“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end” (Jer. 29:11, KJV).
In my early twenties, I began wondering about everything I had experienced in my life. I endured verbal abuse as a child. My heart was badly broken at age 16. I was kicked out of my home at 17. I experienced a fire that claimed all my belongings at 20. What was my life’s purpose?
“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Cor. 10:13, NKJV).
Victory is won by standing on the promises of God. As I neared the end of 2016, I never would have guessed it would mark the end of some 20 years of my pornography addiction. I was in absolute darkness with almost no hope left. But Jesus always pursued me, and He found me as I looked to heaven for help. In that moment, my chains broke, and I found a way of escape. God proved His faithfulness by giving me victory.
“But as for me, I will sing of Your strength; Yes, I shall joyfully sing of Your faithfulness in the morning, for You have been my refuge and a place of refuge on the day of my distress” (Ps. 59:16, NASB).
This verse outlines the many problems, mountainous difficulties, troubling times and numerous enemies that were surrounding David on every side. David opened up his heart to the Lord, and his urgent prayer for help and deliverance poured forth unabated. This surrender of heart has also worked in my life.
“How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye” (Matt. 7:4–5, NIV).
Most of us have experienced a time when we’ve completely underestimated someone’s point of view, whether in an argument or in a situation where one lacks confidence to support themselves. I have been on both ends of the spectrum in my education and everyday life, making Matthew 7:4–5 my favorite verse.
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 15:13, NIV).
This verse is important to me because there was a moment in my life when I felt I was losing everything; that there was no hope. But God showed me there was hope and that I would be fine.
In 2020, my mom got into a terrible car accident. I was sick at home with bronchitis when my mom’s friend called my older brother and told him that she had been in an accident. We talked with the paramedics, and they explained that it was very bad. We rushed to the hospital, and I was very upset because they wouldn’t tell us anything.