Don’t Let the Length of the Battle Steal Your Strength

Devotional by Tiffany Thompson, Tower of Hope Ministries Graduate, 2019

“Now there was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David. But David grew stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker.”

2 Samuel 3:1 NKJV

Don’t let the length of the battle steal your strength. Some of you have been fighting for a long time, and you wonder when your war will be over. If you read on in later chapters of 2 Samuel, God causes David to completely destroy his enemies. You will too if you do not get discouraged because of the long war.

If you walk by faith and not by sight, you will get stronger and stronger and your enemies will get weaker and weaker. The more you praise God when it doesn’t make sense, the more your enemy’s strength diminishes. The more you fast, pray and speak the Word, the weaker your enemy becomes and he will have no choice but to let you (and everything attached to you) go! You WILL go from victory to victory, but it’s little by little.

In these times of battling stubborn spirits, the enemy is hoping that you will give up. But be not discouraged because of the long war. This is a fight of your FAITH. Keep your faith in God, don’t give up, and you will see victory over all your enemies just like King David did.

Prayer: Lord, thank You that You have never lost a battle. Give me Your strength, courage, patience and endurance so I can receive everything You promised me. Create in me a fighting spirit that will not rest until I have recovered everything the enemy stole from me due to trauma. Help me to fight for myself, my family and my purpose and let me never be ok with defeat. Thank You for helping me to never give up and to always trust in You. In Jesus’ Name, amen.

Accept the Assignment. Just Say Yes!

Devotional by Shaneice Thomas, Tower of Hope Ministries Graduate, 2020

Accept the Assignment. Just Say Yes.

I want to share 2 things you can do to accept your assignment like Moses did.

Exodus 3:2-3 reads, “There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”

Step 1- Pay attention.

God can use anything to draw your attention away from what you are doing. We can get so focused on our job/work/career and forget that there is a higher purpose for our earthly existence.

“When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” Exodus‬ ‭3:4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

When Moses moved from where he was, then God called to him.

We too must move. Sometimes that move of God will take you by surprise. Out of your comfort zone. Beyond what is familiar.

Moses saw something strange and he moved.

  • So be aware and mindful of what’s happening in your environment. Respond to the beckoning of God when he’s trying to get your attention.
  • Could be an early morning wake up call around the same time. Could be something in nature that keeps recurring.

Step 2- Know your name and respond to God’s call.

Heed and listen to the voice of God. Know who you are. Your authentic self. And when he calls, answer him to establish your availability.

  • When God calls we must be close enough to hear him, recognize his voice, and respond that we are present.
  • Like when the teacher calls the roll. You must answer to indicate that you are there.

So when God calls, we should say, “Here I am.”

Moses was given a specific assignment. A specific location and a specific task with the goal already established.

Go to Egypt. Free my people.

God didn’t mention try, attempt, or hopefully, he stated the assignment in very specific terms. This is what WILL happen.

Why did God tell him what would happen? Because once we get in the battle of the assignment we have to know without a doubt that God has already established the victory or we may get discouraged.

God is not going to put you in any battle to lose!

So in order to accept your assignment. Just say yes and let God handle the rest.

Ain’t That Good News?!

We all could use some good news and we all like stories so we thought we would share both with you and then allow you to share some with us! I heard a Good News story once and it changed my life forever. I hope that you will allow it to change yours too. 

My good news story is about how God through Jesus Christ has given me true peace, joy, love, and hope after trauma. God accepts everyone who fears him and does what is right. The Good News is there is peace for you too with God through Jesus Christ who is Lord of All.  

John prepared the way for Jesus and baptized him. Upon being baptized, God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and with power. Jesus used this power to heal and deliver everyone that was oppressed. When we confess our sins, repent of our sins, and accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior we are baptized into the same Holy Spirit with power and we become believers. 

By faith, we accept the new and abundant life Jesus promised. We then become witnesses of this new life as we experience his healing and delivering power from sickness, disease, and trauma. Jesus commissioned us to tell everyone what he did for us after he heals us.  

I remember when He healed and delivered me! I was in bondage and suffering from panic attacks, anxiety, depression, sickness, mental illness, personality disorders, insecurities, a lack of self-esteem and self-worth. I was being tormented day and night because of the guilt and shame that stemmed from extreme abuse in my childhood. I couldn’t give love or receive love. 

God opened my eyes, healed me, freed me, and commissioned me to coach others to freedom. Jesus was appointed to free us all. This is the same Jesus the prophets spoke about in the Old Testament. Even though I had studied books about Jesus, learned scriptures about him, and heard stories about him, I did not know him. When I accepted him into my life as my Lord and Savior I was curious if he really was like the one I had read about. I prayed that he would reveal himself to me. I needed to be healed and set free from all of the torment and heartache I had experienced my whole life. Today, I can say that he did. He truly did set me free and He wants to do the same for you. Now ain’t that Good News?!

That is just a small portion of my testimony and I will be sharing more soon! I want to hear from you. Do you have a Good News Story to share? Has God done something in your life and you want to give Him praise? Remember that Jesus commissioned us to tell it and to spread it. 

Click here to contact us and share your story for submission to our Good News blog. Just paste your story into the message box and we will get back to you about your entry.

~ Dr. Dora Washington

Life After Trauma Drama

You read it correctly. Life after Trauma Drama. Your interest is piqued, and if you are a survivor of trauma, you are probably stirred emotionally, as well. I know Life After Trauma—even without the Drama—sounds like an oxymoron. Who can have life after trauma drama—especially when you have had nothing but trauma drama—for most of your life? 

Let me explain what I mean by Trauma Drama. Trauma Drama, in my words, is described as all the shame, guilt, extreme phobias and fears, Obsessive Compulsive Disorders (OCD’s), emotional extras, mental impairments, physical hypochondria, and roller coaster relationships threatening your ability to cope with everyday life. Some survivors of childhood trauma experience extreme difficulty relating, adjusting, and making decisions on a consistent basis. 

I sound like a subject matter expert right? It’s because I have the experience as well as the knowledge. I lived with it for the past 30 years, and asked God what to do with all the pain, proficiency, and passion to help free others who have endured such adversities in childhood. God is so gracious that He also made helping others my purpose. I now feel like my suffering, pain, and loss were not in vain. 

It wasn’t until 2010 that God began dealing with me about things that happened in my childhood. I knew my childhood was extremely challenging, but I did not know the things I thought to be normal had long-term deleterious effects. Consequently, I wanted to create a space for both survivors and overcomers to share prayers, strategies, and successes to help others overcome their trauma drama. 

I want to address what I believe to be a misconception regarding healing. From my experience and counseling, the misconception is that once you become a believer, all you need to do is claim your healing and be healed of everything—all at once. That misconception has become a deception by the enemy to keep us bound with physical, mental, and emotional bondage by denying our suffering. It’s like the family secret everybody knows but nobody talks about, so we suffer in silence. We suffer Childhood Trauma disorders, dissociative personality disorders, Eating and Anxiety disorders, Adjustment and Learning disorders, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, sexual and gambling addictions, homosexuality struggles, financial mismanagement, shame, guilt, and condemnation. We suffer it all in the name of our Jesus. We fear we will hurt His name if we speak up about our pain or tell someone what we are thinking or feeling. Our enemy does a lot, but some of our struggles are because we need help understanding and processing the pain from the things that happened to some of us before our brains were even fully developed. A competent Faith-based Christian counselor or program like Tower of Hope, experienced in trauma and the Word, would do us good. 

The Word (Bible) really has the answer to all of mankind’s brokenness, but if we don’t know how to use it to address what we are going through, we may end up like the Children of Israel wandering in the wilderness or suffering alone and silently. It’s like living and sleeping outside when your house burns down because you don’t know what’s covered by your homeowners’ insurance policy. The Bible is the Believers’ policy, and we have to get to know what is covered. You don’t have to wander—or wonder—when we have sisters and brothers in Christ who have already gone through what you are going through and have triumphed over trauma through the Blood of the Lamb and the words of our testimonies. 

The truth is Jesus wants us to be healed and live the abundant life for which He died. We remain comfortable taking 10 different medications for our minds and bodies. It is my belief that if we really delved into our policy (Bible), we would be able to experience more healing. I’m not saying we won’t, don’t or shouldn’t take medicine. I am saying the more we understand the exceeding greatness of the power we have, we will be able to walk in more healing.

Let’s address the deception that you are automatically healed and have to do nothing else because God says you are. When I read the Bible, I see with healing came instructions whether it was: 

  • Elijah, who told Naaman the leper to “Go dip” (2 Kings 5:1-17),
  • Nebuchadnezzar, who looked to heaven and was healed from insanity (Daniel 4: 34-36),
  • Jesus, healing the lame man from a 38-year infirmity, told him to “Take up your bed and walk,” or, 
  • the man who was born an invalid and laid daily at the Gate whom Peter and John told to “Get up and Walk.”  (Acts 3:2)

Even with those who didn’t do anything for their healing, others had to do something by interceding for them to be healed. The point is for those who want Jesus to do something: He has already done something and is now waiting for them to act in faith, believing his promises. The something they need to do is to stop being passive about their healing, passing it on to medical doctors, psychiatrists, family, friends, and church community. Read the policy (Bible). When you do, you will find that one of the things our policy includes is atonement for our sins and delivery from sickness and disease. 

I understand this blog isn’t for everyone. If it’s not for you, you don’t have to waste time reading it. However, if you are a believer and have suffered adversities in your childhood and you believe they may have left you emotionally, mentally, and physically scarred, and you are ready to say No More Trauma Drama  in your life for the rest of your life; if you are ready to declare to the enemy of your soul, mind, and body that the Trauma Reign is over, then this blog is for you. Welcome! I greet you in the name of our Jehovah Rapha. If you don’t know Jesus as your Savior and want to, just say this confession out loud:

I believe Jesus died for me, rose on the 3rd day, and ascended into Heaven. I confess my sins, repent of my sins, and I make Jesus Lord of my Life now. 

With that confession, I accept all the benefits of a Believer as a son/daughter of God and I claim my inheritance:  healing, deliverance, and freedom. 

In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

We are here and willing to help walk you through the stages of pain and guide you on your healing journey by offering our personal experience, Biblical and Research knowledge, Godly wisdom, and referrals where appropriate. Graduates of the program have many years of experience in childhood trauma but have gone through rigorous training to help others heal, be delivered and set free.

Where are you on your healing journey? 

  1. Trauma Drama 
  2. No More Trauma Drama 
  3. Life after Trauma Drama

Click here to Triumph Over Trauma!

Do yourself some good and see some good in others

Today’s focus is on finding the good in others. Our fast paced world and constant focus on ourselves leave little room for us to focus on others and leaves even less room for us to focus on the good in others. Nelson Mandela said, “It never hurts to see the good in someone. They often act the better because of it.” I found this to be true in my own personal relationships, and as I facilitate counsel others.

Seeing the good in others may actually do more for you than it does for others because 1) It helps you to focus on the positive. In a world that’s filled with information overload and constant negativity (home, work, telephone, email, social and media, you have to be intentional about thinking positive 2) Positivity breeds positivity. The more positive you are, the more positive thoughts come your way. The Law of Attraction can work for you or against you. Just keep in mind, it’s always working and 3) People tend to not disappoint you so look for goodness. Have you expected someone to let you down and sure enough it wasn’t long before they did. It is possible that the person did all that could be done to follow through, but perhaps circumstances beyond his control were responsible for the let down. In this case, the disappointment wasn’t in the character of the person as you supposed. Do yourself and others a favor. The next time you feel inclined to think negative or see the worst in someone, think of the good it would do you good to see the good in them.

Watch the video teaching featuring Jack Kornfield