Smol tok nomo |
Smol tok nomo |
" And I will restore to you the years that the locust has eaten…" Joel 2:25
I remember it as if it is at the forefront of my brain's index. I was in our little home at Jubilee farm talking to my Dad on FaceTime. Perhaps it sticks in my mind because I didn't have to walk down the road for phone service, but I was able to have part of the conversation in the house and the other part on our front porch. I was talking with my Dad mostly of small talk and nothing life-altering when the scripture began going over and over in my mind "I will restore the years the locust has stolen." I somehow randomly worked it into the conversation, but my awkward little add-in was quiet compared to how loud it was screaming in my heart. It didn't leave that day. For over a year, at random times when thinking of or talking to my Dad, that scripture would come back to me. I won't go into the details of my Dad's journey to salvation, that is his testimony to share, but I will share a little from my angle. Growing up I spent a lot of years living in the parsonage with my Grandparents who were also my pastors. My Grandpa had a heart for souls but was a stern old-timer when it came to the use and waste of electricity and the air was only on for services at our little church. I still remember the Texas heat as I would find myself many days and nights in a quiet (sometimes creepy I might add) dark church. It was on the right side of the wooden altar in a pool of tears and sweat that I would cry out to God for the salvation of my Daddy. That old wooden altar has little whelps of water damage from where my tears repeatedly fell, reminding me of those times in prayer. Not too long before this conversation with my Dad, I begin to feel the locusts approaching in my own life. Biting here and there, nipping at my heels if you will allow such an expression. I know that every nip and every bite are allowed by God for growth or for His purpose. I also know that every attack from the gates of hell is leading to a beautiful story of the redemption of my own. Not of salvation, that was settled long ago, but of redeeming what the enemy meant for evil. A few short months after our return from our term in Vanuatu I witnessed a miracle. Many years after those fervant childhood prayers, God granted me the honor of praying with my Dad as he received salvation. It was probably the most beautiful moment of my life. It happened on a normal day that left me feeling like my heart would explode at the faithfulness of God as I watched Him restore what the locust had eaten in my Dad's life. This is such an amazing testimony, but it would be dishonest to leave it there. You see, when I shared about the locust, and that waiting for God to redeem this part of my story, I am still here. Oh, I am living for the Lord and pouring out all I can for Him everywhere I go, but still, locusts, they have come. There has been fasting and prayer involved. Of course, the natural place any Christian should go in such an hour is to "search me oh Lord and see if there be any wicked way" Try me! Change me! My tears have stained my pillows much as they stained that altar many years ago, but I find these circumstances, are not of my doing and therefore can not be of my undoing. So I wait, I wait for God to restore every bite the locust has taken from my life. I am far from perfect but I am learning to have joy even when my circumstances are less than perfect. My battle has brought an unwavering belief in the goodness of God regardless of any circumstance, and I am learning a deeper understanding of the word "trust" than I ever thought I would. My God has allowed this journey, and He is good and faithful so I will not question, I refuse to question Him. I can still see the hand of God the day that He gave me that scripture to speak over my Dad. I can see the faithfulness of God in that He brought that to pass. Now, when sorrow seems to encompass me at times, and when I feel so much being stripped away from me, every conversation I have with my Dad I am reminded of the promises God has fulfilled. Would I have preferred God showed up sooner with my Dad? Yes. Would I prefer God show up right now and restore everything that has been taken in my own life? Yes. However, I have discovered one important truth, it is not my Dad's story and it is not my story, it is God's story. He is writing this and He who holds the world in His hands loves me and has given me this joy of my earthly Father's salvation in the midst of a very painful season of my life. Someone once referred to it as a "God wink" and that is exactly how I see it. Whether it is today, tomorrow, or years from now, my God will redeem everything I have faced so I wait for Him with expectancy and hope. I should think it is quite obvious that my locusts have not yet met my God! This is longer than a normal blog I know, but maybe there is someone else out there that feels the locusts have come for them during this season of life, may I encourage you to find joy and that our God stays the same in every season? May I share with you His great love and heart for redemption, not only the redemption of salvation but the redemption of everything that has come against you? Wait on Him. Trust in Him. It is ok to be powerless, you always were but maybe you recognize it a little more now? Maybe you see more clearly the one who has all power. He makes dry, dead, bones live and He restores things that are already eaten. Surely it is beyond our human understanding, but the hand of God is still at work in our lives friend.
0 Comments
|
AuthorWife, Mother, Missionary, Teacher, Friend ... just a few of the many titles I gladly wear. Never dreamed this is the journey God would take me on. Archives
July 2022
Categories |