 Have you ever been watching something on TV or listening to something, and someone starts talking to you, so you hit the pause button? You hit that pause button because you don't want to miss what will happen next. You also hit the pause button so you can give that person your undivided attention. Some may go right back to what they were watching or listening to but others don't for days or even weeks.
Spiritually, we can hit the pause button on our God-given purpose and not unpause for days, months, or even years. I thought about this after God reset me (see the previous devotion). I began to pray and ask God why I kept pausing or stopping all together in the past. I learned that there was a deeper reason for me pausing so often. The greatest one was feeling overwhelmed. Another reason was my hidden fears. These things became distractions for me, which caused me to continue to pause. I felt overwhelmed because I tried to figure out how to complete all of the parts the Lord had sat before me. When I'm overwhelmed, I often cease doing anything or very little. That left me only completing pieces of the Lord's vision. When I would pause, I would focus my attention on something else, making it a distraction. This revealed my hidden fears. I paused because I feared failing and disappointing God. However, I didn't go to the Lord to ask Him for help. For balance. For wisdom. Do you recall the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-42. Well, Martha welcomed Jesus into her home. She got distracted by much serving. Then, she became overwhelmed because she operated in her own wisdom. At that point, she asked Christ if he cared that her sister Mary had left her to serve alone. Instead of Jesus correcting Mary as she wanted, he corrected Martha by explaining to her how anxious and troubled she was, but her sister had chosen to sit at His feet and learn from Him, gain wisdom and understanding. You see, I had to stop being Martha and start being Mary. It is okay to pause from the chase to learn, gain wisdom, and rest in the peace of Christ. I learned that the Lord hadn't changed His mind about my purpose. I needed to shift my attention to Him and away from fear. In my overwhelmed state, he called me to be still and gain what I needed from Him to not run out of steam. I am grateful because I tried to figure out how to do it all on my own. That wasn't his desire. I leaned on my own understanding, which caused me to almost give up. My distractions were the other things that seemed easier. The things that would keep some of the vision moving forward, but it wasn't the whole vision. As I have been spending time with the LORD, I've been led to remember His unique purpose in me. I have been instructed to keep my attention shifted to Him and keep going. Finally, He continues to give me strategy and wisdom, so I won't feel overwhelmed as I was before. My fears disappear each time I remember that this is His and not mine. I only need to allow Him to do the work in me. So, the next time you hit the pause button on your purpose, let it only be a short time. Recognize the distractions that came to throw you off track. Quickly return to it and ask the Lord to lead the way. See the tips to help with feeling overwhelmed on the lifestyle blog. https://hope-in-christ.com/lifestyle-blog.html Be Blessed, HOPE in Christ Denise M. Walker
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 Recently, I celebrated a 10 year anniversary. It was 10 years since God gave me the vision for HOPE-in-Christ Ministries. As I prepared for the celebration, I heard the LORD say to me, "Arise and return to the place where I first established you, your ministry." He went on to say, "It's not just for you, but for those in the Kingdom."
Next, I bowed my head and repented. I repented for all the other things I had done and committed to, but I hadn't been faithful to what God had established through me. In Exodus 3:10-12, God gave similar instructions to Moses, "Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.” And like Moses, I, too, said to God (in my heart), "Who am I that I should go and bring your children out of Egypt, which represents sin, rejection, abandonment, and other forms of bondage. I never spoke those words from my mouth, but they were in my heart. I spoke it when I didn't move forward with this platform. I felt no one would listen. Like Moses, I felt I wasn't equipped to do it alone. So, I wrote and recorded the podcast sporadically. Now, don't get me wrong, I where many hats (minister, editor, writing, and book coach), so there were times I was truly exhausted, but I committed to write for and do things for others. I was disobedient to the call on my life and didn't realize it until God gave me those instructions in December. So, I have returned. I've chosen to obey the LORD's instructions. To do that, I had to say no to many things. To do that, I have to be intentional and committed to Him, which is what our walk with Him is all about. God has allowed me to experience success, despite not being faithful. He has allowed me to write and become a bestseller. In my teaching, he has allowed for my voice to be heard around the world, but being recognized and receiving accolades are not what matter. What matters is drawing others to Christ, so they might find hope in Him, be healed, set free, and made whole. So, if you are like me and you set down a portion of God's mission, pick it up. Answer the call. Say "No," and let God help that individual understand. Some may not but still be obedient. And remember, just as He was with Moses, He will be with us and equip us as we obey, not to bring glory to ourselves but all glory to Him. Be Blessed, Hope in Christ  My name is Pastor Ricky Latimore, and I came to Christ at the age of fifteen. Before that, I attended church with my aunt and another older woman who faithfully picked me up. During that season of my life, I was carrying deep discouragement. I was poor, broken, and unsure of how to move forward. Drugs, addiction, and alcoholism surrounded my community and were present in my own home. Evictions were common, food was often limited, and the reality of poverty was constant. Still, one thing stayed with me. The women of God in my life continually spoke hope over me. They would say, “God has a purpose and a plan for your life.” It was difficult to believe those words in the middle of so much instability, but every time they took me to church on Wednesdays and Sundays, I was encountering God without even realizing it. I still remember the worship. I remember a peace that would come over me during those services, a feeling that made me believe everything would be alright. I tried to hold on to that peace, but it often faded when I returned home and faced reality again. One night, I laid on my bedroom floor on a blanket and pillow that served as my bed, and I cried out to God. I asked Him why my family was living the way we were and why we were facing so many hardships. I had heard about Him and felt something in church, but I did not truly know Him. I knew the name of Jesus, but I did not know Jesus personally. I knew what people said about Him, that He heals, that He carries burdens, and that He never leaves, but I needed to experience Him for myself. What I did know was that the women I trusted believed in Jesus. I heard them call on His name in prayer and saw them trust Him with their lives. In my brokenness, I decided to call on that same name. As I cried out for Jesus to fill me, heal me, and save me, I was filled with the Holy Spirit. Words I did not understand began to flow from my lips. In that moment, I knew who Jesus was. I felt a heavy burden lift from my heart and mind, and something within me broke and melted away. That encounter did not immediately change my circumstances, but it changed me. It changed my perspective and helped me understand that I was no longer doing life alone. Today, I thank God for keeping and healing my family, restoring relationships, and bringing deliverance from what once held us bound. God is faithful. I am grateful to know Him, and I share this testimony knowing that Jesus is still able to save, heal, deliver, and set free.  Pastor Ricky L. Latimore Jr. is the Lead Pastor of Revive Ministries Center, which he founded alongside his wife, Marie-Laurie Latimore, in the spring of 2024. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Practical Theology from Southeastern University and a Master of Arts in Teaching from Mercer University.
With over 15 years of ministry experience, Pastor Ricky carries a deep passion for God’s people. His heart is to see the lost restored, the broken healed, and the backslidden redeemed, while helping individuals awaken to their God-given identity in Christ and walk confidently in the purpose and plans God has for their lives. Raised in a large family with three brothers and three sisters, Pastor Ricky experienced significant adversity growing up, including poverty, food insecurity, substance abuse, and brokenness within his community. Through it all, God remained faithful, often working through devoted women of faith who, as he says, “Loved me to understanding.” In addition to pastoring, Pastor Ricky serves as an English teacher in the public school system, allowing him to impact both the church and the community with faith, education, and compassion. He and his wife are proud parents to a five-year-old son, Ricky III, and are joyfully expecting another child. His life and ministry are guided by a simple yet powerful motto: God is always faithful, and God has a purpose and a plan for our lives.  Well, we are here! To God be all the glory. If you would have asked me 10 years ago where I saw myself in 10 years, I would have told you, "I don't know. I will just see what God does." Today, my answer would be the same. What can I say? This vision began with a blog post welcoming others to read my words. God grew it to teaching the word to listeners all around the world via radio broadcast and podcast, inviting others to share their testimonies and how God is using them, creating Bible literacy resources, and hosting workshops. Then, I was trying to understand the vision but still willing to be obedient. Now, I see the vision more clearly. Hope-in-Christ's main mission is to draw others to Christ and allow Him to bring them HOPE (spiritual healing, causing them to overcome every obstacle, showing them their God-given purpose, and helping them to shift their perspective to focus on eternity). If this ministry has blessed you in any way over the years, please leave a comment, share with someone else, and continue to support. I would like to thank you all from the bottom of my heart. I continue to choose and share the message of hope, and that HOPE is the only hope there is, Christ, our LORD. Please checkout the images below of some of the ministry moments over the years. Finally, if God gives you the vision, He only needs you to obey. He will cause you to walk it out the way He intended.  The above slide show and collage hold many memories of how God open doors and gave me the opportunity to speak, teach, host workshops, share my story, and to learn about advocacy. He even graced me to win a few awards along the way.
 I was first baptized at ten years old, mostly because my brother chose to be baptized and I followed his example. At that age, I didn’t fully understand the depth of what it meant to surrender my life to Christ. It wasn’t until I was sixteen that I truly came to know Jesus for myself. I felt His presence, His calling, and His desire for a real relationship with me. As I grew in my faith, God began to weigh heavily on my heart about being baptized again—this time out of true obedience and personal conviction. But pride held me back. I cared too much about what others might think and not enough about what God was clearly telling me. For years I wrestled internally with this calling, knowing what I needed to do but continuing to fight it. It wasn’t until my early thirties that I finally surrendered. I reached a point where obedience to God mattered more than the opinions of people. I realized that my hesitation wasn’t humility—it was fear and pride keeping me from fully following Him. I had struggled so much and finally realized I was the cause. One night at revival, I took that first step down the aisle. The pull on my soul was so strong that I felt like I floated down the aisle to the preacher. The weight was lifted and I could breathe! Choosing to be baptized again was an act of obedience, a declaration that I cared more about God’s voice than anyone else’s. That step marked a new beginning for me—one defined by surrender, freedom, and a deeper walk with Christ. I no longer fight what God is telling me to do. I have found that joy is wrapped in obedience to Him. He has a plan and it is for good. I hold fast to the scripture in Romans 8:28 when I face any difficult times in my life. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).  I am a daughter, mother, wife, and most importantly, a child of God. I was born in Florida and raised in Georgia, where my parents faithfully raised my siblings and me in church. From an early age, faith was woven into the foundation of my life.
I married and became a mother at a young age, and I consider my daughter to be my greatest accomplishment and one of God’s greatest blessings in my life. I am still married to my husband of 36 years, and together we live on a small farm in Morgan County, Georgia, where we enjoy a simple life surrounded by God’s creation. I love the outdoors—camping, swimming, kayaking, fishing, and bicycling—and I also enjoy painting and singing. Recently, God revealed a new joy in my life by helping me rediscover my artistic talents while encouraging my mother to find her joy in painting again. That experience reminded me of how God uses our gifts not only for ourselves, but to bless others. As an educator, I am grateful for the opportunity to share the light of Christ with children who may not experience that love elsewhere. I strive to be a reflection of His grace, compassion, and hope, trusting that God can work through me to make a difference in their lives.  Testimony of God’s Deliverance – Debra's Story My name is Debra, and this is the testimony of how I encountered Jesus in one of the darkest seasons of my life. I was eight months into my prison sentence and eight months pregnant. One day, while standing in the prison yard waiting for ministry to begin, I suddenly heard a voice singing. The sound was so beautiful, so anointed, that it reminded me of the music group Mighty Clouds of Joy. The moment I heard it, my heart was touched, and tears filled my eyes. The voice kept replaying in my spirit, and I knew I had heard it somewhere before. I was standing all the way in the back of the crowd, but something in me said, You need to see who is singing. I thought about the woman in the Bible with the issue of blood — how she said, “If I could just touch the hem of His garment, I shall be made whole.” Her faith stirred something in me. I believed that if I could just push my way through the crowd, I could receive a blessing too. At that moment, Philippians 4:13 rose up inside me: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” So even though I was eight months pregnant, I pressed my way forward. Step by step, I pushed through the crowd until I finally reached the front. When I looked up and saw the man singing, I recognized him instantly. He was my Aunt Linda’s husband — Mr. Phillips. I will never forget his face nor his voice. The moment he stopped singing, I took the opportunity. The guard wasn’t paying attention, so I walked up to him and asked, “Sir, do you have a wife named Linda?” When he said yes and asked who I was, emotion overcame me. With tears in my eyes, I told him, “Linda is my father’s sister.” His eyes filled with tears too, seeing me there in that condition. Without hesitation, he began to pray over me. When he prayed, it felt as though the heavens opened. I felt the anointing fall on me, and I knew God had heard my cry. Just one week later, my public defender, Margaret Good Ernest, traveled all the way to Lowell Correctional Institution to see me in person — something she had never done before. When they told me I had a visitor and that it was my attorney, I was stunned. As I walked to the visitation room, I prayed and called on Jesus. She sat down, looked at me, and said, “Debra, I have good news — you’re coming home.” I was speechless. All I could think about was the moment I pushed my way through the crowd, believing by faith that God would move on my behalf. The Bible says faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen, and that day my faith came alive. I spoke to my mountain, and it moved. Although I had been sentenced to three years, I served only eighteen months. My attorney did tell me I might still be in custody when I delivered my baby, but that I would be released shortly after. And she was right — God brought me out. Man said three years, but God had the final say. Man pronounced judgment, but God pronounced deliverance. Satan comes to kill, steal, and destroy, but Jesus came that we might have life — and have it more abundantly. I am a witness that when you trust Him, He will see you through. This is my testimony. To God be the glory, Debra
 We made it to Day 4 of the Hope in Christ 10-Year celebration. This week, I have been posting some of my very first blog posts and elaborating on them (10 years later). Today, I have once again added a screenshot of one of my favorites. This post was inspired by one of my most loved scriptures: Matthew 11:28-30 (ESV), "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” This scripture gripped me from the moment I first read it. During that time, I was walking through some heavy burdens. The Lord had delivered me from the yokes that had me captive for many years. However, there were still some other things that weighed me down. That is why He led me to that scripture. I needed to submit to the rest He was offering to my soul. Yes, he had called me to move in His purpose, but I would not find rest there. My rest needed to remain (always) in Him. I needed to continue drawing in relationship, spending time in His presence. As He ministered to me, He showed me an image of two large calves with a yoke around their necks. I did an internet search and found the one below. According to the Strong's Concordance, a yoke is something that is used as any burden or bondage; servitude or imprisonment. These words have strong connotative meanings. They don't mean something just holds us back. No, they mean we can't be free of the yoke unless we have help to break us free. However, before we can break free, we must first recognize that we are still bound by something. Even after coming to Christ, we can still be in bondage to our past if we don't surrender all of it to Him. There are places that are hidden within our hearts that only the Lord knows about, so we have to do as David did. We have to say, "Create in me a clean heart, oh God." If we don't, as we move forward in purpose, those unrevealed, unhealed places can show up. We can be "yoked" by a fight for acknowledgement, striving to reach the next and then the next because we still deal with rejection, for example. I remember when I first looked at the picture below. I immediately thought about how the yoke was used to control and guide the large animals in the direction of the person(s) who yoked them. This reminded me of how people and things could pull us in their direction, away from God. And guess what else, "Striving to fulfill purpose." From the time God called me to launch the blog ministry and into the other elements where He has taken me, I began to run, attempting to implement everything He placed in my heart. But guess what? I had some hidden things I had not surrendered to Him. I would beat myself up trying to keep up, trying to make it a success. This led me to exhaustion, confusion, and burn out. One day, I said, "Lord, I'm exhausted. I don't want to chase and be yoked with trying to fulfill business and ministry instructions the way I think everything should be done. I want to "Take your yoke. Give me your yoke. Give me You." Why did I ask for the yoke of Christ? Because He said it's easy. I believe it's described that way because it is there to give us that light "tug" when we are attempting to exchange His yoke for the one that bounds us. He also wants to "tug" us when we start to make it about us and not about Him. It's there as our guide, reminding us that He is with us, but it's His purpose and call, and we must remember that fact. Because He is using us to help others to know Him. Therefore, over the years, the LORD has helped me to remove the yokes of others and striving from me. It has always been meant to guide us in the right direction for our lives. The light tug of it is to get us to slow down, redirect our minds to follow Him, and to learn from Him as He leads the way, so that He may be glorified. That is why I still say, "His yoke is easy." He didn't change a decade later. He can still be trusted to lead the way. He has never disappointed me. Therefore, I ask you, "Have you taken His yoke?" Try Him today. Freedom is in Him, not in the purpose He gave. In HIM. It is not bondage as those hidden things. So, we must draw near and surrender it all to Him, so that He can set us free. Purpose will never fulfill us. We are fulfilled in Christ. That's where the "rest" for our soul is found. I'm a living witness. There is so much freedom and peace there, in Christ alone. #Be Blessed! Walk in Wholeness and Hope in HIM!   There are many people who can tell you exactly when and where they “came to Christ or got saved”. I’m not one of those people. Yes, I had a foundation of Christian education through Sunday School, Vacation Bible School and attending Mizpah Seventh-Day Adventist Church school for a couple years. All that was under the guidance of my parents, grandparents, and teachers. However, it wasn’t until I was left with no other choice but to know God for myself that I began to really put my Hope in Christ. In the spring of my junior year in high school, my mother passed away. She had open heart surgery in the 1970’s and while she outlived the expectations of the medical staff, she was only 39 years old. I finished high school the following year and after graduation spent my first year of college at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, AZ, so far from Gary, Indiana. Being that I was considered an “Army Brat” from my Dad’s prior military service, it was too unusual that I would venture out. My Dad, accompanied by my paternal Grandmother, drove me basically across the country in the family station wagon. It was quite scenic, and it was the only time I’d travel by car. I remember that Flagstaff was seasonal, not at all like most people pictured the state of Arizona. The plush green grass lasted only through the fall then came the snow-capped mountains. It was beautiful. What I wasn’t prepared for was the altitude change. It was an adjustment. The first few weeks I was so out of breath merely walking across campus. I visited Oak Creek Canyon and of course the larger Grand Canyon while there. All of this felt just like God’s country, God’s creation. Man couldn’t make these majestic views. It was there at NAU, that I met a young man on the football team who took me to a Fellowship of Christian Athletes meeting. During those sessions is where I felt the pull of God on my heart. It was there I found freedom to listen to God speaking through people other than those who looked like me. In fact, not many looked like me. It was the most diverse worship I could recall. I was there at a FCA meeting that I found renewed hope that God would never leave me alone. Many years have passed, and I still hold those memories of my growing faith. I encourage us as Paul did in his letter to the church in Romans 15: 13.
 Once upon a time, I lived a very misunderstood life. I walked through seasons of deep confusion, brokenness, and emptiness—desperate to do great things, yet I was constantly confronted with a reality that reflected nothing but disappointment. I didn’t realize it then, but in the midst of what felt like disaster, God was quietly conditioning me for my divine, God-ordained position. My journey began with a silent cry from within—a longing to understand who I was and why I existed. No matter where I turned or what I tried, I couldn’t find a place where I truly belonged. The question “Who am I?” echoed in the chambers of my soul. Childhood dreams of becoming a computer programmer, a wife, and a mother seemed like distant fantasies. Instead, my reflection showed a teenage mother of three with an eighth-grade education, living a life far outside of God’s original intention. Yet in the middle of my despair, a whisper broke through my chaos: “You are suffering from mistaken identity. You are fearfully and wonderfully made.” Those words contradicted everything I believed about myself. I was broken, scared, and confused. Nothing about me felt “wonderful.” My life didn’t line up with society’s standards, and every negative label placed on me felt like a permanent sentence. But the whisper didn’t stop. It grew stronger. It grew nearer. As I wrestled with my pain, the Holy Spirit revealed Himself and began unveiling the truth I had never been taught: God formed me with intention, purpose, and precision from the very beginning. He knit me together in my mother’s womb and prepared my path long before I ever took my first breath. I wasn’t an accident. I wasn’t a mistake. I wasn’t the product of statistics, labels, or generational patterns. I was—and am—God’s chosen daughter. The Holy Spirit began to walk me through my life, showing me how the enemy had tried to strip me of my identity since birth—using broken environments, painful experiences, and generational strongholds to convince me I was nothing. But God had preserved me. Even when I didn’t know Him, He knew me. When I didn’t understand His purpose, He was still writing my story. He reminded me that although people spoke negativity over my life, He had spoken something greater: “You are more than a conqueror.” (Romans 8:37) “No weapon formed against you shall prosper.” (Isaiah 54:17) “I know the plans I have for you…” (Jeremiah 29:11) The moment I chose to believe His voice over the world’s noise, the chains of mistaken identity began to break. Hope flooded in. I discovered that my true identity, value, and future were never found in people, performance, or perfection—but in Christ alone. I found hope the day I surrendered my pain to the One who could redeem it. I found purpose the day I accepted that I was royalty in God’s Kingdom. I found myself the day I listened to the whisper that refused to give up on me. This is how I found hope—through Christ, who always knew who I was, even when I didn’t. By: Dr. Derashay, Kingdom Strategist  Dr. Derashay is a Kingdom Strategist, Blueprint Builder, and Spiritual Midwife. She is an international mentor and expert on the art of unleashing purpose, developing dreams, and expanding untapped potentials within individuals, corporations, and ministries. She is the founder of Divine Order Restoration Ministries (D.O.R.M.) International, Kingdom Strategist Firm, I AM H.E.R International, Kingdom Influencers Network, In The ChurchTM TV & Radio Broadcast, and Women of Influence Magazine.
 It was an overwhelming sense of peace, reassurance and love that I had received from God! I had broken down in my kitchen, clenching my shattered heart and crying out for help, pleading to God to deliver me from my unexplainable afflictions. That’s when He immediately comforted me and filled my heart with hope. It was to another level; Hope I knew that could only come from my God! I had told Him that if He delivered me, I would serve and walk with Him forever. And I will never break that promise. It was around the end of fall of 2017. I had no idea what was going on with me and around me ‘cause I was spiritually blind. Everything in my life was literally falling apart, and I was depressed and hopeless; just completely at my wit’s end and about ready to give up. I was physically, emotionally, and psychologically unwell. I suffered excruciating pain in one eye, having to patch it up and was losing my eyesight. Parts of my body were breaking out in painful hives. I had intense migraines and was unable to sleep for days at a time. I was in and out of the hospital where doctors could not detect anything wrong, physically. I had an irrational feeling of extreme fear and would have frequent panic attacks at any given time. At night, and sometimes in the day, the microwave in the kitchen would turn on by itself and so did kids’ toys. I was living alone at that time; my family was away. Being alone was a daily struggle, and as nighttime neared, so did my anxiety which increased. It got to a point where I called the police several times in a period of one week when I got off work at midnight because I was so afraid to enter my house. I was hoping they would find something so I could be free. Even when I couldn’t articulate what, they found nothing each time. Although I couldn’t explain it, I just knew there was a cold presence in that house. I went from meeting with my mental health counselor once a week to twice a week because I didn’t know where to go, who else to turn to or what to do. The list goes on and on. My family and friends did not take me seriously when I tried to reach out to explain the situation I was in; Everybody was labeling me as crazy, paranoid, every name in the book, especially because I had struggles with mental health (depression and anxiety) in the past. They thought I was going through a mental health crisis that I would soon get over. Bizarrely, even after God giving me peace and reassuring me in my kitchen, all hell broke loose. Everything I was going through: the fear, the panic attacks, and my physical and psychological health, amped up! My finances were attacked, I increased the number of cigarettes I was smoking a day, my once friendly neighbors suddenly didn’t want anything to do with me, my other relationships around me were being unexplainably severed, everything in my house was breaking down, I was in the beginning stages of being harassed and gangstalked, and every single night, I was attacked by something at night as I slept. I felt like I was the main character of a horror movie. I couldn’t get answers or help from the doctors, police, family, and friends or my counselor. I was lost and more broken. And fast-forward, that’s when I cried out to God in my kitchen. And a couple of days after, then came the thought (I now know it was God) of reaching out to a pastor in the community of Africans I was part of. I did, and I told him what I was going through and thankfully, he understood my weird circumstances. He explained what was happening to me. He said I was in the midst of spiritual warfare. That God had a big calling on my life, thus, the enemy going full force against me. The hope that God had instilled in me days prior, illuminated! I was saying to myself, “Now we’re getting somewhere,” and anticipated my freedom. I started going to church, he prayed for me a lot, and I even had to go through deliverance prayers. Things overall got a bit better after the deliverance prayers. But ugh... a couple of weeks later, there I was again being attacked at night. But this time, do you know that the evil spirit went and called his homeboys who were more wicked than him? They stubbornly came back to attack me almost every night. Pastor (man, I thank God for him) prayed for me some more and advised me to read my Bible and pray more at night before sleeping and I started doing so. One night, I heard these evil spirits coming again through my front door with that annoying familiar sound, “Bzzzzzzz,” like bees. I said in my spirit, “Oh my Gosh, not again.” When they reached me, I felt paralyzed, and they started to torment me. As usual, I could not open my mouth to speak physically, but I was able to cry out to Jesus in my mind! I said, “JESUS, HELP!! JESUS, HELP!!” Now, He had saved me many times before and even personally appeared in the spirit to deliver me. This time, it was different. Immediately I cried out to Jesus. These evil spirits fled when the presence of God overwhelmed the entire room! He said to me, “Akina, don’t be afraid. Read Matthew 10:28” in such a comforting, audible voice! I immediately got up to read the passage. It states, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell (ESV).” After reading the Bible verse He directed me to, God brought me back to that intense moment I cried out to him several weeks prior in my kitchen, pleading for His mercy and help. That’s when He spoke to my spirit, assuring me that He is always with me through my trials and my happy days. He told me never to lose that hope He instilled in me that day in my kitchen and that these small demons can’t do squat to me. If anything, I should be fearing Him, not them. That’s when I felt a huge load off my shoulders, and “Poof!” all the sense of anxiety and fear I had were extinguished, and my hope in Christ, strengthened! I was no longer tormented at night and slept more soundly. My Hope in Christ is still going strong to this day, especially ever since I’ve been on a journey to getting to know Him and forming a strong relationship with Him by the day. Matthew 10:28 reminds us that God is Almighty, nothing can defeat Him; He is the one that defeats and the One who carried all power. And if you are His child, I'm telling you... we have nothing to worry about. My brothers and sisters, always keep your Hope in Christ in all circumstances, because without Christ, we are, and have nothing! He is the ONLY solution! With blessings and much love, Akina.
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