God is making things happen for you. Even if you don't see it or feel it, even -Pinterest FOR OVER A year now, I've been praying for the salvation of three, young teen girls I'd met a few years back. I've known the first girl for many years now and the other two, less time than that. It wasn't until roughly a year ago, the Lord put a heavy burden on my heart for the first girl's salvation. I was swallowed with this burning excitement to see something spectacular happen in her life, to see God take a hold of her heart and change it completely. You see, this girl has been given an endless list of troubles, problems and misfortunes. I could not name everything she's had to endure in her life on this post, there wouldn't be enough room for it all. Such a life lived has created a brash, loud and disrespectful young lady. Her reputation follows her like a shadow. I've seen how teenagers and even adults react to just her name. When the girl speaks, it's to tell false stories or to talk about others behind their backs. She says things for the shock value. She feels nothing but contempt towards adults and treats girls her age not so differently. I know this because I've not only seen how she treats people around her, but I've also experienced her backbiting and brazen opinions personally. I mention this is for a couple of reasons. REASON NUMBER #1: At one time in my life, I did not care about whether this girl went to Heaven or Hell. She was mean and did not care that I was doing my best to be loving and kind to her (because of course it was sooooo obvious), so I had firmly decided I was through with trying to reach out to her. And then God convicted my heart. He made it clear that what I was doing in the first place--harboring bitterness in my heart, feeling anger and resentment toward her--was not what I thought it was. I thought I was doing her a favor by not openly calling her out for her actions, but instead wishing awful things upon her in my heart. I thought I was showing her love and kindness by pretending to care about what she had to say, when in reality I wanted to run out of the room. The Lord brought to light that what I was showing this girl was anything but love. What I was giving her was my own version of patience and kindness, not God's patience and kindness. I was showing her my own version of love, not God's love. I was confused, I thought I was doing everything right. Then, I remember the Lord placing this question in my heart, When was the last time you prayed for her? The thought was odd to me. Me praying for her? That's when I realized that, no, I wasn't showing God's love or patience or kindness toward this girl. My unwillingness to pray for her and her salvation was proof enough. Upon asking the Lord for forgiveness and to give me His loving heart, the Lord gave me the aforementioned fire and passion to see her saved. Every morning, I'd feel excited to pray for her. And along with this passion to see her life changed miraculously, the Lord gave me a desire to see two more specific girls saved as well. REASON NUMBER #2: The second reason I mentioned this girl's behavior is because on one Sunday morning service, my father said something in his sermon that made perfect sense. By saying 'That's impossible', you've recognized the stage -John Hinkle If you looked passed this girl's brazen personality, you'd find a person who has been through much difficulty in her life. When I fully understood what her life was like, I was heartbroken and ashamed. Her family-or lack thereof-holds no love for the Lord. Her supposed 'friends' are far from possessing morals of any kind, and her home is smack dab in the middle of a truly awful neighborhood. If you could get the aerial view, you'd see a girl being dragged down by every force satan can use. Every influence in her life is that of the world. Her family, friends and neighbors glorify wicked things. The only time she hears the name of Jesus outside of her going to church (on occasion) is when it's used in vain. Upon my witnessing to her one Wednesday night, she told me she didn't believe in God because her father was an atheist and because of many of the awful things that have occurred in her life. It makes sense to say "This is impossible. She will never accept Christ as her Savior." But like my father said, all I've done is recognized the stage the Lord wants to work on. Jesus could have healed Lazarus from his illness. But He waited and brought him back to life instead. Which one do you think brought more glory to God? When the witnesses saw what Jesus had done, they couldn't help but say it was of the Lord. Only He could have done that! The Lord prefers to work on the stage of impossibility for it brings Him more glory! I could say within myself that there's no way this girl will ever get saved. Or I can realize that because of that impossibility--because of her reputation, because of her circumstances--when God does save her soul and her life is changed completely around, the people that know her the best will not be able to help themselves. They'll wonder why she's so different and ask her why she's acting so weird. And she will be able to give God the glory through her testimony. She'll be that impossible miracle and everyone will be able to see it. Now, I've been praying for her salvation for a while. I've also been praying for the salvation of two other girls whose situation isn't unlike the first girl's. Not much has seemed to change in the life of the first girl, and just the other day, it came to my understanding that the two other girls have recently declared themselves bisexual. I cannot see it yet, I cannot feel it yet, but God is working on my prayers. His hands are moving and He sees these three girls and loves them more than they could ever realize. He desires to see them come to Him for salvation. And He hears my prayers. Just as He hears yours. I pray that you never give up on your prayers before God makes His moving evident. Before He sees them through. He has a plan and He's working on His time. He's working on your prayers. P.S. I would like to mention that I do not normally disclose such things about particular persons, but I feel that one day when I give the exciting announcement that these three girls have accepted Jesus as their Savior, you will have known the full extent of this 'impossibility' and see that the Lord knows no such word. That no matter how bleak the outcome may look, God was and is always listening, and He's working on your prayers. Click on the word 'Comments' below to comment!
2 Comments
|
|