His Presence

You're attending the Catalyst Convention and in the middle of worship. You feel His presence strong and mighty and your singing your heart out to him. All of a sudden, you know for sure He's there! With eyes closed you see a bust of Jesus just above us all. He's smiling a huge smile and you know He's happy. Then you hear the words, "I'm pleased with my children."

You speak, "Jesus! Thank you for joining us. We lift Your name on high and sing our praises to You." He's looking down happy!

There are people on both flanks of the stage dancing and you say, "Jesus, come dance with us as we honor You." The next thing you know, He's in the middle of those people from little to adult dancing and laughing. Then you see Him go to the little children and dance with them.

That experience was one of the most beautiful I've ever seen in church. It happened every night, but not the same each night. That was our last night of the conference. What a wonderful way to bring it to an end.

But it didn't stop there. When our Pastor began to speak and sing, there was Jesus speaking instead and angels were surrounding him singing. Many a time when our Pastor has been speaking, instead of seeing him there and hearing his voice, I knew it was the Lord speaking. The voice was not of our Pastor but rather that of what I knew was the Lord.

With that said, many lessons came from this past weekend. As you all have noticed, I don't blog that often, nor do I visit much at all. There is a sad reason for that; one that I've been convicted of for some time, but never heeded those promptings to end what was keeping me from where I was to be.

Right now our lessons are on "Whispers." Learning to hear the voice of the Lord. That first night our Pastors son was speaking. Just before he had us get silent, I hear "Facebook." I knew right away it was another conviction to stop the addiction to the games. Then we get silent and I hear, "follow" knew it meant I needed to start following the Lord. Then I hear "forward" knowing it meant to keep focusing on Jesus. Then I hear "obey" meaning I needed to start heeding His directions. "Seek" meaning to seek His Word on a daily basis. And "heed" meaning I needed to listen when He spoke to me.

Whew! I knew right then and there that I had no choice. Life was going to get ugly if I didn't obey this time. I've known I've had an addiction for some time. My husband and son kept prompting me to walk away. You know it's bad when you push your time limits and it causes you to run late. You know it's bad when you get grumpy because you want to get on and play but can't. You know it's bad when you get angry when interrupted while playing. Then the worst part getting worse with time, you shut out your family and friends, committing all your spare time to FB. Your house goes down hill, your shunning your duties as a daughter, sister, mother, wife, grandmother, and servant.

So I repented, asked for God's forgiveness and guidance. He took a hold of me, Praise be to God, and put me on track that night! The next morning I got on FB and typed out a note to all that I was done, I can't do it, as it is an addiction and addictions are a sin. I asked that if they ever saw me playing that they would remind me of why I quit in the first place.

Since then, I've been in the Word daily! That's a huge fete for me, as I would struggle with knowing I needed it, wanting to read, picking up the Bible, start to read and then get distracted and turn to the computer. At one point, I wanted to pick up my computer and throw it. I knew I was in trouble.

Getting rid of an addiction is so freeing!!! What a beautiful walk it has become. I'm spending time with my family. I'm not grumping at the grand kids, son and husband. I'm getting things done that needed to be done for a long time. I've reached out to family and friends again, and messages are coming to me to share now.

God is good and faithful all the time! We are a blessed people and should never take advantage of that. Imagine if He were to get frustrated with us and walk away from us the way I had my family and friends. Thank You Lord for never giving up on us.

So I will leave you with the following link that has some ways to help you with an addiction or other problem you may face to help you get back on track. Thank you hubs for sharing this with me so that others may receive help as well. http://www.crosswalk.com/spirituallife/11643948

Get quiet with the Lord. Listen for His whispers. Ask for revelation on areas you need to change. Repent for those that are keeping you from seeking and receiving His Word. Be free of anything that may be holding you back from hearing Him. May your walk with Him become stronger every day. May you receive His great blessings for you and His plan for you.

If anyone has an addiction story they would like to share or have written about, please share or leave a link to your story. Support and hearing testimonies of one another is a step forward. God Bless!