River of Life Evangelism

Embrace the Shift & Remove the Crutches

In thinking about my little one Josiah I can't help but think of ALL that God did for me, and IS doing for me simply because He loves me and I am His. As a parent, which begins at the point of conception I can't help but think of all the things I can do to secure a bright future for him.

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Sometimes, we don't recognize God's promises when they come to pass. My husband and I weren't expecting to have children after 2 years of marriage, but prayed that we would be able to when we were ready. The enemy tried to lie to us to tell us that we would not be able to have children when the time came...but Josiah came as result of a promise. Not the result of me, just because God is faithful to His own and He desires to take center stage and put on a show for us. You see, I was diagnosed with a condition called Endometriosis over 7 years ago and I had a severe case of it. We prayed to God for healing and he touched my body supernaturally. He told me that the reason I was going through some of the things I was going through was not for me at all but for others. I didn't know exactly what that meant at the time but I knew that He would carry me through.

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In November 2010, I preached a message at the Destined to Reign Women's Retreat entitled "Barren No More" and I shared my story with the women how God would cause us to birth forth things that man said we couldn't. I shared with them my story about being diagnosed with Endometriosis ONLY to make a point in the sermon. But little did I know, that I was prophesying to myself, and speaking to my own womb.

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4 Months later Hervera and I were expecting. We were utterly shocked, we planned to take a missions trip to Africa and do some other things in ministry...which came to a screeching halt. I thought, God your timing sure is great. I really wanted to go to Africa, but the Lord stopped us dead in our tracks. There was a major shift that had to take place our lives in the midst of obtaining the promise. The shift was not one in which I orchestrated but one in which I was directed into by the divine hand of God our Executive producer and I'll be honest, shifting wasn't easy. I say it wasn't easy not because of God but because of me. You see, I had made up in my little mind how I wanted things to go...but God said otherwise. It was part of His master plan all along.

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From the time I got pregnant I knew deep down in my heart and spirit that we were having a boy and what we were supposed to name Him. We didn't name him some cute little name or a biblical name just to go with a trend, but a name that God said revealed who and what He is called to do. Josiah's name means the Yahweh is my healer, sustainer and support. He was King who had a huge task on his hands of restoring holiness back to Israel. As the Lord has shown me what he is called to do, I have had to pray into that so that he can fulfill his assignment in the earth. There is no greater joy, I have found in life than doing that. For Hervera and I, this has been a time of much isolation and sitting before the Lord. Trying not to rush or short circuit this process and journey that the Lord has us on. God has moved some people out of the way, not because of anything bad they did or that we did but because spiritually they were a crutch to us and it was time for us to mature in certain areas of our lives. 

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You see the blessing in a crutch is that at some point it's needed when your legs are weak and it is hard to stand on your own two feet. But God knows when we are just simply relying on the crutch because it's comfortable. Our legs have regained strength but for fear of relying on our own strength we can stay on crutches for way to long as a result our stamina weakens. Sometimes crutches can be relying on a dream or vision to do what God has called you to do, or throwing out a fleece and asking God over and over again to confirm what He has already spoken. It's time to throw down the crutches. I am not saying that you blindly walk into an area that God is still preparing you for I am just saying even if you are waiting on Him to reveal to you more details about the plan you can be confident that He will and He hasn't changed his mind. Josiah, came at a time in our lives to help us gain a perspective on some things...what's important and what's not. He's has helped me realize so many things I would've never known about myself that I have needed to know at this time in my life.

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Look at the small things God is doing in your life to get you to refocus and reposition yourself. I promise you even though it might shock you, it's designed to produce something in you that you never would've had without it. You can walk now, your legs are looking great. You recovered well, now it's time to put down those crutches.