isn’t that great news? Just because you are going through hell, it doesn’t mean you give up! You have to tighten the buckles on your shoes, tuck your shirt in and fasten the belt on your pants and hold on. Just because you are going through the storm and the rain is pouring, it doesn’t mean you have to give up. Put on your rain boots, tie a plastic bag around your head or open your umbrella and walk on. When you go through the fire, it’s not meant to burn you but to seal in your shine. But you have to get dressed in the right attire that will be able to withstand the heat and then prepare your mind to fight the fire so that you come out alive.
Please know, no matter what you go through, it’s not meant to destroy you. Trouble comes because it has been promised but you’ve been equipped with all you need to handle it. Deuteronomy 31:8 says “The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” So whatever you’re going through, don’t allow it to take you out. God is a man of his word and he will see you through. Just hold on my sister!
Lakisha, the Author 