Written by: Teresa
Psalm 97:12 “Rejoice in the LORD, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.”
1Samuel 7:12 “Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto, hath the LORD helped us.”
Romans 5:8 “But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
I’ve written before about the verses in 2Peter in which Peter expressed the omnipotence and judgment of God by reminding us of His creation of all things and His judgment in the Flood. While God, through the Holy Spirit and the Word, often brings to my mind His power and presence in my life, I do not always seek to dwell on His holiness and His kindness and blessing toward me. In truth, my entire life since Jesus saved me by His grace is a story of His love and kindness toward me. It is so good for me to allow myself to be put in remembrance of His intervention in my life through the years.
Earlier this school year, for example, my youngest daughter’s English teacher gave me an assignment: to write in a million words or less anything I wanted her to know about my daughter. I wrote to her about God’s work in Emily’s body when she nearly died shortly after she was born and God introduced me to James 5:14-15 and saved her life. I had never seen these verses, or if I had, I hadn’t understood them or found them memorable; but when my daughter’s life hung in the balance, I prayed over the Gideon Bible that was in my hospital room, opened it, and read these verses – I just flopped the Bible open, and God chose the page. I took them as the Word of God as if He has stood in my face and spoken them directly to me. I obeyed, and God saved my baby girl. James 5:14-15: “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.”
In 2000, I left my ex-husband. I realize that God hates divorce, and I agree with Him. It was a decision that was not made lightly or selfishly but to save my children from a cycle of abuse that had already continued too long. When I decided to leave, I had accepted that God would be father and husband to my children and me. I had no idea that He intended to bless my children and me with a husband he had already prepared, a husband who loves me and seeks daily to be the man God wants him to be, leading our family in the Lord. Through our marriage, I gained two daughters he had been raising alone. We have been married all these years in love and peace with never a fight or a hateful word spoken to one another; and throughout these years, the Lord has used him as a salve to heal all of my wounds. Of course, if you ask my husband, our marriage was God’s provision of a wife and mother for him and his daughters. When I view the terrible scene of divorce through the lens of God’s provision throughout the whole thing, I see only the blessings he poured out on us all.
Living paycheck to paycheck has benefits, like engendering complete and utter dependence upon the Lord to provide our needs. Several years ago, we had a Windstar (never buy one) that was our primary means of transportation. The transmission was acting up badly for a long time, but it would be another month before my bonus was in, which was the only way we could get a replacement transmission. It may seem weird to those who don’t know that God can do anything, but when the bonus finally came in and my husband took the van to the shop, the most amazing thing happened. He parked the van in the parking lot, and the attendant told him to move it to another location. He put it in gear, and it wouldn’t move at all – it was finished. The mechanic took the transmission case (or whatever that is in man language) off, and all that was in it was unrecognizable pieces of transmission in no particular arrangement. That’s when I knew with absolute certainty that God had sent a transmission angel to hold the thing together until my bonus came in. I know that sounds funny, but it is absolutely no joke to me – God provided what we needed by taking control of a transmission – that’s peanuts for the One who spoke all that is into existence, but it was what we needed. Topping off the blessing, the cost of replacing the transmission was slightly less than the amount of my bonus. It was around this time that God taught me Psalm 40:17: “But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God.”
Many, many more things God has done in my life could be only His work. He blessed me today, and there’s no explanation for the events of the day except for God’s direct intervention and leading. I suppose I could write a book, but its only purpose would be for me to read it and be put in remembrance of God’s infinite love for me. What about you? Have you hit one of those enormous pot-holes in the road of life and been blessed beyond measure? Has God brought you through something you could not have brought yourself through? Has He shown you the scripture passage you needed to hear from Him at exactly the right moment? Take some time today to be in remembrance of God’s intervention in your life, His blessings, His provision, and His unexpected relief exactly when you needed it. I say with Paul,
“And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong” (2Corinthians 12:9-10)
