Overwhelming Victories in All These Difficulties

By Tamie S. Johnson

This book is about life but in a form of poetry. I read a devotional one day Proverbs 31 Woman Encouragement for Today, and I started writing.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jul 18, 2016
• ISBN: 9781512747331

Tamie S. Johnson

Tamie S. Savage-Johnson was born and raised in Pensacola Florida with my four sisters and two brothers, I grew up in Christian family we love the Lord I knew there was a call on my life as a young woman. I didn’t think I could do ministry because I was an unwed mother a sinner and I didn’t think God could use someone like me, and I was very shy “but God” He used me any way. Now a new journey has begun and He uses the mistakes and messes in our life to bring about His plan for His glory. My desire is to be all that he is calling me to be to live a life that poured out for the kingdom of God because he loved me in spite of the mistakes and mess ups and he is the only one that can go into the past heal you there and bring you to a place of peace while you walk out his plan for your life. I am now married and presently live in North Carolina with my husband and two dogs.

Book preview

1

My Life Was a Mess

THERE’S A STORY ABOUT ME AND MY LIFE, BUT some things should remain unsaid or just between you and me. What I went through, no one else needs know. It was my mess, my test, my trial, and my pain. Why should I tell anyone else? People will just look at me and whisper with frowns on their faces and strange looks.

You know how they do it, looking at you all sly, whispering and shaking their heads, saying, "Did you hear? I knew it was nothing to her. That’s why she went through all of that. I knew it, I knew it! That’s the story of their family life: not much good from the start.

You know some people are rotten to the core, and seeds don’t fall far from the tree. Hmm, I guess you know. They didn’t know but acted as if they did, and it wasn’t about my family. We all have a cross to bear. People are just people, and all of us need help and a savior who cares. I guess some of us just haven’t realized it yet.

But one day I came to God, just as I was tore up from the floor up. I couldn’t find peace or rest. I was running here and there, trying to do everything for myself, but that didn’t work because none of the keys would fit that lock.

Then one day, I heard the preacher say, Come to Jesus just as you are, and surrender it all to him. The words touched a place inside me, and my heart began to break from years of pent-up stuff. Tears began streaming down my face. I cried out to him, I’ve made such a mess. Please help me! I’m standing here, broken. I surrender it all to you. If you can fix me and make me whole again, teach me what you will have me do.

God lifted me up, dried my eyes, and healed the brokenness inside. He turned my life around and gave me a new start. He told me, "Now you have to surrender. Trust me; I have a plan for your life, and what you went through will be a testimony for many to believe.

You say it’s your mess and that you don’t want to tell. But when you surrendered your life to me, it became my story that you must tell. My child, what you went through was not for you alone. Someone else will be healed by what you endured. Read the Book and you’ll see there were others who made messes too. They asked to be forgiven and surrendered it all to me.

The message isn’t the mess but how he brought me out of all that I went through, and it becomes the answer for change for someone else. You may wonder how it can be that what I’ve done and all that I went through will help someone else.

We must understand that it was never about me but him. There are many such things appointed to us, and it’s for the glory of God to be manifested and revealed. Many will see the glory, but they don’t know the story about how this came to be. You see, the message is in the deliverance from the mess, and that part is me. Don’t try to hide your troubles as if you can keep them safe. It’s not about the mess you’ve made but the glory that can be revealed. It’s mercy and grace, and God gets the glory from a life that’s surrendered to him.

2

Pick a Side

NOW IS THE TIME TO MAKE A DECISION. IT’S TIME for you to choose what you want to do. The line is drawn. The decision is yours, and you have to take a stand. You can’t just sit here whining all the time about situations and circumstances. You’ve been in this way too long. You can’t be a babe in Christ forever waiting to be carried through life we must grow up. Now it’s time to make a decision…. The decision is yours… You must decide" and you have to take a stand….. where do you stand?

This is not Burger King—you can’t have it your way. And know that it’s not super-size me, please, while I think about it. You must understand; you’re in a battle, and it’s for your very life. The word tells us that darkness and light just don’t mix, and when light walks in, darkness flees. The battle line is drawn, and the devil is trying to win, and it’s your soul he wants to gain. He fights hard, and he doesn’t fight fair. He’s a liar, and his job is to misdirect you.

Don’t you know you have a choice? The decision is yours, so start today. Your life is at stake. You don’t have time to waste. Make a decision before it’s too late. I can’t choose for you; the decision is yours. So tap into the power that was given to you, shift your position, and rehear what you’ve heard before.

Don’t think that you’ve arrived and you own the town just because you’ve heard it before. Open your eyes and look around. The young people are leaving faster than the old. Don’t lose your focus or get tired and cop out. In this life, you must fight, and it’s with him that we always win.

Victory doesn’t happen because someone else hits the ball or you feel like you’ll just steal right into home. To win in this battle doesn’t mean you won’t have some scars. The cut may be visible, but there’s no infection. So be like Paul and fight a good fight. I did, and I kept the faith, and with that I intend to finish my course.

I had a decision to make, and you do to. I’m not leaving it for someone else to decide for me. If you don’t finish, what will those coming after you do? Stop and pick flowers along the way, or give up because I’m so distracted in this race.

No, my friend, you must pick a side. There’s a legacy that you’re leaving behind. Stand on the word and lift up a standard. The fight was fixed from the first, and it was finished when he hung on the cross, so in the end, it’s you who wins.

You must know that you’re more than a conqueror, and we have victory no matter what we go through. I didn’t say you would feel like a winner, but in your heart and your mind, you have to know that you are. You can read it in his word.

Don’t con yourself into believing a lie. It will steal your joy and your peace and hang you out to die—forget dry. You’ll tell yourself this lie. You know how hard you work; do it tomorrow because you’re tired. Get some rest.

Many times you hear the lie that Satan speaks, reminding you of your past. And because you heard someone else say it to you, that feeling of I’m not good enough creeps in.

You have to know in your heart that he didn’t call good enough; he called you. Now’s the time for you to pick a side. You want overwhelming victory, but it comes with a price. Now position yourself to rehear and reread. Just do your first work over, and know He that loves you will give you overwhelming victory in all of these difficulties. So what are you going to do?

3

I’ve Heard That Story Before

IT’S AN OLD ROAD THAT’S BEEN TRAVELED BY many, and nothing has really changed. The speaker may be different, but the devil’s words are the same. He uses clever talk that draws you in when you’re not careful. He speaks of love and commitment, but these things really are unknown to him. This tends to be his trademark. You see, it’s really all about him.

You have to understand that he saw you coming, and he knew you didn’t see him. It’s that look that young, immature women have that says, I just want to be loved, to have a real relationship. You know, the kind that ends with marriage, a house with kids, and all is love.

Yeah, he saw you coming, and he knew just what to say. At first it’s kind and sweet, just the way you want to hear it, and it takes hold of you with that bittersweet honey.

He knows you’re insecure and very unsure, lacking confidence, your self-esteem is low to nonexistent. Honey, he’s played this game before. He preys on the wounded and fearful who are looking for a way out and the ones who act like they have it all together with the Z formation and a snap.

But you know you’re wearing a mask—the woman who’s a little girl on the inside, whose daddy wasn’t there to call her his best girl or his little princess or the one who’s broken and hurt and in distress. The devil plays this game so well. He’s such a pro, moving in and out with his smooth rhythm, weaving his lies.

Satan is cunning, and his ways deceitful and his mouth is full of lies. He thought he had me in his trap.

Then I had to shake myself and talk to myself, saying, Girl, get over that act. You’ve heard that story before. He’s the con of all cons, and Lucifer’s his name. He uses those who will allow him or give him space. He weaves his charm and leads you down that old road of shame and disgrace. The game is not new to him. He did it before. It was in the beginning.

He twisted God’s word and deceived Eve in the garden of Eden. So stop listening to that voice of honey, dropping lines that speak to your shame, the voice of deception and lies.

Listen to the voice of the one who speaks truth. He speaks to your heart; he knows you’re hurting and lost. He speaks to the lonely and the wounded, and he speaks to the little girls who wish and dream. He speaks to the young lady, the child who has had her innocence taken, and to the woman who’s looking for love in all the wrong places. His words are truth, and they bring healing, and he will always be with you. He doesn’t speak that jive or try to trick you with a lie.

One day he spoke to me. He spoke of love that was real and true; spoke of faithfulness, wholeness, and life to me. He spoke of a sacrifice that was given for me; it was his life so I could be free. He promised to be with me, and he guarantees that because I am his,. and he is mine.

My life I surrender. I gave it all to him—my deepest secrets, my hopes, and dreams. He will never reveal this to anyone else; he calls me beloved, and he’s my very best friend. He knows the roads that I have traveled, and he cleansed me of my sins. He took away the darkness that was once in my heart that left me lost and alone, and still he called me his own, and the darkness had to move away.

You see, he knows that whisper and, God called him by his name. He is the deceiver of the brethren. Lucifer is his name. He flaunts himself like a proud cock, but he was stripped of his power, and he has an end. You’ve heard that story before; don’t go down that road again, listening to that conning liar. He’s a defeated foe.

There is victory when you rely and put your trust in Jesus, because he who loves us gives us overwhelming victory every time.

We teach people how to treat us. If I have given you the impression that you can treat me badly, accept this apology on my behalf. I am rethinking my teaching strategies so that you will hopefully gain some insight on how I expect to be treated.

4

Life Will Serve You Lemons

AS YOU LIVE, YOU WILL LEARN THAT EVERY DAY is a blessing, but it’s not always great or sweet. Life will serve you lemons, and you need to learn to make lemonade. Often, things come upon you, and sometimes, life will knock you to your knees, but while you are down there, you ought to cry out to God.

Life is full of uncertainties, and it’s not always fair. I was told as a child that if you keep living, life will serve you a lemon, and you need to learn how to pray. Things happen, and you don’t always understand why, but you’re always looking for a way out of that mess. There’s only one way out of this life, but don’t live in defeat. While you learn, do it on your knees.

The decisions you make are life-changing and long-lasting. There are many valleys and peaks, and you have a choice now of which decision you will make with the lemons that are served in your life.

Life will serve you lemons, and you must decide what to do: will you praise God in your valley, or will you run away and hide? It won’t solve anything to act as if troubles not there, so face it: you will win this time.

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