Issue 1459 – Looking Behind – May 28, 2024
When I look back over my life, its joys and sorrows, victories and defeats, triumphs and tragedies, I am amazed.
My amazement is not because somehow my life changed the world or because of the myriad ways I have been a huge “success” in the eyes of the world. It isn’t because numerous authors are clamouring to write my biography and make it into a Hollywood blockbuster. My life has been pretty ordinary.
I am amazed at the number of places I can see God’s hand at work. I can see plenty of times God called to me before I finally bent my knee and surrendered to Him while in my 30s.
I see His at work in the trials. When I rolled my truck at high speed almost six years ago and wrote it off. God’s hand was on me; I not only walked away injury-free, but the doctors found the cancer in my kidneys. I had no symptoms, and the doctors told me that the form of cancer I had was typically fatal by the time symptoms manifested. Thanks to that find, I had the surgery and am 5 years cancer-free.
I’m certain I could think of dozens, if not hundreds, of situations in which I saw God’s hand at work despite my stubbornness and doubts.
So what?
If I can look back and see God at work, it gives me the courage and faith to look ahead and trust Him.
At times, we look around and don’t see God at work. That’s when faith kicks in.
My faith isn’t a form of wishful thinking or empty hope. It is based on experience and the Word of God. I have seen Him come through time and time again, often in astounding ways in my life and the lives of others.
My rather ordinary life has been far from mistake-free or trouble-free. Yet His hand in it all is undeniable. As I write these words, I am reminded of Paul’s words.
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Romans 5:1-5
My friends, we need to share with one another our stories of seeing how God has worked in our lives and encourage one another. Our relationship with Jesus is personal, but it is also public and communal.
Those stories encourage us in our faith. They help us to move forward when we don’t see God immediately on the horizon.
We can testify, as Jeremiah did,
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23
His hand is on the lives of all believers, and that should bring us great joy.
Be blessed
Hallelu Yah / Praise God
Kevin
Gleanings From The Word
Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life.
Soli Deo Gloria (For the glory of God alone)
Never let the enemy tell you that you are worthless or insignificant. Your value in God’s eyes is so great that it was worth dying for. You are a blessing to the world. You are so precious to God that his plan for heaven will not be complete without you.
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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the English Standard Version (ESV)