THIS IS THE TIME PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW HOW TO SURVIVE AND THRIVE AFTER AND DURING STRUGGLES. WHEN PEOPLE ALWAYS SEE YOU DRESSED, LOOKING LIKE A PICTURE OF YOUR HEALTH, HOW HAVE YOU BEEN AN EXAMPLE TO THEM?

I prefer people to know and understand that the tolls of life are real, and if you do not allow Christ to live in you, to make your burdens light, you will be susceptible to Satan’s fixes such as alcohol, drugs, and other forms of self-medicating to cope with life stressors.

I am not ashamed to say that I was a sinful rag, broken, fierce in my desire never to be taken advantage of by men and women who sought to harm me. I used coping mechanisms that seemed right at the time. As God changed me on the inside, I became secure enough in myself to become the beautiful soldier for Christ that I am today. The more you live in my past, my family history, the more youu⁶ the writer says, Luke 12:2-3.

For there is nothing covered up that “will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. Therefore, whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.

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When He made this statement, Jesus was speaking to His disciples, warning them of the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. Hypocrisy is always evil, trying to hide the truth of what you really are, particularly in the case of spirituality—our relationship with the Lord. The truth will come to light, and everything about us will be exposed for all to see!

That was something that really scared me before I was saved. The idea that everybody would come to know my darkest secrets was as scary as hell. I am not cursing; it is factual because, before the grace of God, hellish behavior redeemed me was what was in me, though well hidden under a veneer of goodness. But now, all my sins are gone.

As David wrote, Jesus paid the price and took them away, going as far as the East is from the West. {Ps.103:12} Now, I am the very righteousness of God in Christ!

{2Cor.5:21} And there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. {Rom.8:1} I am a child of God, and the best is yet to come! The unshakable and unbreakable plan is that God now continues the work in me for His good pleasure {Php.2:13} to conform me into the image of His Son, Christ Jesus! {Rom.8:29}

Therefore, I shall proclaim the excellencies of Him who called me out of that darkness and into His marvelous light {1Pt.2:9} and give all the glory to God. That is what I will shout from the rooftops!

“The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:56-57)