Candida Infection: Consider it pure joy to face trails . . . produces PERSEVERANCE

Posted by Dan and Carole McClelland

Fast forward to Oct 31st, about 70 days of choosing LIFE for my body and declaring and believing God's truth. I had been following the strict diet for 70 days and honestly I was expecting that by that time I would be better.  I thought that I would be done.  I thought that I would have energy again and that I could be able to eat sugar again. It had been 70 days! That was a lot of days of just vegetables!

Do not get me wrong, I was having fun cooking and learning how to cook and really started to enjoy baked eggplant and aparagus and soba noodles and artichokes with homemade italtan dressing.  And there was battles won in my digestive system and being able to process more foods. I was now eating reintroducing foods in small amounts like grains (quinoa, millet, brown rice) and meats (chicken, fish and beef) and nuts.  And my body was able to handle small amounts of oil so I was able to cook with more variety which was great.  But it was 70 days and I was growing impatient with God's timing with his healing.  I was growing weary of declaring and believing without seeing.  I was losing heart about the possibility of ever going back to my normal life of having energy and eating normal food again. And it was seeping through in my thoughts, attitudes, words and choices everyday. I recognized that I started to give up and started declaring my identity based on what I was experiencing and seeing again. Stating, this is how I am.  This is amount of strength I have and will have.  This is the way I will feel forever.  I was growing weary of fighting and losing hope in winning.

I remember it so clearly because Dan's brother and daughter, Kelby and Kaeyln were visiting from NC.  I was low on energy and did not have the strength to do all the things we wanted to do. I could not even make it a full day without a nap and walking up stairs were still hard and done very slowly step by step.  I was ok with that on day 10 but day 70! I expected more! After a day of fun out, we arrived home and I was exhuasted.  We still planned to go out again and I had a terrible attitude.  Dan noticed and asked me about it.  I said I am fine lets go but he knew better and basically locked me up in our room telling me to met with Jesus (I love my husband!).

As I sat alone in my room, I did not even know where to start.  I realized that distance had grown between me and my father, me and my lover, me and my counselor. I just sat. And after a while started to pour out my hear to God, I just said whatever was on my mind and heart.  Being honest with him.  Afterwards, I begged Him to speak to me again.  I needed another rock to stand on.  I needed to hear his voice of reassurance and comfort and hope.  I waited. And waited.  It seemed like forever and finally a verse came to my mind.  James 1:2-4, Consider it pure joy to face trails because the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Perseverance,  my daughter, I am teaching you perseverance so that you can be mature and complete. My response to God's gentle voice: Perseverance! NO! Can you pick another scripture.  Pick another word.  I do not want to learn about perseverance.  It is right up there with patience and giving! Give me another word.  I waited for my new word my new verse.  Again I heard perseverance.  And another scripture (Romans 5:1-5) was brought to mind about perseverance. And then another one, Hebrews 12:1-3, perseverance again.  Ok, God, I surrender you win.  Teach me about perseverance.

I turned to the back of my bible and looked up perseverance and all the scriptures that had the word in it.  I spent the whole night in our room soaking up truth about perseverance.  Allowing His truth to sink in again.  I mediated on them, slowing down my reading pace and investigating them word by word, digging out the most I could out from each word of God.  Hope was being restored, I started to get color again and feel life in my spirit to believe!  God was teaching me something, he was teaching me perseverance and I was going to do everything I can to learn the lesson! I started to make declarations from the scriptures (below) to be able to memorize and proclaim out loud to myself.

I came out of my room, with my spirit alive and joyful! Declaring that through suffering God was producing perseverance in me. My faith is growing more and more and perseverance is a characteristic to boast about. I am a women throwing off everything that hinders and sin that entangles, so I can be strengthen to run the race marked out for me with perseverance. I am choosing to fix my eyes on Jesus so that I do not grow weary or lose heart and more!

And I can testify that God has produced perseverance in me! I have grown in strength, in muscles, in weight, in energy! Last week, just about 2 months after the night Dan locked me up with Jesus, we went on a 2.5 mile mountain hike in the Appalachian Mountains in VA. Again it was the word of God, that gave me life and joy to continue to persevere, to continue to get up and fight, to get up and believe, to get up and love Jesus with the energy and strength that He gave me each day allowing perseverance to finish its work in me to make me mature and complete!

Perseverance Declarations

I thank God for producing perseverance in me through suffering which leads to character and hope (Romans 5:1-5).

Perseverance is boast worthy and increases my faith (2 Thess. 1:3-5).

I am being strengthen to run the race marked out for me with perseverance by throwing off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles (Hebrews 12:1-3).

I choose to fix my eyes on Jesus so I will not grow weary or lose heart (Hebrews 12:1-3).

It is pure joy to face trails because it is testing my faith which produces perseverance in me (James 1:2-4).

I choose to let perseverance finish its work in me so that I can be mature and complete, not lacking anything in Christ Jesus (James 1:2-4).

Perseverance is being added to my faith (2 Peter 1:5-7).

Jesus sees and commends how I am enduring hardship without growing weary (Rev 2:1-3).

I am worthy of the kingdom of God as I persevere (2 Thess. 1:3-5).