"Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
2 Corinthians 12:8-10 (NIV)
I had a very vivid dream a few nights ago. In my dream I was simply standing alone when someone came before me, drew a gun and shot me in my stomach. I instinctively grabbed my stomach, doubled over, and fell to my knees; anticipating the pain that was to follow. I soon realized that there was no pain; in fact, I was not even bleeding. I stood up and discovered that the bullet had not touched me. The shooter did not miss me, but God kept me from harm. In my mind I heard the scripture "No weapon formed against you shall prosper". (Isaiah chapter 54:17a).
Someone once asked me "What was the hardest thing about being a pastor"? I answered them without hesitation; "Getting people to believe the impossible". It's so wonderful to read the many Bible tales of how Christians were delivered from lion's dens or escaped a fiery furnace totally unscathed. We get a chill as we read how the lame were made to walk, the blind to see, and the dead raised to life. Sadly, these great accounts are becoming as fairy tales in our modern age. There are even some religious schools that equate the stories of the Bible to be an allegory (symbolic), interpretation of events that were once proclaimed as the infallible truth of God. It can be discouraging to hear so many Christians downgrade the words of God into man's own intellectual parabolic interpretation. But I resist becoming discouraged because I remember God said "For I am the Lord; I do not change". Malachi 3:6.
I am so thankful that we do not have to contend with situations or people that are seemingly bigger than us, more aggressive in their nature than us, or may even outnumber us. Although I am a mere worm in God's grand scheme, I am comforted knowing that His eye remains on the sparrow and that He cares so much for me that He guides my very footsteps, protects me from those who seek to destroy my body and/or my character, and still gives me miraculous proof that He, indeed, is still in control. Please allow me to encourage you, my brothers and sisters, to hold on to that crazy faith you had when you first believed; when you would believe God for anything! And if you no longer have it, I urge you to reach into your pocket full of past miracles and dig it out again. Having absolute faith in God is the only thing that will defeat our enemies, both seen and unseen, and give us victory from day to day.
Call someone and encourage them today. It's not all about you.
I love you all.
Dennis
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