You may recognize her father’s name before hers, but don’t think the devil has let this one get by.
Cora Jakes Coleman—daughter of famed preacher T.D. Jakes—details her spiritual battles, going toe-to-toe with the enemy and clinging to God’s promises in her new book, Faithing It.
“In a world where faith is being tested and challenged across the board, people need to be reminded there is power in faith,” Coleman says. “It literally renders the enemy ineffective and can be a shield if you let it.”
Her faith is a spiritual shield, one she finds comfort in, despite the worldly odds stacked against God’s promise to her.
When she was 10 years old, Coleman says God gave her a dream of the son she would have: a little boy named Nehemiah. But 12 years later, after a devastating car crash, Coleman discovered her reproductive system was on the verge of shutting down.
Coleman was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS. The diagnosis put Coleman in the ranks of nearly 5 million women in the United States alone.
Rather than doubting the promises of God, she took the enemy to task.
“I know what God promised me,” Coleman says. “I stand on promises of God and will not waver based on what the world was saying.”
Now the executive director of the children’s ministry at Potter’s House, Coleman is using her testimony to show others how to connect to God, even if they can’t see His hands at work.
Through her battle, Coleman says she realized how God made her the face for people who have been shaken in their faith.
She says she believes God will use her book to remind others of His promises to them.
“I literally talked to God and asked Him to show me what to say to the people,” Coleman says. “(I want it to) be a revolution for whoever is reading it. As I was writing it, I could literally see people crying, rejoicing over it, seeing their faith being strengthened by it.”
And much of her wisdom stems from her paternity: “My father is the one who encouraged my faith to begin with,” Coleman says.
“When going through it, it was very devastating (to) me, but my father always knew of my promise. He looked at me and said, ‘You can be angry, you can be sad, you can devastated, but you cannot stop fighting.'”
For those currently enduring trials, Coleman offers three steps:
1. Face it: Face the emotional discouragement, the anger.
2. Forgive, lest you drown yourself in unforgiveness
3. Get moving
“We have to not allow our situations to make us stagnant in life,” Coleman says. “If we don’t have enemies, we don’t have stepping stools. If we don’t have situations, we don’t have stories to tell.”
It’s these stories that can help build the faith of others.
Though Faithing It won’t hit bookshelves until November, Coleman launched a video series encouraging women to cling to God’s promises.
“I love what you were saying, to help, encourage, and build up the hurting people,” one fan posted on Coleman’s Facebook page. “What! a wonderful and powerful prayer. May God bless you, my sister. Have a blessed week, Amen!”
