60. DIVINE DEPOSITS – HE KEPT ME

(The Faith Forum Series – Batch 3)

This morning, it dawned on me that over the years and through all my ups and downs (and there have been many), God was always on time to comfort me and to encourage and maintain my faith with a deposit which he would place in my heart.

While meditating on him, he gave me quite a lot of quotes based on principles in his Word, which served to strengthen my faith and keep me focused and it dawned on me, that if they had had such an impact on my life, they could yours as well.

As Christians, what God gives us is not just to edify ourselves but others as well. With that said, I collected what I could find of some of the quotes that I felt God had downloaded into my spirit at different points in my life and here they are!

They are precious deposits God gave me at moments when my faith was being sorely tried, moments of major tests, uncertainty, disappointments, weakness, tears, rejection and dejection.

Whenever the storms of life seemed to be too much, a quote would come to mind and I would run for pen and paper or a computer screen to write or type it all down. Isn’t he faithful? I love him so much.

As I prepared this Note, I thought back on some of the things I have been through and I broke down in tears of gratitude. For, while I have by no means had it the worst in life, I have been through and been delivered from some STUFF, that had it not been the hand of almighty God upon me, I would not have made it.

Like the time a business venture I fought relentlessly for and put my all in, failed (at least in the eyes of men),

Or the time my doctor confirmed to me that she was feeling a lump in my breast and sent me for a test to figure out what it was (thank God it was not cancerous!),

Or the time that perverted man came to my office when I was there alone, flaunting his wares (I had to call the police but thank God I was not harmed),

Or the time I thought a certain gentleman from my Church was THE ONE God wanted for me and after praying and fasting about it and asking God, not for him but for HIS perfect will in my life, I suddenly heard through the grapevine that he was engaged to someone else. (I was convinced I would die but God kept me!),

Or the time I received a text from a certain someone, in the aftermath, telling me in a subtle way and through the use of a Bible verse, that I would come to nothing,

Or the time my bank account was empty and God shut all the doors to every work opportunity no matter how hard I tried and chose instead to supernaturally provide for me daily for two years, in my small sole trader business,

Or the time I spent some nights sleeping on the floor with a mattress because like several other beds of tenants in the apartments, the bed in the place I was renting was not proper and broke and the landlady’s drunk husband who lived in the neighbouring house on the same property, threatened me and told me I could sleep on the ground when I enquired what they were going to do about my situation (Of course I found somewhere else to live some time shortly thereafter),

Or the time I found myself in the United Kingdom with insufficient funds to get back to my native country at the end of my studies because I had foolishly taken my ticket money and purchased groceries to cook an end of campus dinner for a group of fellow study mates from my country, who promised to pay up afterwards but instead, ate the food and then argued with each other as to who was to pay what and some persons ended up not paying me back enough or at all. (I had to borrow some money from a dear lady living in the UK called Shailaja and then return it to her as soon as I stepped foot back in my native country),

Or the time my career came to a standstill and God kept me in what seemed like a dark and horrible pit for quite some time to grow my faith, change some things in me and strengthen our relationship,

Or the time I was in a really low place, unemployed, single, penniless and broken and a once close but unsaved Hindu friend flew all the way by plane from the island where she lived to see me and then turned on me during a small disagreement about something trivial, telling me that I had been brainwashed on issues pertaining to my faith, that my God would NEVER come through for me and that I would remain stuck in my pit FOREVER (She don’t know my God! Ha!),

Or the time when support was low and criticism and ridicule high (but God!),

Or the time when I was down to nothing and then a work opportunity opened up for quite a lot of money including perks and everyone said take it but I believed God said don’t and I was tempted to take it with the pressure to do so but I felt that the Holy Spirit wouldn’t let me and I chose to obey HIM and turned the job down,

Or the time in my childhood when I was ridiculed daily in my first year of Secondary School by an entire class for my very dark complexion,

Or the time I grew used to being repeatedly attacked verbally by strangers as a child with comments that I was a “pitchlake” and “tar baby” and then later on while in sixth form again, teased for an entire year for some other issue, to the point where I was hurting so much, that I begged God one night to please remove me from the earth so I wouldn’t have to put up with the pain of the ridicule at school anymore but then he still chose to wake me up the next morning, which left me disappointed because I knew I had to go face those bullies again and the thought of it was almost unbearable…but God gave me strength instead and Isaiah 41:10 to endure it (this verse became my daily mantra – I would repeat it over and over and over while getting out of the vehicle, entering the school compound and climbing the stairs of the school building),

Or the time when life happened and things happened that were so horrible and so humiliating, I choose not to write them here,

Or the time when many more awful things transpired in my life and I thought for sure that that was it for me BUT BY THE GRACE OF ALMIGHTY GOD, I MADE IT!

Believe me, you don’t know the cost, of the ointment in my alabaster box.

People look at you and they think your life is perfect. They don’t know the hell you’ve been through or how much you’ve fought or what you have had to endure. They don’t know the price you have had to pay or the sacrifices you have had to make or the many tears you have cried. The things I listed above are but a small portion of the kind of things I’ve been through.

In retrospect, having experienced what seemed like hell in my life, I can truly say like the Psalmist that:

  • “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side…If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, when men rose up against us: Then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us: Then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul: Then the proud waters had gone over our soul. Blessed be the Lord, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth. Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” (Psalm 124:1-8)

I’ve been through some painful stuff, some shameful stuff, some mind-shattering stuff and I admit, that some of it, I brought upon myself through disobedience. NEVERTHELESS, you know what? I rejoice because God was faithful through it ALL. Even in my chastenings, he showed himself merciful, letting me know that I had to be corrected for my wrong but he still loved me.

My eyes have shed many a tear in this life thus far but HE kept me. Yes, HE kept me. My faith STILL stands (Someone go tell that wicked devil that!) and I have survived to tell my story. Of a truth, for ALL the Lord has done for me I NEVER will cease to praise HIM.

The timely deposits (quotes) I have listed below, have been a blessing to me and I hope that they are to you too in whatever you may be going through. Be sure to check out my Facebook Pages for many more! (LINKS provided below).

God bless!

SOME OF MY QUOTES (DEPOSITS):

  • “I don’t want to be great. I just want to do great things!”
  • “Don’t tell me about obstacles. Tell me about miracles.”
  • “Some of the strongest of relationships are formed through the worst of experiences. Ask Jesus.”
  • “We may not ever understand his methods but we can forever trust his motives.”
  • “What do you do if you wish to build a house with legos, that have already been used to form a boat? Do you pick up the remaining pieces and build upon the existing structure or do you first break the boat and then start to build anew? God does the same thing with us sometimes. He breaks us to build us. He breaks what we are, to build us into what he wants us to be. Breaking is never a desirable process. It is tedious, time-consuming and it can get messy. But if you keep your eyes riveted on the end result, the Lord promises that it will be more than worth it.”
  • “There is and was always, someone frowning at the actions that faith inspires. But that has never stopped and does not and will never stop it from achieving the substance of the things it hopes for.”
  • “Sometimes, all you have to hold on to is the memory of God’s goodness and that is enough to propel you forward.”
  • “God’s goodness is not to be measured by what happens or does not happen in our lives. For, God is good all the time and all the time God is good. So, through our jubilant moments, God is good and through our periods of adversity, God is good. Through our highs, God is good and through our lows, God is good. When up on a mount, God is good and when down in a valley, God is good. Days of glorious sunshine, God is good and days of incessant rain, God is good. When people treat us kindly, God is good and when they hurt us, God is good. When we have the answer, God is good and when we’re confused, God is good. When we feel strong, God is good and when we feel weak, God is good. And because God’s goodness is constant, unchanging, come what may, we must always declare his goodness.”
  • “Success: My inevitable outcome, not because of who I am but because of who HE is.”
  • “It is possible even with several bad chapters, for the book to end on a positive note. The author of our faith can do amazing things with his pen.”
  • “Stare adversity in the face until it breaks eye contact.”
  • “Success is not enough. Strive for excellence. Giving is not enough. Strive to be of service. Caring is not enough. Strive to show love. Being is not enough. Strive to live.”
  • “Life is a gift. Unwrap it! “
  • “Life is like a sea-saw with its ups and downs… just make sure you hold on tight ’cause falling off is not an option.”
  • “When life hits you with pebbles, don’t run for cover. Pelt it back…with stones.”
  • “ENQUIRER: They say that we ought not to worry but there must come a time when things get so bad and so unbelievably chaotic, that worrying becomes justified. Isn’t that so? RESPONDENT: Of course there is. ENQUIRER: When is that? RESPONDENT: When God no longer sits on the throne. ENQUIRER: When is that? RESPONDENT: Never.”
  • “I’ve proven him in the past, so I’ll trust him in the present.”
  • “We often say that nothing happens before its time but that is not a true statement. Nothing happens before GOD’s time.”
  • “No matter what you’re going through, remember, God’s will is perfect and his judgments are righteous.”
  • “I thank God for every God-ordained victory and defeat, every success and every failure, every good day and every bad day, every smile and every tear shed. For all and in all, he was with me and still is with me, guiding me into his perfect will for my life. Blessed be the name of the Lord!”
  • “When God delivers you from bondage and you are about to embark on your journey through the wilderness, prepare yourself. You may have to forgo the leeks and the onions to which you have been accustomed and to be content with the manna which God has provided. You may need to learn to drink water from a rock and God may need to heap up a river so that you can cross over Jordan. There will be those who will frustrate you along the way and those who will bring nothing but an evil report. Some will tell you, the promised land is unattainable because it is comprised of Giants whereas you are merely a grasshopper. Be also prepared to march around the walls of your adversity, maybe not once or twice or three times but as many times as God will have you. Once you trust in God, the walls of Jericho MUST come down. In all things, be prepared and trust God with unwavering faith. The promised land is yours for the taking IF you keep your eyes on the Lord.”
  • “There is a place where it matters not what position you occupy, where the terms prestige, pomp and power are foreign concepts and money is not the currency of exchange.”
  • “Whenever you feel that your feet are not adequate to carry you where you want to go or your eyes are not bright enough to see too far ahead, allow faith and praise to be your strength and guide. They will, without a doubt, transport you to that place you have envisioned.”
  • “I placed my eyes on people and I saw problems, ill-treatment, injustice and persecution. I fixed my eyes on God and I saw heavenly purpose in earthly tests that were meant to propel me forward.”
  • “Sometimes we are so fixated on the right now, we can’t see the hereafter; so focused on the short term, we fail to appreciate the long term; so selfishly obsessed with opportunity, we can’t see potential; So preoccupied with what is immediately in front of us, we are blinded as to what could be with time. Sometimes the gift of sustainability comes through patience, dedication, devotion and persistence and sometimes, a sturdy foundation only gets built when we willingly and humbly exchange our so called wisdom for HIS.”
  • “Of a truth, some blessings God’s children will never see in this lifetime, until and unless they learn to fight relentlessly, aggressively, persistently, boldly and determinedly in the spirit.”
  • “All that we see is not all that is and God wants all Christians on the battlefield as part of his army. We must resist the devil by meditating on, believing in and applying the WORD, having strong and immovable FAITH in God’s character, power and promises, engaging in effective and fervent PRAYER from the heart, disciplining our bodies through FASTING and dwelling (come what may), in an atmosphere of PRAISE.”
  • “Singing hymns and spiritual songs empowers me, enlarges and exalts my heavenly Father over and above everything and everyone and every circumstance and of course, it enrages the enemy. It is therefore a weapon that I strategically use in the spirit.”
  • “I want something that will last beyond just this life and all that this world offers me just ain’t cutting it.”
  • “Crazy is planning in specific detail how and what you’re going to give God thanks for before any of it happens and powerful is God making it happen.”
  • “It is always good to remain humble, to remember your humble little start and to be mindful of your humble little finish.”
  • “Really, what is there to be puffed up and prideful about? There is no hierarchy, class structure, intellect or influence in the grave.”

(Written on 6th August, 2016)

ADDENDUM (ONE MORE QUOTE I WROTE IN 2017):

  • “Turbulence: Very discomforting but in this life, nobody is exempt from it. To think that you will make it through this life’s journey without any bumps and bruises, is to be delusional or naive at best. You better strap yourself down with your seatbelt of FAITH and keep your life jacket clearly in view, which is JESUS CHRIST. There is absolutely no other way to make it through this life successfully.”

If you wish to read more of my quotes, many more can be accessed at the following Facebook Pages under the ‘Hephzibah Diaries’ Photo Album:

SINGLE Daughters of God – Hephzibah Diaries

https://www.facebook.com/singledaughtersofGod

BIBLE-BELIEVING Daughters of God – Hephzibah Diaries

https://www.facebook.com/biblebelievingdaughtersofGod

COURTING OR ENGAGED Daughters of God – Hephzibah Diaries

https://www.facebook.com/CourtingorEngagedDaughtersofGod

BROKEN Daughters of God – Hephzibah Diaries

https://www.facebook.com/brokendaughtersofGod

VIRTUOUS Daughters of God – Hephzibah Diaries

https://www.facebook.com/virtuousdaughtersofGod

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