Thursday, February 19, 2009

One Year Ago

First I wanted to share this video. It is a clip of a worship service held last night at Church of the Highlands, the church where Heather, the girl I mentioned in one of Monday's posts, attended. The first five or six minutes are really all you need to watch. The pastor gives a tribute to Heather and tells of her walk with Christ. He reveals something I hadn't known before -- Heather had only been a Christ follower for a few months before God took her home. She was an agnostic two years ago. The Lord works in mighty and mysterious ways!

Speaking of...

It was a year ago, today I think, that my world completely stopped turning. My world was threatened with the possible loss of one of the most important people in my life and I began to see that life was not as perfect as I had come to think it was.

However, throughout that situation, God began to show me how much he truly loved me. I felt him pour out his love on me and my family more than any other time in my life. And this time he didn't use people. I mean, he did. There were some amazing friends and strangers that became friends that completely ministered to my family at that time, but it wasn't through those people that I felt God's love the most.

I dove into His Word more that night than I ever have in my then 24 years of life. He led me to the story of Job and showed me His providence throughout that story. I began to see how my faith in Him was going to play a big part in this but that His faithfulness would continue to be unwavering.

When I found out the first bits of information, I called my best friend at the time, Jason. I knew that I couldn't divulge information like this to anyone but if there was anyone that I could talk to it would be him. Through all the crap that we had been through, he was still that one person I could go to and completely fall apart without feeling like a fool.

I remember as we were wrapping up our conversation that I said in a nonchalant, even unconscious way, "God will receive the glory for this. He will." And I think in a surprised tone Jason answered, "Definitely."

The thing is, as it came out of my mouth, I couldn't believe that I had said it. But I don't think I said it without the prompting of the Holy Spirit. See, at that time, our church was going through a series on God revealing his glory to Moses. I wrote about it here. I don't think I had ever understood the fullness of the statement, "May God receive the glory in everything." But it truly has become one of the most important statements in my vocabulary.

I understand now that he will receive the glory for it all if we give it to him. In the whole experience I went through last year, I saw God's fingerprints all over the place. His providence and protection was unmistakeably evident and I truly experienced that "peace that passes all understanding." I couldn't do anything but proclaim that is was God so that He alone was the one that was glorified.

Don't get me wrong, I cried. I cried a lot. And I still cry thinking about "what might have been." BUT, God completely rained down his grace and mercy and peace on my family and showed himself to us in an undeniable way.

It's amazing to me to look back and see how far God has taken me in a year. I grasp of reality is completely different and my hold on God's hand is undoubtedly tighter because of what he has shown me.

Great is his faithfulness. His mercies are new every morning. May the name of the Lord be praised.

"He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater
He sendeth more strength when the labors increase
To added affliction, he addeth his mercy
To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace
When we have exhausted our store of endurance
When our strength has failed and the day's half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources
Our Father's own giving has only begun
His love has no limit
His grace has no measure
His power has no boundaries known unto men
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth and giveth and giveth again.
-Annie Johnston Flynt

1 comment:

  1. I'm sorry thatyou had to go through what you did. A person like you should not have to go through that. The person that put you through it should be punished in a great way.

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