Don't Believe The Hype!

Till this day, I love hearing my mom tell this story: 

(En español of course) Once upon a time there was this little boy who was born with a heart murmur and spent a week in an incubator due to a respiratory illness during birth.  When he was six months old, this little boy was sick with a throat ache/infection. His mom gave him penicillin to cure the throat ache/infection not knowing the little boy was allergic to this drug. The little boy stopped breathing, eyes turned in his eyelids and his skin turned blue – not a good thing. In a panic, the little boy’s mom grab the boy and called (more like screamed) at her husband who was in the shower. With a towel around his waist, the husband comes out of the shower, snatches the boy from his wife’s hands and orders her and the rest of the kids to begin to pray. He carried his baby boy into his room and kneels down at his bedside praying to God to revive his little boy. With the mom and the rest of the kids crying and praying in the background, he prayed for what seemed to be an eternity. Eventually, this man of faith brings out his handsome baby boy back to the rest of the family. His color was back to normal and he was healthier than before this incident.

That little boy was me. And while this story should serve as an encouragement to me, for a long time I struggled with lies of the enemy insisting that I should have remain dead. Every failure, every time I felt weak, and every opportunity he could use, I would hear “you shouldn’t be alive right now” “God wanted you dead” “What was your dad thinking praying for you?” “That’s why you are going through so much stuff”. I even heard a few “you should end it now” thoughts!

One night while I was struggling with these lies, I got down on my knees and prayed to God. He gave me a “glimpse” of my father kneeling down on his bed praying for me. Then God reminded me:

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

You see I had heard that verse before but that night it made complete sense! I hope it does for you, too!

What lies is the enemy telling you? “You don’t fit in” “you don’t belong” “you should end your life”? Whatever it is…Don’t believe the hype! God has “greater” plans for you!