Women On The Wall

One thing that is absolutely sure about this life is that everyone will go through something. There will be trials, tribulations, hurdles and battles one must fight in this race we call life. We must understand that the sun don't always shine and sometimes it's going to rain or snow. There will be times when all is going right and times when everything that could go wrong, goes wrong! The same people who tell you they will love you forever and never leave, will do exactly what they promise they wouldn't. There will be loss of love ones, finances, possessions and sometimes it will feel like literally your mind. There will be times when you have many people walking with, and then there will be times when you have to walk all by yourself.

Yet these circumstances are not meant to break us, they come to make us who we are destined to be,I know it's a hard pill to swallow but it's true!). If we are absolutely honest with ourselves we would admit that if it wasn't for some jacked up situation we wouldn't be who we are today. How many success stories have we heard that the person says “it wasn't until after I hit rock bottom, that I started to climb to the top.” People don't tell their testimony until they have gone through their test. People don't brag about being on the wagon unless they have been off it in the first place. You can't recover from something unless you’ve been through something, and you can't learn a lesson if you’ve never read the material.

I remember reading the scripture that says "It was good that I was afflicted…", I asked myself "When will it every be good to be afflicted?". My prayer at that time was Lord make me into what you desire for me to be, however please skip the afflicted part (I didn't want no parts of that!). Well that was one of my many unanswered prayers; no, better yet one of the many no's I received. Listen I had been praying for a smooth ride through this life, and the more I asked, the bumpier the ride would get (so I stop asking!). I found myself dealing with things that I always thought I was not strong enough to handle. For instance for most of my life I was in good health, never been in the hospital nor received a bad report. My testimony was God is good because he never allowed any sickness to touch me. Well, all that changed and the bad doctor reports started coming and everything wasn't all good. God healed me from those issues and my testimony is still God is good, but now it's because I also know him as my healer. If I was never afflicted I wouldn't know him as my healer, so it was good.

Now when I tell people that God is a healer I'm not speaking it just because I read it in the scriptures, but because I experienced it for myself. The Bible says we overcome the devil by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony. When the enemy is trying to deceive someone or myself (because that's his job and he's good at it) saying, that God can't heal you from this sickness, we can overcome him because my testimony says God can. When you have the knowledge and the experience of what God can and will do for his children, can't no devil in hell or this earth can shake you. You will be like a tree planted with deep roots, and the winds may blow and you may lean from side to side but you will not fall! (My God I felt that!). I have been through many things in my life; lost finance and possession, loss of love ones, heart break, sickness, people have walked away, wrongfully accused, talked about and mistreated. However,I'm not bitter or sitting somewhere feeling sorry for myself, why? Because it was good for me. I'm stronger than I have ever been and (watch this) God knows that he can use me because I will not falter. I have the endurance to take a licking (God knows I have) and keep on ticking.

Listen I know that suffering is not on our list of things to do. The Bible says "But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you (1 Peter 5:10). That means in order to be anything, you gotta go through some things. There are always prerequisites to the blessings like,give and it shall be given to you pressed down shaken together and running over (y'all know this one!). That means in order for you to get the pressed down shaken together and running over blessing, you must give first. The prerequisite to being made perfect, stablish, strengthen and settle is you must suffer a while.

People of God listen, nobody told us that this journey will be easy but like the song says "I don't believe he brought me this far to leave me." Yes, we will go through many storms and battles. The Bible says many are the affliction of the righteous but (watch this) The Lord delivers them out of all. That means, God got your back, which will work together for your good! No matter what you're going through right now know this, at the end (I know it don't seem like it right now) it will be good for you. Yes I know it hurts, the tears won't stop, you don't see a way out and your heart feels like it's breaking in a million pieces. However, weeping may endure for a night, but if you just hold on joy is coming in the morning!

I Love You With The Love Of The Lord 

Evangelist Frances L. Banks