But God Did
It was Friday morning. The last day of Vacation Bible School. On this day, before we could eat our cookies and drink our Kool-Aid, we had to listen to the Preacher. Pastor Suttles talked about how much God loved us. He asked us to trust Jesus and give our lives to Him. That day I decided to follow Jesus. I asked Him to save me. I was only nine years old.
I didn’t understand everything about salvation. But God did.
It was a Sunday afternoon. The middle of April. She and I stood at the altar in a crowded church. Her Pastor and my Pastor stood before us. Preacher Jack prayed and Preacher Charles officiated. He asked us if we would love and honor one another until death parted us. We both said we would. I was 21 she was 18. We were just babies.
We didn’t know everything about love or marriage. But God did.
It happened twice in the next few years. I stood in a hospital delivery room. I knew she was a maker of miracles as I watched my babies being born. I felt overwhelmed by the responsibility of fatherhood.
I didn’t know much about being a daddy. But God did.
I was 29 when I was called to preach. Shy and backward, I was afraid to speak in public. I asked God, “Are you sure you know what you are doing?” He said, “I do.” I told him, I don’t think I can do this. He said, “You can’t, but I can.”
But God Did
My life has been full of situations where I did not know what I was doing. Because I am hard-headed, I often make a mess of things. At these times, I learned to say to Him “Lord, I did it again, and I can’t fix it.” That is when God says, “Just give it to Me and I will.”
I have found that when I am afraid, the Lord is with me. When I am weak, God is strong. If I stumble, it is He who catches me. Sometimes, I cry in the darkness, “Who is my help? “Then God whispers loudly in my ear, “I AM and I will.”
“But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.””
Romans 10:8-13 NKJV
https://bible.com/bible/114/rom.10.8-13.NKJV
Douglas & Deborah Huff
From Down Where the Pavement Ends
Email-douglas@pavementendsministry.com
Brought tears to my eyes! Thank you!