Staying down is simply not an option

Sep 18, 2022 News

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==My Testimony==

By Sharmain Grainger

Kaieteur News – I once heard someone say, if you survive the biggest challenge of your life, there is still more fight in you to overcome even bigger ones. This gives credence to the words of Kelly Clarkson’s song, ‘Stronger’: “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger…”

With just this in mind, I am daily aspiring to utilise every bit of God-given strength within me to glorify the name of The True and Living God. What better reason is there to live anyway?

Availing yourself to God, however, does not mean that your life will miraculously become perfect, far from it. You will stumble sometimes, but when you do, you can ‘always, always’ cry out to God for reinforcement. Don’t delay!

Of note though, the Creator of heaven and earth will only give you as much as you desire. If your prayer is for small victories, that is just what you will get.  According to Proverbs 24:20, “If you fail under pressure, your strength is too small.”  It is therefore up to each of us to see the God who sent his son, Jesus, to die to redeem us from a damned life, as bigger than anything we can ever think or imagine, with ways far above our ways (Ephesians 3:20 and Isaiah 55:9).

Based on scripture, Matthew 6:8, “He knows what we need even before we ask, and recently, I was reminded of this by a most unlikely person”. God can use just about anyone to remind us that He is there for us even when the going gets tough, when you begin to see yourself as a failure. And failing in this walk with God could even be the occasions when you find yourself condemning others for their glaring transgressions. How quickly we can forget that we are no better, and were it not for God’s saving grace, we would still be wallowing in the depths of sin every day.

But we can take heart that although we may fall repeatedly, God is always ready and willing to give us the strength we need to get up and move on (Proverbs 24: 16), and with even more resilience than before, for He said (at John 15:7) ask what you will and it is yours. Of course, this is a conditional promise. It states precisely in the New Living Translation version of the bible: “But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted.”

This essentially tells me that within the bible lies all the knowledge I need to live this life, so I need only ask according to what it contains and He will come through for me every single time. Now why in the world would anyone refuse to take advantage of such an all-inclusive promise?

It is therefore clear that while prayer is an important way to relate to God, vague prayers simply do not make the cut. If we can see the need to make precise statements when interacting with our fellow human beings, we must also see this as especially important when reaching out to the One we expect to cater to our every need.

Although He knows what we need before a word is uttered, He still requires us to have a relationship with Him, and in any good relationship there must be communication. Since the beginning of time in the Garden of Eden, it is suggested (Genesis 3:8) that God desires intimacy with those He created in His own image. However, we are the ones who sometimes choose to remain in our transgression, effectively cutting the line of communication. Psalm 66:18 says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.”

We have heard many people throw around the concept: “Once there is life, there is hope,” but for some reason many of us find it hard to put our hope and confidence in the Creator of all things; the One who literally gives life and can take it away when He so pleases.

Except rejecting Him in our heart, there is no other transgression too big for the Almighty to forgive. At 1 John1:9, He made it clear that “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

And the best part is the fact that He is not only willing to cater to the needs of a few.  According to 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long suffering to us-ward, not willing that ANY should perish, but that ALL should come to repentance.”

When I consider just how patient God is, just how forgiving He is – for sometimes I slip and think I don’t truly deserve His grace – it makes me want to surrender even more of my life to Him.

Consider for a moment the words of the song ‘You Waited’, by Gospel Singer, Travis Greene. And once you have been redeemed by God, it will become your Anthem when you realise that even the worst of sinners has hope.

YOU WAITED

You called out my name

Knew my past, covered my shame

This amazing grace

You’ve shown, so patiently

You’ve shown, so patiently

 

And You, waited for me

Just for me

For me

 

You, waited for me

Just for me

For me

 

Where would I be? If You left me God

Where would I be? If You left me God

Where would I be? If You left me God

Where would I be? If You left me God

 

You waited, waited

You waited, waited

You waited, waited

You waited, waited

 

“You Waited”, according to a website (www.genius.com) that shares the lyrics, calls on the experiences of all believers in learning about the patience and love of Jesus Christ. It is essentially a reminder for us that Jesus often waits on us to come to Him – or simply we must wait on Him, for it is He who hears when we cry out for help and sets us free (John 8:36).

And once you have been forgiven of much, you can’t help but demonstrate your love for God in a ‘big and noticeable’ way. So, in my opinion, when you see some people claim that God has redeemed them but they are barely willing to profess His name, it is either they have lost their love for Him or they simply didn’t need Jesus to forgive them of too many sins. Luke 7:47 states, “Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”

As for me, my sins were and continue to be too numerous for me to bear, so to Jesus I daily surrender all.

Ephesians 1:7 reminds us that “He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.” And not only that, He adds at Hebrews 10:17, “I will never again remember their sins and lawless deeds.”

Think on that, this blessed Sunday, and be thankful that there is hope beyond the scope of human limitation because Jesus died, rose again and lives forever more. Amen!

 

 

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