Victory in Jesus

We are often unaware of the challenges facing us each day. We don’t fully realize the beautiful gift of God’s mercy or comfort until times of battle. We don’t know the power of His protection, until the danger subsides, and the realization of what could have happened evolves. It’s then we understand God is always ready and fully in control. There are also times when He prepares us for the storms and gets us ready to endure the battle.

He’s been showing me things and getting me ready for the next battle of my life. He knows the exact balance of every combination to make me fruitful and obedient. He knows my ways and knows when I need to go through the fire to be able to shine for Him. He knows the heartache I will endure along the way and the joy of the reward. He knows how deep my valley will be and the height of the mountain.

He knows what it takes to make me pray. He knows what it takes to make me search the scriptures and humble my heart. He knows what gives me hope and encouragement. He has a time for it all. And the darkest hour is usually right before the Lord pours out His beautiful blessings upon me.

A few days ago I had an appointment to speak about my books. The days leading up to it were difficult and I encountered a headache days prior. The night before a major migraine attacked. My head hurt so badly I couldn’t sleep. I prayed that morning as I got ready and hoped it would go away. I wasn’t able to work on my speech, like I had hoped, due to days of constant pain.

And then the problems seemed to multiply. I ran out of ink in my printer and I couldn’t read the part of my speech I had prepared. The headache caused waves of nausea. There was a roaring in my ears and I couldn’t hear out of one ear. My vision became blurred at times and dizziness threatened. I knew there was no time to cancel. They were counting on me. So I prayed and knew when I walked out of the door, I was taking a leap of faith.

I knew God would carry me because I couldn’t make it on my own. Just before I took my place in front of the crowd, my thoughts became jumbled and I couldn’t think clearly. I knew if I stepped out in faith, God would carry me the rest of the way.

Through it all, I learned a very valuable and beautiful lesson. Sometimes God has to get us to the point of total and complete trust in Him. He takes away our thoughts so He can replace them with His. It’s during these times when He proves His love for me. He gives me a little glimpse of His love and the extent of His power. He reminds me that I’m never alone and nothing is beyond His realm. He reminds me to just open my mouth and allow His words to come out. And I know that I’m not the typical speaker or author. I am peculiar and driven by God’s purpose.

I have found it’s during my darkest hours that I search for God. Sometimes it takes suffering to help us pray. One day, I cried going and coming home from work. I was in so much pain, I couldn’t take it. As the tears began to fall, God and I began to talk. I love it when we talk and He understands the groaning of my heart. There is nothing greater than talking to God and knowing He hears my pleas.

Regardless of the obstacles the devil tosses my way, God has a storehouse of blessings just for me. He knows when I need each one. He knows their value and the abundance of their strength. His timing is always impeccable.

When it seems dark and gloomy, God sends me a ray of light— and His blessings dominant any hardship. When I begin to doubt my abilities and question whether I can continue on this journey, due to my obstacles, God reaffirms His purpose for me.

Holding a contract for a new Zippy book increases my faith. God is a wonderful paymaster! I’m so happy and thankful God is blessing me to go through this amazing journey with Him once more. He’s giving me another opportunity to make a difference and the world an opportunity to love my little zebra. I’m so thankful that when life gets hard, God won’t allow me to quit. He always come through and renews my strength. And He gives me a new testimony of His greatness.

Until next time, I hope you know that regardless of the battle there is always VICTORY IN JESUS!