God Provides

 

 

When someone asks me how I feel, most of the time I am going to say, “GREAT!” I am well passed the prime of my life, I have flat feet and I have a spine that is so distorted that my chiro does not understand how I am living such a normal life.

I have to pace myself as I age, but I am like the energizer bunny. It is not due to a type A personality, because I do not have one! I am a melancholy and an introvert from birth.

However, I have learned that there is a seed for a miracle in each trial. For instance, while I learned to survive a divorce by my husband of 22 years, God revealed Satan’s lies that I was alone and abandoned. He taught me His truth that He is my husband and that He alone is my strength and my provider (Isaiah 54:5; Psalm 54:4).

Also, I was t-boned in a car accident in 1995 that broke 11 ribs on my left side, punctured my left lung, gave me a concussion, filled the left side of my face with glass and broke the pinky finger on my left hand.

Yet, I was discharged from the hospital the next day after the accident. I was back to work as a full-charge bookkeeper in one week, and I never took one pain pill. God provided for me above all expectations, amazing my doctors and everyone who suffered through even one broken rib.

The Spirit of God continually provides me with supernatural strength and wisdom to combat any physical impairments, and His joy and peace pervade every facet of my life.

Over the years, God taught me to live in the Spirit and not to dwell on the temporal aspects of life for very long, because every instance of tribulation is a new adventure in Christ and a spiritual phenomenon just waiting to happen.

Prayer:

Father God, I prefer peace, order and stability, but life has a way of throwing us curve balls when we least expect it. Even so, You always fill me with Your joy, which is my strength through any tribulation (Nehemiah 8:10). I despise change, but You taught me to handle it with flexibility and joyful acceptance as I witness Your provision for me.

I love the life You gave to me. I enjoy my family and I adore the husband You provided, because he is so adorable! I love people and I never meet a stranger. I enjoy my opportunities of service to You as a wife, mother, grandmother, homemaker, and in the ministry of Your Army as a spiritual mentor and a Pastor's wife. I give You all the praise, which is due to Your name.

Thought for the Day:

God leads us and guides us each moment of the day; and He keeps us on His straight and narrow path, because of the spiritual enemies of His Kingdom. - Psalm 23:3, 5

 

My Life Was a Wreck - Part 2

The complete dependence on God, which I learned during my first car wreck, helped me to survive the devastation of divorce and to settle into a new life back in my home town.

About a year later, I drove home from work on my usual route, but my mind played a trick on me. Confusing the traffic light at the next street with the light in front of me, I ran a red light.

A large, commercial van t-boned my car, pushing the driver’s-side door twelve inches into the space where I was seat-belted behind the wheel.

Needless to say, my bones started breaking, one of them punctured my lung, and my head ricocheted back into the window. This impact shattered glass into my face, gave me a concussion and knocked me out.

Waking up in the hospital, I learned that my little finger had a compound fracture and 11 of my ribs broke in the impact. I had bruises and lacerations all over the left side of my body.

After getting shuffled around through excruciating x-rays and tests, I told the doctor I was through being tortured, and I wanted to go home. 

Smiling to himself, he promised to send me home when my punctured lung healed. He informed me that most people with only a few broken ribs find it hard to breath, so I should be under an oxygen tent for a few days. 

I declined His offer and slept in the chair overnight, because the only time I experienced pain was reclining or sitting up from a prone position.

From that same chair, I greeted a surprised doctor the next morning when he made his rounds. He had to keep his promise to send me home. Not only did I have no pain, I also had plenty of oxygen in my body and a healed lung.

At my follow-up appointment the next week, my astonished doctor admitted that prayer and God’s grace were the only reasons I was not still in a hospital bed and under an oxygen tent. He released me to go back to work as a bookkeeper for my brother’s business.

God used this experience to bless my life in so many ways. The most important was God's mercy to save my life once again.

The second benefit was that my fiancé’s love for me never diminished, even though I could have won the prize in a Frankenstein’s sister’s “look alike” contest.

Kevin, my parents and my three brothers did everything they could to make my life as easy as possible. Together, we witnessed God's amazing healing power.

Though I slept in a recliner for three months until my ribs mended enough to lay down in a bed, I never had to take even one pain pill (Psalm 107:2).

Prayer:

Father God, the tiny piece of glass still lodged under the skin of my face is a constant memorial of Your glory and grace. The few ribs, which healed at angles, still poke my muscles to remind me that You hold the power of life and death in Your hands (Deuteronomy 32:39).

Although Satan tried again to snuff out my life, You had plans for me, which are always for my good and for Your glory (Psalm 147:3; Romans 8:28; Jeremiah 29:11). Without eternity, I would never have enough time to praise You for Your constant care for me (1 Peter 5:7).

Thought for the Day:

The unwavering love of the Lord never ceases and His mercy and grace never come to an end; in fact, they are new every single morning due to His great faithfulness. – Lamentations 3:22-23

These Things I Know

When someone asks me how I feel, most of the time I am going to say, “GREAT!” I am well passed the prime of my life, I have flat feet and I have a spine that is so distorted that my chiropractor does not understand how I am living such a normal life. I have to pace myself as I age, but I am like the energizer bunny. It is not due to my type A personality, because I do not have one! I am melancholic and an introvert from birth. But, God taught me to live in the Spirit and not to dwell on the temporal aspects of life for very long. 

For me, every trial is a new adventure in Christ. For instance: I was t-boned in a car accident in 1995 that broke 11 ribs on my left side, punctured that lung, gave me a concussion, filled that side of my face with glass and broke my left little finger. I was discharged from the hospital the next day after the accident. I was back to work as a full-charge bookkeeper/secretary/receptionist in one week. The Spirit of God gave me supernatural strength to combat my physical impairments and His joy and peace pervaded every facet of my life.

I also survived a divorce by my husband of 22 years when God revealed Satan’s lies that I was alone and abandoned; and taught me His truth that God is my husband and that He is my strength and my provider (Isaiah 54:5; Psalm 54:4). I despise change, but God taught me to handle it with flexibility and joyful acceptance. I like peace, order and stability in my life, but life has a way of throwing us curve balls when we least expect it. Even so, God always fills me with His joy, which is my strength through any tribulation (Nehemiah 8:10).

I love life and my family. I adore the new husband God gave me, because he is so adorable! I love people and my volunteer service as a Pastor’s wife. I love my one bedroom/one bath home, my flower gardens, my mini-van and my Pomeranian and calico cat. I love sappy movies, treasure hunting at thrift stores, writing novels and devotionals, walking in nature and worshipping with God’s people; however, the things of this world hold no detaining interest for me. I will deal with any physical ailment with nature’s remedies and with as little medicine and surgery as possible. But, we all die of something. Once I get the “big one” that is going to take my life, I will not fight it; because I look forward to my homecoming in Heaven.

How can I say this? In Christ dwells all the fullness of the triune God; and this same powerful Jesus dwells in us, and we are also hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 2:9, 3:3; Romans 6:8). We are crucified with Christ; and therefore, we live in this world only for God’s glory, not our own (Philippians 1:21; Romans 2:20). Our negative emotions illuminate the areas in our life where we hoard our idols. As we surrender them to God, Satan has fewer areas where he can hinder our walk in Christ. When we walk in obedience moment by moment, we do not sin or fulfill the lusts of the flesh (Galatians 5:16-17, 25).

As our self-centeredness decreases daily, Christ will increase in and through us (John 3:30). We have been taught that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. This is a slight perversion of God’s Truth. It puts the emphasis on "I can" rather than on Christ in me can. The actual truth of this verse is: We can do all things only through Christ in us who possesses God's wisdom, strength and divine authority. He actually gives us the desire and the power to fulfill His purpose in the earth (Philippians 2:12-13; 4:13). We cease our self-effort, and we enter into God’s rest (Hebrews 4:10).

We dwell in God’s rest by following the leading of His Spirit moment by moment throughout the day. We no longer live, but Christ lives in us, through us and instead of us (Galatians 2:20). God’s Holy Spirit sanctifies us throughout our lifetime, until we are perfected according to His standard of the fullness of Christ in us (Ephesians 4:13). We are fully human, but Christ in us is fully divine. He changes us from one stage of glory to another (2 Corinthians 3:18). We slowly mature until we completely share in the divine nature of Christ in us (Ephesians 4:13).

Prayer:

Father God, we are Your offspring and You transform us with ever increasing glory into the likeness of Your Son (2 Corinthians 3:18; Romans 12:2). Christ is glorified in us when we live and move and have our existence in Him (Acts 17:28; John 17:10). Remind us that we have the same chance, which Jesus did, to live a spirit-filled life. Sanctify us until we exhibit Christ’s character in us, which is the fruit of Your Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). With Your divine nature infusing every part of our spirit, body and soul – our mind, choices and emotions (Acts 17:28-19; 1 Thessalonians 5:23) we live a fulfilled and victorious life.

Thought for the Day:

God wants to fill us through all of our being with all of His fullness, so that we might acquire the richest measure of His divine presence within us until we are completely filled and flooded to overflowing with God Himself (Ephesians 3:16-19; 4:13 Amplified Bible).