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    Are You There God?: Amidst the Darkness Look to the Light
    Are You There God?: Amidst the Darkness Look to the Light
    Are You There God?: Amidst the Darkness Look to the Light
    Ebook116 pages1 hour

    Are You There God?: Amidst the Darkness Look to the Light

    By Charisse Jones

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    About this ebook

    “Are You There God” created to empower believers and yet believers that God is always present. In life we all have a journey to experience and story to share with others. Thus, God did not create us to walk this road alone. God desires to protect, provide, correct, and direct us, but we must recognize that He exist. We have to acknowledge that life is more than what is visible to our eyes and understand that an encounter with Jesus is both spiritual and tangible through God’s Word. “Are You There God” was birthed by reflecting on my experiences and wanting to share this with others to inspire and lead them to Christ! It’s a practical application of my life and biblical accounts, which helped me to see God. Those same experiences may be your story or different, but reflection on your life can help you see where God was and still is today. I hope that as I share my story with you, it will help you recognize, encounter, and embrace the living God who longs to be your lifelong partner. Jesus Christ never meant of us to experience life without Him and His companionship. God loves you so much that He gave His only Son (John 3:16 NIV) for your sins, for your present existence, and your future eternal salvation.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherWestBow Press
    Release dateApr 15, 2020
    ISBN9781973689706
    Are You There God?: Amidst the Darkness Look to the Light
    Author

    Charisse Jones

    Charisse Jones is a money and consumer news editor for USA Today. A former staff writer for the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times, she has co-authored eight books, provided commentary for NPR and has been a frequent contributor to CBS Mornings. She lives in the New York City area.

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      Book preview

      Are You There God? - Charisse Jones

      Copyright © 2020 Charisse Jones.

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

      This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

      WestBow Press

      A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

      1663 Liberty Drive

      Bloomington, IN 47403

      www.westbowpress.com

      1 (866) 928-1240

      Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

      Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

      Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

      Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV® Copyright © 1973 1978 1984 2011 by Biblica, Inc. TM. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

      Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

      Streams in the Desert 366 Daily Devotional Readings by L.B. Cowman

      1997 Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan pgs. 235-236

      ISBN: 978-1-9736-8969-0 (sc)

      ISBN: 978-1-9736-8971-3 (hc)

      ISBN: 978-1-9736-8970-6 (e)

      Library of Congress Control Number: 2020906611

      WestBow Press rev. date: 04/14/2020

      I would like to give all honor and glory to God for

      giving me the ability, strength, and perseverance

      to write this book. Without the gift of writing and

      passion for serving God, there would be no book. I

      look forward with anticipation toward how God will

      continue to pour into me so that I may pour into the

      lives of others and build His kingdom.

      Contents

      Acknowledgments

      Preface

      PART 1: THE PAST

      Chapter 1   I Did Not Really Know Him Back Then

      Chapter 2   Every Tub Has to Sit on Its Own Bottom

      Chapter 3   Reflect on the Past but Do Not Stay There

      Chapter 4   What Did God Tell You to Do Last

      PART 2: THE PRESENT

      Chapter 5   Do Not Focus on the Blessings of Others, Celebrate

      Chapter 6   Exercise Your Faith

      PART 3: THE FUTURE

      Chapter 7   Your Time Has Come

      Chapter 8   Next Level Spiritual Maturity

      Chapter 9   God Always Answers Prayers

      Chapter 10 Wait on the Lord

      Reflection Questions

      About the Author

      Acknowledgments

      I would first like to thank my loving family: my husband, Marlon, who has always pushed me to know who God is; and our two sons’ Corin and Caden. Your love, support, and encouragement are a testament to how much you love Jesus. You all are mighty men of God and I love you dearly.

      I would like to thank my mom, Charlene, for being my biggest cheerleader. As I grew older with the responsibilities of an adult, wife, and mother, you were always there to give guidance, wisdom, and unconditional love. There is no greater love than a mother!

      I would like to give thanks to my pastor, Bishop Bronner. You are indeed a man of God leading God’s children to come to know Him. During these past fourteen years of attending Word of Faith Family Worship Cathedral, my spiritual life has grown immensely. I have not only come to know Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior but also seek to live out this Christian walk depending on Him completely. The seeds of biblical knowledge that you have planted God is most definitely watering for my victory and His glory!

      Preface

      In this journey, we call life; God has given all of us a story that we can share with others. Communicating through writing may or may not be your avenue to share the love of God, but best believe God wants every person to testify to His glory. Our experiences and adventures, failures and successes, test, and trials are all different. But one thing is the same; we all come to know Jesus, eventually. God gives us free-will to accept Him and our Christian walk, but Jesus’ existence does not change because of our choices.

      I grew up knowing and believing in God but was far from experiencing a personal relationship with Him. And with lack of Spirit to Spirit intimacy, I could not witness how God’s Divine hand protected, provided, and directed me. However, when pain and hurt lurk into your soul and mind, there is no better time for God to step in, introduce Himself, and show you who He is and who you are. So, out of hurt, pain, fear, and the desire for change in my life came my ministry.

      The birthing of this book expresses how God’s love and light illuminated through my experiences during the years of my foolishness. It provides a practical application illustrating life events, which helped me to see God. I hope by sharing my various life stories, it will help you reflect on your encounters and see where God was and still is in your life.

      After recognizing our Heavenly Father and His ever-existing presence, this compelled me to share my story, to inspire, and lead others to Christ! I started out blogging weekly inspirational devotions, but always knew in my gut and heart of hearts, God commissioned me to write a book. Life is hard and unfair sometimes, but God wants to help you in this journey. What we go through is nothing new to God, and He has the best solution to help push you forward. However, gaining God’s help means we first need to acknowledge that He exists. An ambulance does not come to your house unless you call 911, you do not get an interview for a job until you complete an application; you do not lose weight until you change your eating habits and exercise. I think you get the picture. Relationship requires reciprocity, which is a mutual exchange between you and God. Each party has their part to play, and your role will take some trust, obedience, hope, and faith in an omnipotent, omnipresent God.

      I hope that as you read this book, you will begin to recognize, encounter, and embrace the living God who longs to be your lifelong partner. This life we live, God never intended for us to experience without the companionship of Jesus Christ. God loves you so much that He gave His only Son (John 3:16) for your sins, for your present existence, and your future eternal salvation.

      PART I

      The Past

      1

      I Did Not Really Know

      Him Back Then

      We all come to know the Lord at different times in our life. Whether during contentment, happiness, emptiness, pain, depression, health problems, financial issues, loss, or just riding high on the mountaintop, God can infiltrate our existence. He is the Creator; I Am, the Omnipotent One. Not time or circumstance influences His abilities or authority.

      For me, the unquestionable acknowledgment and revelation of God’s greatness, love, and protection happened in November 2006. In my time of distress, God gave guidance, peace, and love that was indescribable and unattainable by humans. Before this, I knew of God’s existence but only from a customary religious standpoint. I went to church occasionally, prayed before I went to bed, and blessed my food before eating. Honestly, my bedtime prayers consisted of praying while in the bed with one eye open fighting back sleep until I could gasp the final ‘amen.’ Did you notice I said "amen not in Jesus Christ’s name, amen! Living a life of ritual habits did not afford me the luxury of becoming exclusive with the God who took the time to give His one and only Son" for me (John 3:16) and knows me by person (Jeremiah 1:5).

      So, what happened on this typical November day to cause me to seek God and know Him for more than just an empty prayer

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