Category: Devotions

Running From It Will Not Save You

I have to give thanks to two of the most wonderful people ever for inadvertently inspiring today’s devotion. My friend Shardae L. and my sister from another mother Monique–Shardae our “convo” lol has been in my head all day! And Mo—you broke this poem down to me nearly four years ago and my life has never been the same–although it had a different application. I’m gonna take a different approach today and break it down biblically stanza by stanza. Reading this the last week along with another poem and the entire Serenity Prayer have truly helped me to see the things I have gone through for what they are. It has also helped me “to stop running from my problems,” and instead embrace them for the trials that they are and praise God in the midst. I realize that they are only temporary and just preparation for what’s ahead.

See It Through by Edgar Albert Guest

When you’re up against a trouble,
Meet it squarely, face to face
Lift your chin and set your shoulders,
Plant your feet and take a brace
When it’s vain to try and dodge it
Do the best that you can do
You may fail, but you may conquer,
See it Through!

Black may be the clouds about you,
And your future may seem grim;
Don’t let your nerve desert you,
Keep yourself in fighting trim.
If the worst is bound to happen,
Spite of all that you can do,
Running from it will not save you,
See it Through!

Even hope may seem but futile,
When with troubles you’re beset,
But remember you are facing
Just what other men have met.
You may fail, but fall still fighting;
Don’t give up, whate’er you may do;
Eyes front, head high to the finish,
See It Through!

See It Through by Edgar Albert Guest

Stanza 1:
“Be strong and let your heart take courage, All you who hope in the Lord.” Psalm 31:24
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9(NASB)
No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. Romans 8:37
Psalm 55:22 says “Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.” (NIV)

In layman’s terms: Be strong and face your mountain, trouble, or problem. Have faith because your hope is in God! He guarantees to never put more on you than you can bear, without giving you a window of escape(1 Cor 10:13). Several times throughout the Bible God gave instructions to be strong because He is with us! Think about the Footprints in the Sand poem–God truly is there with us! And if it gets too hard we can lean on Him in our weakness because God’s power is perfected in our weakness(2 Cor 12:9). Failure is not bad–ONLY IF YOU REFUSE TO GET UP AND STAY KNOCKED DOWN–then failure becomes quitting.

Stanza 2:
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Eph 6:11(NKJV)
Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Eph 6:13(NKJV)
“Do not be afraid of them, For I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD. Jeremiah 1:8(NASB)
Have no fear, for I am with you; do not be looking about in trouble, for I am your God; I will give you strength, yes, I will be your helper; yes, my true right hand will be your support. Isaiah 41:10(BBE)
“‘No weapon that is formed against you will prosper; and every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their vindication is from Me,’ declares the LORD.” Isaiah 54:17(NASB)
“So he answered, ‘Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.'” 2 Kings 6:16(NASB)

Boy oh boy I love this stanza! We all face dark clouds or periods in our lives. But rest assured, God equipped us with all the tools we need: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield faith, the helmet of salvation…but one of the most powerful is the Word–the sword of the Spirit! Use scriptures and confession to cut through the doubt that the devil sends your way. (Eph 6:14-20) Putting on the whole armor of God protects and helps us to stay focused in the midst of the daily attacks of Satan! Remember Isaiah 54:17 that No Weapon Formed Against You Shall Prosper!!! But I especially like the fact that God wants us to NOT fear because those that are for us–the angels that are encamped around us, The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit, and other true members of the Body of Christ outnumber any amount that Satan can attack us with! (Romans 8:31, 2 Kings 6:16–above)

Stanza 3:
We are like clay jars in which this treasure is stored. The real power comes from God and not from us. 8We often suffer, but we are never crushed. Even when we don’t know what to do, we never give up. 9In times of trouble, God is with us, and when we are knocked down, we get up again. 2 Cor 4:7-9
“You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” 2 Tim 2:1
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 15:58
“He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power.” Isaiah 40:29
“Yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.” Isaiah 40:31
“Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10
“The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” Psalms 18:2
“The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the defense of my life; whom shall I dread?” Psalm 27:1(one of my personal favorites, its in my tattoo)

Sometimes, we are all at our last hoorah, and have little energy to draw strength from. We are hoping and leaning on a prayer. But God promises to renew our strength. He promises to carry our heavy burdens. He promises hold us up with His right hand–through Jesus who sits at God’s right hand (Mark 16:19, Apostle’s Creed, Acts 2:33). He promises to reward us for all we have gone through–“Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matt 5:12 This same scripture lets us know that we face things (not specifically all the time) that other people have gone through. Giving up when things get hard is easy initially because it seems like it will rid you of the problem. The fact is, its not going anywhere! So why not just accept it for what it is, address it and give it to God in prayer, then alleviate and eliminate it. Patenting this right now lol! Be blessed!

http://enterthemindofmarquita.blogspot.com/

Press On!

O.M.G.!!!!! Church was amazing! It was the lemon buttercream icing to my lemon cake that I needed to kick my mini-depression to wherever it wants to go! By the way if anybody wants to bake me one, I would love it!!! Confession is good for the soul, and I would like to confess my apologies to God and you. 1: I’m weak and I allowed my sadness to rule over my responsibility to God and you by not writing my devotions like I should. I allowed circumstances and troubles to overwhelm me and get me off track. Yet in 2 Corinthians 12:9 “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” So I can’t let that stop me! But alas, today is a new day and my wonderful and glorious Savior saw fit to keep me here!

So as I listened in church to the sermon, several truths stuck out in my mind. One, we must stop allowing our troubles to distract us from the real reason that we are here. God has placed us here to minister to others and to glorify Him. 1 Corinthians 7:35 says “This I say for your own benefit; not to put a restraint upon you, but to promote what is appropriate and to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord.” For example, in ministering to others, stop being afraid that what you have to say may hurt people–because if what you have to say hurts someone AND its from God, most likely its just something they needed to hear anyway. I suffer from that a lot, but I try to address it with my blog and what God lays on my heart.

Two, just like everyone of us has a purpose, the devil does too! We fight against him spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically.(Eph 6:12) In my case–okay I was disobedient today and I pray God forgives me. He was nudging me to go up and give my testimony. Since I didn’t do what I was supposed to do, I will give it here. I am 24 years old–actually 24 years, 2 months, 22-23 days (depending on how you count it lol). I have been trampled with troubles ever since my elementary days, yet I’m here. I’ve been abused by family, lied to and on by those that are supposed to be my friends, attacked mentally through doubt and depression, attacked physically through kidney disease and other health issues, and attacked spiritually through fear, bitterness and anger. Even in obeying God’s will I have received discouragement from Children of God, some people very near and dear to my heart! The devil has tried to steal my joy, my health, and my life but I’m here. He has even used those nearest and dearest to me to attack me, yet I still stand! I have stood in the face of death, despair, depression, and disillusionment but God still has me here.(2 Corinthians 4)

In fighting the devil, we gain a strength–fortitude–that allows us to withstand any obstacle. No one on this earth is like you, so that means you will ultimately face somethings that no one else has specifically faced. But the real truth(double positive lol so I know this is true right? lol) of this is that God saw fit for you to go into this situation you must trust that you have everything you need to get through it! The real promise that I rest on is that someday, I will go on into a glorious eternal life with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, free from every human thing that has sought to keep me down.(Heb 5:9, see below) From that I draw strength to press forward, and to see these things through, because God promises us to take care of us!(2 Cor 12:10) So I leave you with this today, God is with you!

I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, 1 Corinthians 2:3
And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, Hebrews 5:9
For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings. Hebrews 2:10
Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:10

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12

Love you and I will not stop praying for you! I hope you do the same for me!! Colossians 1:3-14