a testimony of God

(shared with friends on Oct. 11th, 4:45pm)

One way to look at the past...

God...
...took me to The Master's College when I didn't even want to go to college.
...took me to Uganda, totally out of my comfort zone.
...had me wait 4 months before clearly having me go to Chuuk.
...took me to Chuuk a second time, with my sister, for a year.
...led me to CIU, a great job, an amazing boss, friends, churches, and a freaking MA that I thoroughly enjoyed getting, feel gifted and confident in by Him, and have already been given amazing opportunities to use.
..., through His clear calling, led me to Iraq where I had some of the best months of my life spiritually, emotionally, and physically speaking.

But let me tell you something, my beloved friends, in all honesty, for the praise of this amazing God whom there is no other...

Nothing compares, nothing, and nothing even matters, compared (in the words of Paul) to the surpassing worth of knowing my Lord...

Jesus

Another way to look at my life...

- In college, God made in me a love for His Word, to know Him, to read it purely to know Him and if His Word was true and the God that authored it was alive and Jesus sat at His right hand as my Savior, then my life would be lived drastically different from those who did not know Him.
- But I had so much to understand about grace...
- I tell you that one of my reasons for going to Chuuk was because I thought I had to do great things for the Lord because I had messed up so much in the past. I didn't realize this reasoning until later, but I do think it was true, and you know what? I failed and I sinned and I screwed up there too. ..And thus began some of the darkest months in my life.
- And Jesus spoke through the words of Timothy to me, "When you are faithless, [I] remain faithful."
- I lacked faith. Faith in His grace. Faith in the work of Jesus. Faith in who God was, is, and will forever be.
- And God graciously took me to a time of deep spiritual growth in Him.
- You may have heard me complain about living with my brother in a studio apartment but that semester I would spend hours with the Lord outside at this place called the Pointe, overlooking the river and trees - and those times... were glorious. It's why I want to go to heaven even now. Jesus. Forever cherished time with my Savior, my God, my Friend.
- And then God takes me to Iraq. Honestly, the most wonderful thing about this summer was my intimacy with the Lord - not perfect on my part - but the same as it had been. Life was "normal" because I was walking with Him just like I had been, because of Him and because of His faithfulness. Of course "normal" with the Lord means totally amazing, miracles all around, hearts transformed, eyes enlightened, praise to the only great God who saves.

My beloved friend,
this is God's story in my life...
...He is my Savior because I don't obey all the time.
...He is my friend because His blood reconciles me to Him.
...And He is God, not only worthy of my worship but desirous of intimacy with me which has resulted in me being desirous of Him... and me being desirous of everything else that He loves.

"For thus says the Lord,
who created the heavens (he is God!),
who formed the earth and made it (he established it;
he did not create it empty, he formed it to be inhabited!):
"I am the Lord, and there is no other.
I did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness;
I did not say to the offspring of Jacob,
'Seek me in vain.'
I the Lord speak the truth; I declare what is right.

"Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, you survivors of the nations!
They have no knowledge who carry about their wooden idols,
and keep on praying to a god that cannot save.
Declare and present your case; let them take counsel together!
Who told this long ago? Who declared it of old?
Was it not I, the Lord? And there is no other god besides me,
a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me.

"Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other."

(Isaiah 45:18-22)