Poisoned to Perseverance.  By Laura Carson.

Recently I had the privilege of sharing my story by speaking at Chico’s Hearts Being Healed Conference.  I chose the title of Poisoned to Perseverance because of the time in my life that I was sharing about.

I had been married before and was divorced.  I felt I was damaged goods.  I had not taken time with the Lord to heal, so I took those hurts into my new marriage.

At that time, I had allowed myself to become “poisoned” in my mind.  I spewed poison with my unkind and careless words.  My every thought was governed by selfishness and bitterness.  I had failed to keep open communication with God.  Without daily wearing the ‘Helmet of Salvation” , I was left vulnerable to the lies of the enemy.  I had allowed a seed of bitterness to grow and take root. It colored and distorted my every thought.

Our thoughts come from three places: ourselves, God, or the enemy of our souls.

I had forgotten the scripture

John10:10 “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill and to destroy.”

It was only the lies of the enemy that I was hearing.  They poisoned and soured me!

Thankfully, during that time folks in my church family were aware of my spiraling out of control.  An elder at my church and his wife came along side and counseled me.  Friends faithfully prayed for me.

One of the first scriptures that started to alert me as to the state of my mind was Isaiah 59:2 

“But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you”.

And in Psalm 31:24

“ Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart, All you who hope in the Lord.

I felt the first spark of hope.

Not everything I learned during this cleansing phase came from the Bible, but were helpful as well.

“ We repent enough to be forgiven, but do we surrender enough to be changed?”   ~ Grogan Ryan.

Think about that!

“ A whole lot of what we call struggling is simply delayed obedience.”  ~ Elisabeth Elliot

And this well used phrase (original author unknown),

“ Obedience deferred is still disobedience, obeying halfway, is not obeying.” 

God’s Word says in James 4:7

“ Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”

Great reminders!

While my husband and I were separated for four very long years, I persevered and grew with the Lord.

“ For  with God nothing will be impossible.” Luke 1:37

God answered my prayers and restored my marriage.  Praise God!

Staying close to God is my most important goal now, for the strength of that relationship helps set the tone for all others.

I am truly grateful for my relationship with God!