Hey, Everybody! I was thinking about something early this morning that turned my thoughts toward you. I’d just been going over my memory verses and started reflecting on the whole journey of faith. The ups and downs, the twists and turns. The pain and then sometimes the dullness that scared me twice as much as the pain. Then something would happen and revival would come and back in the saddle I’d go again. His Word would jump back off the page at me and I’d feel fully alive and wonder why I’d doubted. I rewound even further back to the years that I hoped so much that this God I’d been told about was real. I needed Him so badly. I found my heart believing and I deliberately placed my faith in Him. Then I thought about a specific season through which I went from hoping He was real to knowing He was real. Don’t get me wrong. I am still challenged to faith in many other matters and always will be, because “faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen” and “without faith it is impossible to please God.” (Hebrews 11:1,6) But I seldom sit around and wonder if God exists and still speaks and still acts. Like you, I still see as in a mirror darkly and I wonder why some things happen the way they do and how it will all work out and what some things in Scripture really mean. But “I know the One I have believed in.” (2 Timothy 1:12)
We have so many new believers and even a sizable population of seekers in this community. Praise God, we do! We need to question our effectiveness the moment we don’t. So many of them would probably like to ask us how we “know” this God is real. So I ask those of you today to whom this applies to share a season in which you became convinced to the marrow of your bones that this is FOR REAL.
Think it through and be deliberate in your testimony. Please limit your story to one meaty paragraph so that we can read as many as possible. I can hardly wait. Let’s testify, girlfriends.
Last year, June 2011, I found myself in what I consider the deepest pit of destruction and despair I have EVER experienced in my entire life! I was pretty much spiritually D-E-A-D, dead! Outwardly, anyone would have thought that I was a faithful servant of the Lord, but I had in fact turned away from Him in my heart. It didn’t happen over night. It was a falling away that started about 3 years prior. I had experienced some tragic events (death of loved ones and school peers) that shook the very foundation of everything I believed in. I questioned God. I didn’t understand His will nor His ways. I didn’t know how to pray or if it was even worth praying since, I figured, God would do whatever He pleased (not what I asked) – this was my mindset during that time. I wasn’t consistent in reading the word. So eventually, my heart became hardened to the things of God by doubt and unbelief. Sin crept in and I found myself falling into past sins I had sworn I’d never return to. This hardened my calloused heart even more.
Long story short {because it is indeed a LONG story} I ended up in a place of complete darkness and despair. It’s difficult to explain spiritual death as clearly and intensely as I experienced. All I know is…I was gone. I had written myself off. I had convinced myself that there was no possible way that God would take me back. I believed there was no forgiveness or redemption left for me. No hope of ever returning to His grace. NOTHING and NO ONE could convince me otherwise at the time. I had mentors who surrounded me with prayers and counsel, and they pretty much to shock me back to life (like they do in hospitals, only this was a spiritual shock). When I tell you I was flat lined, I was FLAT…LINED!
Anyways, I flew to the U.S. for a job training opportunity in Atlanta, GA and as it happened I wound up at Pastor William Murphy III’s church (The dReam Center). Low and behold, his message was on forgiveness! By the end of his message, I was absolutely stunned that God met me right where I was in the most random of places. No one knew who I was…but God did. He forgave me and gave me the grace to forgive myself.
How do I know God is real? … There’s a whole bunch of physical evidence of Him in this world as Romans 1:20 says. But for me, I am the best tangible evidence I can present to someone who doesn’t believe. I should NOT be alive today! FOR REAL! I know God is real every morning that I open my eyes; every time I take a breath; every time I put one foot in front of the other without falling; every time that I lay my head on my pillow without torment. He is more real to me than this universe I can see with my own two eyes. And nothing can convince me otherwise.
O. Francis Hallelujah!!
Amen, Amen!!!!
So amazed at the timing of this post…just returned from serving at a High School Girls Mystery Retreat. The seeking and wondering has been going all weekend long and it thrills me and brings back so many memories.
I was raised in a Christian home and was a “good girl” and wanted to please God but would easily doubt when things didn’t go well. Not until I was married with several children did I experience Him in a way that changed my life. He gave me an experience of not knowing whether I was awake or asleep…I was alone and had the sense of His presence right ahead. I can’t express what took place other than to say that my whole body longed and leaned forth towards Him as though a magnetic force was drawing me yet my feet were rooted to the ground and a sense of a Holy awe coursed through me in fear….totally drawn totally unable to approach. I knew in that moment He was the answer to every part of my being and yet I was unable to approach. My life has never been the same
Susan, Jonesboro, AR
For me as a little girl I was drawn toward GOD the Father. I couldn’t feel Him but I was drawn. Chronic depression set in at about 9. My mind has always been a dangerous neighborhood.
A predator got a hold of me in my teens. I emotionally got away two years later. I was in and around the church-a Jesus Girl- all this time and confused about why I didn’t feel better. Chemical trouble and scars.
Knew somehow the Jesus life worked but struggled hard.
Could get some emotional affirmation to Spiritual Truth in worship and song. Mostly struggled.
I’m 51 and in the last 5 years I’ve been in intense Bible Study and am learning that everyday I meditate. Either I meditate on TRUTH or lies. The war of my life is to meditate on TRUTH. My thoughts can even take the Bible and shame me without guidance.
I knew Truth early however the more I live in it daily by flipping digging for treasures in the Word with annointed Tour Guides the more I know that I know that I know. I take meds of course but Nothing gives me the joy of daily choosing to leave the emotional wild, wild west and camping in the Word one day at a time thinking His Truth.
Thanks for listening.
Emotional wild, wild west is an exact explanation to the battle. Thanks for being trasparent…I so get it, and need to be reminded.
Susan,
Your words, “my mind has always been a dangerous neighborhood” really hit me. What a great description. It’s so easy to let our minds wander and not take control, like a puppy romping the hillside, I once read, but we can take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ (2 cor 10:5). I didn’t know that until about five years ago. God REALLY transforms our minds, who’d a thunk! He’s so good. Thanks for sharing.
I am 51 years old. My son is 34. I was a 17 year old child when I had him. As a young woman, I had no self-worth due to many things and made very poor choices. I was unable to stay with my parents (no room). Through all of the drama, fear, doubt, uncertaintly – God was there!!! Looking back, I was never homeless or hungry. Despite having a teenage mother, my son is a gorgeous, smart, and responsible man and I could not imagine life without him. I know my worth and I am God’s treasured possession (so are you). I have a wonderful, blessed life now. Praise Him! The Lord has restored to me the years the locust hath eaten and he will for you, too!!! Trust in Him! Thank you, Jesus.
What a great testimony!
I knew God was real, when I was at the lowest point of my life. My dad was dying of cancer, my oldest sister had MS, my other sister had cancer and was having all kinds of health issues. I was a new mother and not getting much sleep. My husband was working full time and building our 1st home, on the side, and was not around much. Our marriage was on the rocks and stuff was surfacing about family secrets. I had nowhere to turn, but to the Lord. I cried out to Him (see Psalm 107:13-21), “Help me! Help me,Lord!” He filled me with the Holy Spirit. It was so spiritual! I was so convicted of my sin and realized I broke all the commandments (in my thoughts and actions- I lusted in my mind and hated, in my heart). I was blind, but now I see took on a new meaning. God did a great and mighty work in my heart as I harbored such anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, and so much more. God disciplined me (Hebrews 12:10-11). God has freed me from alcohol, bitterness, from getting so angry, depression, helped me to overcome fear, worry, and anxiety. He has helped me to forgive and love through Him. He has saved my marriage, members of my family, healed me from breast cancer, and is helping me to overcome eating sweets. Jesus set me free (John 8:32). I can relate to Nebuchadnezzer in Daniel 4:34,37. God is so good!
I got saved at 18 from a life of total depravity. I have known assurance of God’s love since then that has permeated the marrow of me–but I still struggle with feeling like God is going to fly off the handle with me. That His anger might come out from somewhere I never expected. These episodes are fewer and farther between the more I grow in faith and the Word–but I’d be lying if I said they were gone completely. The first and biggest breakthrough came a year or two after I was saved–I’d lost my friends who were angry with me for not partying with them anymore. I lost my boyfriend who swore to have a friend cast a spell on me–and I didn’t fit in with church people. I wondered if most of them were even saved, really. I couldn’t quit smoking, no matter how hard I tried, and was tempted again by sexual strongholds I thought God had set me free of. Somewhere in the battle I’d given in to the notion that I was pretty much a hopeless case. But my Grandma asked me to accompany her to a taping of 100 Huntley Street down in Toronto. Though I didn’t want to go, I respected her–she was blind and needed someone with her on the bus, and also a newer Christian than I was! After the program, we went to the back room for prayer and some people wanted me to go up. I just wanted it all to be over, but I went up so they’d stop asking me. It was Val Dodd–the Catholic cook (at the time) who prayed for me: just a simple prayer, but for the first time since I’d been saved I felt God’s love so powerfully and tangibly. It was pushing down on me and I just stood there and cried for what felt like hours. So much heaviness lifted that day; such assurance of faith and salvation even though I wasn’t perfect yet–and such amazing love.
Wow Beth! Thank you for this opportunity (or should I say privilege?) to share how I know God is real. I’ve been walking with Him long enough now that my faith will soon take sight. However, when I was younger, He delivered/snatched me from Mormonism. I saw so clearly through His Word being taught by a godly preacher who literally loved me into the Kingdom after years of coming to the government projects I lived in to study the scriptures together. God has also seen me through a divorce which He also redeemed with a wonderful second marriage and a cancer diagnosis which He said BELIEVE Him and walking through treatment holding onto His hand. I could go on and on how God has provided and I have never been forsaken. But most of all, how loved I am and so grateful he saved me and will save me in the end.
Amen!
I went from hoping to knowing God is real when I received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I wanted His touch beyond a shadow of doubt that it was Him. I received His touch and I pray daily in tongues to keep in contact in Him and keep my spirit uplifted.
I KNOW HE IS HERE! Sandy from Central, IN
In reading through these posts, I remember not too long ago asking this question and not finding an answer I could believe. It is relatively easy to play devil’s advocate and attribute each testimony to the person’s own strength or the old standby – coincidence.
I am not bringing this up to create an arguement, I am stating that I remember how it feels to honestly question God and how hard it can be to get past that, especially if your primary relationships have been traumatic. It took me years of studying God’s Word and getting to know Him, and each time God made himself real to me, my faith was increased.
So now, when I am stressed and prone to doubt God, I have to go back to the Word. I know that no human could have crafted such an amazing document. So I have to make the decision believe that what God wrote is true, and I state what He wrote until my emotions subside.
So I guess what I would suggest to someone who is questioning is to try it. Decide to believe despite your doubts. Tell God your fears and ask him to “Help me overcome my unbelief.” (Mk 9.24) And when God answers and makes himself real to you, praise Him, thank Him, and write it down so you will remember later.
Amen. We can forget so easily, it always helps me to look back through my journals and remember the times God has showed up so unmistakably!
I find this note very encouraging 🙂 I’m like that, too. It is easy to play devil’s advocate and doubt what you know. It’s often harder to trust the Lord. But His Word is what convinces me when I seek certainty. Thanks : )
Michele, I love what you said, and Amen Amen. Getting to know Him in a personal relationship seems to be the common theme to all of these testimonies. You really said it well.
WELL SAID… and you are so right.
After 4 years of trying to conceive I had a miscarraige on Christmas Eve 2006, as my sister prepared for her second brain surgery for terminal brain cancer. How much can a girl take! I got down on me knees and cried out to God opening my bible in Psalms. I asked God to speak to me, give me a word, show me his will. I read the first psalm my bible opened to; Psam 113 and there was his promise in verse 9 “He places the childless couple in their home as the parents of children” (The Message). Much happened in the next 2 years 9 months. I doubted myself and what I believed was God’s promise many times. We had many failed fertility treatments and lost our twins in October 2008. Nine months later (not a coincidence) God’s promise was fulfilled. She is the daughter of my heart, the one I was waiting for. His ways are not our ways but I can truly say His ways are so much better.
Eph 3:20-21
Better and Higher! Praising Him to know you got your sweet baby girl. He is so GOOD!
Today, 14 years and 2 days after we adopted our son (and many, many, many psychological issues later), we placed our son in a long-term residential placement. God has thoroughly protected us, embraced us, comforted us and directed our path through the trials. We are extremely sad but at peace resting in the joy of our Lord and Savior. This is God.
Happiness depends on your happenings, true joy comes only from knowing THE savior, Jesus. Give your life to Him– He created you and wants to embrace, love, comfort and strengthen you. Be the role He created you to play. You were meant to be a princess. But– if you are not in touch with the King, you will not be empowered to be all that He designed you to be! Don’t live on the streets, come to the feast at the palace.
The eternal God is your refuge,
and underneath are the everlasting arms. Deut 33:27
“true joy only comes from knowing THE savior”
Amen to that my friend.
There have been so many little things that have happened over the past few years that showed me just how “real” he is. I recently read the book “Heaven is for real” and got a huge boost of faith! Here is my biggest WOW God moment…
My daughter began having small seizures when she was 1 1/2. My husband and I didn’t want to put her on medication and it was SOOOOO painful to watch. I called out to God day and night to heal my daughter. One day he told me, “Do you know how much you love her? Well, I love her even more. You can trust me to take care of her.”
This revelation not only helped me to find peace in my daughters situation, it helped me because the next thing he told me was, ” and I love you that much too.” WOW! It still blows my mind to be loved that much, that unconditionally.
AND, Praise the Lord my daughter will be 4 this month and God healed her from the seizures she was having 1 1/2 years ago. WOW GOD!!!
This situation always reminds me how much God loves me and that he is real and answers prayers, even though I don’t know if I will ever be able to fully comprehend just how much.
Sara
I was saved and baptized when I was 10. but at the age of 55 on a spiritual retreat the Holy Spirit was revived in me. Just a few short months later my husband was diagnosed with cancer and has been fighting it for 5 years. That retreat saved my sanity. My faith has grown and carried me through.
About 3 years ago my husband and I went through a very difficult season. He was addicted to cocaine and the pain I felt during the five years of his addiction was horrific. The only thing I knew to do was throw myself into The Word, God proved to me during that time that He is real! He was so wonderful to me, I felt His presence numerous times and He ministered to me in tremendous ways! He became my everything during that time. I was saved at 13 years of age, I am now 35, but during that dark storm He proved to be faithful time and time again!!! Praise God for His realness to me and for drawing me to Him. I would not be the woman I am today without walking through that fire with my God holding my hand the whole way! I praise Him that my husband has nearly 3 years of sobriety and his walk with God grows every day! It is beautiful to see what God has done in him! So, YES!!! I know He is real and is so precious to me!!! All for His glory!
Christy, Summit, MS
I have been praying over this all day today searching my heart and soul to narrow it down to one paragraph. So many instances have been coming back through my mind that serve as sweet reminders of God’s love and existence in my life. But, something that has really kept coming back into my mind occured several years ago at my very first Women of Father conference in Atlanta, GA. I attended with some sisters from my church and was not really sure what to expect. At that point I was a new Christian and felt very intimidated by many other seasoned Christian ladies I was attending with. So, there I was during the first night’s worship up in the nose bleed section and Nicole C. Mullen came on the stage. She proceeded to sing “one Touch” and my heart melted, my body tingled, tears poured from eyes. Before I knew it my hands were raised toward My Father in Heavan and I felt a rush of emotion and love blanket over me. Suddenly Christ felt so real to me. A person I could have a relationship with rather than a character in a story. Someone I longed to get closer to (just like the woman in the song…which still makes me cry!
I grew up believing I’d go to hell today for the rule I would surely break. I was an atheist for 20 years as a result. Then, God made himself real to me through the sacrificial death of my mother. I took care of her during terminal illness. She said she had “work” to do and that “work” was not only about me, but primarily about me. At the moment of her death, she symbolically said, “I love you, Kim, and everything I did, I did for you, just like Jesus.” I can’t tell you the peace and joy that overcame me. It could only have been the Holy Spirit. I am forever changed. Even when it’s all seemingly at a standstill, it’s real and alive. We’re visitors to this planet, He makes the time count.
Praising God for His mercy and grace in your awesome testimony!
Kim E. such a sweet testimony. God bless mothers.
God has answered so many of my prayers through the years in such specific ways. There are 2 that quickly came to mind and will be relatable to any mom. Years ago when my now 27-year-old daughter was potty training, I thought I knew it all. As a nurse, I had read all the books and was ready to go. She was plenty mature enough, yet we weren’t having success. One day, after truly ruining it with my impatience and forcing her to tears, I turned it over to God. (Why do we go to Him as our last resort rather than our first resource?) I asked Him to please handle this for me. The next morning my precious daughter woke and said these exact words, “Ready potty mommy.” And she did, and she never had an accident. God is so many things, and for me He was a potty trainer! When that same daughter was pregnant, two years ago, an ultrasound revealed a potential problem. There were soft markers that could indicate a condition that is not compatible with life. In this condition, the hands stay clenched. Before a repeat ultrasound, I prayed that God would let me see an open hand. As the ultrasound progressed, my little granddaughter opened her hand as if to wave, and then gave a “thumbs up.” It was all I could do not to burst into tears. That sweet little girl, born healthy and strong, is upsleep upstairs at her Mimi’s as I type this. Thank you Father for answered prayer!!
He is the great physician, mighty to save! How truly wonderful He is 🙂
Actually, I would say it was during “Breaking Free” and months afterward when He became so real to me. I accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior at the ripe old age of five but KNOWING Him came mid-forties after a life of not knowing what real love was. I had chased it all my life but until I spiritually and emotionally was consumed by the agape of my Blessed Redeemer like the woman who had been “forgiven much,” I never really knew REAL! More of “real” came when I realized that there was nothing I had ever done or could ever do, and that there was no one who could ever throw enough shame my way to cause me to lose the real love of my Heavenly Father.
When I was 21 years old I sat with a relative at the deathbed of an Aunt who was more dead than alive. She was too far gone to respond in any way at all or to even know we were there. It was early evening and the room was getting dark. All of a sudden it was as if the Lord opened her mouth and she started talking. Great wonder came into her voice and she started talking about a beautiful gate and such a beautiful place and then she started naming peoples names and the names were all people who were dead and some of them long dead. She never once named anyone who was still alive. By that time my cousin’s wife (her daughter-in-law) and I were giving each other stunned looks as we both recognized the names my aunt was saying. And then my aunt said something about two of them all in white and such a beautiful baby. (My aunt had lost 3 infant children about 50 years earlier.) By that time we were really stunned and I could feel shivers. My aunt died about 2 days later. She knew the Lord and I have no doubt that what she was seeing was very real and that the Lord opened her mouth for our benefit.
A week after my aunt’s funeral I had 2 very vivid dreams about her. In the first dream a large group of relatives were waiting to go in a house to see my aunt. I knew in the dream that she was dead but I joined the waiting group and eventually walked in the room where she was sitting. She was wearing the most beautiful coloured garment and she looked different than I had ever seen her. In the second dream, I went back to see her and she was stepping through a wall when I entered the room. When she saw me she came back and we had a chat. She asked me about her funeral and wanted to know if everyone had behaved themselves. I told her about it. Then she asked if I had her orange vases. I said I didn’t but had her sewing basket which she thought very funny. Then she said I was to have the orange vases and she was going to see that I got them. I knew in the dream that she was dead and thought that would be a good trick if she could do it.
Three days later I told my mother, who also knew the Lord, about the dreams and she asked me to describe my aunt from my first dream and when I did my mother looked stunned. She said that was how my aunt looked when she was young. (I had never even seen a photo of my aunt when she was young so had no way of knowing what she looked like then.) Then I told my mother about the second dream and she said she didn’t know who got the orange vases but I would never see them again. Less than 10 minutes later, the door bell rang and my cousin and his wife (the same one from the deathbed experience) walked in carrying a box and in the box were the 2 orange vases, which are now in my china cabinet.
I have pondered these things many times over the years but any doubts I had were erased. I cannot explain these things but they have encouraged me many times.
Brenda, great testimony!
I accepted Christ in 1997, but didn’t really grow significantly in intimacy with Him or faith. About 2 years ago I hit a wall of being overwhelmed by the feelings & the lie that I am a failure. In any and everything. I couldn’t shake it. It got so bad that I ended up being emotionally paralyzed. One day, I was driving down the road in my little Nissan and I started bawling. I screamed at God, “I suck! I can’t to anything right! I’m such a failure! What would u want with ME?”
That weekend, I attended a Living Proof Live. I was upset when I saw the theme for the weekend, because it had to do with Rev. 19-marriage in a way. The largest thing i struggled with at this point was a feeling of failure over being single. I didn’t think God could have anything to say to me about this. And then, at one point, Beth was walking around while talking. The Lord specifically directed her as He often does with these things. She stopped, put her hand On my head, looked me in the eyes, and said, “Tonight, God wants to say ‘I will not fail YOU!” That pretty much rocked me almost out of my skin. Since that day, I have remembered that every time I struggle with the failure thing. It has swung me into a drastically wild, crazy, adventurous ride of confidence, faith, power, & assurance that has changed me into a completely different person. If ever I wane in my faith, all I need to do is look at the miracle He’s created with me. He’s just IT! Going to LPL Fresno in 2 weekends. I’m absolutely giddy with anticipation!!!! Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I couldn’t believe you asked this question today, because I was actually thinking about it yesturday. I asked Jesus into my heart when I was 9 years old. I have always loved him and as soon as I realized I was the sinner the preacher talked about I had to make that right. I had saving knowlege of Christ and believed in God for almost my entire life. It wasnt untill Beth’s believing God study in 2003, I think that I really started believing to the marrow of my being that God is who He say’s He is and can do what He says He can do. I had glimpses of that before but finally got it in 2003. During that season God answered many specific prayers including glorious saving my husband of then 23 years. God really has come through for me in so many ways that I could write a book and not cover it all but the way I have come to know him the last 8 or 9 years has just been amazing. He just loves to do these little things for me. Yesturday I was on my way to the mall and I really had to go to the bathroom, I prayed for a close in parking space and turned a corner and there was one right in front of the store waiting for me. God did that. He is just so cool that HE cares for me even in the little details of my life. I just felt so loved. I have journaled my prayer requests for awhile and it is so afirming to be able to go back and see how he answered each one, even when the answer is no. I Believe God. and I am so glad He is willing to keep teaching me more and more and helping me hide His word in my heart.
Years ago when a friend of mine passed away, I found myself plagued by a season of doubt. About that time, I was doing your Breaking Free study, Beth. I felt God leading me to start a journal and record the mighty things He had done for me throughout my life — a way to help me grow strong in my faith and to also strengthen future generations. This is part of what I wrote in my first entry:
“For some reason (possibly at attack of Satan because of my involvement in the prayer ministry — or for some other reason — or simply my own weakness and sin), I have expereienced a season of doubt and unbelief. It has not been constant or overpowering to the point of falling away, but it has nagged at me time and again. I want to accept as ABSOLUTE FACT the reality of God and all that He has done in my life. With this journal I will record (and now remember) the mighty things God has done for me.”
Fast forward to more current times: God is so good to me. A couple of years ago, another dear friend died and around that time (while selecting verses for Siesta Scripture memory!), God brought this verse to my attention — almost like He was saying, “I know what you need right now, during this time so like the other one that triggered a doubting season” — Luke 1:3-4 “Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigaged everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for your…so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.” All I could say was “thank you, Lord, for knowing I might be vulnerable, for showing me once again Your absolute reality!”
I had very strong faith as a child, but the more I learned in science class the more I became a victim of the evolution theory. It was to confusing to me to really KNOW if God was there. I still prayed, but always douted. When I was about 22 I went to a conference on creation science. I had NEVER heard this side of the story before! I had always thought it impossible for God to have made the universe and world in just 7 days! Boy was I wrong! From that moment on I have no doubt in my mind HE IS REAL, and NOTHING is impossible for God! And it makes much more sense than evolution. Oh how He loves us! And He is in control of it all! Praise the Lord!
Can I a beg prayer request first??? A very very tragic accident happened Fri- a mom absentmindedly forgot about her 1 yr old in the stroller so when she finished buckling in her other child in the SUV and she pulled forward the stroller and baby were dragged under the car. The baby passed away Mon. I cannot fathom her devastation.I don’t if she knows God is REAL. Pls pray she KNOWS and for comfort/peace, and against torment/despair! Thx!!
My 1st “convinced” story is too long so I’ll just share a sweet one that reiterate His Realness. A few yrs ago I was going through a tough season. A friend saw a vision of me being strangled by the enemy with vines. She encouraged and prayed for me and then got another vision that I was a precious stone in a gold setting. She said she’d pray that others would confirm what what we had talked about and I didn’t think to much about it. Within a day or two I got an email from one of my best friends (whose a missionary in Norway) She was on a retreat in a monastary and had been praying for me and felt God say to her that “I should NOT LOSE SIGHT OF THE FACT THAT I’M HIS PRECIOUS GEM.” I was floored.
Beth- I did A Woman’s Heart study last fall and what you said about the precious stones on the wall and breastpiece the Priest wore made for wonderful insight. I LOVED the story you shared about your daughter singing “more precious than silver” He considers us ALL precious gems.
Cara, Praying!!!
Oh Cara, I am lifting the mother and family up in prayer. What a devastating loss. Lord, may this mother find you in her sorrow and anguish. May she feel the love of Siesta’s and Lord become REAL to her in this season of her life, as well as to all of those who are dealing with the tragedy. In Jesus Name I pray Amen.
I will be praying. Family Life has had some programs and has offered some resources you may want to check out and save for a time you are led by the Spirit to give them or share from them. I will be praying…
I have been a Christian for as long as I can remember. There have been many ups and downs in my life, but the first thing that came into my mind when I read your post, Beth was this.
When my son, Jon, was 14 he had to have his right arm amputated below his elbow due to an aggressive, non-cancerous tumor he dealt with over a period of 5 years. It was the hardest thing in the world for me to send him into the operating room, knowing he would be losing his arm. I wondered why God would do this to a young boy. At that same time I was participating in a Bible study called “Experiencing God” and also reading a book called “A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23” by Phillip Keller. Through the one-on-one time with God and the prayers of my fellow participants and family, I felt the peace of God wash over me like I’d never felt before, and realized afresh and anew that God’s peace is real and palpable. Words from my favorite song during that time were “There’s a peace that floods my soul, when the Spirit of the Lord is in control” performed by Women of Faith.
You know Jesus is REAL when you put your child and her hubby and your grandchildren on a plane to parts unknown to serve the Lord and it is ok with you and your soul. He is there to bring peace and joy and comfort. The Peace He alone can bring is REAL everyday and every year and every moment they are out of sight. They a in His hands and His hands are REAL! Nails and all. Oh how I love Jesus.
He is for real because. . . since I have come to saving faith in Christ my life has changed in ways I could never have done in my own strength. This process has taken YEARS and I’m still in it. He’s real because there are big changes in my life–like no more “biggie”, noticeable sins, but also less dramatic changes, (albeit no less important), like I love my mother and I want to honor her (we’ve had a very tough relationship). And only by the blood of Jesus have I been able to forgive myself for doing some very foolish, very stupid things. For Him alone, I can hold my head high. I’m assured DAILY that He is real, because girls, I mess up daily and need His help. I was saved, and daily I am being SAVED.
God has been so real to me so many times. I am reminded of that every time he has a message for me. For example, I read a book about being self centered. I went to a conference a few days later and heard 2 sermons on the same topic. Then I read a devotional about it. Sometimes I have to say (out loud), “Ok, God. I get it.” That has happened on many different occasions concerning many different things, sometimes issues of sin or sometimes knowing God’s will. When he is “silent” I know that he is still there with me because I believe his word. When I soak myself in his word, I am always aware of how real he is and how very present in my life.
Siestas,
What heartwarming testimonies! My story is this…unknown to me my daughter in college was becoming very rocky mentally. At 1:00a.m. I received a call that she was “out of control.” As I was preparing to leave to go to her, my other daughter woke up and said she was going with me.
Well, my daughter was emotionally spiriling. I could not get through to her, but her sister got her quiet enough so that she agreed to come home for awhile with a promise she could return.
After she got home, she said her foot hurt from kicking a dresser.
Here is God’s beautiful, loving hand in action..it still makes me cry. We went to the family doctor where I find out that my daughter is a cutter. My family doctor wants her to see a phycologist for youth, but I would have to wait a few months for an appointment. Well the doctor called and the phycologist had a cancellation and would see us in one hour!! From there it was a hospitalazation IF a bed was available. BINGO, God strikes again. A bed was available. So from the beginning of the day until her admittance to the hospital was only 8 hours, which should have been months of waiting!!. Praise Jesus.
BTW, my girl is a beautiful, healthy 23 year old.
It was 3am the night before I graduated University. I was getting ready to spend the summer as a bible study teacher and then move to Scotland for a Masters program. I was flipping through my bible…wondering how in the world time passed so fast and all the sudden I was the one facing the real world. I read a psalm that is so close to my heart, Psalm 139…and verses 9-10 just stopped my heart. I knew the Lord was bringing these out on this specific night to let me know I was on the right track for His plan for me. I left behind a relationship with an amazing guy, everything I knew, all my friends, and my community of believers…and warm weather (trust me, it may not seem big but after 2 months of darkness you pray for sunlight like manna :)). I felt the Lord bringing me here as a student in name, but a missionary in purpose. It has been so hard. But, at 3 am in the morning…when I feel so alone and so stressed and thinking I made the wrong decision that I missed out on a guy, friends etc. at home…the Lord quietly brings that memory back…and I know He was right there that night and gave me the words “…if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your right hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.” so I would know..I would KNOW He is here with me. I still struggle, but I am learning every day that He has a plan to answer the HEART of my desires.
For me it was in September 2009. It seemed like in the past year, everything in my relatively safe world had been shaken. I wasn’t sure what I believed anymore. I was walked into church one weekend because it was habit. I opened the bulletin to read it and the first thing I saw the fall Bible studies for women that were being offered. As soon as I read the one for “Believing God” I felt like God told me that was the one I should sign up for. I did, but was determined I would never go and it stayed that way until I had sat in my car in the church parking lot for 20 minutes the night the study was starting. A good friend of mine showed up and recognized my car and came to talk. She was also signed up for that study, so now I really had no way no to go. It wasn’t a moment where it changed and I knew God was real – it was a hourney through the next 10 weeks of that study. But, that was the time, in my lifelong church going and serving God life, when I really knew for the first time.
Hi guys. I wish I could write the words so that you could feel what I felt. This time last year I though I had a hernia that needed fixing. We have a big push in the late spring to get ready for a large bible school. When this is over I need to see about this. It was a 7 lb ovarian tumor.I just look back in awe of God’s provision and care over every detail.It was optimally debulked and I have finished chemo. At this point there is no evidence of disease.Praise God!! I tend to obsess on problems at times. The Lord has carried me this far with SO much loving kindness. With comfort. I did not know before the surgery what the outcome would be. A chance that is was large and toothless. When I opened my eyes in the recovery room I learned it was ovarian cancer. You would think in the moment when you went from 50 years of good health to the horror that you have cancer would be crushing. I am telling you the TRUTH. Jesus was all around my bed. There was so much love and comfort. Like your at your Mama’s house snuggled in clean sheets and you can smell her cooking your favorite food. sounds of home. You are safe. You are loved. You are treasured.Peace.I’m telling you He has walked with me. I’m not sure how this is going to play out,but I am sure of the one in charge. It is going to be better than ok either way. We have so much to be joyful about,and GREAT things to look forward to.
For about a 8 month period , I never realized how close God could be to the floor as I was broken and how necessary it was to empty myself out before Him. Each week as i approached my counseling session with a Christian professional I truly saw how “the truth can set you free”. I would pray that God would lead me to those issues that needed to be addressed and He was always faithful too!!!!!Generational “stuff, bondage, sin” can be redeemed !!!!!!!! I never want to go back there again and with God’s grace when the enemy tries to “get in my head” I talk out loud and come against all that once bound me.I have come too far with God to go back !!!! PTL
I have been a believer for 26 years and have always believed this was for real. Of course, there have been moments when I doubted and questioned many things. However, recently I have had some things happening in my life that have made me realize how real and how present He is in our lives. We have been going through some financial difficulties and when we are at the end of our rope and see no way in the world to be able to pay a bill or get tires for our vehicle, the Lord has used a friend or relative to bless us, unbeknown to them. My husband was even able to raise $1500 to go on a missions trip. We were able to go home for Christmas to visit our parents and all because saints were obedient and heard the Lord telling them to help us out. He has given us such peace during this time and He is very, very real right now to me.
I know God is real because I buried my beautiful 16 year old daughter on November 30, 2010. She was our only child. I have stood in absolute amazement at what a mighty God we serve. The fact that I can even function is a testament that there is a God. He continues to work in ways that one paragraph won’t even touch in the life of me, my husband, our family and people we don’t even know! Her life was taken by what the world calls a tragic hunting “accident”,with her daddy by her side,But we know it was God’s plan and we praise His precious name!!!
oh my, praying for you!
Words don’t seem ample, but prayers are powerful and so I pray too.
I’m so glad you are able to see God even in the midst of your heartache. May the God of all comfort and peace continue to give you everything you need. Praying for you.
I pray you will have peace. We may not like how things work out on this earth. Thanks to Calvary we can share a banquet feast with Jesus and our love ones in heaven.
Keep Jesus as your source of strength until that time.
My heart and prayers are with you precious Jayna!
Sweet Girl, I’m praying for you. I’m so sorry for your loss.
Just as so many others said, it’s a journey that takes a life time. That means there are many twists and turns…over many years. With every step you climb, you are able to look back and see His Hand so clearly on steps you’ve moved beyond. Sometimes you can see on your last step right away, other times you need to be a few steps removed to see things clearly. I would like to share 2 things that stand out on my journey of faith in knowing God is real, even when I can’t see Him.
The first took place at a worship service in the spring of 2002. While I don’t remember the exact sermon topic, I remember praying the following, “Lord, Ken and I really want to have children with our own genetics (in other words, biological, not adopted). However, if I’m not pregnant one year from now, we will prepare to adopt children. (That meant no fertility treatment options after that year.)” We had been “trying” for 2 years at that time. Well, I started taking Clomid that September. In early January I was still not pregnant, so we went for an ultrasound to see if everything was okay. It was! I took no drugs that cycle as we prepared to try one month of hormone shots. That would be the last step we took. I had already gotten information regarding adoptions. Unbelievably, I took a pregnancy test on the day my cycle should have started in February, 2003 and it came out positive! Nine months later and almost 4 years after attending a “pre-conception” seminar offered by our doctor we had a beautiful baby girl. She is now 7 and has a 5 year old brother. We were “anti-trying” when I got pregnant with him! That prayer I said was the first time I submitted to His will being done in my life. It’s all about giving control over to Him in every aspect of our lives. I’m still learning how to live that out. Praise the Lord that He doesn’t give up!!!
The second one I’d like to share is knowing His Word is TRUE! We had been getting conflicting information regarding the truth of His Word, so said, “Yes, by all means and literally too” while others said, “Well, some of it is just nice stories to make sense of things, but that doesn’t mean they really happened, like Noah’s Flood.” The latter believed in God because of the new life in a baby, but not necessarily the Truth of His Word. After determining to read the Bible on our own, my husband and I began reading The Daily Bible, a chronological Bible. I knew enough of the New Testament at that time to see some of the references made to Jesus in the Old Testament. I believe it was somewhere in Isaiah that I thought, “There is no way this can not be true.” The reason being that the prophecies being made occurred years apart and hundreds of years before Jesus was born.
So, my advice to seekers and new believers is to get into His Word. Take a good Bible study by someone with a passion for His Word, like Beth Moore. Worship with other believers who believe His Word is true and who can help you out when things are happening that you don’t understand. (For example, when I commented to my pastor about how unusual it was for me to cry so much during a worship service, including a sermon. His reply was, “That’s the Holy Spirit.” Wow!)
I’ll end with Jeremiah 29:11-14 taken from biblegateway.com
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.” NIV 1984
Mama Siesta,
You are so right. Everyday I face the unknown when I get up, Is my husband still going to be alive???? You see he only has 20% of his heart left and a diabetic. He is unsaved, but a wonderful person. I pray for his salvation every day. I hope and pray he will make the choice before he passes. He does pick up the Bible and thumbs throught it and watches Dr. Charles Stanley on T.V. Were this is going I leave the house now everyday and volunteer Mon.-Fri. at my church and am going back to church again after not going for over five years. This takes great faith on my part as I ask God to watch over him (husband) as I am gone. I was was not like this five years ago, I just stopped again going to church…why no reason. But I do an online Bible Study and have for two years. God is so GOOD.
Blessing to all.
You and your husband must read “God is for real”.
Praying for your husband to accept Jesus into his heart, Sara
Four years ago at the age of 26, God just sprung newness in my heart & meaning. I was praying & admitting to Him that my heart had turned to stone. No one seemed real to me. And how did God respond? With His very word! I found myself at Ezekiel 11:19 “I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.” When I need to remind myself that God indeed is real and active in my life, I always think of how He heard my prayer and pointed me to His Word.
So now Im 30…whew…and after three years of just being on cloud 9 circumstances overwhelmed me. But I know that my God is bringing me out. Are the circumstances still there? Yes but I know that God is right here because He does fill me with joy and hope that I can’t explain.
I was reading Hebrews 11 today. 🙂 awesome how you mention it in this blog. I just know that its a chapter we have to seek with fresh eyes so that we will will hold onto faith rather than the circumstances.
The Lord has proven to me many times over the years that He is very real and that He is in the details of our lives. One of the most recent ways He has shown me His love had to do with my mother’s passing last year. We buried my mother a year ago today, but the way that the Lord led me was so tender. As I was driving home from visiting my mother on June 15th of 2009, I was praying for her. My mother had been diagnosed with Alzheimers in 2008. Anyway, in my spirit I heard the Lord tell me, “Your mother won’t be here a year from now”. It startled me, as my mother was a very healthy woman other than her mind. I took the Lord at His word, so I started making the five hour trip to visit her every other month to spend as much time with her as possible.
In March of 2010, my mother caught the flu. I drove down to help her and ended up taking her to the emergency room, where after nine hours they told me she had kidney failure. Over the next few days, her kidneys started working, but new problems kept cropping up. Finally, she ended up in ICU with aspiration pneumonia. My younger brother and I arrived at her bedside first. Her pulse and blood pressure were extremely high. She said, “Look at all the relatives”. She also saw an angel dancing in the hallway. This was March 13th, and I asked the Lord to let her live until St. Patrick’s Day as my mother was part Irish and had fiery red hair. I didn’t think she could make it until her birthday, which was more than a week away. On the morning of March 16th, as I got on the hospital elevator, I heard the Lord say to me, “There will be joy in the morning”. A few hours later she was transported to hospice, since there was nothing more the doctors could do for her. Her room number at the hospice facility was Egret 17 and we had waited a day for the room to become available. She was an artist and loved to paint egrets, so the room number ended up being significant to my brothers and me. She ended up passing into her heavenly Father’s arms on March 17th and there was joy in heaven. The pastor on duty at hospice that day was a woman with fiery red hair and she prayed a very beautiful prayer with my brothers and I just after my mother passed.
The Lord was true to His word, she wasn’t here in June of 2010, when I was expecting my mother to pass away. March caught me by surprise. Just recently the Holy Spirit revealed to me that my mother carried me for nine months, while she was preparing to say hello to me. The Lord graciously gave me the same length of time, nine months, to prepare to say goodbye to her. Indeed, God is in the details of each of our lives. I apologize for this being so long.
Like many others who have, I found God when I was in my twenties. I kept Him in the recesses of my mind but not really in my life. I was married at 18 and divorced with two children at 28. I remarried at 32 and had two more children. My second husband was not a Christian and I was 9 years older than him. He liked to drink and go to the bars with his friends. The one thing I had always said I could not tolerate is an unfaithful husband, and my first was just that and then the second seemed to be following. My heart was broken. The difference was my second husband did not want to divorce, so we began working on our marriage. Still after many years and things that had happened, my heart couldn’t take any more and I begged for God’s help. By this time I had a loving relationship with God but still felt I could control this, I was wrong. I wanted out, but God said no, you need to forgive. My husband was a Christian by this time and I didn’t want to forgive, but with God’s help, reading the scriptures, and praying I was able to move toward forgiveness. I feel like today I have forgiven, but there are still hurts that God and I are working on. I hope you got that last statement loud and clear, God and I together can get through even this!!
Last night as I was giving the kitchen its last beating before bed, I was talking to God-lamenting actually-tired of mental battles and trying to “figure it all out” and “get it together”-asking Him to just please let me know He is real (and which end is up.)
Then I got into bed and turned my iPod on to read-and since my husband was enjoying seeing me use the gift he bought for me(said iPod)-I decided to show him that I could check my e-mail on it! Men are impressed by gadgetry-there was your blog post. With him already snoring, i read away and was encouraged despite my snarling mood. I think the hardest thing is believing in spite of moods and feelings.
From Martin Luther-“For feelings come and feelings go and feelings are decieving…though all my heart should feel condemned for lack of some sweet token, there is one greater than my heart, whose word cannot be broken…”
I love how his Spirit works through the church like a Holy wave! Thank you LORD.
My heart was so full that weekend you were here in Tacoma, giving us a Word to take home: stop, yield, and go. But I had a fourth word on my mind: doubt. See, in the midst of that weekend you were in town, our church was also putting on the play, Doubt. When I came back to the church that Friday night, the play was just letting out and people were mingling, discussing doubts, wondering how it is we know things are for real.
I went from a crowd of 6300 people shouting hosannas and praising God’s name to my little tiny church, where 50 on a Sunday is a crowd. And yet I felt God’s Spirit working with power and might in both places. I sometimes have my doubts that what I do matters – especially when I see thousands gathered elsewhere. And I was starting to grow so discouraged. But you ministered to me and the Spirit spoke to my spirit.
Even as I write this the thought comes to me that it is the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ, that we take home with us. And he’s big enough for all our doubts.
Blessings and peace
For me, it was hindsight that made me release any doubt that I was in the Lord’s hands. I gave my life to the Lord in high school but through various circumstances drifted away from Him in my 20s. At one point, I was reading the Bible every night desparately seeking what I had previously experienced. However, because I was not living a God-centered life, His word was not speaking to me as it once had.
The following is my journey in which I was convinced: I was 30 years old and in a very dark, world-focused period of my life. I married a man who was raised Catholic, but not outwardly religious. We moved to a city that we had no connection to besides my husband’s new job. Our banker told us about his amazing church and gave us a pen with the church’s website on it. I went to the website and the pastor looked like someone we would hang out with. I showed my husband, and he shocked me by suggesting that we try it out. I excitedly agreed. The band played music that didn’t make my husband cringe. (He has a thing with bad music 🙂 ) The Lord spoke truth to our hearts through the pastor so clearly that I could not get enough and still can’t.
All these incidents can easily be chalked-up to coincidence. I think most testimonies can. But I truly know that I am in this city and attend this church because it is where the Lord has planned for me to learn about Him, so that I have the wisdom to guide the friends that I made in my “dark” period to the faith. If you are doubting, all I can offer is to stay immersed in the Word and keep seeking. Eventually, the doubt fades away.
I had an experience in my early 30’s that I rarely share with anyone. In fact, I kept it to myself for 2 years before finally telling my husband. It was such an awesome, intimate experience. To this day, I don’t care if anyone believes me or not, because I know and God knows it really did happen.
My husband was out playing basketball with friends and both our young sons were in bed for the night. I was sitting on our living room sofa, working on Bible Study Fellowship homework. At some point, I picked up an insert from an old church bulletin that I kept in my Bible. Printed on the insert were lyrics to a worship song that I liked, and I began to sing. When I had sung through all the stanzas and was singing the chorus for the final time, the space around me became filled with the purest, most beautiful harmony that accompanied my singing. It wasn’t as though anyone was singing, but more like multiple layers of vibrations — like a chorus of “buzzing” sounds that were in perfect harmony with me as I sang. At the same time there was an indescribable warmth and fullness throughout the room. But it wasn’t loud, just full, and the sound seemed to fill every nook and cranny of space surrounding me.
When I stopped singing, I sat still for the longest time, simultaneously struck with awe and fear. The “buzzing” stopped, but the fullness lingered. I remember my eyes were closed and after some time I got the courage to open them and slowly look around the room. There was no one there, of course. That experience convinced me beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is real, that He inhabits the praise of His people. Like Nicole C. Mullen sings, “I know that I know that I know” that my Redeemer lives!
Terry,
I believe you…and this is the most amazing story about God I have read from this post. That fullness/warmth I understand, because I feel it as I am singing praise-n-worship songs esp. at church or REALLY LOUD alone in my van. Love it! Denise
I was in a bad relationship. One night after we had gotten into yet another argument, I prayed, “Lord, just show me your will, and I will do it.” The NEXT day, someone told me something about my boyfriend that I knew was not acceptable. In light of my discovery, I knew it was God answering my prayer (immediately). Although it was still hard to break this 5 year relationship, I instantly felt a peace from God that I cannot explain. I was still sad, but I knew I was where I was supposed to be. Since then, the “Peace that passes all understanding” has ALWAYS resonated within me!
Accidentally deactivating my alarm and being woken up at 5:19 AM… just enough time to re-set my alarm for 10 minutes of snooze sleep before getting up at 5:30 to spend time with Him. I like to sleep; I am not wired to wake up that early… but He wanted to spend time and He knew I was working on giving Him my first fruits of time and so He helped me out. A seeminly little glimpse and yet its in these little glimpses where sometimes our hand reaches our for HIS pinky. I know He is real when He wakes me and I have learned that He is/was just as real when I was walking through the darkest shadows of my life… whether my eyes could see it at the time or not. One of the siestas here shared about the rape she experienced and she mentioned how she KNEW Jesus was with her and I was laying in my bed reading it and I just said, “To God Be The Glory!” Actually, I was typing it to her in a response and I felt bad… cause I wasn’t sure how she would take it…. but then I realizd that the fact that I could say that was a testimony to the fact that God IS Real. Having peronally walked that journey, it is a testimony of HIS glory when you know that Jesus was with you… He is REAL! HE IS POWERFUL! He is able to be actively present in our darkest hours whether it is a miscarriage, a divorce, an aborrtion, a rape and then just as equally real and sweet to wake us up when our alarm fails us or we need a parking spot at the church to make it to our kids performance. Oh Jesus, thank you. Thank you that you are RELENTLESS… satan may try to be relentless in discouraging us but you are R-E-L-E-N-T-L-E-S-S in pursuing your children! And for that I am so Thankful!
This is what I do to remind myself of how real God is: I look around at my surroundings. If I’m driving, I look at every tree I pass. I say to God, “You know what type of tree that is. Lord, You know exactly how many leaves are on that tree. Almighty Father, You know which leaves are biggest and which are smallest. You knew the time that tree was germinated and You remember the seed that started it all. You know how many bugs are in that tree………” I go on and on and on…..
Better yet, when I see a man-made structure, I think to myself that God knows exactly how every brick was laid. He knows the blueprints better than the architect. And, he intimately knows every single solitary person that had a hand in creating what I’m looking at. He could 100% pass every quizz about the most intricate, obscure detail of ANYTHYING and EVERYTHING that I see!!!!!!!!!! HE is more real than we even have the ability to comprehend the concept of “real”!!!!!!!
God has done so many amazing things in my life to let me know He is real, but this is my favorite story to tell. I speak to women’s groups and God gives me object lessons to share. One of the lessons came from cleaning out a “junk room” in my house. As I found things I thought I had lost,things I had needed, and things I had forgotten about, the Lord began to speak to me about each one and relate it to how I sometimes allow my relationship with Him to begin looking like that junk room. I let it become filled with so many worries,cares, and unimportant things that God is pushed out of His proper place in my life. One of the things I found that day was a detachable shoulder strap for a purse. I had needed it weeks earlier when I took my son and his friends to Six Flags and had to carry a purse in my hands all day. The shoulder strap would’ve made it so much easier to carry. God reminded me that when I allow the “clutter” in my life to take His place, I start trying to carry my burdens myself when He is there waiting to carry them for me. When I was preparing to share this devotion with a group of ladies, I gathered up all of the things that I had found in my “junk room”, but I couldn’t find the purse strap. I prayed and asked the Lord if He wanted me to leave out that part of my devotion. He spoke these words to my heart so clearly—“Use the purse strap in the devotion. Tell the ladies you lost it and then tell them this: Even when they can’t seem to find Me or feel My presence, I am still there, holding them up.” I thought that was such an amazing thing, but I had no idea how those words would impact my life until five years later. My son was going through a devastating time in his life of great sorrow and even though he was staying in God’s Word and praying, the circumstances did not seem to be getting any better. As a mother, my heart was breaking for him. One morning I was crying out to the Lord and I said, “Lord I know that you love my child and that we can trust you, but I just really need to know that you are here right now.” A few moments later, I went to my bedroom looking for something and reached into the top drawer of my chest, which was above my eye level and when my hand reached in, I touched something and these words went through my body, heart, soul and mind: “EVEN WHEN YOU CAN’T SEEM TO FIND ME OR FEEL MY PRESENCE, I AM STILL HERE HOLDING YOU UP!” I pulled out the shoulder strap that had been missing for FIVE years! God knew exactly what I needed to assure me that He was with me. A purse strap probably wouldn’t have meant anything to anyone else. I lay face down on the floor and praised my Lord and Savior! Only our God would love me enough to meet my need in that way! I have no doubt that He is real!
My marriage was in REAL trouble. I was sleeping in another room. My man & I were in counseling but I was a serious doubter. Nothing could fix this mess we were in. I mean, I thought I hated my husband. Very little feels worse than that.
One morning, in the guest room where I was sleeping, I prayed desperately, “Lord, I cannot love this man. If I am to love him, it will have to be YOU who loves him through me.” I’ll tell ya–within a couple of days, my heart COMPLETELY softened and I LOVED my husband again–more than I ever had. It was different than “in love.” I had a deep, kind, love for him for the very first time. To this day (10 years after that prayer), I love him still.
God is real because there is no other explanation for my heart’s permanent healing.
I was raised as a child to read the Bible, pray and attend church, but this all seemed rather meaningless. Life was very difficult growing up, but we were told to love and trust God. We WERE TOLD, not taught! Then as a wife and mother I continued that cycle, until one morning I woke up and said, “Wait a minute God, You have blessed me with a wonderful husband and two precious baby daughters, a home, love and security. What more could I want?” But, I did, I felt empty inside. Once I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and began studying the Bible and applying it to my life (many years later by the way), my life became richer, deeper, full of meaning and understanding of just what it is that God wants me to accomplish with my life. Oh, it is not an easy path, but what a ride and Beth has helped me to grow into the Child of God that I am today. Thank you Beth and God Bless you, your family and your wonderful ministry.