You know how sometimes you will see the same image several times within a very short window of time? Or hear the same words...? This has been one of those weeks. I have never believed in coincidence, maybe because I have always believed in a BIG God who can reach out to us however He chooses to reach out to us. And I believe most of the time we are so preoccupied with ourselves....and our lives...that we miss so much of what He is trying to say to us. We aren't paying attention to the right things...because there are so many things that demand our attention.
My life verse is Isaiah 43:1-2. Over the years, my life verse has changed here and there based on the season of my life and what I needed at that time. This particular verse though has been my life verse for the last 10 years. I was going through a very difficult time, accused of something I hadn't done by an inmate at the Ohio Reformatory for Women, a prison in Marysville, where I was volunteering. The warden talked to the chaplain and was assured that I was telling the truth, but "as an example" she banned me from every coming back to volunteer there. I was devestated. This whole process took several months and the whole time I was praying the truth would come out, but my heart was aching because I was suffering for something I never did...and I missed my team...and I missed ministering to those women in there who had become such a big part of my heart. I also volunteered once a week at Franklin Pre-Release Center here in Columbus. The Warden from ORW called the chaplain who supervised me at FPRC and she told the leader of our team there. The leader dismissed me permanently from the team because she was afraid of the ministry being compromised. The whole time this was going on, I felt like I was walking through a fire....and at times I felt like I was drowning in confusion and sorrow. That ministry and those women and serving were my heart. I had just lost all of it. During that time, I found this verse:
Fear not: for I have redeemed you, I have called you by your name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you: when you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; neither will the flame kindle upon you. ~Isaiah 43:1-2
I read that and posted that everywhere so I would always remember that God had my back. No matter what, I would get through the pain of this....it wouldn't be the end of me. It wouldn't be the last time I would ever be able to minister to hurting people, or the last time I ever got joy out of doing something I was so passionate about. God was teaching me that if I cling to Him during hard times, He will always show Himself faithful to pull me through. And He did. And ever since then, I have reminded myself of the truth of that verse so many times when I have truly needed it again.
This past week, in several different ways, this verse has come across my path. I know it's not an accident. Sometimes I get so overwhelmed by what I am going through that I don't stop to remember it. God used it this week to remind me. My mom's dining room is red and she has posted her kids' and their spouses' favorite scriptures on the walls in white vinyl graphics. It's beautiful. I took pictures of all of them and have them on my computer. This week after God reminded me...I found the picture of mine and set it as the wallpaper on my computer at work. People have asked me about it and I have told them some of the story behind it. I'm sure over time I will be asked to tell the rest of the story....and be able to tell them how God pulled me through a diffucult time.
We all have them....and we will all have more of them...difficult times. Overwhelming. Heartbreaking. Confusing. The answer is to cling to the only One who can truly ever come through for you 100% of the time. You will not be burned. He will surprise you. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment