There are times when I think it would be easier to just give up. Although that's what the enemy wants. And we are not in this to please the enemy. We are in this for Jesus. We are in this to help those that have lost their way. The hard thing about this is that sometimes there are some people who are not ready to be helped. We have come to the sad realization that not everyone is ready to change their life around. Because this requires honesty. It doesn't necessarily require them to make immediate changes, but it does require one to be honest. It's heart breaking when you invest several months of love and emotional energy to have someone lie repeatedly. It's almost like throwing them a life line and having them not grab onto it. All I can do right now is pray for these people, pray for my husband and pray for those who persecute him. We know that we are on the right path when this comes about. And we rest in Him. He knows all. A passage we continue to lean on:
Matthew 5:10-12
God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right,
for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
11 “God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you[a] and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. 12 Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.
In the midst of all this, our garage was broken into. They stole Dave's laptop and 2 bikes. This is the second time we've been robbed in less than 2 weeks. The first time our cars were in the driveway. So, it was like...seriously?! What else can happen? During this time I believe we were being tested. Kind of like Job. When we entered into the Potter's Wheel program, we knew that we were going even deeper into enemy territory. We knew that we would be even higher on Satan's radar. This Psalm was just too fitting for the last week. And as we trust in the Lord, we knew the outcome would be great! And it was! Although the police have not found the individuals who are stealing in our neighborhoods, we know they will. And we pray that they would recover our items. But even if they don't, we rejoice in the fact that it's just "stuff" and all of which can be replaced.
Psalm 25
O Lord, I give my life to you.
2 I trust in you, my God!
Do not let me be disgraced,
or let my enemies rejoice in my defeat.
3 No one who trusts in you will ever be disgraced,
but disgrace comes to those who try to deceive others.
4 Show me the right path, O Lord;
point out the road for me to follow.
5 Lead me by your truth and teach me,
for you are the God who saves me.
6 Remember, O Lord, your compassion and unfailing love,
which you have shown from long ages past.
7 Do not remember the rebellious sins of my youth.
Remember me in the light of your unfailing love,
for you are merciful, O Lord.
8 The Lord is good and does what is right;
he shows the proper path to those who go astray.
9 He leads the humble in doing right,
teaching them his way.
10 The Lord leads with unfailing love and faithfulness
all who keep his covenant and obey his demands.
11 For the honor of your name, O Lord,
forgive my many, many sins.
12 Who are those who fear the Lord?
He will show them the path they should choose.
13 They will live in prosperity,
and their children will inherit the land.
14 The Lord is a friend to those who fear him.
He teaches them his covenant.
15 My eyes are always on the Lord,
for he rescues me from the traps of my enemies.
16 Turn to me and have mercy,
for I am alone and in deep distress.
17 My problems go from bad to worse.
Oh, save me from them all!
18 Feel my pain and see my trouble.
Forgive all my sins.
19 See how many enemies I have
and how viciously they hate me!
20 Protect me! Rescue my life from them!
Do not let me be disgraced, for in you I take refuge.
21 May integrity and honesty protect me,
for I put my hope in you.
22 O God, ransom Israel
from all its troubles.
We have surrounded ourselves with Godly people of wisdom and love. We trust them. We love them. They are honest with us, they pray for us, and we couldn't make it through this without them. We continue to pray for even those who are deceived by the enemy. We know that along this path we are dealing with people who have been hurt over and over again. We will continue to love them. We will continue to reach out to them. We are not perfect and we will make mistakes along the way. Praise God that He loves us anyways. :)
We are not living our lives to please others. At least we try not to. We are living our lives for Jesus. On Wednesday evening, Dave got a phone call. The person said to him that God had a word for him. I'm paraphrasing here but it was something like this. "Dave, I was in worship and God spoke to me about you. I had to leave the service immediately to call you. God said that these individuals (he actually named them) are His problem. Breakthrough is His ministry. He loves you and is well pleased with you. He is calling off the enemy." That was unbelievably powerful! Thank you LORD!
It's easy to forget about the stumbling blocks. But it is the stumbling blocks that we choose to use as steps in life. I don't want to forget about this. I want to remember it. I need to remember these times. We know that these times will make us stronger. It was funny because when this all started Dave said, "Chris, I know that God will make good out of this. I don't know what it is, but He will." And he was so right. What a few people set out to harm us, God has turned around and made good come from it. Thank you!
Oh...and you may ask what do we use as our floatation device? JESUS! He's all we need.
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