Onica M. Royal - Persecuted But Not Forsaken

Persecuted, But Not Forsaken

How God uses your Devastation on your way to your Destination

Memoirs of a Survivor

Onica Michelle Royal

For Randy, my epitomized

strength forever loved

This book is protected by the copyright laws of the United States of America. This book may not be copied or reprinted for commercial gain or profit. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means or stored in a database or retrieval system without prior written permission of the Publisher.

Copyright # 1-7189582591

ISBN: 978-0-578-42672-3

Copyright 2020 Onica Michelle Royal

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portion thereof in any form whatsoever. Contact email is Kingdomconcepts2018@gmail.com

Embedded within the pages of this journal are a series of journeys of sorts that depict how a sovereign God can take pain and trade it for purpose. For every why theres a because and for every question, there is an answer. Situations, people, problems, and processes are all necessary for the tumultuous hike to your destiny. The downfalls, the detours, the long, dark, seemingly endless winding roads that foreshadow a place called Nowhere are all imperative for the process.

To believe that we serve a God that intentionally created living purpose within each of us, one that is divinely and uniquely shaped, will then have this same living purpose become useless, wither away and perish is folly! God in His divine wisdom intends to get a return for all that He has invested in each of us. II Corinthians 4:7 reminds, But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. If you are faithful and willing to endure the process, God will take your moments of devastation and transform them into platforms, useful and vital for your ultimate destination.

The basis for this book is founded upon the words of the Apostle Paul, who himself became familiarly acquainted with many hardships, tests, and trials. Each chapter is based upon his words in II Corinthians 4:8-9, which ultimately is the lot of every blood-bought believer where he imparts, We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.

Here between vagueness and victory is where the passage of your purpose begins! When theres nothing left to grasp but the impossible, God extends His loving hand to leadfrom Devastation to Destiny. Take the ride! Enjoy the vast scenery, learn from the pit stops, but never, ever stop moving forward! Theres much to be discovered in this journey of YOU!

Treasure in Earthen Vessels 4:7

But this beautiful treasure is contained in uscracked pots made of earth and clay so that the transcendent character of this power will be clearly seen as coming from God and not from us.

If only Mona Lisa could speak, I wonder exactly the weight of the words that would escape from behind that priceless smile. Would she excite you with the story of a journey that led her to be captured in the timeless work of art by DaVinci? Would there be tales of extremely blissful moments of happiness or tragic recollections of wounds from times past? Like my own, her smile shares only one version of her story, the one everyone thinks they know, while her eyes posing as the windows to her soul expose the truth. Who would dare have the courage to trespass beyond the fortified walls of her self-protected, introverted being? They had purposely been erected to keep at bay those who came to rescind her divine assignment. The empty space behind the walls of my soul only gave the impression to house countless ranks of consuming darkness that seemed to be clustered as one perpetual, lifeless abyss! This darkness so thick and blinding at times was unpredictably scary. It seemed the only solution was to invoke darkness most effective antidotethe illuminating light of Gods Word.

In the same way much like Mona Lisa, Ive been recognized and known for my smile. Somehow through the horrendous muck and mire, I have always managed to regularly keep one. Most times it had been plastered upon my face to mirror the condition of the heart Id always longed for; the one I dreamed of one day conceiving, one that wasnt damaged, calloused, or cold. This smile that I wore amazingly was just as resilient as the wounded spirit I housed inside this battle-scarred frame.

Unless you were an astute historian you wouldnt know what brought Mona Lisa to be chosen to display her enduring expression but I have come to realize that my smile is a testament of strength and God-given grace. This smile would be the constant reminder that it wasnt merely formed by muscles and tendons that respond to reflexes and external stimuli, it was fashioned, formed, and made manifest by the skillful Creator who would use it for His glory!

I am only one individual of many, nothing extraordinarily significant, with meager beginnings and no substantial evidence to prove I was destined to be here, I felt. From the beginning I was chosen. From the start I was blessed, but could not fathom the circumstances and life-altering events from which all of these things God had pre-ordained would be extracted.

It seems that right from the beginning, the enemy launched a horrific attack to ambush, annihilate, and destroy my life. Like a target isolated on a gun range, the one I invisibly wore was only visible to my enemies. Their weapons were formed and initially I knew this quite well. But what exactly the weaponry would entail and how effective each article of artillery would become, I did not yet know. Time and countless trials would be the most accurate historians of how one could endure incidences of persecution, yet remain confident in the fact that I had not one incident of ever being forsaken by God.

Being a daddys girl and one of his faithful traveling companions, our relationship was unbreakable and in my eyes my father could do no wrong. I trusted him and hung onto his every word, especially whenever we would hold our many conversations while trekking endless roads either before or immediately after hed exerted acts of ministry. If I had learned a new word or caught a new catch phrase Id be sure to ask him the meaning. After some sermons I witnessed him preach, I would recap the information during our talks on the way home. I asked him questions about the Bible and subjects I was unsure about and he excitedly supplied answers, every single time. He never missed an opportunity to pour knowledge and wisdom into me. Moreover, it thrilled him to see my thirst and zeal to learn new things. Hed never given me a reason to doubt or second-guess anything he said. Every question had a valid answer when it came to him. Except this one conversation we had. I was around the age of 4 and there were just five little words spoken that abruptly altered the trajectory of my innocent young life. Trying to comprehend where I came from and why I was born, why my friends had both a mom and a dad and I only had a dad, I needed to know what purpose I served by being here with what I assumed was a disadvantage. From this moment forward, my soul, the meaning of all living things and the reason why they existed, became drastically malformed. My fragile spirit, yearning to understand as well as be understood, hearkened unto these alarming words spoken by him that I was unprepared for, No. You were NOT planned.

It was spoken emphatically and without emotion. What?! Oh, my God! That just couldnt be right, I thought. How could that be the truth when God declared from the beginning that everything He made was