January 16, 2006 – GOD’S TRUTHS AND PROMISES ARE ALIVE
There is much sorrow and tribulation in the world! We can overcome the sorrow and tribulation in our lives through the power and presence of God within us. Ephesians 3:20 now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us. Can I change the amount of power working in me? The answer is a resounding “yes!”
As I have written before, I am nearly 81 years old and I have walked with God most of my adult life. I have had many experiences with Him and I have known the fullness of His power working in and through me. In recent years I have settled for less because I thought God didn’t really need to use me in a powerful ministry anymore because of my age. I really thought it was God who had given me less power and had diminished my gifts because they weren’t needed. Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! I have made a recent discovery. Isaiah 46:4 even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. God never stops working in us ad through us. 2Timothy 2:20 in a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. 21 if a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made Holy, useful to the master and prepared to do any good work.
It is easy for us to mistake God’s “preparation time” for service as “wasted time” because we are impatient. But God never wastes His time nor is He ever too late. We should never consider “waiting on God to move” as time wasted. I recently learned this lesson. God is never finished with His children. He always, in everything, and in every circumstance, is working things together for our good (Romans 8:28). Our time here on earth is not the ending of our lives, it is only the beginning of a greater eternal work. We are learning to walk in holiness as Jesus walks.
For the last couple of years, God told me that I would walk through the “valley of the shadow of death,” that I would pass a time in agony, and that He would raise me up. He told me that His purpose was that I might experience the “sufferings of Christ.” Unsuspectingly, I slid into the “valley” God had spoken to me about and I experienced the agony of pain. For many months I was ill and all the tests proved that I was healthy and yet I finally was bedfast. Gradually, I almost completely lost my cognitive forces. I knew I was dying unless God intervened. One night God spoke to me and told me He would raise me up in two more days. He spoke and He did it! My mind cleared and my strength returned. Nobody could explain what had happened to me. There was no reasonable explanation for my illness. My loved ones told me I almost had a nervous breakdown. They would never understand that God had foretold all of the things that had happened to me and He fulfilled every promise He made to me.
My inner being is filled with joy, praise, and thanksgiving. I also have a new appreciation for the divine power, will, and purpose God has for each of us. I knew God had touched me and that all His purposes in my life would be fulfilled. Hebrews 13:5 keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” John 14:18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
It has only been a few months since God raised me up to better health. Lately people have constantly told me “how good” I look. When I am told that, I remember God telling me that He was going to change my visage after I went through the shadow of death. This is only a small portion of the miracles I have seen God perform in the last several months. The next thing God did was to “isolate me.” He let me know that I was to drop my prayer meetings. This partially separated me from my friends. I wasn’t long in finding out “why?”
I began to long to be closer to the Lord and in my isolation I had all the time I needed to study, pray, read, and write for my website. But I still felt a lack in my spirit and I knew there was something else I must do. Finally I realized that I needed to start fasting and taking communion often.
My dear ones, I can’t tell you the difference it has made in my spiritual life. I am not doing a long fast. I started out by giving the Lord my favorite meal of the day (lunch) and used the afternoon for prayer and praise. I have never been so happy! The relationship and fellowship I felt when I was doing a lot of ministry and work for the Lord has returned. Since I started the weekly fast, I have been filled with praise and adoration for God. I have a new understanding of His great power and how He watches over every one of us. We may not think He is watching, but He is! I have never felt His love for each of us as strongly as I feel it now. Psalms 139:1 o Lord, you have searched me and you know me. 2 you know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 3 you discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. 4 before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, o Lord. 5 you hem me in – behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. 6 such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
If you desire more of God’s presence and power in your life, all you have to do is begin to seek Him and rededicate yourself to Him – desire to go deeper and climb higher with God. Praying and praising Him, fasting, and taking communion in remembrance of His love and sacrifice for us is a strong beginning. Psalms 70:4 but may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation always say, “let God be exalted!”
God is waiting to show you His everlasting love and to shower you with His blessings! You may not know Him as well as you would like, but you can. He knows you, loves you, and He wants to give you His highest and best. Matthew 11:29 take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
