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A DEFINING MOMENT

A DEFINING MOMENT

I suggest there are defining moments we experience, which help shape our lives, and can have a significant impact on the path our lives take. A career choice can lead to a job or profession which brings fulfillment, advancement and provides an adequate income, or leaves one feeling unappreciated, stuck in a job they dislike or struggling financially, unable to advance. I was fortunate to have a job I enjoyed, that was satisfying and provided a comfortable living for my family. I worked at several jobs before entering the insurance profession, which I worked in over 40 years. I was happy in the job I held at a local credit union when I was offered the insurance position. Had I stayed, it would have been a good career choice as well. The decision to accept the insurance position was a defining moment.

Defining moments occur in our spiritual journey as well. The “No Matter What” moment I wrote about in an earlier post was most certainly a defining moment in my journey of Faith. Another, I believe worth mentioning, took place about two and one half years into my walk with Christ. I was attending a local Full Gospel Businessmen gathering. Along with lay person members like myself and people from throughout the community, in attendance were a number of local pastors as well as local and national Full Gospel officers. A family from the community, who were clients at my insurance agency were there. They had a son who had suffered severe injuries in an accident, was quadriplegic and in a wheelchair. The Holy Spirit drew my attention to the young man in the wheelchair. I felt strongly I was to go pray for him, and even that God may heal him! Being a relatively young Christian, I was not sure I was hearing from the Lord. I felt intimidated and self-conscious. Who am I to go pray for this young man when there are all these officials and pastors here! What will they think? What if God doesn’t heal him? Satan, my fear, self-conscious feelings and a host of other emotions won out that evening. This was a defining moment for me, because the Lord used the experience to teach me an important lesson. Almost immediately, I was filled with remorse for not having had the courage to exercise my Faith and pray for the young man. As a result I made a promise to God! Never again would I fail to act on His leading! No matter how silly I may look, when I felt the Lord was leading me to minister in some way, I would do it!

I was not condemned by the Lord for my failure! Instead, He lovingly helped me recognize I had failed. His conviction was accompanied by His love. Because of His love, compassion and long suffering, I learned a valuable lesson which serves me well, still today. Revelation 12:10 confirms, Satan is our accuser. When we feel condemned, you can be certain, Satan is at work, attempting to keep us from God’s best for our lives. God is sovereign. He does not need us, but chooses to allow us to play a part in His story. Psalm 100:5 NIV For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. God is our heavenly father and he is a good, good father! You can entrust your life to Him in the certainty of his love for you.

 

 

GROWING

GROWING

In the “No Matter What” post  I talked about fully committing to my Faith journey. You can rest assured, I came to Faith with an abundant amount of questions, ungodly habits, problems and life issues. I was in my second marriage which was in trouble. I think it must be human nature to stumble along in life until we are in a place of desperation and THEN we turn to God. Oh God, I need you now! Help me and take my pain away. We want Him to take us out of the problem, to remove it or do something to fix the situation and make everything better. Sometimes He does. I have heard testimonies from people, who upon coming to Faith, had a craving or addiction completely healed, never to suffer from that problem again. It certainly is a miracle when God chooses to act in such a profound way. I am convinced He does so in love and mercy when it is for the good of the person. Generally there will be another area of their life God will use to grow their faith. I believe every thought and desire God has for me, and for you, are for our good. I have found, usually, God does not provide a quick fix. He chooses instead to give me just enough strength, enough encouragement, wisdom, insight and other tools I need to work my way through the life crisis. He knows we need to build our faith and learn to trust Him and his plan for us. He is the Master Potter molding us into his masterpiece. He knows how hot the fire needs to be, and how long to allow us to stay in life’s oven, to achieve the change and perfection he desires for our life. The Master Gardner nurturing us into a healthy and vibrant plant.

I was a smoker when I came to Faith. God did not zap me to remove my desire to smoke. Gradually I began to realize my habit did not please God, and I very much wanted to please him. Then I read in the Word that my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. I wanted to quit smoking. Still God did not remove my addiction to nicotine. I struggled along and eventually I quit. I recognized God had enabled me to stop. He received the recognition and Glory for what He had done in me, enabling me to overcome my habit. It built my Faith and trust in Him. There were numerous other pruning exercises God undertook in my life. I still need pruning from time to time.  This is the kind of scenario typical in my walk of Faith.

In my experience, there has not been any instance where God has left me to flounder on my own. He has walked through life’s situations with me. I have not encountered one experience where God’s dealings in my life were not for my good and well-being. He Loves me and is for me. He Loves you and is for you as well!  Psalm 57 NLT and AMP