Hey, you lovely things! This morning early I got a very touching text from someone that made me start reflecting on so many ways that God seems to go out of His way (if that were possible) to make sure we know He’s got our backs. You know what I’m talking about. Ways that He whispers in your ear or maybe reverberates from the mountaintops that He’s aware of what you’re battling and where you’re hurting. Ways He tells you He has NOT forgotten. Ways He assures you that your prayers are not just hitting the ceiling. That He’s on it and that your life has not for the merest instant been swallowed up in a black hole. That in your WAIT He is at WORK.
So I tweeted these two statements this morning, one right after the other:
First one:
Sit up slack-jawed over all the ways God lets you know He’s got your back. He’ll tell people to pray for you who have no earthly notion why.
Second one:
Per last tweet, I’m glad God can tell people to pray without telling them why. Sometimes I want people in my burden but not in my business.
The responses that almost instantly flew up on my phone exhilarated me and built me up in my faith as numerous people told me that they’d experienced the same gorgeous phenomenon. The one bad (and sometimes GOOD!) thing about Twitter is that the space is too limited to get super specific. Now that my curiosity is piqued, I want to hear some testimonies! Tell your sisters here in this community one way God has done this kind of thing for you. Tell us a specific incident or sight or encounter or correspondence He used to make sure you knew that He was with you, intimately aware of your situation. Girlfriend, you ARE very much on His radar.
Let’s testify about some ways God leaves you thinking something like,
“You hem me in, behind and before, and You lay Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me. It is high; I cannot attain it…How precious to me are Your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!” Psalm 139:5-6,17
In other words…
Can’t wait to hear! Just so you know that no one was posing as your own Siesta Mama in that picture…
And that bleached blond right there loves you.
God hemmed me in over the two years we fought a rare childhood cancer in my 4 year old daughter. She was 4 when God allowed her healing in heaven. He is still hemming me and my family in through our journey of grief. We recently self published a book “Unshakeable Faith” proclaiming God’s goodness and glory through our journey. We are so excited about what God will do with this story! To God be the glory!
Wow such a blessing that you shared.”her healing in heaven” I have lost babies and have a special needs daughter with many many special needs. She was not suppose to have lived past 2 yrs. She is now 31. She may not be typical as people say about there children but she has quality of life, always happy no matter what. She is profoundly deaf and MR but she sure can praise. She touches so many people for God it is awesome. These things teach us to not lose on minute of time. I still have anxiety about her leaving us and do my best to throw that anxiety away because God does know what he is doing. Thank you for sharing it meant so much to me.
Last night was the last night of a Bible study I’ve been participating in. You might have heard of it…it’s called “Deuteronomy…The Law of Love.”
Every single lesson hit me where I was living in that particular moment. Well done you.
But for something a little more “supernatural” if you will…
Several years ago I had been watching a program where someone (I forget who) was preaching on the straight and narrow way. I was convicted thru and thru…and I began to realize how prideful I was (keeping in mind I was already a Christian) and some other things. I went to my bathroom and began to cry and I confessed my whole heart. I asked the Lord…if the standard is that high…who can enter in?
My telephone rang about 5 minutes later. A precious friend of mine was on the other line and she said, “I don’t know what you’ve been doing, but I was in the middle of a shower and the Lord told me I had to call you immediately and tell you this…’Woman, your sins are forgiven you. Go and sin no more.'”
Obviously I was in a complete breakdown at that moment because really? I wanted to explain the details but my friend was like, “I love you…but I’m dripping here. I need to finish my shower.” And she hung up!
I will NEVER forget that moment as long as I live.
Gotta love a friend who’ll interrupt a shower for you and for God! 🙂 (along with, obviously, gotta love a God who will send you what you need to hear right when you need to hear it!) That’s fantastic.
Tuesday of this week, my home in foreclosure went up for auction- (outside of circumstances beyond my control) This is a situation I had been praying about for the 5 years my home was on the market for sale as a result of my divorce- I felt that this act was God’s abandonment in reality- but still I “waited” for my “God sighting”- Tuesday went by and not until later that afternoon- I thought, “wow God, I should be upset today but I feel a strange peace- someone, somewhere is praying for me”…..interestly enough- no one showed up to bid on my house and it did not sell so I have a little more time to watch God work as I know- He has my back……. no matter how this chapter of my life ends.
Just this morning The Lord gentled my heart with a daily devotion. I was chewing and praying about a dear friend’s troubled situation at work…and the very first thing I read reminded me on what, or rather on Whom, I should be focusing.
These words:
When the way before you seems dark and threatening, you can still trust Me to guide you. Walking by faith is akin to using radar to discern the way you should go. Instead of trying to see through the clouds of uncertainty up ahead, fix your eyes on Me. I can show you a way forward where there appears to be none. (Jesus Lives, by Sarah Young)
spoke order and trust right into my worry and disquiet. I have been blessed by His direct answer to my prayers in ways like this for many years. It takes my breath away when I know…I KNOW that when I open by Bible (wherever it happens to fall open) He will have a message specific to my situation ready for me there…and there it is, exactly what I needed to hear or learn.
He hems me in when I’m in the sheepfold, drags me back in when I’m running amok outside of the pasture, and constantly reminds me that I am His and He is mine…and He will never forsake me or leave me alone to face the tumult of this life.
Thank you for encouraging us to share and remind ourselves of His many blessings! I’ve enjoyed reading all the other Siestas’ responses. 🙂
I just HAVE to share a story because it’s about how God literally had my back.
A few years ago,in one of the most difficult, darkest times of my life,I was walking in the woods, talking with God. I sensed Him telling me to go off the path behind a certain tree, and to sit down at the base of it. Well it was a little wet and I did NOT want to sit on the wet ground. I looked down and there was a large piece of bark that had fallen from the tree. I gingerly sat down and leaned back against the tree. Immediately, I felt myself rest as my ENTIRE back was held and supported by the tree. It was the perfect shape complimenting my back.
Now, it’s pretty amazing to find a tree that is perfectly “back-shaped,” but this tree was perfectly fit to MY back. You see, my back is unique in that I have a fair amount of disfigurement due to scoliosis.
As I realized the weighty-ness of this encounter with God, my breath was taken away.
To think that all these years, as I grew and my back became twisted into what I perceived as ugly, God saw me! He spent those years growing this tree to be the PERFECT compliment to my IMPERFECTION!
This encounter hit home for me at many levels – physical, emotional, and spiritual. He’s there. He sees our sources of pain and disfigurement, and even as those things are taking a toll on our lives, he is preparing ways to provide rest…
I love this story. It is so beautiful the way God knows even the finest details of our lives. Thanks for sharing.
 Thank you for your testimony Carrie.  I, too, have scoliosis; I also have experienced the twisting & disfigurement and perceived it as ugly.
Now at age 54, I have been struggling with pain and multiple back injuries related to it for the last 2 years. I have been unable to sit thru a church service (stand for worship &then leave) but fortunately my church has small groups in homes, where I can get more fellowship- I can go and lay on a couch during it’s bible study. During these hard 2 years, the Lord has greatly encouraged me thru His Word & actions and the prayers and encouragement of family & Christian friends. I  also believe that the Lord will heal and strengthen these injured areas of my back (I know He is able to heal my scoliosis on this earth, but suspect that this may be a case of “My grace is sufficient unto Thee” to His Glory). I’ve been praying for direction for strengthening exercises since regular physical therapy doesn’t seem to address the fact that I’m missing muscle groups in different areas of my back due to the scoliosis.Â
 Recently, I’ve found out about the Schroth program (method) used for scoliosis physical therapy in clinics in Germany. I believe there are supposed to be clinics that use it in the US now, but I haven’t found one close to where I live.  I have read about & I have tried using their breathing method and that has helped me to stretch out and stand straighter.
I know I’ve been fearfully& wonderfully made by God and will continue my faith walk with Jesus thru His Holy Spirit! God Bless you & I’ll praying for you too,
Karen
7 years ago God spoke with a VERY LOUD voice to me through the Patriarchs study — my friend had been trying to get me to go to a Beth Moore study for years, and I finally said yes. The night before the study began, my husband came home and told me that his department at work was being dissolved and that he was losing his job, unless we would be willing to move. I told him No Way, we’re not going anywhere (it wasn’t in my plan!). The next morning at the study, I heard all about Abraham and how God moved him and Sarah out of their comfort zone homeland and into His stunning plan for them. I bawled my eyes out through the whole thing, the other ladies probably thought I was nuts. Well, I still didn’t want to move, but I also knew, without a doubt that God had just spoken directly to me, and this gave me the presence of mind to stop whining and follow Him. He led us from Illinois to Houston and so much has happened in our lives since then that I believe would not have happened if we’d fought Him, though I have to say that the biggest blessing is knowing that we are right where He wants us. I even get to go to the live Beth Moore studies (just finished Thessalonians 🙂 which I LOVED. I’m loving these other testimonies too. Wow, He’s so good!
Beth,
God has just told me he has my back — through this blog post. My dad was diagonosed with lung cancer which spread to his adrenal glands. He started radiation this week. Last night he broke his leg while sleeping in bed! We’ve learned the cancer is in his bones now. I thought we may have some time with him, but now I don’t know. Thank you for this reminder that God is with us and hears us. Psalm 139 is my favorite Psalm and my life verse. God knows that and he knew what I needed today. He is so so sweet!
My Bible study group of 25 women are getting close to the end of your Revelation lecture series. It has been amazing. So much so, I’ll be leading it again soon. It’s just too good not to share. I’m seeing God change lives through it. How awesome that our God loves us so much to warn us of what is coming so we can share it with others and so we will be prepared to stand firm. God Bless you this day! Love you girlfriend!
My best friend lives in Arizona, we’ve known each other since we were two years old. I’m an only child and she is like a sister to me. There have been many instances where we’ve called each other because they’ve been on our mind and in our prayers to find out they are going through a difficult time. She’s in town next week, I can’t wait to see her!
I know well how God can have someones back! My family was facing a very difficult time a couple of years ago, where those coming against us to destroy and a word came to me through you one Weds. morning. And,I held on tight to that word! It was 2Chronicles 20 were God gave Jehosaphat direction and had his back! I seen first hand God do that for us in a courtroom!! He is the same yesterday, today and forever!!Love you all! Never give up!
I read your post and it sparked a memory in me about how God showed me 2Chronicles 20 a couple of years ago and it was a place I stood on, figuritively and literally, for almost a year. God moved us forward and now I am finding myself in another place of unrest. I will be re-reading 2Chronicles today. Thank you for the post. I will never give up!
A couple of years ago, I was called to a mission trip to West Africa….the call came in the first of September and the trip was in late December…and the “cost” of the trip was $3900!!!! I knew I didn’t have that amount, but knew I was to go and knew that the Lord would provide….so I did the two things I knew to do, PRAY PRAY PRAY and get busy crafting, you see, that’s one of the ways the Lord has gifted me…..He crafted me to be creative!!! So, while I was telling the Lord how it was such a short time to raise that kind of money…He was already whispering to another mission minded sweet spirit of a person to give toward our trip. God had my back!!! Less than a week after I found out I was going to West Africa, I got a phone call from my Missions Pastor and he told me he had good news….that someone anonymously had given to each of us $2500!!!! WOW!!!!
My dear Mom is 73 years old and she is a lost woman. She has cancer, she has dealt with destruction so long that of 5 children I am the only one that is helping her in any way. God spoke to me before we found out she had cancer and told me to love her and I have tried to love her better than I love myself. During this time I have missed a lot of work and money got very tight. My son said he needed a hair cut and I thought one more thing we need. 🙂 More me moment. A lady walks in to work the very next day and not knowing a thing going on hands me a coupon for a free hair cut to the very place my son likes to go get a hair cut.
My Mom during this time was getting weaker and weaker and had not had a bath in a few days. I went to her house before work and talked to her about bathing her and she refused. I went to work and had no idea what I needed to bath her but I knew she was too weak to shower. A woman walks in and says her mother had passed away and she had a shower chair if I knew anyone that could use it!!! Praise His Holy Name. I didn’t even know what I needed but every time He sent exactly what we needed the day and time we needed it. He supplied a wheelchair and a potty seat and all were things we desperately needed but I didn’t know we needed.
So many experiences I couldn’t share them all and above all He Is Gonna Save My Mom!! I am speaking it.
I am doing the believing God Bible study and ever since I have hit session 6 I am proclaiming and speaking the truth and the expectation of the Promise He is Gonna do!!
Thank you!!
Just said a prayer for you and your mother – believing with you, Sister.
Thank you so much for this message. God does have our back even in the small things. We’re preparing to buy a house to accomodate our growing family and we couldn’t find what we wanted. We aren’t in a hurry, but I just kept praying that God would lead us and in his time it would happen. Well, we found a new neighborhood where we could build our dream house but the lots were limited. I continued to pray. Last night, we found out the one lot that we really wanted was available. So everything fell into place and I REALLY knew God had our back!! He’s so amazing and cares for us in the most awesome ways!!! We are so grateful for the love of our God!
Several years ago my daughter married a wonderful Christian man who is a 2 time leukemia survivor and who still has many health issues. Two days after their marriage, my daughter called and asked my husband and I to meet her at the hospital as she had just called an ambulance for her husband who had passed out in the bathroom. We immediately hopped in the car and headed to the hospital not knowing what to expect. I pulled out my cell phone to call a close friend for prayer coverage and my husband (who was not a Christian at the time) had a fit and became very angry. He was yelling at me that it was a stupid idea, that it was too late at night, that we didn’t even know what was wrong and I was making a mountain out of molehill. Just then my cell phone rang and it was the same friend saying she felt God telling her to call me right then. God certainly had my back, not only did I get the prayer coverage for my son-in-law, but it stopped the verbal abuse I was receiving from my husband.
Since my marriage ended in August (after 28 years), God has been SO FAITHFUL to me. My husband left me with 1.13 in the bank – not kidding. But GOD, has made sure every one of my needs have been met. I lost my house in November. I found out in October that I would lose it and ONE HOUR after I found that out someone called with a house I could live in FOR FREE and it is closer to my work. My lawyer told me out of the BLUE she was not charging me one penny for her services and the list goes on. I feel like the person in the bible who wrote, I suppose if I were to write all HE has done, there would be no room left. God was making a way for me to REVIVE and THRIVE when I had no idea I’d need that way. Praise be to the Lord most high!
This mere post let me know that God has my back…i literally just finished writing an important letter to my mom that i asked God to go before and to bless and in writing refered to psalm 139 for guidance and this post confirms that I am on His radar, He has heard me and is at work in my wait. thank you!
In 2010 my children and I were hit by a drunk driver(that is for another time/story.) Four operations and 2 years later we are all doing great. But what I wanted to share is one day I was in therapy and was on a bike and the sweet lady beside me wanted to know what had happened. I told her the story and all of a sudden with a suprised look on her face she said “May I ask your name. I told her and she replied with such joy that she had been praying for me and my family. Wow! Isn’t God so sweet!!
I gave birth to our fourth child prematurely. About three hours later he was transferred an hour away to another hospital. About three hours after that my doctor transferred me to go to be with my son. I was up all night, our son died the next day with my husband and three other children around. When my husband had to leave me that night in the hospital, I felt so alone. I woke in the middle of the night and called the nurse to ask for the time, she said it was 4am. I cried myself back to sleep because during the pregnancy, the baby would wake me ever morning kicking inside of me at 4am. Now I was awake at the same time, but with no joy left in me. That next morning my Grandma called me. She said she needed to tell me that at 4am she woke and my name was on her mind. She said she prayed for me and trusted God knew why. I will never forget what that meant to me knowing God knew my hurt and He had not forgotten me. In the 11 years since, every time God wakes me in the middle of the night with someone on my mind, I pray and I trust Him for what He knows that I cannot even begin to understand.
Christmas 2012! It was like a flood of never ending goodness from Jesus. My husband has been out of full-time work for about two years and we have eight children(ages 16-10 months). We told them prior to Christmas that it would most likely be a slim one and that the older ones should buy themselves something and wrap it up so they would have something to open Christmas Eve(when we have our time here as a family). We are not the materialistic type, but my husband and I(separate from each other-we hadn’t shered our feelings about it) were kind of bummed out about not being able to bless the kids
sorry I hit submit before I was done =(
….then about one week prior to Christmas it all started…the flood “week” of Jesus.
-a friend gives us a box of sundries, food, and gift card
-another friend drops by with a turkey and $70
-another friend says shes wants to bless us with a meal and with it brings gifts for the kids, more groceries, and $50
-then the same friend who brings the turkey calls later that night and asks if she can give us some “used” toys from here house that her boys have out grown. she drops by the next day and with all the toys her 20 year old whom we’ve never met sends a card with $100 in it.
-then we get a call from a local appliance store in town and says someone dropped by and left our family 2 $500 gift cards to but appliances! that would be $1000!!! (our fridge was leaking and making funny sounds at the time and our stove was a complete fire hazard. only two burners had worked for the past several years and the oven only worked on a good day.)
-then a group of women, who knows we haven’t had worked got together and gave us $500
-then our neighbors called and said we needed to drop by–when we arrived there was a whole living room full of gifts for each one of our children hand picked with names on them, but they weren’t from them-someone anonymously dropped them by for us.
-then the day we got home from Christmas we received a check in the mail to pay for our January rent $600!
I am sure I am missing something but you get the picture =) We were so overwhelmed and felt so loved by the Lord.
When we sat down to open all the presents that had filled our living room floor by friends and people we didn’t even know, I said to my 16 year old son…so what do you think? And he just shook head and said, with tears welling up, “I don’t even know what to think!”
All of our prayers and proclaiming our trust in the Lord over the past year and a half had accumulated in our home last Christmas with a God who remember us. The FLOOD of Jesus and His goodness and faithfulness to was overwhelming.
Heather
I loved reading your post it brought tears to my eyes and it gave me hope that God is faithful and that He will provide for me thru my situation of being unemployed.
Thank you for sharing
Carol
When my brother passed away last year from a lifetime of addiction, I wrote a blog post about it and much of the post was just…worry, I guess. Worry that my brother, who was 16 yrs. older than me, had never really known Christ; worry that he didn’t know me; worry that he was gone and I hadn’t really known him.
From that blog post we learned this info: someone we know peripherally but certainly not very well, had been singing at the nursing home my brother had to be placed in. They wrote me a note saying that two days after they read my blog they realized who my brother was and that they had had a conversation with him while they were there. They gave very specific information that could ONLY be my brother and they could ONLY have learned from him. He had been saved days before that…on his birthday. He was reborn on his birthday.
He fell into a coma within days of her seeing him there and we had no way of knowing that he’d been saved…until God let us know that He had Ken and us right in the palm of His sweet hand. I had no way of knowing she’d EVER see that blog post in a million years. I wrote it for me and Ken. It was overwhelming information…still is.
To believe that I will one day arrive to see my Savior and he’ll have my brother there with him…it’s too much to wrap my mind around. Healthy, whole, and we’ll have eternity to know one another as true brother and sister, in a way we never knew one another here. He’s got our backs even when we don’t know it.
My biggest example happened March 7, 2011. I was driving back to work after going to McDonalds for a happy meal lunch. My car knocked off at a stoplight and I was trying to restart it. I didn’t know what was wrong. A man came and jerked my door open, telling me, Maam, you’ve got to get out – your car is on fire. I could not see at the time that it was burning underneath the engine. He helped me to the sidewalk, someone in the restaurant nearby called 911. By the time I got to the sidewalk, my car was fully engulfed in smoke and flames. The man that opened my door was in the next lane – he was a volunteer fireman. Before the fire truck got there, a car with 2 men got out with extinguishers. They were firemen passing through from the next county. I was standing there crying when a woman from inside the restaurant asked if I minded if she stayed with me til my family arrived. Of course I didn’t mind! She was a great comfort to me, as we talked I realized she went to church with several of my coworkers. I wasn’t hurt, no other cars caught fire, and with the car insurance proceeds I was able to purchase another car. Someone later told me I had bad luck, another person said I was lucky everything worked out the way it did. I told both that luck had nothing to with it – God had His hand on me.
Oh do I have a story of how God had, and continues to have my back. I was born and raised in CA, traffic on the freeways most of the time, you know CA.
I was feeling down one day, and my friend had told me how she asked God to show her that He was there, and so I asked for the same thing. So the next day I was driving to school, I had to direct a scene for my project (TV production major), and I was a little bit nervous. Anyways, as I was driving, I was in the left lane, and I was switching lanes, blinker on and everything, and this other driver, was switching into that same lane from the farther left lane.
So i saw him, and pulled back over, and he did the same the other way. Then I looked and He wasn’t going into the lane that I wanted to be in so again I put on my blinker and started to merge, but then again so did he, and so I went back into my lane, and let him have the lane, then he started coming into my lane, possibly something went wrong with his car i don’t know, but we were literally inches from hitting each other. So I swerved, apparently I pulled on the wheel too much, cause my car lost control, I did several “Z” formations across the freeway, did a nice 180 degree spin, that even Nascar professionals would have complimented me on, and finally stopped facing on coming traffic. However, looking not one car was even near me, they had all stopped, so i pulled around and then eventually pulled over to the side of the freeway where I bursted into tears, only thing I could muster was Thank you Jesus, about a thousand times. I was balling into my hands, and then because I am weird (and proud of it) after I cry I tend to start laughing, so I look super crazy, and I started laughing and told God “that was really fun, but can we please not do that again.” Not one car pulled over to see if I was alright, nothing.
To make things even more miraculous, There wasn’t even a single scratch on my car… God had my back, I DEFINITELY KNOW HE HAD AND CONTINUES TO HAVE MY BACK. Praise God, no one was hurt, only scared me, but Praise God He has my back.
The best part is I get to share that with people, and it makes me laugh and smile!
Age 39, sailing THROUGH Stage 3, maybe Stage 4 Breast Cancer……every time I get sad about it, which actually isn’t much (peace beyond understanding)I hear the song “Our God”…”our God is HEALER, Our God is higher than any other…awesome in power Our God”….I heard this song as tears were streaming down my face during surgery to get a port put in my chest for chemo (the hospital let me pick the music in the surgery room!)…I heard it when I was getting my first chemo….I heard it a year ago as my husband was having a second/emergency surgery in a few weeks time on his back…I hear it everytime I need it….and just last night I watched Valerie Harper’s story on TV that she is dying of cancer….and even though I hear a small voice in my head saying “that’s not you, you aren’t going to die”, I got in the car to pick up my daughter from orchestra and God played “our song” in the car…..tears streaming down my face. GOD LOVES ME!!! HE’s GOT THIS!!! This is just ONE story…..I have SOOOO many!!!!! I just LOVE HIM!!
I am a 41 year old mother of 4 who will be an empty-nester in the fall. As my heart is going through some heart break, God’s love is filling in the empty spots and He has been lovingly giving me a vision of the ways in which He will continue to fill my life with His work.
He really has my back. 🙂
Beth,
Thank you for this post. Thank you also for the study you put together on living beyond yourself, it’s been on my bookshelf for years and I finally pulled it off the shelf a few days ago. Thank you for sharing yourself in the study and sharing Gods faithfulness.
With love, paige
Three weeks ago, I was in a car accident. Thankfully, no one was hurt. But the accident was my fault. I felt like the scum of the earth after a lecture from the police officer about yielding the right of way. Couldn’t he see that I was already upset to the point of hyperventilating? He didn’t even ask if I was all right. At some point, I silently prayed and asked for God’s help. I felt I couldn’t deal with all the followup issues but I had to because there was no one else. My every need was met that day. The insurance agent arranged for a rental car and I was able to drive my own vehicle to the body shop for an estimate. My daughter came over after work, bringing me dinner. The sight of her sweet face was like the balm of Gilead to me.
The next day, I had a delayed reaction to the accident. I couldn’t stop crying. I was afraid to drive the rental car for fear I would have another accident. But the police report had to be picked up and taken to the insurance agent. Again, God gave me strength. Luckily, the places I needed to go were close by.
It may seem strange, getting so upset over a simple fender-bender. But in all the years I’ve been driving, it was only my second one. God protected me and the other driver from harm that day. He gave me strength when I needed it.
Ironically, Beth, the title of your post and how it relates to one of my very first posts when I began a blog in 2010. You just have to see(read) it and how He used a song to speak to me:
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2010
HE’S GOT MY BACK!
I will confess this past week I have wondered why in the world won’t the enemy get off my back? It seems like attacks all over me since I began this blog thingy, and I guess God has convicted me strongly in numerous ways of both my unbelief(in what I feel He has inspired me to do) and the incredible FEAR(false evidence appearing real) I have putting my fingers to the keyboard to express whatever, anything! And yes, the root of both of these bad fruits is my own insecurity.
God has convicted, I responded with confession and determination to defeat the enemy because He’s got my back! I got on this blog today and, wonder of all wonders, a comment awaited me to moderate. Thank you sweet, sweet friend(you know who you are:) for allowing me to see real evidence of a reader! It’s as if all week long I longed for one or more comments just to encourage me. I got not one for the whole week. When I decided just this morning that I would attempt another post regardless of comments, I open up my blog and there is that comment waiting for me! I love cake, but it’s so much sweeter with icing on top.
“So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. YOU NEED TO PERSEVERE so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised.” Hebrews 10:35-36
I claim this verse as I proceed with this blog, in fact, for many, many relationships and circumstances in my life right now. I share it with you, encourage you to commit in to memory since it will no doubt help you as you face situations ahead of you that make you want to quit and throw in the towel.
Lastly, I was walking with my hubs last week. I was listening to Delilah on the radio as I struggled to keep his pace. I prayed about my excitement, willingness to share some of my poems, and also the blog insecurity that was gripping me so tightly and asked Him to give me some assurance. I finished my prayer, began to distract my tired tendons and lazy ligaments with the lyrics of the songs Delilah chose for each caller. However, it seemed as if my prayer to God had been heard through the radio waves back to her, and this is what she chose to play:
I’ll Be There
You and I must make a pact,
We must bring salvation back,
Where there is love,
I’ll be there.
I’ll reach out my hand to you,
I’ll have faith in all you do,
Just call my name and.
I’ll be there.
I’ll be there to comfort you,
Build my world of dreams around you,
I’m so glad that I found you.
I’ll be there with a love that’s strong,
I’ll be your strength, I’ll keep holding on.
Let me fill your heart with joy and laughter,
Togetherness, well that’s all I’m after.
Whenever you need me,
I’ll be there.
I’ll be there to protect you,
With an unselfish love I respect you,
Just call my name,
I’ll be there.
Wow, nothing like a dose of Jackson Five lyrics to get this gal’s legs to kick up the pace. I smoked him in the last stretch and he was speechless.
Just call His name,
He’ll be there…………….
Yesterday I was in distress over finances. We are self-employed and never know exactly when we will be paid. I’ve been making a concerted effort to FROG (fully rely on God) for the last year but …
sometimes it just gets overwhelming, ya know!!
Several times yesterday I had put that mechanical pencil down, laid hands on that computer & checkbook, and breathed a prayer to “help my unbelief.” Then I cried…
Sometimes a girl’s gotta cry, ya know!
Then when I had to run an errand, I got into my “girl truck” and heard these words in a song on KLOVE:
“This is where it begins
This is where all the worry ends
This is where I say I don’t need to have control
This is where I admit
I don’t know how to handle it
Life in all of this chaos
You’re my only hope
And all that I have to offer
Is the white flag of surrender
So take me to the middle of Your heart
Lead me to wherever Your love starts
To a new day dawning
To the place You are
And if You want to take me over the edge
I’ll let you cause Your love is where I’ll land
Wanna be right where You are,
In the middle of Your heart.”
YEAH, HE’S GOT MY BACK!!!!
The song is “The Middle of Your Heart” by For King and Country
On Wednesday, my husband cried out to God to speak a Word over his current (longterm) work situation. That very day, God led me to Psalm 139. And, God has directed my husband and I to Psalm 139 twice in two days. Plus, your Scripture reference makes THREE times. We are in a long season of strife in the workplace (we work at the same place). The future is uncertain but, God wants us to know and believe His truth. Psalm 139:16, “You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.” NLT So, the future may be uncertain to my husband and I, but God knows. Therefore, we find hope in the call to TRUST God. He heard my husband’s cry on Wednesday. He answered. And, honestly, we edge listening desperately and intently.
Happened just this week! I’ve been catching up on your “Afflictions” series on Wednesdays with Beth, and really “got” what you referred to as the affliction of victimization – life changing message for me!
Anyway… I was sharing this with a friend over lunch – and at one point she told me she thought we should stop talking about it because it was about to bring up something painful for her she wasn’t ready to deal with. (Note: been there and “get” that!)
It stuck with me all the rest of the day, and God impressed on me that she was struggling with taking action about a medical condition because she was having trouble standing up for herself and her medical needs (being a victim of beaurocracy and not getting care). I prayed about it all afternoon, and then called her. It was a bit awkward, but I was direct about what I’d been praying about, and asked her how I could help – and assured her that she was worth fighing for and not to give up.
She called me back, and asked me to take her to the doctor the next morning. At the doctor’s office God made the way for a temporary solution to her problem THAT DAY!
Here’s the lesson for me. I have been feeling discouraged and ineffective lately, and God showed me through this interaction with a friend that He has His mighty hand on me, regardless of what the circumstances look like. What an encouragement – God had my friend’s back, but in doing so He had mine, too!
Before I got saved I was in the deepest, darkest depression of my life. When I finally surrendered my life to the Lord my life radically changed and I completely divorced my former life. At the beginning of my conversion that depression still loomed over me and I went through a real grieving process for my life as I had once known it (not in the sense that I wanted it back but in the sense that as a new believer I didn’t have friends or even new things to do). Anyway, I started meeting with my pastor for counseling and he introduced me to a lady that would eventually become a “Spiritual mom, small group leader and dear friend.” She invited me to small group so I went.
One day that week I was in the showering pouring my heart out to the Lord about how lonely I was and needed a friend. Not even 5 minutes after getting out of the shower, my this lady called me and said the Lord had so strongly impressed upon her to call me that she had to turn off the vaccum and call me immediately to see if I was alright. I of course said, NO and she offered for me to come out to her house to talk and pray. That day on her living room floor a bond was birthed that I will never, ever be able to explain outside of Christ. This woman has been the “truth speaker” in my life so many times and I am so thankful for her honesty and willingness to always point me back to Christ when I get down.
Not too long after that I met my bestest friend. We also have a bond that cannot be explained other than as coming from the Lord. I am so thankful for these women and the way God reminded me (and continues to remind me) of His great love for me through them.
I am in the process of moving from Lubbock, Tx to Wellington, Ks to care for my Mom. I have been needing to return to Lubbock since December, but haven’t had the funds. I was preparing to go next week, when car trouble reared it’s ugly head. I made payment arrangements with the mechanic, but it was going to be tough. When I went to pick up my car, he told me they had found other things wrong, also. But, when I went to pay him, he said it was all taken care of, and that he had checked the entire engine for any other problems. My sweet brother living in Mississippi had told them to do what was needed and that he would cover it. God always has my back!
When I was at college attending a worship service that I went to on a weekly basis. A girl that I have never met leaned over to me and said “God just told me to tell you he is going to use you in a mighty way one day”. I never spoke to or saw this girl again. At that point in time, my life was going great. I was a bit confused but considered it a “God Wink”. A “God Wink” to me is those little things that people say that let us know we are in God’s hands. Four years have passed since the random girl beside me at church told me that. The past 3 years, my life has been in complete turmoil. What she said to me that night has carried me through. I have faced more trials than any married girl in her twenties should face. After years of counseling and praying I slowly feel this “affliction” leaving and the pieces to the puzzle are beginning to come to place on why I went through this. God one day will use it for his glory not to mention he has already transformed me into a better person. Remember: Your MESS becomes your MESSage! Your TEST becomes your TESTimony!
My father passed away three years ago from ALS. My husband, me and our children were living in NC at the time. The rest of our family was in MO. Dad had been losing the use of his right hand and arm and none of us knew why. Dad had a great ability to “sound” alright over the phone. I knew he was sick from something, but Daddy always down played it so that I would worry from so far away. It was July 4th. Early in the morning, my husband and I called all of our family to say we love them and Happy Independence day. When I spoke to Dad, he sounded just fine. We started our day, grilling etc. I was walking through the living room in full 4th of July swing. The best way that I can describe this is a “ping” feeling, right below where my ribs come together, where my stomach is. It stopped me in my tracks, literally. It started there and swept all over me. It was love, and the love made me think of my Dad. I jerked my cell phone out of my pocket and called him. He told me he couldn’t talk because he was on a stretcher about to be put into the doors of an ambulance. Only Jesus could do that. I was over 1000 miles away. My husband drove us to Mo and came back to NC for work. Daddy passed away August, 20th. My husbands vacation time was scheduled at the beginning of the year. It was the exact week that Dad went home to Heaven. When I went to church the Sunday after the 4th of July (before we went to MO to be with Daddy), I was telling a dear lady about this. I will never forget what she said. She told me, “Mandy, don’t you see? Jesus loves you so much that He wanted to be the one to tell you. He didn’t wait for someone else to call. He let you know himself.” I am so thankful that I will get to see Daddy again, when I get Home.
that should read “so that I wouldN’T worry from so far away.” 🙂
Wow some these posts have really encouraged. Me so much I have even had tears to see God goodness,
Mine is I have been unemployed for. 5 months and I rent where I live at , and as I am writing this I have tears in my eyes at God faithfulness and His Goodness
My Landlord I got behind on rent the summer of 2012 , because I had been u employed then , and so I fell 2 months behind and I was sending him whatever I could and letting him know what was going on and He has allowed me to stay here , with being those 2 months being , finally found ajob and had to wait 3 weeks to be paid and when I did I started paying him little by little for the months that I could , so I had that Job for 5 months and it ended. Well in Nov 2012 found myself unemployed again and had money to pay him rent for Nov, but after that I did not know what was going to happen , it’s is only God goodness and grace that I am still here in the same place , in Jan and Feb of this yr I got my fed tax and it was just enough to pay him for jan and feb, praise God , but now I still, have not got him caught up for last yrs months and He has not once asked for the money , but I do want to do my best to get him taken care of and God knows that , so I am trusting Our Great God to provide for me to keep a roof over my head . My total dependence is upon God , but He is faithful and He will take care of me . He has shown me favor here and I ask that it continue and to provide a job here soon, He has defintely been supplying for me little by little.:))))
Carol
About 3 weeks ago I attended a banquet where a local comedian entertained us but turned out to be very disgusting and vulgar. Since then, I have felt compelled to pray for him and intercede on his behalf but I don’t know why. Then, right before reading this post, I was working on To Live is Christ and read the lesson discussing Paul’s intercessory prayers for all the churches, focusing on Rome. I prayed some of the specific petitions for this comedian that Paul prayed in Ephesians, Phillipians, and Colossians which you used as examples. Now after reading your post, I know God told me to pray for him without telling me why so that I can be in his burden but not his business. I realize how lacking I am in intercessory prayer because I am so pridefully focused on my own life and problems. What a joy to be part of someone else’s spiritual walk without anyone knowing I am in it except me and God!
I thought it was kinda weird this week when an old aquaintance suddenly text me and asked me if I’d like to meet for coffee to catch up. As soon as we started chatting I knew right away it had been God showing me he had my back and was with me in my turmoil with my daughter. Right away she asked me “What is your scripture you are quoting in all of this?” She shared similar “mom stuff” and encouraged me. I love her for this, and God even more
There are so many times God has assured me he has my back!
Once, while driving in snow on a two-lane back road, I crossed a bridge and my car began spinning on the ice toward a 30 foot drop-off. It made 4 spins. I was paralyzed in fear and could only muster a gasp, “Jesus, help!” Immediately, my car stopped spinning, stopping with the right front tire just inches from the edge. And the car never even jerked as it stopped! I had this image of God’s hand coming down and proclaiming “Peace!” in my storm.
Another time, I was driving a 23 foot Uhaul full of all my earthly goods and towing my vehicle behind me on a Texas highway. I drove into the night, and suddenly came upon road construction. I don’t know why, but suddenly the car trailer I was towing hit something, propeling the Uhaul directly toward the concrete barrier. I cried out, “Oh, God!” and the truck straightened out. I was shaky, but once again assured that He hears the cries of His children!
Thanks for giving us all the opportunity to share! It has been such a blessing to hear the testimonies here. We will overcome by the Blood of the Lamb and the Word of our Testimony!!
So as my work with some really tough teenagers in a very political school district has me completely frustrated this afternoon, God has my most favorite and respected mentor/supervisory person call me to check in. It’s a balm to my soul to be able to have some one know this work is hard on a heart level and ask about my heart. and just listen to my frustrations and struggles over a certain case. My sweet Lord gave me some one to confide in who really does ‘get it’ and I feel less alone in this work. Praying that God is glorified eventually to this co-worker.
I have a family member who deals with intermittent depression. This person doesn’t believe necessarily, that we do sometimes have to treat it. I needed to convey to their new doctor that there is a reason they need a certain very small dose of medicine. I needed to be able to do it in a way that at least would get the doctor to see and read their chart. I also wanted to preserve their dignity. Well, God helped me speak to the right person, they spoke to the doctor and the doctor did an amazing job discussing with my family member. Not only that, the family member was able to share with the doctor that the two of us love to do Beth Moore Bible studies to keep us on track!
One of those times when God reminded of me of His faithfulness toward me happened last year at an LPL event in Kansas City. Before the event started, volunteers were handing out cards in the lobby area as people were coming in. As my friend and I came up to one of the volunteers, one of the cards fell out of her hands onto the floor. I picked it up (not thinking a whole lot about it), and we went in to find seats. After we had found our seats, there was a little time before the event started so I thought I would go ahead and read the card. I took the card out of the envelope, and on the front of the card were several Hebrew names for God. The first name on the card was Jehovah Jireh, Provider. Instantly, I remembered a prayer that I had spoken to God more than a year earlier and His response back to me which was that same Hebrew name, Jehovah Jireh, Provider. In that moment, God reminded me of how constant and faithful He has been throughout all the years of my life.
I opened up the card and this note was written on the inside: “Praying that God will bless you and speak to your heart this weekend! Ephesians 3:20-21” He did. I knew that I would hear from Him through His Word, but I did not imagine He would speak to me that weekend with a card. This card sits on a table in my home reminding me that He is all I need.
On 02/25/13 my husband was in a car accident. Later, when I realized that at the exact time of the accident that I and my girlfriend had been on the phone praying for him, I knew it was God alone who preserved his life.
(*not sure if I posted this the right way the first time, so here’s my 2nd attempt:)
Beth, I need to tell you that seeing you always makes me feel so full of Joy…I’m referring to your picture on the post;) And every.time I read your posts or do a bible study with you, I feel so very loved. It feels like I am seeing and hearing from a tried-and-true friend, a close sister-friend, which is {Jesus’ love}crazy since I’ve never actually even met you in person or even spoken with you. But, oh, do I feel like a kindred-spirit of yours (as do thousands of others I know!)So thank you for your warm, genuine-friend smile and words this morning…made me get all teary eyed. And this is just ONE way that my Jesus reminds me how much HE loves me and thinks of me … how He must smile with delight when His children look into His face and read HIS Words. Oh, for others to feel loved by Him when they talk with me, or when they read my words…to radiate the smile of Jesus to them and for them to walk away feeling treasured and infinitely thought of by the Father.
Dear Beth (aka Siesta Mama)
Thank you so much for this post. So grateful!
Just last month one of the “seasoned” women in my church came up to me and said, “I need to talk to you”. I was walking out of the sanctuary at my church into the vestibule were countless other church members were gathering and chatting after morning service.
She pulled me to the side, even though people were everywhere, and proceeded to share with me a dream she had about me and a situation I had been praying to God about, for a very long time and had never, ever shared with her. She said that when she woke up she began to pray about it and what to tell me. She spoke such hope and encouragement to me that my eyes began to well up with tears as I started to cry in front of all those people standing around. Funny thing is that I did not care who saw me crying I was just in ah of how God used her as a vessel to bless me that morning.
Sidebar: There is a fairly new gospel song by Dottie Peoples called “I Got This”! God’s got it all in His hands. Every burden, every problem and every question. He can handle it. He’s Got Your Back!
Much Love from your Siesta Daughter,
Jamison
It never fails that when things are going rough, God sends beautiful birds to fly right in front of me to remind me that if he can know about the “birds of the air”, how even more precious am I to him that He reminds me that “He’s in control, REGARDLESS!”.
There are two times that really came to mind. The first was three years ago when I had a difficult to diagnose hernia. I’d had it for 2 1/2 months and was going back to a doctor who told me I did not have a hernia even though I thought I did. I was doubtful the appointment would get anywhere, but in the middle of my doubting on the way to the appointment, God interrupted with the command, “Have hope.” It was extremely clear that He’d heard my prayers and my doubts, and was telling me to hope because He was about to answer my prayers. Sure enough, I had the hernia repaired the next week.
The second time was last summer. A couple of missionary doctors asked me to accompany them to Niger to help them get their 4 young children over as they moved. They asked just 3 days after I had told my mentor that if God ever wanted me to go to Africa, He would have to be o clear about it that it would be like smacking me over the head because I am a mosquito magnet who would most likely get malaria. Furthermore, the family offered to pay for my trip, leaving me with no reaon not to go other than my own unwillingness. I went, and sure enough, got malaria at the end of my trip. Yet, there was no fear, because all I saw was God’s love. The original plan was for me to stay at a guesthouse by myself when I got back to the capital, but a missionary invited me to stay with her instead. She wan’t sure who to call to ask when we suspected malaria as a possibility, but I was able to suggest a missionary doctor because he and his family had us over for dinner our first week in Niger. I originally thought it was the flu, which had been going around the compound I stayed at, but I didn’t want to ask anyone back home for prayer becaue I didn’t want to worry them. Finally, I gave into God’s nudgings and texted my mentor, a surgeon, who sent me the fever info. for malaria, which is what prompted us to contact a doctor who thought it was malaria and provided treatment within a couple hours. If I had developed symptoms just a couple days earlier, the flu probably would have been assumed treatment would have been delayed. A day later and I would have been on a plane or in an airport for the next 32 hours with no access to medicine, and then I would have been back here where doctors are not used to treating malaria and I would have been much worse off. God had a plan to take care of it that was immeasurably better than any human could have come up with, and definitely taught me that He is much bigger than malaria and that He has my back!
Just a few weeks ago, I had some minor complications with my current pregnancy and had to go to the ER to get everything checked out. While my husband and I were there, we just felt at complete peace about the situation. It was a peace that we knew only God could provide. We did text a few family members prior to going to the hospital, so they were praying for us. However, later we found out from one of my good friends and mother-in-law that they also felt prompted to pray for me and the baby, despite the fact they knew nothing about the situation. My mother-in-law actually lives overseas and said that she woke up in the middle of the night with a prompting to pray. I felt so blessed by all their prayers. And the baby is continuing to do well!
How the Lord has shown me He has my back—ah, let me count the ways! Actually, they are too numerous to be counted, but the sweetest, most wonderful way He has shown me is as follows: 38 of us from church had gone to a city cinema to see “Passion of the Christ.” After the movie I went with around 4 married couples to a restaurant for dinner. As they chatted about this and that, I sat with head down, staring at the tablecloth as I thought about what my dear Jesus had gone through for me. Suddenly, I felt His presence. Looking up, I found Him smiling tenderly at me as He “glided” through the middle of the restaurant. I heard Him say within me, “I’m alive, child! I’m alive!” He then disappeared. It was a year before I shared it with anyone. I held that moment close to my heart like a miser clinging to his treasure. Dearest sisters, I would like to testify to you right now: our sweet, wonderful Christ is alive and very active in our lives. We can’t reach out and physically touch Him or see Him, but if we pay attention with our hearts and spirits, we will continuously see Him at work in each moment.
My dad has always called those “whispers” winks from God, which I LOVE! I so love it when God so clearly shows Himself to us, His children who He loves so so much. Okay, so a few years ago, I got a HORRIBLE case of poison ivy, which I had never had before. I had it for awhile and ended up getting a rash all over my body so I went to the dermatologist because I thought I had systemic poison ivy (if that’s even possible) and he told me I had an allergic reaction to some detergent or something along with the poison ivy. Anyway, he gave me a cream for my rash (my poison ivy was almost gone at this point so he didn’t give me anything for that). Well, I started to get poison ivy again later and I didn’t know whether to use that cream or not(my husband was telling me that it might make it worse) SOOOOOO, I just said, “God, I have no idea how you are going to do this but please show me if I should use this cream.” I really didn’t have much faith but I knew to ask. Well, I got on Facebook right after that and my sister’s mother-in-law had left me a message saying that she used to get horriblbe poison ivy but there was this certain prescription cream that she used every time it started to appeaer and it kept it at bay. She left me the name of the cream and guess what? You guessed it, it was EXACTLY my prescription cream! I was so thankful that God did that small thing for me! He loves us SO SO much and is just waiting for us to ask! I felt so loved and I just used that cream this week when I started to get poison ivy again. I used it a few times and gone! Thank you, Jesus! Isn’t He so so good and fun?! I am so sad for people who don’t have Him! He is EVERYWHERE!!! I love his winks, hugs, and shouts!!