Getting IT

Sister, you don't know the problems I have had, or suffering through, or whatever the excuse is today that you choose not to get into obedience with God's Word. My friend, if that is you, let me tell you a little about me and the suffering I have gone through, and why I am able to testify of the goodness and deliverance of God in any circumstance.

My early life included being dedicated to demonic culture by my grandfather, raised in a house where God was not the primary source of all things, lived in lack, lived in non-love or high self esteem, so everybody just tried to survive on a personal level. At age three was taken to my aunt and uncles apartment, dropped off with a box of personal effects and told live here, I'm outta here by my mother, God only knew where my dad was. Sexually abused by a neighbor at age four, and continued for four more years. I had told my mother only to have a strap across my back and behind for being a "naughty little girl". So you learn to shut up, suck it up, and endure. So what has all this to do with my praise report? ONLY GOD can change the way you interpret life for His glory and move into the awesome abundance of His plan for your life. Let's go on.

At my aunt's house, I slept on the floor, in the bedroom closet. My new dad was an abusive alcoholic, mom a timid abused woman who couldn't defend herself emotionally or physically. My brothers (cousins) and I all took weapons threatening to kill "dad" at some point in our teenage years. Only the grace of God allowed him to die at the end of his days. And I find it interesting on reflection that my brothers and I grew up in church. Sitting there every Sunday as dutiful as we knew how to be, and what did it profit us?

Everybody in our family has died or is dying of a dreaded disease, poor relationships, and dread, and in financial crisis—except me. All have been in terrible lack in every area of their life—except me. We were taught to have a Bible in our cult religion, and so we did but I didn't read it for any meaning until I was forty-five years old. That's a lot of useless shelf sitting. The moral: You can have all the tools in your hands but without instructions they are of no use.

The Bible describes our family and many more people this way: "Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honorable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst, …" Isaiah 5:13 KJV

I meet so many people who are in church, yet in captivity, famished, unable to break the bondage of past generations and current myths about their situation. If I can get set free, so can you. God does not look upon one more than another, but he searches our heart for the desire to have more of Him. Out of all my family—and I mean all—both sides, all components—I am the only one that has received salvation. He plucked me out of the midst of captives, no matter what I was involved in because He heard my cry, "I don't know who you are exactly, but I want to know the absolute truth."

It wasn't the eloquence of words, the knowledge of what to do. It was the heart cry for more than what I was seeing, more of what my heart knew to want, and a determination to find it at any cost.

My family doesn't want to speak to me, not allowed in certain venues with them, and lost communication with those really close to me. God showed me the truth about family and friends and their situation. As Paul says, "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Philippians 1:21 KJV

I encourage you to choose life today. No matter what you circumstances, no matter what your past, today is life if you choose it. If this is the only thing you do today for yourself, do it. You might say you've already done that, you've already received Jesus as Lord and Savior, but life just isn't what you thought it was going to be after salvation. Friend, over the weeks, let's journey on the road sanctification. It is deliverance from the stuff we still carry and we can lighten the load.

People perish for the lack of knowledge and a vision … you can have both...its about your choice.