TAKE BACK YOUR CUP!

Satan wants to steal the joy of your resurrected life one cup at a time…



This is the story of a girl who had suffered and been set free all in the course of a few days. It may not be for you, but I reckon it’s worth sharing this memory because specific ones will get it, and this is for you, precious, struggling girl…

Two years ago this week, I joined Paul on his orders in Gulfport, MS, where we would go to the 80th Birthday Seabee ball. At that point, I had been pill sober for almost seven years (9 years now), but it took me a little longer to become alcohol sober. I was edging on five years then. With pills, I’m honestly not tempted at all anymore. I really do believe the Lord delivered me from that, but with alcohol…for whatever reason…even though I do not drink at all, I still have a conscious struggle with the temptation.

Now let’s be clear, scripture…Romans 14, to be exact…shows us that it is not drinking that is the sin. The sin is excessiveness and being a stumbling block to others. So anyway, this blog is not to prove my nobility by staying away from it. That is the furthest thing from the truth. I am better than no one…in fact, I am the worst of the wretched, having a true problem with my love of numbness and excess. With that being said, The point of this is to give God the glory for His constant strength in my persistent, self-serving weakness.

Back to the story, though…there is alcohol everywhere in Gulfport. It is so much different than little ol’ Spring Hill. There’s plenty of it there, but here, you cannot go anywhere without it being EVERYWHERE!! This may sound pitiful, but at dinner one particular night, I found myself staring down into my hot lemon water…feeling surrounded, smooshed, consumed, and all alone.

I don’t guess I understood how much it tempted me until the next day. I had a bit of a comeapart when I was all alone in the hotel room…shoving chips down my throat at a rate that made me step back and ask God what in this blasted world was going on with me.

That’s when He began to give me a series of specific next steps…

1. He helped me realize that I was compensating with food…trading one desire for another. IOW, He gave me a place to confess my sin and call on Him to stand between me and myself. He was faithful and righteous to forgive, cleanse, and set me free.

2. He reminded me that isolation and secrecy are deadly but that being vulnerable with friends who will pray is not only a part of my healing but their encouragement as well. When I reached out, and friends began to respond, my heart began to sing!!

3. Next, He instructed me to fight like He had originally taught me…”MOVE! EXERCISE! PRESS YOURSELF BEYOND YOUR LEARNED, WORLDLY LOVES OF EXCESS AND SELF-PITY!! UNLEARN YOU AND WORSHIP ME, THE GOD OF ALL PEACE AND COMFORT!!

Before I knew it, my shoes were tied, my earbuds were in… my feet were moving, and My heart was once again steeped in worship. The Lord showed me that Satan wanted me to feel depressed and defeated about not having a cup full of the old dead stuff when I had been given a cup running over with His goodness.

The Lord showed me that Satan does attack…NO DOUBT… but at the same time, I have to make a conscious choice not to give away the cup of new life that Jesus gave me. I have to choose to cry out to Him, cry out to friends He has surrounded me with, and listen intently for what He would have me do next.

I have to make a conscious choice to TAKE BACK MY CUP!

Now…if you’ve made it this far in the blog, I pray that you relate in your own way, but most of all that you lift your head out of your figurative lemon water -- or bag of chips -- and feel led to follow these basic steps. I hope you will get up today and TAKE BACK YOUR OWN CUP! You don't have to be afraid or overwhelmed. Jesus is the difference!

"From death to life

From darkness to a shine

From fear to peace

I can't explain

From doubts to a hope

Holding on and letting go

Of all the empty promises of shame

This is my song

I was one way

But now I am different

There was a clear change in

A Holy collision

Who I was

And who I'll forever be

And He was the in-between

From Orphan to Your Child."