Ambassadors of Christ
 
“The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, And He delights in His way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the Lord upholds him with His hand. I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread. (Psalm 37:23-25)

But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their strength in the time of trouble. (Psalm 37:29)


Talk about strength in times of trouble! God is so amazing!!!!! He has been my strength in these times of trouble for my family. I’ve come to give praises to His name! On the 1st of September I posted the financial trouble that my family is presently experiencing (due to our own disobedience).  However, God through His mercy and grace have been providing for our circumstance and giving us open doors to repent and turn away from our dreadful sin of not tithing consistently or being good stewards. He has brought finances our way and godly financial counseling. It is our heart to honor God in every area of our lives, and to some it may come easy, but it has been difficult for us. Thank God He knows our heart and our true desires, as the Psalmist says, “Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4) Mirick and I have never known where to start to be better stewards or how to be committed to tithing faithfully, or how to put together a spending plan and live by it. We have never been on one accord when it came to our finances, and while we were at odds we were destroying our family. We functioned out of our own ignorance and that certainly did not bring honor to God!

So, like I said here we are again…..We lost our home last year to foreclosure through living well above our means, never for a minute thinking about our testimony and what God desires for us financially. Then returning here again facing eviction! This has been the best learning experience for Mirick and I. We are able to TALK about where we have gone wrong, how we have sinned against God, and seek guidance to live according to His word! Powerful!!!!! Especially for us, we took our eyes off of each others faults, and playing the blame game and really focused in on God; seeking His direction through His word and the purpose of this trial. I must tell you that through this He has been faithful in providing the funds needed to catch up the rent, wisdom to look for another (less expensive) place and peace to still go one without falling apart and arguing about the what if’s. 

For me, a year ago I would have abandoned my post and gone out to find a job, to band-aid our situation. Or, I would have been on the phone with my extended family coming up with the money and blaming Mirick for our circumstances. After all, they have rescued us so many other times for our own self destruction and defiance to God. Not this time! Me and my man are walking through this together as God desires us to do, and living out biblical leaving and cleaving according to Genesis 2:24 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall be one flesh.”   Huge!!!Huge!!!Huge!!! concept for Mirick and I, this was a big area of struggle for the both of us.  Praise the Lord!

At the same time, God is giving me a view of my own heart and desires. He is guiding me to understand that the very things I do desire He placed in my heart. However, He is showing me how to determine the true depth of my desires. God is giving me signs to go through doors that He has opened for me some time ago, but I never walked through out of fear! And, of course we know that “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (1 Timothy 1:7)

God is surrounding us with godly brothers and sisters in Christ. I remember sitting at our table last year with the kids praying that through our move God would bring to our lives those who love the Lord, not just hearers of the word but doers (James 1:22). He is answering that prayer daily, and these individuals have been blessing us in many ways. Each and every person brings wisdom, guidance and a hint of their own lives to glorify our Father in Heaven. They share their unconditional love for Christ, never coming or expecting anything, they are not judgmental and they rebuke and reprove in love! 

I am constantly amazed by what is taking place in our lives, at a time many would considered to be a dark time. I am excited to see exactly how this all turns out and of course All of it will be to the Glory Of God!

Overall, we are gaining a clearer perspective of God. We are understanding that this experience is not some judgment for disobedience, but discipline for disobedience. It is like when my parents spanked me when I disobeyed them. It is sort of the same but to a greater degree. And Hebrews 12:7-11 explains it so well “If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” I believe that were there is no chastening, there is no love. I am thankful that God loves us not to let us continue in the path of destruction we have been on, destroying our lives and bringing our children up in the same way. Praise Him, for not leaving us to ourselves! 

 There is no place I would rather be right now but in the middle of this storm with The Living God, building character in our family, and at the same time preparing us for His service. He knows how it all will go from beginning to end and we decided that we will trust him. Is going through this storm hard? Yes! But Jeremiah 29:11 helps us remember that God is sovereign! And that we a are like clay in the potters hand. (Jeremiah 18:1-6)

So, with that I say- “Use me Father, shape me, mold me into what you would have me to be!” I want to be a living testimony. Through it all I will praise Your Holy Name.