I haven’t always slept in luxury rooms while on the road preaching. In fact, when I first got into the traveling ministry, I slept wherever there was an opening. Sometimes it was a blessing, and other times it wasn’t.
For example, I had a preacher tell me he wanted me to stay with him at his home one time. He had a nice home, and I was glad to stay with him because I didn’t have any money to go to a hotel. He had a nice family with a little boy and girl who both really liked me.
Well, I went to sleep that night, and I slept hard like I always do. Cathy says when I sleep, a tornado could come flying through the room and I wouldn’t ever wake up. When I sleep, I’m out cold, man. I’m just plain unconscious. That’s the way I slept when I was at this man’s house that night. Only this time I found out that something strange had happened in the night.
The next morning I woke up at about 7 A.M., and I felt something strange in the bed with me. When I looked over, I saw that the man’s little boy and girl had come into the room and crawled into bed with me during the night without my knowing it had happened.
Like I said, when I’m asleep, I’m sound asleep. One of those kids was on the left side of me, and the other was on my right. I thought, What are these two kids doing in this bed with me? But I didn’t have too much time to find out the answer, because I noticed something even stranger than that.
As I became more aware of what had happened, I also became aware that I felt something strange on my leg. And when I looked under the covers to see what it was, I saw yellow water running down my body. Oh, man, I thought, these kids went to the bathroom all over me!
That’s really what happened, but the kids didn’t even know it. They woke up and saw me looking at my leg, and they said in unison, “We love you, Brother Jesse.”
The parents came in about that time and said, “You all leave Brother Jesse alone! Come on, get up out of there and leave him be.”
As soon as those kids got out of bed with me, their parents knew what had happened. That boy’s pajama pants were all wet and hanging down, and the little girl’s nightgown was all wet. When I got up, my pajamas were all wet and hanging down too.
“Oh no, did you two wet the bed again?” their parents asked. “Did they wet the bed on you, Brother Jesse?” No kidding!
That night the preacher told all the people in his congregation that his kids went to the bathroom all over Brother Jesse. “Brother Jesse’s a humble man,” he told them. “He didn’t even get mad.” That’s right, I didn’t get all upset over that situation. It doesn’t pay to get all offended when little things happen to you, because offenses can tear apart good relationships.
Don’t hold grudges against anyone. I don’t care who they are or what they did – holding a grudge against someone will not hurt that person; it will only hurt you. Jesus said, Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh! (Matt. 18:7).
Here Jesus was warning us of the danger of letting offenses take hold on your life. It’s like poison in your heart.
Instead of getting offended and holding a grudge, just give it to Jesus and let it go. You’ll be glad you did!
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers
Jesse Duplantis, minister of the Gospel, motivational speaker, television personality, and best-selling author, has been in full-time ministry since 1976 and is the founder of Jesse Duplantis Ministries, located in the Greater New Orleans area of south Louisiana in the United States of America. With over four decades of sharing his unique blend of humor and faith around the world, generations of believers have been inspired by his messages and countless numbers have come to know Jesus Christ as Savior through his ministry.
Known for his unflinching, status-quo-breaking messages and humorous take on experiences in the life of the believer, Jesse continues to draw large audiences of believers through social media, television, and meetings held around the world. With speaking engagements booked years in advance, Jesse Duplantis continues to keep an intense traveling schedule, flying throughout the United States and the world preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. With no booking agents pursuing meetings for him and no set fees imposed upon churches for speaking engagements, Jesse chooses his outreach meetings based on the same two criteria he always has: invitations that come in and prayer over each one. This uncommon way of scheduling in today’s world means Jesse’s many followers may find him speaking in some of the largest churches and venues in America and the world, as well as a great many small and growing congregations, too. No church is too big or small for the Holy Spirit, as he says.
Side by side with his wife Cathy Duplantis, the co-founder and chief of staff of Jesse Duplantis Ministries and the senior pastor of Covenant Church in Destrehan, Louisiana, Jesse continues to fulfill his life’s calling by daily taking up the Great Commission of Jesus Christ: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). Through social media, television broadcasts, books, and other ministry products, as well as through many evangelistic meetings, the JDM website, the JDM app, and Voice of the Covenant magazine, Jesse Duplantis continues to see growth in his ministry and expand each year while maintaining his roots. Jesus is the center of his life. The salvation of lost people and the growth of believers is the purpose of his ministry. And for both he and his wife, every day is another day to “Reach People and Change Lives, One Soul at a Time.”