As a child I prayed my dad would die so he'd stop beating me and mom. After a few years I told my mom then she convicted me that it was wrong so I began to pray he would stop drinking. We all prayed. When I lost hope I began to pray he would go away. He did. Things got worse not better. Many years later someone heard the need for my dad to stop drinking and began praying. I scoffed at him for even putting in the effort as it was hopeless after all we prayed for many years. The next week dad stopped drinking. It came by a terrible accident but God used it to get his attention.
Time. It sometimes takes time. Other prayers that seemed impossible were answered swiftly. I was on the edge of suicide, making plans how to commit with out hurting my family. When I gave God one chance at fixing my life and He did. With in two weeks I was living 800 miles away from the dangers. He brought me to a place that was not only safe, and not only took care of my physical needs such as food and clothing but also fed me spiritually. A place I could learn about God and have the seeds fertilized and watered instead of being snatched away by abusive people. God saved my soul through this just as He does many others. Now by no means is life easy, but as you shared in your profile despite the pain we can have peace.....because we Have Him. And He comforts us.
Why does God seem to take His good ole sweet time in one situation and work swiftly in the next? I have found it's because someone is choosing to go against His will, someone needs a difficult situation to bring them closer to Him, He is building our faith, or He is busy working behind the scenes getting things in alignment. Just like my struggle as a child it took time to build my way out. And it made me who I am today despite the difficulty of it all. If we never struggle we never know what it feels like to receive freedom. Birds seem to love to fly but not as much as the bird that is released after being held captive for a time.
Consider Joseph. Living a wonderful childhood till he was snatched away and given as a slave by his very own family, his brothers. He went from an easy life to being treated like garbage and probably mistreated terribly. I can not imagine what he must of went through. Not only the physical pain but the heart ache. Yet Joseph kept his eye on God. And God used this situation to not only save Joseph but to save his entire family and restore it.
Sometimes our struggles will one day save a life. I would of never imagined God using my testimony to save a life. And why not? If I were Him and the enemy caused pain and hardship to my child I would be thrilled to use what the enemy did to harvest souls for that heavenly kingdom. Which we will soon be residing in.
There's hope dear sister. These things will pass. He promises. This struggle hasn't came to stay. We can praise God for that.
Last night in a chat program called Finding Hope we talked some about praising even when we see no hope. I'd like to share a small portion of the study with you.....
Remember the story of Jehoshaphat, he was the king of Jerusalem and the people of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir were mounting an attack against him and his people. And the king fasted and prayed and called for all Judah to do the same. We can learn from this how to handle our spiritual attacks.
And as they waited upon God to answer, the Lord spoke through Jahaziel and said "...'Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the LORD to you: 'Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's.'" II Chronicles 20:15.
And instead of Going to war with swords and spears leading the way, they had the worship team up front, leading them into battle. And they sung out "...'Praise the LORD, For His mercy endures forever.'" II Chronicles 20:21.
And as they began to praise the Lord, singing of the beauty of His holiness, the enemy began fighting each other till they all laid dead on the ground. And when Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah came to pick up the spoils of victory, there was so much it took them 3 days to haul it all home!When you have a great multitude in front of you get your praise out front!
If you would like to read the rest of the notes of the study I can send them to you.
I pray you are encouraged by my words. God bless and keep you dear one.
You sound like a terrific woman. I would love to hear your story. What life is like for you and about your relationship with God.
Posted: Tue May 24, 2011 5:43 pm
i know the feeling of going around in circles and ending back where i started from. That's a start for you that you see that and are willing to work on it. This is a good site to work on stuff and the counceling steps are a great healing tool in our healing journey.
praying for you sis.
. I can see now that I was wrong. Sometimes God heals as you go and as you grow.