If God says, in our weakness, His strength is made perfect and that His grace is sufficient for us (Reference 2 Corinthians 12), why don’t we always feel that way? I’ll let you in on a little secret. It is because we are human, and God is always perfect because He is infinitely not, human that is. I like the way one person puts it in their devotion:” God is perfect in every way, giving Him the power to make up for any weaknesses we have”. Today, the Lord impressed upon my heart to share with you and me that it is okay for us to lean into our weaknesses. My daddy often quoted scripture from 1 Corinthians 15:10: But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain… Meaning no matter what season of life we are in, God’s grace is given to us for a reason to cover each and every weakness.
You might be thinking right now, “ I have a plethora of weaknesses though’. That is all right, we serve a big God, with massive shoulders. I firmly believe that in Christ it would be a detriment to my physical and spiritual health to not accept the grace that God sent His son Jesus to die to give me when I need it. We all get weak and I would go further than that and say that sometimes there are some of us who struggle with being weak most of the time. You may be wondering why God is saying that it is okay for us to lean into our weaknesses. I know I was at the beginning of God laying this encouraging word on my heart. Right now let me eliminate some of the reasons why it is not okay to lean into our weaknesses: 1. To make excuses for where you are 2. To find reasons not to change 3. To take advantage of God’s grace 4. To simply give up on life 5.; To deny your purpose. Now, these are definitely not all of the reasons these are just some that came to mind right away. The Holy Spirit let me know that when we are in Christ and we lean into our weaknesses we are leaning directly into Him. Cast every burden on him because he cares for you (1 Peter 5:7). Lean not on your own understanding but in all thy ways acknowledge Him and he will direct your path (Proverbs 3:5-6). So keep leaning into the one who is perfect. Some of you may feel like you have already been doing this and nothing good seems to be happening. To that, I say do not quit, don’t lose hope, and don’t give up faith. For in quitting you will surely lose. In the moments where you are the weakest just lean into his everlasting arms for comfort, grace, strength, endurance, fortitude, hope, peace, or whatever it is that you need in the moment or your season. If you do not see things manifest right away, and even if it doesn’t come to pass the way we think things should, God is always orchestrating things in such a way that will develop our character along the way. I will leave you with this thought today. Life may not always feel good, however, if I will lean into Christ during my weak moments I will slowly but surely begin to develop my spiritual muscles. Thus I will develop muscular endurance and create muscle memory when life hits me with its greatest attacks because it will. In those moments we have to rest assured that there is a champion in our corner cheering us on! He is preparing us for the final countdown so that ultimately we can see His face and hear well done thy good and faithful servant. You endured until the end. May God bless you and keep you. Remember, He's always good! - Kamilia Watson
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 On the day that my sister went to be in the arms of the Lord, I felt strangely different. I was lying on my couch in San Antonio TX, while she was laying in her bed in Lawton, Oklahoma dying, or rather should I say, coming to life, as I was being visited by the presence of the Lord. It was a warning to me that I would not make it there in time to see my sister Kashanta, one last time before she went home to be with the Lord. You see, I was all prepared to drive up but was hindered by unforeseen circumstances. To say that I was very upset would be a grave understatement. As I lay on the couch impatiently waiting for my situation to change, I was comforted by a touch. It was as if I could hear my sister saying “Milia everything is going to be okay and I promise you that I am alright”. No, it wasn’t an audible voice, it was just something that I felt deep down in the depths of my soul.
When I was finally able to get on the road to make the six and a half hour trip to arrive at my mother’s house, where my sister was on hospice, my mom looked at me with deep sadness and regret for me and said “you just missed her by about 10 minutes”. I wanted to scream with everything in me, but at that very second my voice had become momentarily mute. I slowly walked down the hall with my heart in my throat. As I crossed the threshold into my sister’s room to see her lying in bed so beautiful, looking as if all she was doing was resting, I was suddenly overwhelmed by this feeling of peace. This might surprise you, but I was like “Really God”! I want to be angry with you right now and you won’t even let me be that”! Do not get me wrong, yes I was sad that my sister’s body was lifeless, but I also knew that her spirit was in the presence of the Lord, which meant that her body would never be ravaged by the pain that cancer had caused her ever again. I walked over, kissed my sister Kashanta on the cheek and sat down beside the bed and laid my head on her, and stayed there for what seemed like forever and then I let go. I was only able to let go because I was confident based on what 2 Corithians 5:8 said: to be absent from the body meant that my sister was now present with the Lord, but only because she died in Christ. Although my weeping endured for the night(my night lasted several days) joy was able to follow in the morning. I’ve learned that grief doesn’t have a time stamp, sometimes the emotions still ebb and flow to this day, but I have experienced the joy of the Lord. Joy:is a feeling of good pleasure and happiness that is dependent on who Jesus is rather than on who we are or what is happening around us. Joy comes from the Holy Spirit, abiding in God's presence, and from hope in His word. Remember no matter what you are facing in this life, there is always a brighter tomorrow and renewed strength and joy in Christ Jesus -Kamilia Sims Watson  PSALMS 34:18 The Lord is near unto them that are of a broken heart...
On this day a year ago, the Lord interrupted my schedule and gave me an opportunity to minister to a director whose child had passed just a few short weeks before my daughter. The hour passed so fast, we hardly noticed. She stated that we are in an exclusive club. Her child was 33 - mine 38. Our lives paralleled uncannily. It's even interesting that she used the word club. I told the Lord, in my heart in 2012, that this was not a club I wanted to be in. I said these words only in my heart because there are some things I don't say out loud, so that I give no opportunity for them to manifest. Like my daughter, the director's child suffered terribly from a rare form of cancer, too. There are no words to describe how it feels to watch your precious children in torment. You just do everything that you can to ease that pain. At times, my new friend and I just sat in absolute silence, other times, she would cry. I was there to listen when she needed to speak and was able to convey what she could not at times - then we both cried. I held her hand, prayed with her, and sang over her. We had never met before, but we knew each other's heart. From one broken heart to another, we identified with each other in unique ways. She too, loves helping people, and I found out that both our interests are rooted in helping with life's basic necessities: food, shelter, clothing - showing people the love of Jesus. As we continued to share our hearts with one another, I learned that the director was heartbroken due to long term friendships being severed during this tumultuous period, when she needed friendships the most. The old saying, "You find out who your true friends are when you are going through the most difficult seasons of your life", is true! My new friend learned many valuable lessons, much the same as I did. I am so blessed with friends, sons, and daughters that I never had before, and I am truly thankful for having gained such richness to my life. Often times, it was people that the director did not know that helped her the most, or that gave her the support that she never expected. It's strange how that works. Though the struggle is tremendous, she took some comfort in knowing that I identified with her pain. I REALLY did - in every way. How many times have I shared that our trials and tribulations are not about us, but to assist someone else along life's journey? That is more of a revelation now than it has ever been. Please pray for my friend mentioned above, and all who have lost a child - no matter how they died. I take comfort in knowing that Jesus died to identify with both of us. Indeed - all of us. The Lord is my strength and my shield. My heart trusts in Him and I'm helped. This entire ordeal reminded me of the classic children's poem, Humpty Dumpty: Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king's horses and all the king's men could not put him back together again, "but God can". He can take every shattered piece of our lives and reconstruct masterpieces out of them as we yield ourselves to him for His purpose. REVELATION 21:4 God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. |
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