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my thoughts than your thoughts,” (Isaiah 55:8-9, NIV). God saw<br />
me as an imperfect person who was not worthy to stand before<br />
Him. “Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may<br />
stand in his holy place? The one who has clean hands and a pure<br />
heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god,”<br />
(Psalm 24:3-6 NIV).<br />
The word of God was like a sharp knife, cutting through my<br />
thoughts and emotions. I was shocked and disappointed that<br />
while I had qualified myself, God my creator and the one I was<br />
desperately seeking after, saw no good in my state of being. I<br />
had been stripped and laid bare, and this was a bitter pill to<br />
swallow. The devil took advantage of my hard heart and<br />
effectively used one of his best weapons against mankind - our<br />
damaging past. For a while, he had me tight in his grip, because<br />
the slightest memory of my past only opened my wounds afresh<br />
and I got repeatedly angry. He succeeded in taking me so many<br />
steps backwards. I became more upset than before because I<br />
noticed that the person I intended to accuse was now accusing<br />
me. On the third day of my prayers, the Holy Spirit gave me an<br />
important message and I took time to think about salvation. I<br />
asked God, “What have you done to me? Think about everything<br />
that I have gone through, and I have not even done anything<br />
wrong?” I decided in my heart that I was giving up. In my shock<br />
and desperation, a stranger came to me and repeated the words<br />
that God had already spoken to my spirit. I was understandably<br />
afraid, and before I could begin reasoning with Him, I was given<br />
clear instructions to “remove all deeply rooted nails from my<br />
heart” before resuming my prayer. The Holy Spirit was referring<br />
to the struggle that was going on in my heart. Right up to that<br />
moment, I believed that there were no nails in my heart. Just<br />
then, I was shocked when I started listing issues that had built<br />
up in my heart. I knew for sure that this had to be the work of<br />
God. There was no way I was going to admit that I was in a<br />
pathetic situation and needed help – the help of a Savior.<br />
The Holy Spirit spoke to me, revealing the five things that<br />
separated me from God’s glory. The first nail that blocked me<br />
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