Divine Downloads

Posted on

Daily Devotion

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

Posted on

Daily Devotion

Stepping out of "Me"
 
Philippians 2:3-4
Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.(NKJV)
 
Whoo…A tough few weeks makes for a hardened and extra-sensitive me…but I'm making it.  I hope you are blessed.  I had recruiting today at SC State and was very impressed with the turn out of students and their professionality.  Yes this is a tad bit unrelated but it kind of made me think.  In following God's will and "recruiting" others for service to God, we have to look beyond our own problems.  We have to step out of "Marquita-the individual" and into "Christ-the body".  That is hard to do when you have this situation and that trouble, those problems, and daily struggles.  Life does not encourage us to think of others first.  I have had this ongoing battle for many years.  I have always been the kind of person to do for others with little regard for what pain or kind of bind it may put me in.  However, after I got sick, I began to think of Marquita first then everyone else.  And when I evaluate myself, I was never truly happy either way.  I think the solution is not to be wholly one way or another, but have a balance of both.  I got tired of being hurt and feared(see how the devil comes in and makes a situation look bad right?) that if I continued to be that way, people would take advantage.  But in having divine balance, you can recognize when a situation is ordained by God for your intervention.
 
Don't be so wrapped up in yourself that you miss out on an opportunity to be a blessing to someone else but yet don't be so focused on everyone else that you don't give yourself time to reflect.  I think its at those points of truly putting God first that you find a happy medium and a pinnacle of balance.  As the saying goes (loose interpretation of course), when you step out of your problem and into someone else's, God steps into yours and cleans it up!
 
James 3:16
For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. (NKJV)
 
Marquita