(My wavering faith began to change dramatically after I encountered this book.)
For a long time, I had wondered why my faith had so many ups and downs and never seemed to be stable. I felt that unless I could overcome this problem, I would never be able to share the gospel with confidence. After all, if I had doubts about God and could not trust Him completely, wouldn't it be dishonest to tell others about Him?
So I prayed, "Jesus, please give me a firm and unwavering faith. Otherwise, I cannot share the gospel with others."
One day, a young woman at my church, JK, lent me a book called Power in Praise by Pastor Merlin Carothers. As I read it, I was deeply touched once again by God's immeasurable love. Tears streamed down my face as I thought, "God, do You really love me this much?"
I used to believe that the prayers God heard were those offered desperately and with tears. Of course, such prayers are heard by God, too. But through this book, I learned that prayers of thanksgiving and praise for everything—even things that seem bad in our eyes—are prayers that move the hand of God.
The Bible tells us:
"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances." (1 Thessalonians 5:16–18, NIV)
These are God's commands to us.
At first, giving thanks in all circumstances may seem extremely difficult. But when we understand that God loves us so much that He gave His life for us, and that He knows what is best for us, we begin to realize that He works all things together for our good, even when they appear to be bad.
As I came to understand this, I learned to trust God in every situation and to give thanks for everything.
I also realized that I had old emotional wounds that had never healed. From time to time, painful memories would pull me back into the darkness of my past and leave me feeling depressed.
Following the advice in the book, I began to speak aloud about each painful experience, one by one. After recalling each one, I would say, "Thank You, Lord, even for this."
I continued doing this for many minutes, until quite some time had passed. Throughout this prayer, I believed that when I had finished bringing all these painful memories before God, He would completely heal the wounds in my heart.
Finally, I said, "Thank You, Lord, for completely healing the wounds in my heart just now."
At that very moment, I was convinced that God had healed me. And I know this because, although many years have passed since then, those memories have never caused me the same suffering again.
In January 1997, I had the opportunity to attend a lecture by Pastor Merlin Carothers. As you might expect from someone who devoted his life to sharing the message of praise, he was smiling throughout the event. Although he was already quite elderly, he was remarkably energetic and full of life.
During his talk, he sang a little song with us, almost dancing as he did so! It was sung to the tune of Mary Had a Little Lamb:
God is working for my good
For my good, for my good
God is working for my good
Yes, He really is!!
Whenever I feel a little sad or lonely, I remind myself that Jesus says to me, "heidi, you are My treasure."
I repeat those words over and over in my heart.
And before long, my heart is filled with gratitude, joy, and peace.
------ to be continued -----
にほんブログ村
にほんブログ村
多言語学習ランキング
