My finish!
I really feel that we all have a foundation on which you can build a ministry! But unfortunately, in many cases we create our foundation without first seeking God’s guidance. We end up distracting ourselves from the MAN or WOMAN that God wants us to be. God already had a calling on my life, but since I didn’t have a relationship with Him, I didn’t know it! It took me until 7 years ago to discover my true purpose in life. The sad part is that some people never realize theirs.
As I said before, yes, I grew up in the church. But as we all know, some of the most evil people are in the church! Satan himself was in the choir! There are no members of the offense choir, but it was! I liked to hang out on the streets with people who had no goals or dreams. I then allowed this environment to be a distraction from becoming the man God intended me to be. Being in this kind of environment made me blind to my full potential of God calling me, my path at that time was dictated by the choices I made.
In June of 1989, while playing basketball at a local basketball court, I was arrested for several poor decisions I had made! My sentence was 366 days, which if you do the math comes out to a year and a day. Although it may not seem like a long time to many, at the tender age of 18 I felt that my life no longer had a purpose. I was in a cell no bigger than your standard closet. There were 4 walls, a hard concrete bed, and a very thin mattress. I had a sheet the size of a handkerchief that didn’t even reach my toes and barely covered my stomach! I had a plastic pillow that made noises that, along with my thoughts, prevented me from falling asleep at night. I had to wake up when I was told to wake up, eat when I was told to eat, even take a shower when I was told to…no matter how funky and moldy it might have been! I was really out of my comfort zone.
HOW MANY OF YOU BELIEVE GOD CAN TURN YOUR MESS INTO A MESSAGE! YOUR MISERY IN A MINISTRY!
God can take something negative in our life and turn it into something positive! In the same way he took Joseph, son of Jacob, grandson of Isaac and great-grandson of Abraham. If you remember in the Bible Genesis 37:18 when his brothers tried to kill him, they threw him into a well for him to die, that didn’t work. So they sold him into slavery; he then he was locked up for several years in a prison in Egypt. Who knew that one day Joseph would become one of the most powerful men in Egypt, second in command after Pharaoh himself! Genesis 41:41 GOD KNEW!
From the Well to the Palace!
God wants you out of that pit, and in your own Palace that he has for you! God is so powerful and he has so much grace and mercy that whatever negative situation you find yourself in, he already has an answer!
One of the Keys is TRULY…accepting Christ as your Lord and Savior! So as Proverbs 3:5 says – Trust in the Lord with all your Heart! And lean not on your own understanding! It may not make sense to you, but you still have to trust!
In me, the Lord took an 18-year-old boy, who was locked in a closet-sized jail cell, sleeping under a handkerchief-sized sheet on a concrete bed, with tears in his eyes and my heart crying out for God’s help and He said…”I will never leave you nor forsake you.” The crying may last one night, but the JOY comes in the morning!
Even then God had a plan for my life, despite my efforts to screw it up! He allowed me to suffer to bring me to the point where I knew I had to be in order to truly hear his call on my life. For me, I almost had to lose my life to get to the point where I was ready to be born again.
In my life….Who would have thought that God would use the same atmosphere – a basketball court that had brought me PAIN in my PAST, to bring SUCCESS in my FUTURE?
Who knew that seven years ago, on a basketball court similar to the one where my life lost its purpose, the rebirth and true purpose of my life would be found! God took that same environment and allowed me to play ball against a guy who was a comedian. A guy who finally challenged me to go on stage for the first time, get a standing ovation…and fall in love with comedy! The same gift that I now use as a ministry for God! Who knows? God knew!!
Yes, God has truly changed my life and blessed me! He has allowed me to perform in many of the places I have dreamed of…
Philippians 4:4… “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” This is me performing at BET’s Comicview!
Proverbs 3:6… “In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your path.” There I am at the Essence Music Festival!
Ephesians 3:20… “And to Him who is able to do all things much more abundantly than we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” Sir, do you want me to do what? mega fest? In front of millions of people? OKAY!!
No matter where you started, you can have a great finish! God still has a purpose for you! Trust in God! Don’t stay in that hole, go reclaim your palace!
Love life and laugh!