Monday, April 30, 2012
The Exit Exam
Blessings to each of you!
I promised to do better about writing, so here I am! :-)
I am in the midst of finishing up my 2013 novel to send in to my agent, and I am far behind, so I have to make this short. But, I wanted to post a link to a message I preached this morning titled, "The Exit Exam."
I did a series of tweets on this either this past Thursday or Friday, so if you follow me (@iamDishan), please scroll my TL to get some inspirational nuggets about what God is saying to those of you who are in a test right now. You are not in this test to go to another level, you are in this test because God is trying to take you to another PLACE--your wealthy PLACE. Psalm 66:10-12.
Please take a moment to view the links below. They are only snippets, but I pray that you are encouraged, empowered, and motivated to not give up, but finish this test! Why? Because you are on your way out! You are too close to your exit to turn around now. You should give God a praise right NOW wherever you are!!!!!!
Love you all so much. Keep fighting, keep pressing, and keep holding up the blood stained banner.
Amazed by His Love,
DiShan W.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
"A Walk In the Dark Is No Walk in the Park"
Hey everybody!
It's been a while. A long while. I must say that when I blogged last time, I had every intention of keeping it up. But, how many of you know that life will take unexpected turns and you will find yourself doing everything you can just to survive and keep your right mind?
I honestly believed that the worst was over at the time of my last blog, but, friends, the worst got worst. Yep, the devil came with an even greater attack. But, you're reading this blog b/c in spite of what he tried to do...I SURVIVED.
And, I believe that you, yes, you, have survived plenty since you last heard from me. You can shout right now because, beloved, you made it. You survived the attacks from the enemy and not only did you survive, you came out with your hands still lifted giving God praise b/c you know that had it not been for Him on your side, you don't know where you would be!
So, I wanted to encourage you tonight. Sometimes faith is difficult to have when you are in the midst of your greatest trials. Faith can often times get hidden behind your obstacles. Your faith can be bruised so to the point you don't even know if you have faith anymore. But, let me just tell you. It is in those times when we must learn how to rely on God. It's in those times when we have to learn to trust God even when we can't see God.
I remember having a dream over a year ago. I was riding down the expressway with no lights & I recall getting off of an exit because I was afraid that if I kept going, I would cause tremendous damage to myself or someone else. Right before I got off the exit, I heard God tell me to keep going because just a few miles down the road I could see lights. I could see a city that was lit up. But, because I was afraid that I wouldn't make it, I decided to get off the nearest exit.
I would bet that many of you have done the same thing in real life. Things will look so dark and bleak and because you're afraid to keep going and trust God, you give up and rely on your own ability. But, I want to encourage you tonight; keep going. Keep walking by faith. You're not totally walking by faith, UNTIL you are walking in the dark. UNTIL you can't see your way out of a situation. Oft times, God does not give us turn by turn directions to our next stop, but will just tell us to trust Him. The Bible teaches us that we should walk by faith and not by sight. The bible tells us that without faith, it is impossible to please God.
It is easier said than done. I know.
Some months ago, my marriage ended. I was devastated. I had a relatively new baby & the man I had been married to since I was 16 yeas old, my best friend, was no longer going to be my husband. And, if you have ever gone through separation and/or divorce, you know how difficult that is and can be. Once again, I fell into a depression. I fell into a deep, dark place and many days and nights, I was angry. I was angry with God. I was angry with him. I was angry with myself. I was angry with everybody and everything. Just angry. I first blamed God. I could not believe that He would allow that to happen to me after I had spent most of my life (literally) doing ministry and trying to please Him. My first thought was to just give up. I had no idea how I would make it. I had no idea how I would pay my bills, keep a roof over my head, have food...etc. I had given my life to ministry. It was all I really knew. All I really had. And, when that was no longer there, I was left to figure out what to do next.
That is when I learned, my friends, that true faith is like walking in the dark. And, walking in the dark is not fun. It is definitely not a walk in the park. I literally found myself living from day to day. I found myself trusting God in a way I had never trusted Him before. People, some I knew, some I didn't, started calling me and saying that God had told them to bless me with $20, $50, $250, etc. I was even in line at the grocery store once and a stranger paid for my groceries. That night I had gotten down to $17. But, it was things like that that kept building my faith. God showed himself over and over again. Finally, I was convinced. God had me. And He was in control of my life. I got to the place where walking in the dark wasn't as scary as it had once been. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that the Lord would take care of me. My grandmother would say, "You can't make me doubt Him, I know too much about Him." So, beloved, I'm to the point that whatever comes, I'm in His hands. It doesn't matter if He comes when there's one second left on the clock--as long as He comes, I'm alright.
So, no matte what you are facing, just remember your faith is increasing. Your walk in the dark is teaching you how to follow His voice even when you can't see His face or hand. He will never leave or forsake you. You must believe it. You must have faith and KNOW it.
Now, I'm going to try and blog more often, but I won't make any promises to you this time. I value each of you who follow me and take the time to read what I have to say. Thank you. :-)
Do me a favor.
Pray for me as I pray for you. God is doing some great things in my life, and hopefully soon I can come here and share with you all. In the meantime, let's keep each other lifted, and let's become experts in our faith walk. If you remember nothing else you read, remember: GOD'S GOT YOU.
I love you & I'll be back soon. :-)
It's been a while. A long while. I must say that when I blogged last time, I had every intention of keeping it up. But, how many of you know that life will take unexpected turns and you will find yourself doing everything you can just to survive and keep your right mind?
I honestly believed that the worst was over at the time of my last blog, but, friends, the worst got worst. Yep, the devil came with an even greater attack. But, you're reading this blog b/c in spite of what he tried to do...I SURVIVED.
And, I believe that you, yes, you, have survived plenty since you last heard from me. You can shout right now because, beloved, you made it. You survived the attacks from the enemy and not only did you survive, you came out with your hands still lifted giving God praise b/c you know that had it not been for Him on your side, you don't know where you would be!
So, I wanted to encourage you tonight. Sometimes faith is difficult to have when you are in the midst of your greatest trials. Faith can often times get hidden behind your obstacles. Your faith can be bruised so to the point you don't even know if you have faith anymore. But, let me just tell you. It is in those times when we must learn how to rely on God. It's in those times when we have to learn to trust God even when we can't see God.
I remember having a dream over a year ago. I was riding down the expressway with no lights & I recall getting off of an exit because I was afraid that if I kept going, I would cause tremendous damage to myself or someone else. Right before I got off the exit, I heard God tell me to keep going because just a few miles down the road I could see lights. I could see a city that was lit up. But, because I was afraid that I wouldn't make it, I decided to get off the nearest exit.
I would bet that many of you have done the same thing in real life. Things will look so dark and bleak and because you're afraid to keep going and trust God, you give up and rely on your own ability. But, I want to encourage you tonight; keep going. Keep walking by faith. You're not totally walking by faith, UNTIL you are walking in the dark. UNTIL you can't see your way out of a situation. Oft times, God does not give us turn by turn directions to our next stop, but will just tell us to trust Him. The Bible teaches us that we should walk by faith and not by sight. The bible tells us that without faith, it is impossible to please God.
It is easier said than done. I know.
Some months ago, my marriage ended. I was devastated. I had a relatively new baby & the man I had been married to since I was 16 yeas old, my best friend, was no longer going to be my husband. And, if you have ever gone through separation and/or divorce, you know how difficult that is and can be. Once again, I fell into a depression. I fell into a deep, dark place and many days and nights, I was angry. I was angry with God. I was angry with him. I was angry with myself. I was angry with everybody and everything. Just angry. I first blamed God. I could not believe that He would allow that to happen to me after I had spent most of my life (literally) doing ministry and trying to please Him. My first thought was to just give up. I had no idea how I would make it. I had no idea how I would pay my bills, keep a roof over my head, have food...etc. I had given my life to ministry. It was all I really knew. All I really had. And, when that was no longer there, I was left to figure out what to do next.
That is when I learned, my friends, that true faith is like walking in the dark. And, walking in the dark is not fun. It is definitely not a walk in the park. I literally found myself living from day to day. I found myself trusting God in a way I had never trusted Him before. People, some I knew, some I didn't, started calling me and saying that God had told them to bless me with $20, $50, $250, etc. I was even in line at the grocery store once and a stranger paid for my groceries. That night I had gotten down to $17. But, it was things like that that kept building my faith. God showed himself over and over again. Finally, I was convinced. God had me. And He was in control of my life. I got to the place where walking in the dark wasn't as scary as it had once been. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that the Lord would take care of me. My grandmother would say, "You can't make me doubt Him, I know too much about Him." So, beloved, I'm to the point that whatever comes, I'm in His hands. It doesn't matter if He comes when there's one second left on the clock--as long as He comes, I'm alright.
So, no matte what you are facing, just remember your faith is increasing. Your walk in the dark is teaching you how to follow His voice even when you can't see His face or hand. He will never leave or forsake you. You must believe it. You must have faith and KNOW it.
Now, I'm going to try and blog more often, but I won't make any promises to you this time. I value each of you who follow me and take the time to read what I have to say. Thank you. :-)
Do me a favor.
Pray for me as I pray for you. God is doing some great things in my life, and hopefully soon I can come here and share with you all. In the meantime, let's keep each other lifted, and let's become experts in our faith walk. If you remember nothing else you read, remember: GOD'S GOT YOU.
I love you & I'll be back soon. :-)
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