Continue reading “Are You a True Reflection of Your Inner Man?”
LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD
First off, Happy New Year family! I am so excited and expecting with open arms the blessings of God this new year! Upon pondering over my life regarding relationships, I’m so thankful for God’s faithfulness. I’ve been badly scarred and wounded by past relationships, as many of you. Albeit, God transforms the soul through a process of pain and suffering, purging and breaking. It is indeed painful, but at the same time liberating, spiritually renewing; and contrarily refreshing. Refreshing because though your soul wounds are deep and far reaching, God’s love is ever reaching down, laying His Sovereign hands on your soul, and healing each one seriatimly.
When I’m cut, I want to heal someone else.
Beloved, your hurts, wounds, fear, and pain are all hidden behind pride, ego, self-reliance, and self-preservation. We are all wounded animals. When we feel threatened, we viciously attack; whether the attack is physical, emotional, or silent. Silent attack is the worst because you shut down, cut others off and build a heart wall. The more hurt you experience, the higher you build a wall of protection. The problem with walls is that although you’re protecting your heart from pain, you’re also preventing the love you most desire to reach you. More, you’re preventing God’s love: Agape love from penetrating your soul.
You won’t know this is hidden in your soul until God divinely ordains situations and people to illuminate them. And that often occurs through channels of arguments, disagreements, disrespect, and rejection. Ahh… now the heart work can begin:says the Lord Almighty! But sadly, we often reject the work that’s required to heal our soul. We turn to others, run away, shut down emotionally or drown our sorrows in outward stimuli. All the while the soul is still bleeding. Most think conflict is a bad thing. Everything has its duality. In life we must always look for good in the bad. Conflict forces you to know more about the other person. It forces you to learn their love language, communication style, needs, wants, desires, values; and most importantly, it forces you to learn more about yourself: your strengths, weaknesses, resilience, and faith in God. And, if you value the relationship, conflict will recalibrate your inner man to compassionately, lovingly, and humbly make adjustments for the betterment of the other person. Ahh… that’s true love! The Bible says by doing so, you’re fulfilling the law of Christ, Galatians 6:2; and He commands us to love one another how He loves us, John 13:34-35. Sadly, 40% of marriages end in divorce. Even Christian ones. Beloved, we must put on our armor and fight for God’s divine love: Agape love in our relationships. And that is putting down our pride, ego, control, and stubborn will; washing others feet in humility-Like Jesus. We are all wounded soldiers, but by all means, we are to lift up our brethern on the battle field and carry them to safety. Suffering long with them. This is the epicenter of a Godly relationship. When you’re fighting for love, the devil is losing!
Don’t Just Break Through, BREAK FREE!
Wow! What an amazing finish to this year! God so blessed me to finish “His” book: Don’t just breakthrough, BREAK FREE! I say His book because I had totally different intentions when I started writing the tome. But beloved, God had to bring me through various trials and deliver me from some things in order for me to understand the gist of what I was writing about! Including: stubborness, unforgiveness, pride, homelessness, joblessness and debilitating sickness. I payed the price with blood, sweat and tears! It took me nearly 7 years to finish this book!
I now realize if it had been published when I first started writing it, it would have been verbiage and not experience. It would have been words but no substance. It reminds me of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego when they were thrown into the fiery furnace. God had to allow me to be thrown into the fiery furnace to test this word that I was proclaiming; He had to test my faith by fire! Luke 22:31-32 says, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you Simon, that your faith may not fail!
So like clay, instead of being burned up, my faith has been refined into a beautiful vessel! Hallelujah! A vessel for salvation, a vessel of hope, a vessel of light to the lost, depressed, and those that are struggling to live another day!
Many of you may know I’ve recently lost a dear loved one. You never really realize the magnitude of death until it knocks on your door. When I was writing this book, for some reason God put on my heart to write:
“From time to time, God will send you a travel companion to help you along your way [on life’s journey]. Although you may be tempted to get upset when they leave, don’t!” Page 237.
I couldn’t understand at the time why I had written that as I never really lost anyone close to me to death. While editing the final chapters of the book, when I reread that sentence, I wept.
Beloved, God knows the trials we will endure before we can ever conceive of them. Surely, we can never understand why God allows good people to die violently, but oh how He loves us and protects and keeps us in the midst of life’s storms. I love you and God bless you!
-Puah Neiel
Healing Balm Cafe 
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