Recently I have been to see the same Christian woman speaker twice. I had seen her three or four years previously and she was good. Then I saw her this May and then saw her again two months later.  Just the other night, in fact.

As I said, three or four years ago she was good.  I expect after 25 years in the ministry I would be good, too.  Practice makes perfect, or so they say. But in May she was ON FIRE because she had been put THROUGH THE FIRE.  She was on FIRE for God!  She was much more powerful and dynamic than she was three years earlier.  She spoke with authority and confidence and assurance.

The difference was a huge trial she had had to go through. in the previous couple of years.  And now she had come out the other side victorious!

And she thought that was going to be the end of it.  After all, she had had the traumatized childhood, she had done the bad choice thing and she had given most of her life to come out the other side – ready and willing with this amazing women’s ministry she had started.  Now she could live her life in peace and safety and never have to worry again, because she’d paid her dues, right?

WOW!  How many of us think exactly the same thing.  I overcame, I was victorious in some situations and now, now I can live happily ever after.  Isn’t that what we’ve been taught to believe? (Don’t’cha just love fairy tales?!!!)

But here’s the thing… Don’t assume that God will always work in your life the way He always has… or in this case assume He is done adding stories to your life, testimonies to share, ways He has brought you through.  Sometimes, most of the time, that means there are going to be more trials, more hardships and ways for Him to show you that He’s still with you and will never leave you. He will take care of you not only give you stuff, but emotionally and physically as well.

For me, personally, I believe that I would wander away, think I didn’t need Him any longer if I were on easy street the rest of the way out.  And I think there are quite a few of you reading this that would be the same way if you were brave enough to admit it.

So can we still believe, even if God answers our prayers in ways we don’t expect?  What if He simply says No.  What if we lose our jobs?  What if our loved one isn’t healed?  What if we lose our home? What if we get sick?

We don’t think like God thinks.  We can’t.  So sometimes we aren’t going to understand. But I know this… yes I KNOW THIS!

So if the enemy throws trials and hardships our way, all we have to do is KNOW that God says it will work FOR OUR GOOD. He has this way of using them for His purpose. Again, that’s HIS PURPOSE, not our little vision of what should happen.

So now, what happened from May until now to our girl?  She was diagnosed with breast cancer… a horrible form of breast cancer.  But has she let it stop her?  Oh NO!  In fact, the presentation two months ago was quite different from the one just the other night.  They were both marvelous and powerful.  And like she says, it’s how you finish… FINISH the race. But ohhhh, you have to finish.

So, Miss Sheri Rose Shepherd, we are praying for you. Gods’s got you covered in ways you can’t even begin to fathom or understand. You are finishing your race with grace and dignity and power.  Well done.  And we love you.  XOXOXO