YOU CAN'T FINISH ME OFF!

 

Written By Angeline M Duran Santiago

They have greatly oppressed me from my youth, 

but they have not gained victory over me.”

“Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth: 

yet they have not prevailed against me.”

 “From my earliest youth my enemies have persecuted me, 

but they have never been able to finish me off.”

Psalm 129:2

The more I take a moment to read the different translations of Psalm 129:2, the more my heart is filled with the assurance that in my darkest moments, I truly have not been abandoned, God has looked after me from my childhood. I look back and I remember so many tragedies, periods of crisis, and so many times where only divine intervention could have gotten my family and me through the difficulty. There have been sicknesses, traumas, and so many other things that are not worth the mentioning because I prefer to magnify my Great God and not a host of darkness whose end is defeat.

I truly love these words and as I meditated on them this morning, I had to stop and just look up the different translations. Yes, I have been greatly oppressed, afflicted and persecuted. It seemed life in school and growing up makes this sentence so real for me personally. Even later on in my late teens when I God’s love called me out of the darkness and into His glorious Light, even in the church I learned what it meant to me persecuted, mistreated, falsely accused and left alone. Throughout my days, the opposition has never ceased to come against me.

The awesome truth of getting into God’s  Word is the second part of this verse. It says, they have not gained victory over me, they have not prevailed against me and they have never been able to finish me off. Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! Do you see this? Do you get it? Really get it? I heard the Lord speaking into my life this morning and saying, “Girl, I know they’ve been oppressing, afflicting and persecuting you since you were a little girl, but don’t you know it’s not going to break you? Don’t you see this is not your end? Don’t you realize that a Greater one than “they” and “your enemies” has always been by your side?

I am encouraged this morning because these words are not just for me. These words are resounding loud and clear for my son Jacob, Type 1 Diabetes has afflicted you from your infancy, but it will not destroy you! God is with you! These words are for my son Aaron and my daughter Jeru. Yes, you have gone through much in your short life, but God has and will continue to fight for you and conquer those that come against you. These words are for my brothers and their families. These words are for my parents, yes, my parents need to know that they’ve gone through the battles and the storms. People have done so much wrong to you and your family but God is reminding us that in the midst of all the wrong, all the hurt and all the assaults on our family, past and present, God is saying, "This is not for your destruction!"

Amazing! It is awesome to have the Scriptures that tell me of God's plan, that reveal to me God's love, His purpose and His power for me each day. Yes, we enter the battlefield, but we are trained from head to toe. We are never abandoned and never forsaken. God allows us to begin at the starting line and He is with us as we reach the victory at the finish line. God is present when we're pushed down but He is present to lift us up and keep our heads held high. God is present when we cry but he is present when we rejoice! God is ever present in the silence but oh, He is ever present when we put on the music and dance before His presence!

This is not just for my family. This is for you, dear reader, dear brother and sister in the Lord. God knows your past , but oh, how much more wonderful that He is not only with you today and tomorrow but He will be with you in the upcoming years to keep giving you the victory that comes when we trust in His power, faithfulness and love. This is for you if you've gone through the wreckage of a hurtful past. If you have been let down. Whatever you have gone through, do not, I repeat, DO NOT FOCUS on the past. God wants you and me to look ahead because when we keep our eyes on Him we are able to see that we have not been completely demolished.

Trust in the Lord. He is more than good. 

He is faithful. He is Lord and He never fails.