He’s Got the Power!

Do you ever waver in your belief in someone? Someone you normally would trust? Have you ever wavered in your trust in God? You know He has all power and wisdom, that He is sovereign, faithful and good, that nothing surprises Him. But sometimes you…just forget? Me too.

My Bible reading today included Romans 4. Verses 20-21 became a lifeline to me in a difficult time in ministry years ago. A time when I was just over it, didn’t want to continue. I sought God’s direction of whether to walk away from this ministry position, or stick it out, but couldn’t get a clear answer.

Then one day, this verse appeared, actually on the back of a bathroom stall door! No other door had a scripture attached to it! Just the one I was in.

It was a truth I’d read before, but it truly became real to me that day. I memorized and quoted it in the following difficult months of praying and waiting for an answer. Eventually things began to slowly change. I began to see a light ahead. In the following 14+ years, I experienced the most rewarding, though often challenging, days of ministry I’d ever had. When I retired, I looked back many times and thought, “what if I’d walked away too soon?”

Today, after I read Romans 4, another study I am in the middle of took me to John 17:4. Jesus is praying for Himself here, before His crucifixion.

I have glorified you on the earth by completing the work you gave me to do.

John 17:4

As we serve the Lord, I believe our desire is to complete what He has called us to do. If we give up too soon, we will miss out on so much, not to mention we would be disobeying God. Today, I definitely needed this reminder. Maybe you did too.

Then the next day I reading Romans 5 and was reminded as well of our hope that comes through affliction.

We have also obtained access through him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Romans 5:2-5

Our hope in God’s promises allows us to live in a broken world, a world of pain and hardship, and yet, have peace. These are the connections the Lord has made for me in scripture this week as I studied His Word.

The Word of God IS alive and active (Hebrews 4:12). It does speak, if we expect it to speak. If we set our minds on His truth. If we pray and ask Him to speak. Too many times, I’ve missed it, or saw it and didn’t obey. That day years ago He truly got my attention with Romans 4:20-21. His promises are true and His power is immense. We can trust His faithfulness. I am so very grateful for the way He spoke loudly then, and that I listened! He still speaks today!

Are you listening?

P.S. The kicker to all this above is what happened a few days later: I had pulled out some old journals from years ago to read through and guess what the first journal I read through was? The one I kept during that 18 month wait. That was not by accident as I relived this journey again by rereading what I wrote…and that was after I had finished writing this blog post a couple of days prior. If we think God’s not speaking, even if it’s not as audible as these fews days were for me, we are so wrong! Listen, He will speak.

Banner photo by TK on Unsplash