Will You Be Made Whole? (Part 18: Battle Wounds)

As I’m preparing to head to Cali today, I keep hearing my spirit Battle Wounds. There are so many of you who have been through so many battle wounds (whether it be battles with the devil, or bad choices in which the devil would take advantage). Regardless of the situation, I want you know that you can be made whole. And if there is any message I want you to gain from this blogpost, it would be this: your life is worth fighting for (not only is there someone in your circle fighting for you, your life and your dreams, but God is fighting for you, your life and your dreams and He wants you to win).

Take a moment to look at where you are right now: are you in a situation to where you believe you can’t break free (fear of being on your own), you’re trying to find love in all the wrong places, you’re using a situation to gain the upper hand on others, you’ve gone through an abortion, you’ve been raped, you’ve been neglected, you were lied to, you were physically abused, emotionally abused, verbally abused, sexually abused, abandoned by those you say were for you, those who were supposed to protect you. You may have gone through those things, and you just want people to know how much you’ve been through. Many in this life are oblivious to what you’ve been through, and let me say this: God is not the author of what you’ve been through/experienced.

I know you have battle wounds, and if you let God heal them correctly, they will be a testimony of how God not only healed you, but of how faithful He is to restore what you’ve endured. Some of you have been lied to in saying God caused your experiences or He caused your loved one to die (translation: He took your loved one). Let me say something to you: because of the lies you’ve heard (and the experiences you went through), many of you have given up on what you believed and are striving to reach God or gain His blessings on your terms. Basically, you’ve surrendered because you’re constantly looking at the battle wounds of what others, yourself and the devil inflicted on you. God doesn’t see your wounds (and neither do I), He sees you healed and whole. And yes, you can be made whole from the wounds and scars that you’ve endured. Will you be made whole? Don’t put off going after healing His way any longer. Remember, your battle is not flesh and blood; it’s the devil who’s after your very soul (and most importantly, your faith). If can steal your faith, your view of God will not only be distorted, it will cause you to not only quit life (and your dreams), but God too.

In this thing called life, it is a fight. And because there will be tribulations, you will experience wounds. But understand that the only fight you’re supposed to fight in this life is a “faith” fight. He loves you, but circumstances are doing all they can to deter that love He has for you. For some of you, you have fell to procrastination, almost to the point of giving up because the wounds that you’ve endured hurt other parts of your body (heart, mind and parts of your flesh). I know many of you are warriors and wouldn’t allow this battle to get this crazy! But because it did, you’ve lost your sense of peace and are looking everywhere but up for the peace that surpasses all of your understanding.

In summary: He loves you and has an awesome future for you (that your eyes haven’t seen). You have to believe me when I say this. Your life is worth fighting for, and I want you to know my reader, that I’m fighting for you.  Just don’t quit as you experience battle wounds.  If you’re one who quit (or is on the verge of quitting) because the fight is so over the top, call on God’s angels to fight for you (and those who are focused on seeing you win, and not gossip)! If you don’t quit, and acquire a made-up mind, you will win! It’s a fixed fight!

Blessings,

The Mayne Man

Why Suffering In Silence Causes Suicide

This was an unexpected post, but this is very important. If you are contemplating or even attempting suicide, I'm declaring a trigger warning if you proceed to read it, but more importantly, please seek help. I am going to say that numerous times in this post.

You know, it's important to have people who will have your back no matter what you're going through. Some of you are probably thinking, with the people in my circle, who needs enemies. You have to say or do something drastic just to be heard. Or when you reach out, no one is there (or if they do, they're doing you a favor), but you have to be there for them when they're hurting. It's been said life is hard, and only the strong survive. There's probably a question going through your mind: how do I get strong? You start by loving the person you were created to be. It doesn't happen overnight. It might be a process especially if rejection and abuse is all you've received for most of your life. Support is needed to help you through it (and not everybody in your circle may be cut out to be your support).

When I went through my suicidal spell in 2011, I can't even begin to tell you how many people were willing to let me suffer in silence. If you are currently suffering in silence, I pray that you seek help. Sadly, there are people in this world (and they may be in your circle) who could care less if you live or die. And there are people with no conscious and will ridicule you to the point where you commit suicide to some capacity (it may not always be physical, but it could be mental suicide or emotional suicide). Adding on, there are people in this world who have no heart and their heart's desire is to point fingers at you (i.e., state that everything is your fault) to cause your suicide. 

Questions: do you feel like you're being punished in life and that your purpose here on earth is to suffer? I pray you won't feel that way as you read. Do you feel that you have to lie when people ask how are you? In fact, you know they want to see a Joel Osteen smile when the truth is, you're trying to find out how you are going to cope with the pain that's on your mind and your heart.

Now for many who are suffering in silence, it may seem like you will have to walk alone (because your circle is full of people instilling fear and judgment). Now there are some reading this telling those suffering that it's their perception and they need to change it. I challenge you to understand them so they feel like they're understood (even if you don't believe what they believe). I guarantee you, they are willing to listen if you are not pointing a finger and saying that everything from childhood till now is their fault. And to immediately say that they need to go to therapy without any emotion is going to alienate them (and cause them to feel they are worthless). 

If you are suffering in silence, you may feel like you are shut out from the world, and that you must go away. If this is you, I can imagine that you're crying right now and I feel your tears. I beg that you don't do it, no matter how much you want to.

Despite the people who want to see you fail in life, the people who want to take advantage of you, the people who want to add alcohol to your wounds, and sadly the people who want to see you dead; you have something to live for. You may not know right now, but I ask that you don't give up. It's hard when you have been rejected from heartless people and those who mean well (but can't communicate it well - to this group, don't stop loving the one who's hurting).

You may have made a mistake in life and you feel that you have to suffer in silence. If this is you, you don't have to suffer (but please be careful who you share that with). Finding the right person may be hard, and I would be less than a man if I didn't say that. As a result, you may feel forced to suffer in silence. 

Let me say this: God is listening and He knows where you are. When no human being wants to listen, He will. He knows that love is growing cold and that we lack long suffering (patience). He knows that we fail to bear each other's burdens and that we're selfish at times. He knows that you want to just crawl up into a ball and die even as you are reading this right now. 

If you are reading this and you know someone suffering in silence, please don't X them out of your life. They really do need you. In fact, you could not only save their life from suicide, but you can help them advance to the next level in their lives. That does not mean you say "Get over it!" Or "It's Gonna Get Better," and leave it at that. Don't accuse them and make them feel as if they are at fault. Build them up with words of healing and strength. For an exercise: look at Ecclesiastes 4:9-12. If you know someone who is shutting the world off because they are wounded, and feel like they are being judged (or they won't be heard), keep seeking them and pray for them. People are dying by the dozens daily because they are suffering in silence and they feel like they are to suffer alone. The reason why suffering in silence causes suicide is because they feel like their suffering alone. They don't want to die, they want to live. Cliches truthfully add more wounds to them. Their pain can go all the way back to childhood or it can be recent such as a breakup of a friendship/relationship. 

In closing: if you are suffering and need someone to listen, please call a therapist, or a good friend who won't judge you and add further inflictions to your wounds.

Blessings:

The Mayne Man

When People Feel They're A Burden

This post has been on my spirit ever since I did the post last month entitled How Suicides Can Be Prevented. I didn't plan to type this today, but I believe someone will receive this. 

Let's defined what a burden is: a load being carried, a worrying responsibility. It also means giving a task that's difficult to deal with.

So when I think about burdens and how it rates to when people feel they're a burden, I take it to mean that there are some people who feel they are a load to other people. And this can stem from many things: abuse (physical, sexual), marital or relationship issues, illness (physical or mental), and the list can go on. 

Looking back at the definition of burden, I can't help but think about children who are given the task of being an adult when they're still a child. 

Now many people are probably thinking about a Bible verse, particularly Matthew 11:28 that says Come into Me, you that are burdened and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Now let me give you a Scripture to think on (it's probably one you intentionally put on the shelf; Galatians 6:2. The Apostle Paul is telling us to bear one another's burdens. No one, and I mean no one, should ever feel they're a burden to anyone especially if they're going through (or are in the process of healing). Now if you're just trying to be a pest (meaning you know what to do, but you just want to bother them to make yourself feel important), that's a whole different lesson there. I want to focus this on those who are suffering (whether publicly or privately). 

There are 3 things we typically do with burdens:

1. We carry our burdens because we don't want to get rid of them.

2.  We don't want to share our burdens with others because of how people may act (more to be said on that in a moment).

3. We don't want to cast our burdens over to The Lord or share with others in order to maintain some stability in our lives (because we never received security in our childhood).

When it comes to bullet point #1, this is really just a pride issue and/or wanting drama in your life. The next two bullet points is where I want to focus on.

In relation to bullet point #2, it's sad that we can't share our burdens with others (and part of it is due to fear and the feeling of being vulnerable - I get it). Yes, there are many who can't handle what another person is going through. If you run into someone who's burdened and can't handle it, could you just pray and/or intercede for them? Even if it's for 5 minutes, it's time well spent (you could actually save their life). To cast them down as a problem, they will feel they're a burden and they won't share. And then comes the infamous finger pointing. Now you could say at this point it's their fault. But I would beg to differ. Why? Because you assisted in them feeling they are a burden by you cutting them off and not listening to their heart - when really, that's what they want). James 5:16 says confess your faults to one another. If they can't confess, they can't be free. Anyway, if you can't help (or don't want to help), just pray or lead them to someone who can (and that's not a bad thing), sometimes people just need a sounding board.

In relation to bullet point #3, this is a painful one to address, but it needs to be addressed - for this is detrimental to the health of someone who is struggling with this one. Now excuse me for being a little personal as well. Many people who have been hurt (via abuse, neglect, or something else that's traumatic) will be able to identify with this. I can speak on this because I've been neglected and abused - you can view my story via the YouTube video on the right hand side of this page. Anyway, when you grow up in a home where there's no stability, a child will feel that they have no control. If it's not addressed when they become an adult, they will stomach everything and feel they're a burden (carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders). In fact, they will end up with anxiety issues? How do I know? I am in therapy for this very thing (even as I type this). Now just don't tell someone to just "stop it," or "you're in sin and the cause of all of this." Get to the core of what brought this on (not to be nosy or gossip, but seriously be able to pray for them more effectively and meet them right where they are). As I stated above, if you're not equipped to minister in this capacity (and that's ok by the way), intercede for them and direct them to someone who can. Because this particular group has gone through something traumatic, they will more & likely feel they're a burden to society anyway. Those who are in this group is a great concern to me. I can understand their need for control or some form of stability, so intense prayer and counseling (which I recommend - and not just one session) is in order.

There are many people who feel they are a burden, and it's not intentional on their part. The truth is, they want to be free: physically, mentally, spiritually & emotionally. So everything we say to them (good intended or not) matters. 

Now I can't wrap up a blog post without saying something like this: if Christ is the burden lifter, and if we are to do the works of Christ, why aren't we bearing each other's burdens? My take on that question: many churches have become social clubs (or dare I say social cliques). We cast down those who are burdened and would say something like this: "they're disturbing my anointing and my chances for prosperity. They're too negative for me." Now my question would be this: "who do you talk to when you're down?" They would probably say: "I talk to Jesus." I would say, "OK, so you don't talk to any other human being?" They would say: "well yes." I would then say: "so what harm is it to help someone else be free from their chains since you're free from your chains - especially if you believe there is power in the name of Jesus - which there is by the way? And I don't mean just give them cliches which some of them aren't scriptural anyway." From there, they have to deal with God.

The main reason why this blog post was dropped in my spirit is because sadly, when people feel they're a burden, there's a strong chance that suicide is right around the corner for many. From experience, feeling that way is no fun. We don't need to make anybody feel they're a burden by our conduct. We will be held accountable by how we treat our brother and our sister (regardless of where they are in their lives).

Blessings!

The Mayne Man

Double Portion

One day (within this year or last year), God was dealing with me about these two phrases: "double portion" and "double blessing." These two phrases stem from Deuteronomy 21:17, but more importantly Job 42:10 (with this post focusing on the latter).

I have found that many people rejoice (even to the point of being hysterical) the moment they hear these words (whether it be a song or from behind the pulpit), "your latter will be greater," "the double portion is over your life," or "God is getting ready to take you into the overflow." I'll be honest, I kinda cringe when I hear those phrases because in most cases it's taken out of context. Let me explain.

If you were to read the entire book of Job (but especially chapters 1-2), you'll find that Job was blessed, but Satan wanted to attack Job to determine if Job will curse God. Now, when God blessed Job in chapter 42, it was after Job acknowledged that God is sovereign and after Job went through this intense spiritual warfare. 

Many people today (especially those who are great at lip service) make a serious mistake in thinking because they go through (as a result of their own sin) that God's going to bring the double portion. Now I'm not saying He won't, but we understand there's a process: the double portion should not be the first thing on our minds. If it is, then we are just materialistic (case closed). And many people in the church world are just that. The double portion should be the last thing on our minds. Now if He happens to bless us that way, praise God; and if He doesn't, we should still be praising God. Not because of what He does for us (which was actually an accusation Satan made to God against Job), but because of who He is, His sovereignty and because He called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.

Blessings.

The Mayne Man