Were the lyrics from Justin Bieber’s song ‘Take It Out on Me,’ that I totally took as a message from God recently after I spent a day upset. The very next day in my appointment with God, these lyrics sweetly showed up from Him:
“Sometimes I don’t mind you havin’ the worst day…
Let your frustrations out right here…
I’m your psychiatrist, let’s talk about it…
I see the weight weighin’ on your shoulders
It’s so heavy
Let me be the meaning of your composure”_
And honestly, I didn’t want to tell you guys I had another awful day, but when I thought about how God sweetly shows up for me in my “weak” moments, I can BOAST of my weaknesses, baby! MY GOD IS WITH ME!
When I sat down to talk to Him about all the things weighing your girl here down, this verse showed up in THREE separate places:
“When you go through deep waters,
I will be with you.” – Isaiah 43:2
I smiled with God, instantly reminded that as I do my best in the physical realm, He is fighting on my behalf in the spiritual realm. Wink! Wink!
Then it was a WhatsApp message that my husband forced me to read that got me all sad AGAIN. It was directly talking about the thorn in my side, and it even referred to it as a “thorn in the side!” I said to God, “NOT FUNNY!” This is an issue that I’ve begged God to take away from me, but yesterday God was my therapist, and we talked about this thorn. Between my meditation books, our family’s website, werollwithgod.com, and Tumblr.com, here’s what He had to say:
Firstly, He said that I should thank Him for any persistent problems in my life. I should go as far as being friends with them! Remembering that He can fit everything into a pattern for good. To be honest, this problem has been a friend because it has taken me closer to God than anything else. I go running to Him for His guidance, and He is always there for me, just like He was yesterday, to give me His perspective, and crucially reminding me that He is with me through all the struggles and challenges that come my way! That’s faith!
Then, God asked me to share the lessons that I’ve been learning from dealing with this issue with you guys, and there have been LOTS! Like this one from the WhatsApp message:
“My Personal Opinion
Value your ‘imperfect’ marriage (Like God tells me, ain’t nothing perfect, girl!)… Don’t compare your partner to celebrities who project a perfect marriage or relationship… Every marriage has a secret tiny ‘demon’ and many angels…. Focus on the angelic aspect and continue to pray against the tiny demon… The tiny demon is usually what Paul described as a Thorn in the flesh… It is usually hidden, tiny but present. But if you focus on the angels in the relationship, you will only use divorce to fool governments and systems.”
That’s exactly what I do in all my relationships, I focus on the angelic qualities of others and myself, and not the demons that are present in us all. Prayer and Patience go hand in hand!
Thanks, My Therapist (God)! You have led my life on a very beautiful path that I can even BOAST of my weaknesses!!!
WEROLLWITHGOD.COM
GOD PICKS US UP WHEN WE FALL
Like the other day, your girl here was in a meeting feeling EXTREMELY overwhelmed, stressed, and anxious about an upcoming deadline I’ve been working towards. IN THIS LIFE YOU WILL HAVE TROUBLE! Thank God, in the middle of the meeting, the people I was with needed to take a phone call, and I immediately took that opportunity to quickly have an appointment with Him. Told y’all, no shame in my game, when I need God, I go running to Him!
Whatever minutes it was past the hour was the page number our family’s website I went rushing to, and God had this sweetly to say to me in the post at the very top of that page:
“Wherever you are, there I am.” – He and I
Wow! Those few words instantaneously melted away all my anxieties as I was reminded that I’m not going through life alone, GOD IS ALWAYS WITH ME. He is my GREATEST FRIEND. Point. Blank. Period.
Right before that meeting, though, I had called both of my daughters in the US before they began their classes for the day, and I was so thrilled that they both were having their appointments with God. Woohoo! “Your momma needs some faith right now, please share with me what you’re reading,” I asked both of them. Ember’s was about making decisions that were pleasing to God. After my meeting, I thought to go and reread it because I felt like I had decided something that wasn’t pleasing to God. But I go there, and found a direct message from God to me after that stressful meeting:
“Follow the Leader
Many of us try to be in charge. We want to make our own decisions…But there’s a better way. When we trust in the Lord, He gets to be in charge. And he always makes the best choices. The apostle Paul was at peace because he knew God was directing his life. Even when he was locked in a Roman prison, he could write, “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want” (Philippians 4:12b). What’s the “secret” he learned? He depended on God’s strength. That’s called trust.
Paul had to learn to trust God. It didn’t come naturally to him. Once he did, he was content and peaceful. You too can learn to trust the Lord and allow him to guide you. The safest place to be is following God wherever he wants to take you.
Prayer: Lord, I want the amazing peace Paul had. Even when it is not easy to trust and depend on you alone, I know you are truly in control and will take care of me.” – A Purpose Driven Life Devotional For Kids by Rick Warren
And how did I know this was a direct message from God to me? Well, Ember is on a streak with Him reading this book, and when I went to reread the one she had earlier shared with me, our Nook electronic book reader took me where Ember had last left off. Earlier that day, I asked God what was the caption He wanted me to share on my blog’s picture, and I felt so strongly that He wanted me to caption it with one verse, Proverbs 3:6. And of all verses in the entire Bible, this was the very one that Rick Warren quoted at the beginning of this post I just shared with you:
“In all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” – Proverbs 3:6
And once again everything lined up too perfectly to be some ordinary coincidence, it was God reminding me that He is familiar with all our ways, that He is in control of everything and everyone, and most crucially, we can trust Him. Just how the Apostle Paul LEARNED to trust and depend on God, we can, too! Wink! Wink!
WEROLLWITHGOD.COM
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HEALTH MATTERS
DAY 126 OF 365 DAYS OF DISCIPLINE!
This is awful! I’m gaining weight! Staying home all day with so much food around, got me running there for comfort when I’m stressed out. But when I fall off the wagon, I’ve learned to get right back on! Need to go back to my intermittent fasting from noon to five and to cut back on the amount of food I enjoy every evening for dinner. Let’s keep being our best selves, all for the glory of God!
“LET FOOD BE THY MEDICINE AND MEDICINE THY FOOD”
“DON’T TRY TO SLOW ME DOWN!”
That’s me to the crazy lady in my head who tries to get me thinking the wrong things!!! But, my winning strategy is to run to God in these INSANE moments and ask Him, “What is your perspective on this situation?” No shame, I run to my meditation books or to our family’s website, werollwithgod.com, asking God for His help with whatever is bothering or upsetting your girl here.
Yesterday that meant me going to the first page of our website. I can’t get over God, but He addressed specifically what I was struggling with: I was letting a small thing turn into a huge thing in my head! Here’s what I read:
“I love how His (God’s) ways are not the world’s ways; they’re so much better! Once I put His perspective on everything, I’m good, but boy oh boy, without Him, I’m INSANE. Like I was teaching my daughter, Ember, something crucial about relationships. She was a little bit hurt and disappointed by her dad, and I said, “I want you to overwhelm him with love and appreciation. He has gone way beyond what any other father would have done for you! You can’t look at a small thing and get upset. Look at the big picture!”
As I spoke to her, I was talking to myself! God has changed my thinking from looking at my husband’s faults and failings to one of, ‘Wow! I’m so blessed to have this awesome man as my husband.””
LET ME TELL YA, THE GOD PERSPECTIVE CHANGES EVERYTHING! The crazy lady went away, and I was back FOCUSED ON THE BIG PICTURE, being the wife who is grateful for this husband who goes the extra mile for our family! God, thank You for the reality check!
God has truly been the beautiful guard rails of my life! He keeps me on the best path. That’s why it is such an honor to share with you guys the beautiful lessons that He is teaching me AND TO REMIND YOU THAT A LIFE LIVED CLOSE TO GOD IS THE BEST ONE. I still have my challenges and dilemmas just like everyone else, but when I put a God perspective that He is not only with me in every moment, He is ahead of me fighting battles on my behalf, tweaking situations so that they are not too much for me to bear, helping me with His wisdom and guidance and even sending people I need to assist me. (HUGE SMILE)
Don’t miss out! Start seeking Him in every move you make, asking what he would have you to do! Don’t forget to have your alone times with Him where you learn His crucial voice and the person He is calling you to be in the world!
