I wanted so much to wake up and discover that it was a bad dream. “I must prepare you for the worst and explain that you should begin packing some clothes to get out of there,” the lady on the phone said to my cousin. “The Constable will be there in the morning to change the locks to your front door and you’ll no longer have access to your home.” In my mind I am thinking, “Why did she wait until the last minute to say something about this?”
What an emotional roller-coaster ride. The details were so confusing. Then I recognized that God was not in that. God is not the author of confusion. I knew then that my beloved cousin had been set- up. While praying with my friend Veda about this, she suddenly said, “There’s a heavy stronghold over this situation!” “We have to praise and worship because that will break down this thing.” I began praising and worshiping God and told my cousin to do the same until she felt a release.
At 3:30 AM the following morning, the morning the order of execution of possession, I was awakened and heard a whisper, “Daughter get up and pray.” When you are led to get out of your warm bed in the middle of a restful sleep and go into a cold room to pray, do it anyway! I went into another room even without my robe because I felt the urgency to move quickly. I prayed in the Holy Ghost and worshipped God for some time and then returned to bed.
The raging lion disguised as an execution to possess my cousin’s property suddenly turned into the calm of a gentle lamb.
The morning of the day of doom, they rang her door bell. She opened her front door waving certified funds in her hands and said to the Constable, “Follow me to the Sheriff’s office.” And do you know what the Constable said? He said, “Okay!” How did this so suddenly turn around? I’ll tell you this. It was nothing less than the mercy and favor of an Almighty God. One thing to note here is when you do the total opposite of what the enemy expects, especially as you’re led by God, the enemy is confused. She said that Constable paused for a moment and scratched his head!
I share this story with you to say there is always hope for you when you trust God. When facing life’s storms it is easy to slip into depression and stress. It seems hard to believe that one can go from the “highs” of life to feeling lowly, but it does happen. I believe every Believer has experienced this at some point in our Christian walk. What my cousin did (thank God) is use the principles and power of God to bring her through.
As Believers we must be both mentally and spiritually prepared for attacks on our lives because they will surely come. But what did Jesus say about this? He said, “In the world you shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). This says to me God has equipped us to handle the life’s storms by trusting in Jesus.
I have personally endured challenges when I truly didn’t feel equipped and had no desire to respond with God’s word, all the while knowing God’s word is the solution to anything life throws at me. But head knowledge is only superficial. I’ve learned it takes heart knowledge to move those stubborn mountains out of your way. When your responses and decisions are founded on God’s word from the reservoir of the heart, the door opens for God’s grace to intervene and reverse the challenge you are facing.
Because the difficulty still persists doesn’t mean that God isn’t in the midst of your pain. Heart knowledge believes God. Heart knowledge believes he provides a special grace through it all—the kind of grace that gives you peace in the midst of your fiery furnace.
That’s faith.
Imagine driving towards a destination and you come to a fork in the road. There are directional signs there warning you of dangers up ahead and gives you a better route to take. If you pay attention to the signs and follow instructions, you will safely reach your destination.
Much the same way the road of life gives you spiritual signs warning you of the dangers of not believing God. You must obey these signs that tell you to believe in your heart, trust Him and not worry. If you take this direction, the road to God’s wisdom and protection is up ahead of you. However, if you go in the opposite direction simply because someone else told you to, the road will be bumpy and you won’t be confident in your driving ability. You may become impatient thinking it is taking too long. You may even veer off the road. Your direction was from head knowledge, not heart knowledge.
My cousin held on to the word that God whispered to her heart. While all the signs around her suggested she was headed in the direction that they chose for her, the compass of her heart kept her calm and collected knowing God had a ram in the bush. On the night before her date with disaster, family came to her rescue and certified funds were made available to save her home. She remembers God saying to her, “Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.” Because she didn’t panic in her head but remained steady in her heart, he led her to the right people to call.
The devil has lost another battle.
Your story can end the very same way. God is not a respecter of persons. He is your sustainer and your source. And your motivation comes directly from him. He says, “Trust in the Lord with all of your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take” (Proverbs 3:5-6).
I believe you will.
If this article speaks to your heart, please contact me or leave me a comment here. I really would love to hear from you at dmurphy@eewmagazine.com
ABOUT THE WRITER Dr. Deana is a Marketplace Minister and founder and CEO of LivingDesigns360, a company that mentors the kingdom-minded woman in creative ways to renovate and design her interior life so she can create major breakthroughs, achieve personal accountability, emotional clarity and inner direction. Also a master lifedesign strategist, speaker, educator, blogger and award winning author, Dr. Deana’s creative approach embraces techniques from interior design. She takes her 13 years’ experience as a certified interior designer and successfully applies it to the art of Interior Lifedesign, blending in a focus on personal development and life improvement strategies from head to toe.
Clients work with Dr. Deana through private strategy sessions, workshops, group mentoring programs, keynotes and retreats. Her mission: to elevate, educate and motivate the Kingdom woman so she can master her confidence, soar in her freedom and design her best life.
EEW Magazine is the premier site for African American Christian news, viewpoints, and information. Visit BUZZ.EEWMagazine.com daily to get informed and get the latest coverage of black news and black entertainment from a Christian perspective.