I had a whirlwind of a weekend. After speaking at a Disaster Preparedness seminar at the Natchez Mall Saturday, I drove to Jayess and spoke at the ladies' night out at Divide Methodist Church. What an uplifting evening! Because my books came in earlier than expected, I had my first book signing there. Over 100 books were sold in a matter of minutes and boy, was I shocked! I had quite a bit of fun visiting with the ladies there and hearing their stories of what God is teaching them.
One lady came up to me afterwards with tears in her eyes. She told me how so many things were going wrong in her life, that she had decided to give God 'one more chance' that evening. If she didn't hear anything from Him that would help her, she had resolved to go home afterwards and kill herself. She was that broken. With a smile on her face, she said "God spoke to me tonight through you and now I have a reason to give Him one more chance. I'm going home tonight and I'm going to live like I never have before!" Praise the Lord is all I can say!
I know she is not alone. There are many "good" Christians who feel defeated, torn apart and deserted by God. So I went back to the story of the children of Israel and read Deuteronomy 7:7-8. "The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the Lord loved you..."
Think about it. God Almighty could have picked anybody to go through what you may be facing. But He didn't. He picked you. Why? Because He has "set his affection on you".
Have you ever witnessed someone who had it all? It seems they never have dark clouds to loom over their head like you do. You sit back and wonder, why me? Why does it seem like nothing bad ever happens to them, but I can't seem to catch a break?
When I see a child being disrespectful in public, I don't commence to correcting them, although I may want to! I correct my own children because they are mine. I correct them because I gave birth to them, I love them and I want them to have the absolute best that I can offer. I don't have that affinity for someone else's child. Although someone else's child may be just as precious, they aren't mine and I'm not responsible for how they turn out and I'm certainly not responsible for providing for them.
No, I'm not suggesting that God allows us to go through trials because He is correcting us, but instead because He loves us. We are His.
So the next time you find yourself all alone, facing numerous obstacles ahead, realize that God will take care of His own. He choose you to go through this trial because He loves YOU and He knows how you'll come through it. He knows what's on the other side and He's going to love and provide for you the whole way.
3 comments:
I am almost in shock! I know almost every person that attended our "Evening of Encouragement" at Divide this weekend, however, I did not know we had "one" in this state of mind. It's amazing how we too often put on a face--especially at church--that everything is okay. God expects us to come to His house and be able to take off the masks. I feel the biggest problem with this in our churches is the fear of being judged instead of being supported. Oh, praise the LORD that He put such a vision in my mama's heart and mind to see this evening happen. AND because of God's tremendous timing, this one lady came and saw the Light!
I wanted to comment, Barbie, to thank you again for listening to the Holy Spirit. I am praising the LORD for you! Thank you for allowing God to use you in this way. You are MORE than welcome to attend our church again ANYTIME!
May God bless you in your work for the Kingdom!
Jessica Rutland
Wow! What a wonderful God we have.
Barbie, I heard you speak at Topeka Baptist Church in February. Great job. I was also uplifted and so aware of the Holy Spirit that night, too. I loved your blog with the comments about "our" children. Boy, that drilled it. Keep up the good work of spreading the God's Love. I too, am looking forward to buying your book. Joy Brister, Jayess, MS
Thank you so very much for your up lifting massage, that no matter what we face in our lives we are not alone. We have the love of our Heavenly Father by our side. I am sad to read this heartbreaking story of one lady. This should make us want to have more Ladies Night Out (Encouragement). Thanks to you,Gods love for you, to use your message, she came and knows that she can face her GIANT, that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. GOD!!!!! I am thankful you stand up for Gods word and in his spirit bring these messages to others. May God continue to use you for his work. I will be praying for you and your family as you travel. Good luck on your book. Thanks once again for encouraging my granddaughter to continue to pray and what a differance it can make to pray for others. God Bless, Paulette Harrison
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