Christine Caine has always been one of my favourites that I look up to so much. When I moved to Australia in 2015-2016, it was a time in my life when I was really depressed when I moved back and didn’t trust god anymore, I no longer felt close to my faith and I drifted away from god so much.

My relatives would always tell my parents and the people around us, to not force your kids to go to church, when the time is right, jesus will call you in his own way. I never understood what that meant. Fast forward to 2020, being exposed to social media so much as my job constantly revolves around instagram and facebook, sharing and engaging with our audience.

Naturally, I came across Propel Women , founded by Christine Caine and I fell in love with their posts and the way their captions and explanations of bible verses. I signed myself up to overcoming overwhelmed and the one episode that really spoke to my was day 3.

This entire post, I have to give credit to Christine Caine as I was listening, I typed up an entire page of every word she said, because her words truly spoke to me.

1 Peter, 4: 12 – 13 

“Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice in as much as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.”

If anything now is the time more than ever to hang onto the premises of god, there’s another side to this. You are being purified, god is testing us in the midst of all of this. For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of god, yes, we self examine, it’s different from self obsession. 

The key to getting set free, is to just pour your heart out before him, it doesn’t have to be clean eloquent. Just be who you are, you don’t have to change your voice and tone.

THIS was what hit me, jesus doesn’t judge, he doesn’t care if your words don’t sound perfect, it’s our time with jesus to really reflect and just pour your overwhelm and thoughts to him, and this really fuelled me to do the same in my own way, because I tried to find my own words to express how I felt but I never knew how to.

Blurt it all out in your own way, even if it doesn’t make sense to you, it will make sense to him. He does understand even when we don’t understand our own hearts. The bible says he knows our heart, pour it out and let him come into the midst of that pain and suffering, and that sense of being overwhelmed. 

Psalm 61:2 says

“When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I. ” Take it step by step, that’s what the rock that is higher than I means. 

One moment in the presence of god, you might not understand it any better, but you will feel better. Because god truly makes everything feel better, his presence, immersing yourself in him when you feel stuck and anxious

1 Peter 1 6:9 

In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

It’s only a little while, and the genuineness of your faith is being tested, you’re being tried and your faith is going to come out purer than gold, it is strength straining. God is building your strength, faith and trust at this level, when god releases you at the next level, you’re going to be stronger. Your enemy isn’t going to be able to take you out as easily , you are going to be able to trust god at an even better level. 

God continuing to increase our ministry, our influence, a direct correlation between how willing i am to endure trials to have my faith tested, to be refined as i am conformed to be transformed to the image of god. The degree to which i am willing to continue to do that , is the degree to which god continues to give me influence around the earth. 

As we continue to experience overwhelm, god is testing us. We are being tested, when our faith is being tested, we are becoming stronger in the spirit, we’re able to navigate more things in the spirit. God can trust us with more things that are going to give him great glory, you are not being punished, you are being trusted, strengthened. 

As your faith is proven, you become a great testimony to those around you. It is not over, god is not finished with you, he is refining, testing and strengthening you, it’s going to be for your good and his glory.

There is more resilience than you think, you are more tenacious than you think, there is a greater future ahead of you. Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. 

The devil did not defeat you on your worst day, because when the devil tries to tear you down and you have succumbed to that, that’s when you know the devil has taken full control over you, but jesus will carry you even when you don’t have the strength to lift yourself up again.

Because jesus has been through much worse, he KNOWS that it feels like. He understands, he did on the cross for us and even though our pain can’t be compared to his, but as Christine says, he knows.

When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to that rock, that is higher than I. When i am weak, he is strong.

He can carry me when i can’t carry myself.  when you might be feeling you’re defeated, even if you’re barely hanging on, the devil on his best day didn’t take you out on your worst day, you are still here, you’re still alive, you’re still going.

In jesus name, amen, because the devil on his best day did not take me down on my worst day, I nearly lost my life in 2016 in Australia, probably getting deep, but the devil did not take me, and this is why I resonated so much. All along , when I could not see jesus, he was with me all this while.

It might not be immediate for you to realise that jesus is always beside you, it might take years, just like my own journey, but he is always there.