Whitnee's journey with Christ

I have to start todays message just by saying how good my God is! He is marvelous, He is glorious, He is gracious, He is powerful, He is all knowing, He is my provider, He is my rock, He is my shelter, He is my strong tower, He is my strength, He is mighty, He is my all and all. If y’all know the stress I have endured over the last week or two you would understand my praise. I was forwarded a sermon that BLESSED MY SOUL that I have shared below for those who wish to take 36 minutes out of their day to be blown away by the man of God who brought a message “just for me!” And out of that message came a time of worship since about 4 this morning where I’ve listened to soul searching gospel music: Kirk Franklin, Le’Andria Johnson, Fred Hamilton, Maverick City Praise, Yolanda Adams, Rev. Timothy Wright just to name a few…God was so good He turned my work place into a place of worship right in the midst of my tears and I just have to shout GLORY HALLELUJAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have you ever had stress (work related, finance related, health related, socially injustice related) that kept you on your knees? Well that’s where I am right now. I’ve had breakdowns in the last few weeks that had me crying out LORD HELP ME PLEASE this past week. At times it got so bad I called out for my momma. Now you know it’s bad when you 35 years old and crying out for momma and daddy. Then I got sad because momma and daddy are with the Lord now and I couldn’t get that physical comfort that I was longing for to soothe my aching heart. Lord have mercy y’all bare with me for todays message because I just have to be real and get this out.

Y’all the stress got so heavy and although I’ve stayed on my knees in prayer, I’ve asked others to pray with me (for a certain situation), I have kept the faith, I believe in God, I went to church, read the Word….my heart has been so burdensome. So I ended up going to the doctor last week and asked her to “fix me.” I felt like I was broken and maybe needed some medicine to assist me and get me out of the place that I’ve been- but God had something else in store. Y’all got to follow me for where I am about to take you. And although the doctor said my blood pressure was elevated, I’ve been experiencing anxiety attacks, and I was a little weary; she reassured me that every little thing would be alright (like Dave told sweet Madison).

God got my attention this past week in a way that it reminded me of my daddy. God was yelling at me! Ever heard God’s voice so loud but because of your current situation you weren’t listening? Am I alone? Well y’all let me tell you God spoke through Rico and then He spoke through a friend, He reassured me through a past supervisor, and He brought confirmation through my doctor. And to seal the deal the discussion of Cain and Abel in church on Sunday from the Book of Hebrews 11 and the talk on Sunday school sealed by the message that was forwarded by Uncle Kent sealed the deal.

God was saying, “BE STILL WHITNEE’, AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.”

I was in a bad head space and crying out because it was hard for me to be the optimist, the encouraging person I love to be, it was getting harder and harder for me to see the bright side out of my situation. But God said again, “BE STILL WHITNEE’, AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.”

Disclaimer: If you are reading todays message and questioning my faith, wondering if I truly believe, or just want to be nosey to see what I’ve been going through; I pray for your soul. The tone of todays message is to remember GOD IS GOD OVER ALL CIRCUMSTANCES AND THROUGH ALL THINGS. And even though God did not give us the spirit of fear, there are things that will happen in this life that push us further to depend on Him and ask Him for strength where we are weak because though our human eyes can’t see, God sees and He meets us where we are at. Whether we have to stew in the mess for a little while or a long while God is there every step of the way. And I don’t want those reading todays message to read with worldly eyes but read through the lens of our Heavenly Father because He is the God who can make what seems to be impossible POSSIBLE!

I stand tall this morning thanking God for my mountaintop experiences but also thanking Him for the valley experiences. It honestly feels like I’ve been in the valley since 2019 (though I’ve had some mountain top experiences) but I count it all to joy because it has shown me just how merciful God is and I know without a shadow of a doubt I am never alone.

I don’t know which one of y’all reading todays message that needs some encouragement to know that God can be your refuge and strength. God can be your present help in time of trouble. Oh He is that but we have to allow Him in our hearts to take His rightful place.

I’ve noticed since covid came and shook the hell out of us as a society that we have allowed our praise to be silenced as we “get back to normal.” But when we as a community mourned the 1 million plus persons who lost their lives we cried out together. Now it’s so much hurt, pain, anger, grief, sadness, poverty, hate, and the list goes on and I noticed (overall) that we don’t come together and cry out. My sisters and brothers God placed it on my heart to tell you this morning it is revival time.

The doors of the church been opened but we need the sounds of the trumpet, the sounds of the piano, the angelic voices of the choir, the welcoming committee, the smells of fried or baked chicken, rice and gravy, mustard or collard greens, yams, cornbread, macaroni and cheese, fresh baked apple pie, peach cobbler, fresh squeezed lemonade and nicely brewed sweet tea; we need the children singing and clapping, we need the adults shouting and praising, we need the rich to sit with the beggar, the upper class to praise God with the marginally unacceptable…we need people of all ages, backgrounds, gender, race, etc. to help me spread the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

It’s time to get in the streets and tell someone about God. All this hate, all this killing, all this anxiety, all this jealousy, all this MESS….but God will be exalted in the earth!

I’m not ashamed to tell you I need the Lord. I’m not ashamed to tell you I need the potter to put me back together again. I’m not ashamed to tell you I’m a mess but God gave me a message. I’m not ashamed to tell you I don’t have it all together but I serve a God who does. I’m not ashamed to tell you I cried last week wondering how we would make ends meet because our pockets been looking funny but someone who has seen me at my worst reassured me through God’s word, we going to be just fine. Until you get to the place I was and that I am slowly coming out of, y’all can’t understand my praise! I’m not going to be fake and act like I don’t stress or have a sense of fear because it’s a lie. I don’t allow myself to stay there but I’ve been down that road a time or two but it is scriptures like Psalm 46 that encourage me to keep on keeping on.

Some of y’all don’t know because you act like you’ve never gone through nothing but I’ve gone through some Sugar Honey Ice Tea that keeps me on my knees and with a continual praise in my heart. Can you relate to me this morning?

I can’t even get out what I wanted to write about because I’m so busy praising, I’m so busy shouting, waking the kids up this morning WHILE WORKING I’m crying just thanking God this morning. Oh it’s a sweet release to know can’t nobody do me like Jesus, can’t nobody do me like the Lord. I called on my momma, I called on my daddy….they are in Heaven but they sent my Heavenly Father in the middle of my kitchen crying out HELP ME FATHER and He brought me peace. Ask God, seek Him, open your hearts, trust Him, believe in His Word, oh it’s nothing like it.

Y’all have to tune in tomorrow so I can get to the meat of this message but today as I prepare to come to close, I want you to know that God is in control. Don’t let your finances, your clutter, your job, your dog, your neighbor, the kids, or whomever or whatever tell you any different. Sometimes you just have to give God that “ugly cry” and ask Him for help.

God is immovable, unshakable…He wanted to BE STILL and He is calling us to a place of worship (through our struggles, through our adversity, through our finances, through our health, through life). I wholeheartedly believe God is yelling at us as His people to tell us to get right. Real talk we don’t know when will be our last day or if we are in our last day but He is giving us the opportunity right now to make Him Lord and Savior over our lives.

Friends I encourage you to put your faith in God. Don’t put your face in the government, in your Pastor, in your doctor, in Tik Tok, on YouTube, Google, or whatever else mess that’s where you go wrong…put your faith in the one and true Living God. He is our refuge and He is our strength. God is speaking loudly and it took me being broken all the way down like an infant for me to realize Whitnee’ it’s out of your hands, there is nothing else humanly possible I can do, besides wait and trust in the Lord. Can I tell you this morning I would have saved myself 2 medications (that I haven’t taken), a docs bill, Kleenex, and a stifling headache if I would have just relaxed, breathed, and been still. Been then I wouldn’t been able to shout praises through this message for those who may be going through.

Let’s hang on in there together, better days are coming. He will never leave us nor forsake us. He will not put more on us than we can bear. God is saying, “come to me all that heavy laden, He will give us rest.” Come on friends let us rest in the Lord and allow Him to renew our strength. God bless you all!