Battle Scars That Do Not Disappear

Cory Bradley

Sometimes (if I can just be honest), many of us desire a gospel that is way too pretty.

It seems like no one today really wants the battle scars and wounds that often come along with having victory in Christ. Many of us desire to go through life unscathed and untouched; void of any evidence that we have been in the fight.

In my journey with weight management, I endured arguably the toughestseason of my life; when I was really heavy there was so much shame because everybody could see the pain, the anxiety, the fear, and the loneliness I felt because it showed up around my waistline.

As a child, I was often alienated and picked on. Many of my peers called me sissy and gay because my mannerisms reflected the world I understood which was richly influenced by nurturing women. And since I didn't have a man in my life I could respect and wanted to model, I emulated the women in my life and patterned my life after feminine expressions.

(Sidenote - Please know that every young man raised by single mothers doesn't have the same experience. Single mothers, we are proud of you! Love you mommy!)

This devotional is especially for those readers out there who believe that their testimony is not as pretty, neat, or tidy as those others tend to brag about. I used to struggle and feel ostracized with that same feeling. Until I read about someone who once shared my story.

In Genesis 32:22-32v, you will find the story of Jacob and the struggle he has one night with God. A struggle and a wrestling match that ultimately left him with a testimony.

I define testimony as an indelible impression and proof that God has COME to you and God is NEAR you. A testimony is evidence that God Almighty has had His hand in and on your life, and what a heavy hand our God has!! When presses down upon our lives, God's hand tends to break up those things we have relied upon for so long.

Sponsor AdThat's what happened to Jacob. God touched Jacob and his human frailty and weakness was exposed. And when that experience passed, Jacob was left with a clear reminder that he had been with God.

A limp.

{Come on God, a limp that everybody can see? Aren't you Jehovah Rophe, my healer? You're supposed to make the symptoms disappear, not create new ones!!}

I can just imagine poor old Jacob after returning from that encounter with God. The taunts. The stares. The endless barrage of questions like, "What's wrong with Him? Why does he "walk" like that? You know Jacob, you can go to the doctor and get that fixed?"

Perhaps today you may be struggling with the fact you're not like everyone else, or that everywhere you go and walk, you feel the effects of a constant struggle with God.

You're slower than everyone else.
It takes more effort for you to progress on your journey.
If so, understand that your limp serves as crucial evidence that God is near.

Like Jacob, you share a special experience with God that can always serve as a reference point of when He met you, blessed you and confirmed your identity. If you are in a struggle today, your weakness is evidence that God has come to you and He has touched you.

Do not allow others' perception of you make you feel unworthy.

We serve a Savior that had to endure a few struggles of His own. The nails in His hands and wounds in His side are evidence that He also experienced pain just as we do.

But despite His scars, He overcome death, hell, and the grave.

To all those struggling as they read this devotional today, know that as long as you stay in the struggle, so will God. Embrace your testimony now.

Faith Report Card

Latrice Pace

As a preacher's kid, I grew up hearing and reading about faith. As an adult I've come to know and experience what faith is and does. FAITH: loyalty, belief and trust in God. I am a fan of Webster.com and when I typed "trust" I noticed the derivatives were, "trustability", "trustable", "truster", "trustingly", "trustingness".

Nothing came up for "trusted". It may very well be a word, but not acknowledged by Webster. My point, "trust" is never past tense. It's not something you did once and it didn't work out for you. A friend once said to me, "to say you've trusted is to say life got stuck in a previous experience of failure or hurt." As believers its never a thing of the past, it's our now, our life. It's the fundamental fact of our existence.

"But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him." Hebrews 11:6 Amp.

I, like so many others have found myself to the point of frustration and really wanting to be enlightened when it came to the subject of faith. I'd ask, What am I doing wrong?, What am I not getting? Why is my life not yielding certain results? There have been numerous Biblical testimonies of faith set before us to show us that if we get in the habit of believing (without options, without a plan b) our lives can yield the same results if not better. They stood firm, in the state of mind in which they had un-shakeable confidence and faith in God.

Abraham when asked was ready to return his promised son, Isaac back to God not knowing that other provisions had already been made. Abraham didn't go to the undisclosed location with Isaac and an optional sacrifice. He knew that there was a reason God was asking for the son in which his descendants would spring forth.

Now he very well could have asked a plethora of questions and refused to make a move until he understood. I'm sure nothing about this was making sense to him. However, he didn't seek to understand it, he moved and believed. God saw his heart, his desire to please Him. Therefore, He provided the ram.

Sponsor AdNoah, who was a farmer and aspiring entrepreneur. He was probably in the process or planting his very own vineyard so he could open a farm winery, but God interrupts his plans. He was asked to build an ark in the Summer's heat, if I may. The process of building a boat/ship/ark is a traditional craftsmanship which is a refined art delivered from master to apprentice. The skill is passed on by doing and often without a sketch or blueprint.

In Genesis 6 and 7, God (the master) gave detailed instructions for the ark and Noah (the apprentice) obeyed. Why? He was in the habit of believing. Noah's habit affords us the opportunity to experience the brilliant beauty of the consequent rainbow today.

Enoch's habit caused him to be caught up and transferred to heaven, so that he did not see death.

SELF ANALYSIS: Is your faith failing or satisfactory?

1. Like Abraham, has God ever asked you to sacrifice something he promised you with no explanation why and not knowing the end result?

2. Like Noah, has He ever wanted to interrupt your plan because He had need of you?

3. Just as Enoch did, He expects us to be "caught up". Get caught up in the habit of trusting Him, so that our faith grows increasingly faster than any giant/deathly circumstance we may face today.

A firm mindset of faith influences a habit of faith. The testimonial results from that faith that will last for generations is the sum of those essential factors. Is your faith.