Why?

"Who am I to have your ear whenever I call Your name?"

I've made a personal commitment to make sure I post a blog at least once a month and it being the last day of April I can't break that commitment. lol  My cousin sent this song to me a few months ago and it truly blessed me.  I'd give a little inspirational message with this, but the lyrics really speak for itself.  I hope this song blesses you as much as it blessed me....and if anything, I hope it makes you think....enjoy.

"Why" by Jonathan McReynolds 

Who am I to have your ear 

when-ever I call your name 

And who I to be forgiven 

when certain things just don't change. 

And I haven't done a thing to 

deserve your favor and your grace. 

After all the hurt I've cause you 

Lord I must say you got me wondering 

Why oh why x4 

Said you would save me than I looked at you 

and laughed in your face 

Said you would heal me and than I turned away 

and treated you like you were fake 

In spite of me not being worthy 

you still giving new mercy's 

Day after day 

and chance after chance 

you never throw me away 

So you got me wondering 

Why oh why x4 

I know the word 

and the word is love 

and it's sent from up above 

something I'm not worthy of 

I know the who and the is you 

your alpha and omega 

your daddy and your savior 

I now the when and it's over and over again 

you prove to be my friend 

from the morning to PM 

And I don't have a spectacular bone in my body 

but you love anyway 

so father I just want to say 

Thank You (continuous) 

Who am I to have your ear 

when-ever I call...

Powerless

"....we too are weak , just as Christ was, but when we deal with you we will be alive with Him, and have God's power." -2 Corinthians 13:4

There are so many scriptures that talk about having power over the enemy and that the devil is already defeated, yet why is it that we've become so powerless when it comes to life's challenges? If the word is God's truth and He can't lie on what He said....then why do we always admit defeat before the battle begins? I say "we" because I'm certainly included in this thought provoking discussion.  I think for some of us, we have a misconstrued idea of what life as a Christian should be like.  The world seems to be moving into this "prosperity" message and we only like to quote things like, “Name it Claim it,” or the scripture, “Christ came that we might have life, and life more abundantly,” but we skip over the scriptures that deal with the challenges that come along with this Christian title.  

"He adds by subtracting, He multiplies by dividing, and He makes us strongest when we're the weakest."

Now let me be clear in saying that whether you’re saved or unsaved….we WILL GO THROUGH CHALLENGES! But the beauty is, as Christians, we have a great life insurance (assurance) plan, with Christ no matter what arises in our lives we’re fully covered! I know trials and tribulations is not the favorite topic of discussion and it certainly shouldn't be the focus of our lives as Christians, because after all…Christ did come to give us a better way.  But the truth is we need to be reminded that it’s actually good to be tested by God.  Paul said it best in 2 Corinthians 12:10, “I take pleasure in my weakness, for in my weakness that is when I’m really the strongest.  This just reminds me of the awesomeness of God. He adds by subtracting, He multiplies by dividing, and He makes us the strongest when we’re the weakest.  That is the kind of God we serve.

"The best way to experience God is to witness Him at work in our lives."

One of my favorite scriptures to quote is, “God can do exceedingly abundantly above all we could ever ask or think,” and for so long I always stopped there.  But if we continue to read the rest of that scripture, it says, “according to the power that is at work within us.”  A brand new car, a big house, and a great job are all wonderful blessings…but NOTHING can compare to the great work that God does within us.  What good are all of those blessings if we don’t have the spiritual stamina to maintain them?  The best way to experience God is to witness Him at work in our lives.  So knowing all of this, knowing that we experience the full power of God as He transforms us, we now should realize why it is better to endure testing and trials.  These trials allow us to experience the fullness and the abundant life that Christ came to give.  It’s like in our relationships, whether with a boyfriend/girlfriend, friend or family member, you grow closer after having gone through something together.  The same way goes for our relationship with Christ.  We grow in our relationship through testing and trials…..but more importantly we really get a better understanding of who God really is.  As we get to know Him better, we realize the power and the authority He really has and then in return we have over our situations through Him. 

"If He allowed it, that means He already worked it out."

God was, He is, and He will be in control of everything that tries to come up against us.  I once heard a preacher say, “In order for God to allow a situation to occur in our lives, He had to have already worked it out.  Which means He walked all the way to the end of our problem to make sure it was resolved and then walked back to the beginning to now bring us through.” Now who wouldn't want to serve a God like that?  There is absolutely nothing too hard for God.  If He allowed it, that means He already worked it out.  We are no longer powerless when it comes to our sins, tests and trials.  The Bible is a spoiler in the sense that when we peek to the end, we realize after this long spiritual warfare………WE WIN!

-Leah

Bible Study

*For more scriptures on this topic, check out the following scriptures:

2 Corinthians 13:4

2 Corinthians 12:10

Ephesians 3:20

James 1:2-4

2 Peter 4:12

Wait, what???

A few months back I wrote a post titled, "Yes.[No].Wait." which primarily focused on how to respond when God tells us "no" when answering a prayer. A few days, ago I received a few questions on this post and I thought they were really good so I decided to make another post, in case anyone else also struggled with the same questions.

***I have abbreviated the comment/question for spacing, but please feel free to read the entire question here :

Hi Leah, I've asked these questions a few times in the past but never really found an answers I can live with. So I'd love to hear your ideas. Here's the questions:

Assuming you have prayed within God's will - yes, no or wait.
In reference to the no & wait, how can we tell the difference when God goes silent?
I assume most people like myself would continue praying & keeping the faith as we believe this silence is God thinking things over in his good time. Hence perhaps giving us a 'wait' answer. 

You wrote, " “No” meaning, you’ve pretended like God hasn’t already made it clear to you that His answer is NO and you’ve told yourself you’re in the “waiting stage.”"

What if God hasn't made a 'no' answer clear? Does that mean we should naturally accept His silence as a 'wait'?

And what exactly are we waiting for? Are we waiting for our prayer request to faithfully manifest in our lives. Or, are we being asked to merely 'wait' for God's answer to be a clear 'yes' or 'no'?

How do you know the difference between a 'no' or a 'wait' when there's no guidance from God either way?

First, thank you for taking the time to read my post. These are really good questions, but let me just repeat it back to you just so I'm clear my response is addressing exactly what you’re asking. When praying to God and waiting for His response, you're asking how can we determine what is a wait and what is a no, because unlike "yes" which gives a self explanatory answer, "no" and "wait" can sometimes seem interchangeable and can be considered gray areas when getting an answer from God? And if we feel that we're being led to "wait" what exactly are we waiting on God for? (Hope I got that right lol).

 So let’s go back to your example of the dispute with a friend. I think the most important thing we have to realize is it is not God's intention for us to be confused or turn into a skeleton from “waiting" to hear a response from God. One thing that I’m learning, even after this blog post is to evaluate exactly what you are asking in prayer. It's very easy for us to get caught up in the, "Lord should I do this?" and "Lord, do you want me to be his/her friend?" prayers and it kind of turns God into a magic 8 ball and we shake him to get a yes, no or maybe answer. Now don't get me wrong, can we ask Him direct questions like that and expect a direct response? Absolutely. But I would encourage you to take your prayer life a step further and along with asking God for a direct answer, also pray for wisdom and insight on the situation that you are placing before Him.

 In the example of the dispute with a friend, you mentioned several characteristics of the friend that are contradicting to your walk with Christ.  Much like in relationships we notice red flags, it's the same thing in the case of friendships and I'm sure you've noticed red flags, (still assuming this is an example lol) as you were able to name the issues your friend was dealing with right off the bat.  You also mentioned that you had a feeling that the friend would choose to forfeit the friendship just so they didn't have to own up to any responsibility with the disagreement. Here's where the wisdom comes into play, knowing all that you know about your friend...I would ask, what am I gaining from this friendship? Is this person even really a friend? Breaking down the situation further (no matter the case) and asking these questions help give us a better evaluation of why and what we're exactly asking of God.

 I think you raise an excellent question about what do you do when you're just flat out not hearing from God for an answer? I would like to challenge this, because for me personally I use to say this ALLLLL the time! But the truth is God does speak, but what are we doing to hear Him? First things first, whatever it is that we are putting before The Lord, we must get rid of that vision we have already set in our minds of how we want the situation to work out. This could be very distracting when "waiting" to hear from God because whatever response you're getting isn't matching to what you expected or hoped for.

 But for those times where we feel like we don't hear anything at all from God I would ask, what are you doing to make sure your frequency is tuned into His station? For example it's so easy to pray, Lord are we going to remain friends? And then wait by the phone to get a call from the friend. So after two weeks go by and no call you're confused on whether it’s a no or wait, but God doesn't give confirmation through air lol. He confirms and reveals things to us in His word and through other believers. So my challenge to you is, after you've prayed about it, are you then asking God to direct you through His word?

 So say you prayed on this and in your quiet time with God you came across the scripture, "therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 6:17) and this automatically tugs at your heart as your mind automatically goes back to the situation with your friendship.  Or you attend church the next Sunday and the sermon is on, "God taking people put of your life" please don’t count these as coincidences. This in fact is God speaking to you on your situation. ALONG with your friend not being receptive to repairing the situation. God's word reveals. I would be bold and count this as a "no." But here's where our trust in God is key: no doesn't necessarily mean never. But this is also where we tend to get confused so let me quickly say.....a "no" for right now is still a no.  Does that mean you'll end up being friends later? Maybe. But our job isn't to focus on the future, it's to be obedient in what God is saying now. Our relationship with God is a faith and trust walk.

So to go back to your original question,  If we're waiting "by faith" for what we've been praying to manifest in our lives, that to me is assuming that God wants this for you and not truly accepting what God's will may really be.  We have to want God's will more than our own. I believe all “wait’s” eventually turn into a yes or no, but the bottom line is whatever God decides at that time is what was the very best possible thing for you. The "wait" is just honestly designed to keep you seeking Him until He reveals the "yes" or "no" (Proverbs 3:5-6). And I would even take it a step further to say that God is not just about changing our situation, He's really about changing us, so that waiting period could really be for your benefit because when you "think" you're not hearing from God, it's really exactly where He wants us. It's causing us to seek Him more and become desperate for His presence, which He loves!  But after that yes or no is revealed that's where trust kicks back in and says, “Lord I see this is where you're leading me for this situation. I may not agree with it but BY FAITH I believe that it's all working together for my good.”  (Romans 8:28).  God knows what outcome we really need and when we need it. The Bible says in Psalms 84:11, "no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly." So He has our best interest at heart no matter what answer He gives us.

Whew! I know that was a lot, but I truly hoped this helped! Please feel free to write back, this is a tough subject but soooo glad you brought it up! :)

How's that working for you?

I recently had the opportunity to attend a Christian Leadership Conference a couple of weeks ago, and the instructor raised an interesting question, "What are some things that cause us to lose our intimacy with God?" One of the attendees gave a very blunt and honest answer and said, “fear that He’ll change me and mess up my regularly-scheduled-programming.”  A few people laughed, some even slapped hands in agreement….but the instructor just smiled and asked, "but how's that working for you?"

"In some weird, twisted kind of way, we like living in our junky, smelly, mess."

This convo might have made you chuckle, but the dialogue was beyond true. It's so crazy how one of our greatest hesitations as it pertains to our relationship with Christ is the fear that He'll change us. I mean, but that's the point isn't it? To transform and renew our minds? To become more like Christ?  I mean that is why we gather at church on Sunday, or if we're really fancy come out to Bible Study to get a mid-week fix?  It's all worship and praise when we meet "collectively" but the fun suddenly stops when God wants to get personal.  Why is that? Why is it so hard for us to open the door and invite God to come and clean all the junk and clutter building up in our hearts? You know what I think? .....I think it's so hard because.....we like it.  In some weird, twisted kind of way, we like living in our junky, smelly, mess.

Sooooo #honestyhour, I'm not exactly the neatest person.  I tend to store things instead of throwing them away and as a result my room tends to get a little (a lotta) cluttered. But here's the funny thing....I know exactly where everything is. It may not look right, but despite all that mess, I'm still able to function in it.  I tend to get comfortable in the clutter. Was it my ideal way of having my room look? Of course not, but it worked for me....that is....until it became unbearable. 

"We've become so accustom to living in junk that we've somehow convinced ourselves that that's actually how we want to live."

Don’t frown up your nose at my junky room lol.  Especially when some of us right now should be signing waiver forms for TLC's show "Hoarders" for all of the crap that we have stored up around our hearts! We're so used to living in clutter that we don't even recognize how disconnected we are in our relationship with Christ. Our mess brings a sense of comfort. A sense of familiarity. It may not be our ideal way of life, but at least we know how everything plays out.  No, I'm not growing at my job, but it pays the bills. No, I'm not gaining anything from this relationship, but I’m tired of being lonely.  No, I'm not satisfied with where I am with life, but it’s easier to live this way. We've become so accustom to living in junk that we've somehow convinced ourselves that that's actually how we "want" to live.  But here's the truth....after awhile you can't function in all that clutter. There is no such thing as organized chaos when it comes to our relationships with Christ.  He’s not the God of confusion, but He’s the God of peace.

"We say we want God, but we don't want the change that inevitably comes with Him."

We want to be able to "hear from God" or "know God’s will” for our lives, but God can't even make it through the front door because our lives are just too piled up with junk.  At some point we have to make a decision. Either continue to live in the clutter, or allow God to come in and clean house. God will never be able to be Lord over our lives if we have a million-and-one other things that are already taking up residence in our hearts.  Yeah the cleaning process is going to cause you to throw away things you've been holding on to for years or to break old habits. And yeah it may even cause you to cut ties with someone you've been clinging to for what seems like forever, but we have to learn to stop giving out “ALL ACCESS” passes to the matters pertaining to our hearts. We say we want God, but we don't want the change that inevitably comes with Him. You can't have Christ and not change. Point blank.  So instead we just continue to do things our way and only enjoy the bare minimum of this "abundant" life that Christ came to offer. I mean that's cool I guess....but just curious...how's that working for you?

-Leah

Bible Study

For more information on this topic, check out the following scriptures:

1 Peter 2:1-3

Psalm 51:10

Romans 12:1-2

1 Peter 3:8-12

1 Peter 3:3-4



Break Me...

Oh, give me back my joy again;
you have broken me—
now let me rejoice
...Create in me a clean heart, O God.-Psalms 51:8,10

Have you ever heard the phrase, “be careful what you pray for?”  Well after a few weeks ago, I can honestly contest to this truth. It all started one Sunday morning when I was getting ready for church (completely late and wrong lol) and the song, “Seattle” by Mary-Mary came on the television.   One line in particular really grabbed my attention:

“Open up my heart, fill me with Your love

Every single part, make me what You’re made of……I just want a heart like Yours.”

I really loved that, and those words stayed in my mind for the next few weeks and it really started changing from a song into a personal prayer.  After practically wearing the song out lol, I started praying that God would start to pull out the things in me that weren’t like Him, and to literally “break my heart of the things that break His heart.”  Now if you’re like me, I already had a preconceived notion what those “things” were….like being softhearted when I saw people that were homeless, or fighting for justice when I saw something I know to be wrong…..you know all the practical stuff. However, the things that break the heart of such an all powerful God go a little bit deeper than the surface.  Although, the Bible clearly speaks about taking care of the less fortunate and standing for what is right…..God is also totally and utterly concerned about the specific things pertaining to you.  How silly of me to think I could pray this prayer and God not actually begin to do it!  I can honestly say that since I prayed this, it’s as if an extremely large magnifying glass has appeared over my heart, only magnifying the spots and the blotches that I didn’t even know existed….or forgot existed. So take it from me, if you’re not serious about God performing open heart surgery on your life….DON’T ask Him to do it.

"How many times have we abused God's grace and mercy on the things that are ultimately destroying our spirit?"

I absolutely love in Psalm 51 where David asks God to create in Him a clean heart.  That word “create” is so vital, because David wasn’t just asking for forgiveness…..he was literally asking God to break or destroy his old heart and rebuild a new heart within in Him.  How many times have we asked God to forgive us of something, yet turn right back to it once we felt the coast was clear?  How many times have we abused God’s grace and mercy on the things that are ultimately destroying our spirit? God is not our personal genie.  We don’t pull Him out and rub Him when we want our wishes granted, nor is He our one phone call when we need someone to bail us out of jail.  We have to get God back to His rightful place on the throne of our lives.  He’s the absolute supreme being, and don’t you know, He has the courtesy to want to use all of that power in working to make us become just like Him?  Crazy, huh? 

I’ve said this many times before in my blog, but I stand by it: God isn’t as concerned with changing our situation as much as He’s concerned with changing us.  Whew.  If I really had enough time to tell you all the things I’ve experienced in just a few weeks, it would be an entirely new post.  But even through all of the challenges, I can honestly say….it’s making me better.  These recent situations have truly revealed the most deeply hidden traits about myself that I never fully brought to light.  In case you’re wondering…It does NOT feel good to learn these things, but man oh man is it necessary.  I asked God to give me a heart like His, and to break my heart of the things that breaks His heart….and He’s definitely doing it.  Piece by piece.  Layer by layer.  His ultimate goal is to get all the impurities out so that when He puts His face over my heart, He will only see His reflection.   Man, I love Him.  I guess I’m maturing, because it takes a mature Christian to say that despite all this discomfort, I’m so grateful for this process.  My life is far from perfect, I’m experiencing a lot of road blocks and things definitely don't always go my way, but I keep pressing, because at the end of the day, all I really want is "a heart like Yours." 

-Leah

Bible Study

*For more on this topic, check out the following scriptures:

Psalms 51:10-12

Ephesians 4:20-24

2 Corinthians 3:18

1 John 3:2

The Dark Valleys

 

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me....." -Psalm 23:4

Psalm 23 is a very familiar passage in the Bible to most, with "The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want," being the most common scripture out of the entire chapter.  Yet out of all the times I've read this passage and have come to learn it by heart, I went back and read it again and it gave me a completely new understanding.  I also want to make note that I went back and read this in 4 different translations: New King James, New Living, Amplified and The Message.  I didn't do this to be deep lol, but rather each version words the same scripture in a different way.  If you have a Bible that offers multiple translations, or if you have a Bible app on your phone I strongly encourage you to look up scriptures in different translations to help give you a better understanding of the Word.  In this particular scripture, "The Message" translation pulled at my heart in a different way than any of the others.

"Even when the way goes through Death Valley, I'm not afraid when You walk at my side." -Psalm 23:4 (MSG)

 These subtle, yet confirming words completely changed my perspective on this scripture. Recently, I had been going back and forth in my mind on a number of different things that have been occurring in my life.  I was beating myself up on certain decisions I made and opportunities I chose not to take because after praying on it, I felt that wasn't the direction God was taking me in. However, after making these decisions, it seemed like things were getting worse.  Which led me into a terrible state of confusion and frustration.  I kept thinking, "but God, if this is what you wanted me to do...why do I feel like I'm being punished?  Why do I feel like I made a mistake....or I made the wrong turn?" I just couldn't understand why I would be experiencing so much turbulence even after seeking Him and making these decisions after prayer.  But then I read this scripture, in that particular translation, "even when the way."  Those four words tell me that just because I'm experiencing some challenges and some set backs, it doesn't mean that it's not still God. 

"We must learn to become completely reliant on God and His word."

When I see those words it tells me that sometimes "the way" is going to take me into some dark valleys.  Sometimes "the way" is going to take me on what seems more like dirt roads than defined pavements, but just because I'm in those dark places doesn't mean I'm still not on the right path and in the will of God.  Sometimes those "dark valleys" are exactly where God wants us to be....why? Because if we go on to read further in verse 4 David says, "I'm not afraid when you walk by my side."  To me everything circles back to dependence on God.  We must learn to become completely reliant on God and His word.  The Bible can't just be a fuzzy bedtime story, but it has to be the reference point of every single move that we make. 

"It's not by coincidence, it's not by happenstance, but it's by design that you are where you are."

As Christians, we focus so much on triumph and victory (which is definitely the outcome) but we sometimes fail to mention there's a middle step required in between to get there.  We can't be overcomers without anything to overcome.  I truly thank God for His word and how it confirms so many things in my life.  I haven't made a wrong turn, I haven't strayed off the path.  I'm just walking in an area that requires me to hold His hand a little tighter and to draw in a little closer because He can see things in darkness I could never see in broad daylight.  It's not by coincidence, it's not by happenstance, but it's by design that you are where you are.  I was recently reminded by a friend that Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you," which simply means that we don't know!!! God is the one in control and He's the one ordering our steps and He knows the way. Even if that way happens to go through the darkest, lowest, loneliest times of our life, it's worth being there because it's nothing like walking with Jesus. It may not look good, and Lord knows it doesn't feel good, but be confident in knowing that it's all for your good.  Take assurance in knowing that He purposely brought you to this "valley" so He could purposefully bring you out.  This dark place is just another opportunity to experience Christ in a closer way.

-Leah

Bible Study

*For more on this topic, check out the following scriptures:

Psalm 23 (NLT)

2 Samuel 22:31

Nahum 1:7

Psalm 56:3-4

Let's Be Honest....

Read Mark 9:17-25

This is a pretty commonly known passage in the Bible, yet I’ve never had to opportunity to really dig into the meaning behind this man’s words.  (I mean other than the obvious lol). When I first read this my mind automatically formed several questions. For one, why would Jesus ask this man how long has His son been like this? I'm sure Jesus being all knowing as the son of God already knew how long this boy has been dealing with his condition?  However, upon further examination…. Jesus wasn’t really asking that question because He didn’t know, but just as anything He does…to prove a point.  When Jesus asked the man how long has this boy been like this....or to put it plainly, how long has this boy lived with this condition? The man answered "since he was a little boy."  See after hearing that his son has been dealing with this condition since he was little, it kind of made more sense why the man responded the way he did. Now, I'm not saying that "unbelieving" should always be excusable….I’m just merely pointing out that this man had some reasoning behind his response.  

Now this was interesting to me because this conversation was followed by the man telling Jesus how the disciples couldn't do it. So I'm only imagining when the man was bold enough to say "if" you can to Jesus he was only speaking on what he saw...or rather the lack of what he didn’t see. See, in this man’s experience, no one has been able to give his son any relief of his condition since he was a little boy. So in my opinion, only naturally would the man have doubts that his son just may not be able to be delivered from this spirit. After years have gone by and after failed attempts of the releasing of the evil spirit it makes sense to me why this man at this point is now at the end of his rope. He finally got to the people closest to Jesus and they couldn't even help him.

So finally turning to Jesus as his last and only help,(that's a message in itself) in a moment of desperation says, "have mercy on us and help us if you can." The Message translation reads: "if you can do anything, do it."  When I go back and read this, I feel this man’s desperation. This man was defeated long before he even reached Jesus and His disciples. He has watched his son suffer with this condition practically his whole life...and finally he gets to Jesus and basically says, "I understand if you can't do it either, but off some small chance, off some small whim....if you could...please help us". Now I'd be lying if I said I didn't know where this man was coming from. Have you ever dealt with something for so long and it just felt like it was never going to get better? Have you ever been in such a place where you just didn't know how God was going to turn the situation around and work it out for your good? Or in the case of this man, "if" God was even able to do it because it had never been done before? No, just me? I felt for this man. He had tried everything to release this stronghold from his son and by the time he gets to Jesus he has such little faith left.

"I think one of the worst mistakes we as Christians can make is trying to be somewhere spiritually where we're not."

Apparently, Jesus didn't like that answer, because in verse 23, Jesus basically “let this man know” (if you know me, you know exactly how I said this lol).  He says, “’If!?’ What do you mean ‘if’ I can!? Don't you know who I am!?  All things are possible if a person truly believes.”  Then the man cries out in total humility,(verse 24) “Lord, I do believe…but help me overcome my unbelief.”  Whew.  We have to stop right here.  I think one of the worst mistakes we as Christians can make is trying to be somewhere spiritually where we’re not.  I know we all want to be that “spiritually mature Christian” that never questions or doubts God, but we are really doing a disservice to our relationship with Christ by not allowing Him to meet us exactly where we are…or in most cases where we’re really not.   Yes, this man was weak enough in his faith to ask “if” God was able, but he then became strong enough to admit he struggled with unbelief.  We cannot fool God.  He looks past our words and does a deep search into our hearts. Therefore, we must always be honest with God about the true conditions of our heart.  How can we ever expect God to build up our areas of weakness, unless we admit to Him where we’re not strong? 

"Therefore, we must always be honest with God about the true conditions of our heart."

I also want to encourage that person who has been waiting on God to fix that “condition” in their life.  You feel that so much time has passed and you’re feeling more discouraged then expectant.  You’re starting to feel like the father in this story and you’re prayers are including a number of “if you can’s” and “if you could’s” out of unbelief’s that God might ever come through on His promise.  Stay encouraged.  There are so many things to learn from this passage, but one very important thing to remember is it doesn’t matter how much time has passed. It doesn't matter how long you've been dealing with this stronghold.  God is faithful to do what He said He’d do in your life.  However, we must believe that He is able to do it.  Hebrews 11:6 tells us, “without faith it is impossible to please God.”  He is moved by our faith and He moves by our faith.  So if you haven’t already, from this point forward….learn how to be completely honest with God.  He already knows the area’s where you’re lacking so we can stop pretending to be strong when we’re really weak.  God’s power works best in our weakness.  For like Paul said in 2 Corinthians 12:10, “That is why I take pleasure in my weakness….for when I’m weak, that’s when I’m really strong.”



-Leah