Raise 'Em and Praise Him - Testimony Tuesday

My Testimony on
Trusting GOD!

Often time’s people see your glory, but rarely do they know your story. We live in a time where you tell people only what they need to know and let them come to their own conclusion about what they think they know.

Many know me as Mr. Expect Greater, but I was not always Mr. Expect Greater! My journey began in 2006 after a mutual divorce, which I found myself, blaming myself for all that went wrong, and I was unsure about my future. I knew what I wanted to do, but did not have a clue on how to do it. Even after talking to my Pastor Friends, and hearing the same thing repeatedly…trust GOD! Not only was I newly divorced, but also my favorite uncle had passed and I had to do the eulogy. Now, I have all of this going on, and all I can hear is trust GOD!

As I look back at this time, I realize that faith is not faith, until it is all you have left!

When you hear GOD speaking to you, and HE is pushing you toward your purpose, you cannot be afraid, as I was, and not go. I was afraid for so many reasons, and all of them had to do with my belief in myself! It was not until GOD sent my current wife (Shonda) to me, a woman who I had known for eleven years, and yet did not truly know her for those eleven years. We were good friends, who got on each other’s nerves but could depend on each other for support and council.

After all, I had been through, I got up enough nerve to ask Shonda out, and on November 11, 2007, we had our very first date and on October 10, 2009, we were married. She had to make sure I was divorced before she would even consider going out with me!

I’m newly married and just started Pastoring a church, but something was missing! GOD was still pushing me to my true purpose and I knew that I had more in me. Although I loved being a Pastor, there was something missing, and GOD was not going to let me rest until I obeyed HIS direction for my life. I worked for a nonprofit organization where I was able to work with teens on a daily basis, helping them overcome the many challenges they endured in their lives, but something was still missing! I remember the day that I got the notice that my job was ending due to cutbacks in government grants, and although I was still Pastoring, now I found myself without a job, and a new wife to support…now here comes the purpose! As a Pastor, you get fulfillment out of helping people, but when GOD is pushing you to your purpose, that fulfillment goes to another level and fear of the unknown sets in.

I often tell people, when you are under the right spiritual covering, GOD will begin to open doors of unbelief. I was happy and comfortable where I was, but GOD was still pushing me to greater. In a turn of unfortunate/fortunate events, I found myself without a church to Pastor, but a strong praying wife! We began going to her church, and that is when GOD began to pour into me through Bishop Kevin L. Long. Each Sunday brought about a change in my life that I only heard others talk about, but now I was receiving it on a major level.

I was unemployed, no church to Pastor, but I knew what it meant to trust GOD! I was at a point where I was ready to give up, and go find a regular job, but GOD was still pushing me to purpose! I had made up in my mind that I was going to tell my wife that I am giving up on my dream, and getting me a job, but GOD had me in the right place, and the right time, and under the right covering! Elder Tim Grier prophesied two words to me straight from GOD, and he said to EXPECT GREATER! That was the hour, the minute, the second that Mr. EXPECT GREATER was born. When I fully understood where GOD was pushing me that is when GOD began to use me. GOD took all the pain and frustrations that I had endured and gave me a voice to help others to EXPECT GREATER in all they do. That voice has allowed me to write an award-winning book, and travel throughout the country inspiring and motivating audiences of all ages. Moreover, the greatest blessing is to have my wife right beside me enjoying what GOD has purposed me to do. 

So if you want to know my testimony, ask me why I EXPECT GREATER!

Edward L. Surratt

Website: www.iexpectgreater.com

Email: revratt@gmail.com

Phone: 980-202-2947

Facebook: Edward L. Surratt

Facebook: I Expect Greater

Instagram: @iexpectgreater