Believe in Miracles, but Trust in God . . .

Faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen. God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.  Therefore, there is nothing in this world that your mind or mine can conjure up that would leave God bamboozled.  God is all seeing, all knowing – omniscient and omnipotent.  So, what is the problem?  Why are you sitting there being so down in the dumps, being so hard on yourself?  Why do you believe that the bad guys have won the battle, even before we have started the war?  How do you propose to win with a losing spirit?

As Snoopy (Peanuts, by Charles Shultz), would put it, “It was a dark and stormy night . . .” when hell opened up a portal in my living room and heaven seemed an eternity away.

I knew that there was a storm approaching. I tried my best to ride out the storm and keep the vessel intact, but I soon realized that was not God’s plan.  As the storm clouds gathered, the atmosphere grew cold and aloof, the winds began to howl in rage, attitudes became tepid, emotions became unstable, and uncertainty kept a constant vigil at the door. It was only a matter of time before he let aggravation and frustration in, then doubt, fear and distrust; then anger and hate took up residence in my humble abode.  In time, even separation paid us a visit, but he only stayed for about six months, before he was booted out by wisdom.

There was no way I could relinquish my hold on this family (my forever family). I needed to stay in control, because no one else was doing anything to stop up this chasm of pure evil, lust and deception.  I didn’t know where to turn or who to call, so I prayed for guidance, but even God didn’t answer his call waiting.  So there was nothing left for me to do, but fight the good fight of faith and freedom by myself.  I got to be like Daniel, I prayed three times a day, then four, five, six, seven and then with every thought of my family that came into my mind, which were many considering the rapid influx of adversity that I was facing, but it seemed like the gates of heaven were sealed and my family was left behind.  It was pure misery, but I purposed in my heart that I would endure, and this family would not fail.  Even so, I could hear the Devil’s laughter, feel the icy breath of his cold-hearted spirit, and bear witness to the remnant of our life that was left mangled by his insidious rampage. It was a surreal experience.

I felt alone, forsaken, and vanquished . . . Every day seemed like an eternity, and I felt like my entire body – mind, soul, and spirit – was being shredded as bone separated from flesh, mind from matter, and soul from spirit. I could honestly feel life drain from my body, yet I was determined to prevail.  I cried, I laughed, I prayed.  I walked, I talked, I ran.  I sat alone – by the side of the road, in my car, at work, in a park, even on fire hydrants, and prayed ceaselessly.  I stayed silent; initiated conversation; joined in conversations, was the butt of many conversations; gave up old hobbies; developed new hobbies; went to church faithfully, stayed home from church, even.  I tapped every avenue of escape outside of drugs, illicit sex, and rock and roll – none of which ever appealed to me, thank God, but absolutely nothing gave me peace.  Days ran into evenings, and evenings ran into morning.  Hell was unrelenting, and I was unyielding.  Yet, despite the circumstances that prevailed, I knew that I could not lose hope. I bought myself a book called Armed and Dangerous, gave Jev his own Bible, which he requested, because according to him everyone else had their own Bible and why should he have to be the one to share, and we went to war against the annals of hell, damnation, and the grave, because the future of this family was at stake and the price of failure was too great to pay for the recompense of an unjust reward.

I had God on speed dial and saturated myself with the word. My attitude was that if God can’t help us who will. Even in my limited knowledge of spirituality, I knew that what was happening was not normal.  There were too many angles, too many loops, and no end in sight.  I said, “This can’t be of God, so it must be an attack of the enemy, but why us – and why now?” Try as I might, I could not understand what was happening.  Then one night I was awakened to a sermon on the radio by regarding spiritual warfare.  It hit me like a bolt of lightening.  The message was mine, and I claimed it in its entirety.  I got up immediately and wrote for the tape of the message.  Ironically, when the tape came back a week later, there were five others with it.  The Minister wrote me a letter explaining the additional tapes. In it, he said, “I don’t know what you are dealing with right now, but God has shown me in my spirit that it is something big, and you are going to need a lot of help. So, I’m sending you the whole series on spiritual warfare, (a $30 value) at no additional cost to you.  All I ask is that when this is over, you write and tell me how everything worked out.” 

Well, so far, all is well. We are still on the potter’s wheel, but we are together, and the picture is shaping up to be a collector’s item.

I truly thank God for his amazing grace, the gift of salvation, and the redemptive power of Christ’s death and resurrection. Today, I am here to tell you, Believe in Miracles, But Trust in God.  That is the message, but it is also the mission. I cannot take my life for granted, and neither should you.  I cannot take credit for what has transpired in my life, in this family, since it was established twenty-three years ago, next Friday.  Heck, I can’t even take credit for my willingness to Believe in Miracles, but Trust in God . . . but I can take credit for being “strong in the Lord and in the power of his might,” because the word says according to your faith be it unto you, and unto everyone of us is given the measure of faith; and what you do with that faith is what’s going to determine whether you win, lose or draw during those trying times.

Belief is what inspired me to keep pressing forward toward the mark of the high prize, but it was my ability to trust in God that caused me to stand still and be firmly rooted in my endeavor during our wilderness experience and live to see the glory of the Lord in the land of the living – and receive the gift of Salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, the Lord, that gave me the boldness to stand against the wiles of the devil and set forth a standard of hope and inspiration that has won  the victory that promises a bright future for this “forever” family.

 

None of us is beyond reproach. Doubt and fear are very common to humans.  In fact, they are the essence of life.  They keep us chaste and chastened, but they can also have a paralytic affect on our lives.     Doubt can actually be described as being Distressed Over Uncertain Bits (of) Truth.  Sometimes, we know that the information is truthful, but we do not know if the messenger is trust worthy, or vice versa. Reason being that we are doubtful because of uncertainty.  Either we are uncertain regarding the information being given, or we are uncertain because we do not fully trust the source from which the information has been derived.  Fear on the other hand has often been alluded to as False Evidence Appearing Real.   This acronym, though effective, is not always accurate.  I believe that a more accurate description as to the meaning of fear would be a simple uneasiness about the pending outcome of a situation. Unfortunately, this description would throw the whole acronym off base, and may not go over as well as false evidence appearing real.  Nevertheless, that’s what fear is.  Fear in extreme cases is often referred to as a phobia.  In any event, doubt and fear are twin thieves.  They rob of us the present and destroy our hope for the future.  They render us powerless in our thoughts and our actions, and are in essence natural inhibitors to living life vicariously through faith in Christ Jesus.  No matter what the circumstances, believe firmly that “God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that you ask or think,” and trust that “Whatsoever he promised, he is fully able to perform.” That is why we must walk by faith and not by sight, because he is GOD…and HE IS ABLE.