GOD'S GOT THIS

The Fence

I thought about putting up a post this weekend, but I really wanted to let this Easter soak in. I enjoyed reading the various posts about how others celebrate Easter, especially those that gave praise and thanks to Jesus for dying for our sins. The best part of this Easter was hearing Andrew speak about new life in Christ! How amazing that three people my son knows came to Christ after yesterday’s services! Only God can do that!

I almost feel like this Easter is more like Thanksgiving. Our church has so much to be thankful for because God has continued to bless us during Pastor Dave’s illness. These are just a few of His blessings:

• Our church continues to thrive as we come together as one and pray for the Stoecklein family
• We have had some amazing guest speakers that clearly love our Pastor and IHC
• We have Andrew, who is so much like his dad at times that it’s eery, but who has a love for Jesus all His own and is an awesome Pastor…so thankful he’s back!

Personally, I also see God’s blessings:

• My sister is still pain-free and happier than ever!
• We are blessed to still have our grandparents in our lives
• Our business continues to grow
• Our kids are healthy and smart and make great choices
• We have amazing friends who love and support us

So seeing God’s hand in my life so clearly really makes me stop and think about Andrew’s message: The resurrection of Jesus demands a response…you cannot be on the fence about it! I know for sure I have made a decision for Christ. My daily desire is to seek His will and do all that I can for Him. But, as always, I wonder if I am bold enough for Christ? Andrew’s question doesn’t make me doubt my faith, but it does challenge me to do more for Christ. I don’t know how yet, but I’m excited to find out! I almost sense a stirring for unbelievers because that is the area I am most uncomfortable with. It would be just like God to put me out there and help others get off the fence!

1 Corinthians 15:3-4: For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…

The resurrection of Jesus demands a response…you cannot be on the fence about it! There is so much truth in this statement. I am already praying for God to use me to encourage others to get off the fence!

Answered Prayer!

My sister went home yesterday and I received a text from my brother-in-law later in the day…

I assume you heard that Natalie walked without pain a short while ago. It was pretty magical…

I just cried! God is so good! I actually believe He loved hearing my doubts so that He could watch me cry with joy when I heard the news!

My brother was there with my sister, too, and he said the look on her face was one of total surprise and happiness. Randy and I are going to visit her this afternoon after church so we can watch her walk…this is such a great time for our family!

Romans 12:12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

I chose this verse because, although I had my doubts, I laid them out to God and continued to pray faithfully, not knowing the outcome but trusting the God I have come to know even better through Pastor Dave’s illness to answer our prayers in His own way. That He would choose to answer as we specifically asked is amazing. I pray that Natalie and Jerry can see God’s hand in this.

I can’t wait to go to church this morning to worship and praise our amazing God, and to thank Him for answered prayer!

Waiting…

Why is it that when it comes to my sister I have such a hard time waiting patiently on God to answer prayer? She has been through so many surgeries with less than positive outcomes so I have to admit that it’s hard to…and I hate to admit this…but, it’s hard to trust that God is going to provide the result so many of us are praying for. Why would I think like this? I see God working in the lives of so many people, but I doubt Him when it comes to my sister? The only thing I can attribute my lack of faith to is the fact that my sister is not a believer, but God doesn’t say He only helps believers!

So I can only try to understand what it is God is trying to teach me through this. One thing I’ve considered is that God is trying to show my sister and brother-in-law how He works through other believers to answer prayer for nonbelievers. Through my belief and prayers (and the prayers of so many faithful friends who are believers!), God will heal my sister.

Another thing I’ve considered is that God wants my sister to believe in Him and trust Him with her healing. This reminds me of the many times throughout the bible that Jesus healed a person first spiritually, then physically. I am hopeful every time my sister asks me to “have my friends do their thing”. She, of course, means to ask my small group and BSF group and friends to pray for her. She wouldn’t ask this if she didn’t want to believe there is power in prayer, right?

I know my sister is physically exhausted from the pain she’s endured since her last two surgeries. She is also mentally exhausted from dealing with medication, doctors, and pain. I also know that only God can give her the rest she needs from all of this. I literally ache for my sister. I would give anything to be able to relieve of her of pain, if only for a single day! I can’t wait for the day that she can hop out of bed without having to prepare herself to get up…something I take for granted day in and day out.

I don’t know how much sense this blog makes. I know I’m rambling, but waiting is difficult and my heart is heavy. My prayer, first and foremost, is that this surgery works. That the stimulator is placed correctly and the pain is relieved. That she would regain feeling in her left leg and that she can walk once again without a cane. That she would have more good days than bad after today.

I want a lot for my sister. I am so thankful for everyone that prays for my sister. I’m also thankful for my brother-in-law…he’s an amazing man who loves my sister and takes such great care of her. It’s because of him that we are content with my sister moving to Iowa study for her doctorate.

So I’ll wait…and I will trust that God has got my sister, too.

Worry

Our small group is reading “Calm My Anxious Heart” and this week’s reading is about worry. What I love about reading this chapter is that I’m realizing I’m pretty much worry-free. Don’t get me wrong. I have my moments…especially when it comes to my kids. But I am confident in God and his ability to take care of all of my concerns.

This hasn’t always been the case. I used to worry about everything. Seriously everything! I remember a time when I would worry and have nightmares about losing my dad. I used to worry when we’d go to bed at night that someone would break in and hurt us. I never ran out of things to worry about. What I realize is that during that time, I didn’t have God in my life. At least not like I do now. I went to church almost every Sunday, but never knew God. I didn’t talk to Him. I didn’t hand over my cares to Him. I never even considered going to Him. For some reason, I thought I could handle it on my own.

My faith in God started to change when we had no other choice, but to trust that God would provide for our family. Work was so slow for Randy and I had already quit working about a year before the economy got really bad. The funny thing is that the slower things got, the more I relied on God, and the less I worried about finances. God got us through those rough financial years. I’m thankful for that time because as scary as it was, it was also pretty amazing to see God come through for us.

In addition to providing for us, God made our good marriage even better. I admire my husband so much for working so hard to make ends meet. He never failed to make a house payment. He finished putting our daughter through college. And it was awesome to see the look on his face every time God handed him another work opportunity…always at the perfect time.

And of course, God is using Pastor Dave to teach me to trust in His faithfulness, and our pastor and his family are teaching me to not worry. On Sunday, Pastor Dave asked:

What would you do and how would you respond if you were in my exact situation and you were fully confident God is real and is with you? How would you respond?

Wow! That question has raced through my mind this entire week. He was not saying look at me! look at how I’m handling this! He was saying, look at our God! see how strong and faithful He is! see how He is using this circumstance for good! Of course, I can’t know that I would respond with as much grace and dignity as the Stoecklein family, but I can pray that I would be confident in the God that is healing our pastor, growing our church, and changing lives through this illness. I can always picture Pastor Dave on stage, his very real emotions visible for all to see, and his love for God and confidence in God even more evident.

And I can and will always remember that God has got each and every one of my worries. When I feel them taking over, I will hand them right off to God…and trust the He has Got This!