What Satan Meant For Evil, God Turned To Good

Satan's Attack Backfired

I know why my physical gifts were allowed to be taken from me.  Satan thought it would destroy me, and there was a time that would/could have been true, maybe right up to the time God Spoke to me the night of the stroke.   You might ask, how would that destroy you, and if that is true why didn’t it destroy you?  Good question, let me briefly explain.  At an early age my father left the family and as the oldest child it hit me hard that he left.  I was felt ashamed and embarrassed for many reasons and my mom my brothers and I lived a very meager existence.  It took a few years but I found out by the 7th grade that I was gifted with strength, endurance and speed that set me apart from my classmates and brought me a lot of attention that I liked. As I grew into an adult that my physical ability along with my mental toughness excel at most things I was involved in.  At the same time,  had a one sided relationship with Jesus.  I say that because I either asked Him for help or thanked Him for giving me the strength that allowed me to glorify myself. I thought I had a good relationship either way Him but I really didn’t because I was too focused on me when I should have been focusing on glorifying God.  Rewinding back to losing my physical abilities in a matter of seconds could have very well destroyed me, and I think that was Satan’s goal.  And even though I didn’t brag about my abilities to others, believe me when I tell you I all but worshiped those abilities and it was a well placed attack by Satan and very well could have spelled an end for me.  The other thing I know is that God knew that too and He had a different plan. 

Praise God and Hallelujah!   Because the very night I had the stroke just minutes after I was completely paralyzed on the right side God literally spoke to me and he said three things.  First He said, “You’re going to be alright.  The He showed me a video (vision) of what was happening to me and some of the things I was going to go through.  At that point, all fear was gone.  Thirdly, He said, “A lot of people are going to come to me because of your testimony and the things you go through.  At that point, there was no doubt in my mind that God had a job for me, and if He can use me in this state I’m all His. Basically, my destruction was not in God’s plan and He took what Satan meant for evil and made it beyond belief for the good.   That doesn’t mean my life is easy, far from it.   And even though every day has its own challenges I know I would not be here BUT FOR GOD!

Temporal Vs Eternal

Before the stroke, so many things that I did and gave thanks for were temporal and gave me good experiences and good memories but today I have an overwhelming urge to share the gospel because that leads to eternity in Heaven.  It’s really the difference between being self serving and being a servant or in other words living a life to glorify myself versus glorifying God.

There are a few things that I think are important for everyone.   They are:

1. Time is short, don’t waste it on temporary things

2. We are here to glorify God.  The gifts He gave us are for that purpose.

3. You must have a relationship with Jesus through prayer, talking to Him, reading the Bible as a few examples.

4. I can’t reiterate enough, time is short and sharing the gospel message is urgently needed for so many around the world. 

5. Stand firm on the truth and go forth with courage as a servant for God.  

Amen