"Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"
(Esther 4:14)
You never know how God wants to use you.
I was encouraging my wife today about how God will use her love, devotion and faithfulness of many years spent teaching her four-year-old little 'Lambies' in Sunday School who their Savior Jesus is, for such a time as this—going through a very scary season of the global pandemic Corona Virus.
One month ago she had no way of knowing that our world, our nation, and our children would have to go through this difficult time. None of us knew.
This will change our world similar to how the events of 9/11 changed our world. And right now, we have no idea of just how much that change will be.
But the seeds God used her to plant along the way for His glory will sprout and grow up into all He foreordained them to be. He used her to sow seeds of His love, truth and Gospel. Praise God!
Another seed God planted was forty-eight years ago when He used my junior high school best friend; Eric Delap, to preach the Gospel to me. I was spending the night as I often did at his house. We spent many days together exploring, hunting and fishing Klamath Lake and the surrounding forests and marshes of the Klamath Basin. Eric was a very dear friend to me when I needed one most.
(My best friend, Eric DeLap, 1972)
For whatever reason, I was a pretty sad and lonely kid in my school life. My home life was good for the most part. But I had really bad skin and was a painfully shy introvert. I didn't do well in school and I had zero self confidence as a person. It was hard for me to pay attention in class.
I don't remember the exact day that Eric changed and became a "Jesus freak", as they were affectionately called in those days. But he had a very captive and willing audience in me. I didn't understand everything that he was awkwardly preaching to me out of his shiny new Bible. But I understood enough to know that I was a sinner who desperately needed the love and saving grace of a loving Savior. I knew I needed Jesus. I believed the Gospel and prayed the prayer of salvation to receive Jesus Christ.
Sadly, I didn't have the opportunity to go to a church then and be rightly discipled and taught. So I more or less fell away, then we moved out of state. Away from my best friend and the beautiful Klamath Basin country that I loved.
And though for many years I didn't truly understand that I was already saved and born again as a seventh grader, God had planted seeds and His calling in me that would begin to bloom later on, after years of the fires of adversity, suffering, and learning through the consequences of life's many failures and setbacks.
The dear person God used to plant more seeds and lead me back to my Savior Jesus was my sweet Mom. She never gave up praying for me and encouraging me to come to Jesus, even though at first I wanted absolutely nothing to do with Him. But she remained faithful to keep sharing His love and Word with me.
(Mom and me, November 9, 1992)
After my Dad died in 1992 I 'went south', to put it lightly. I left my wife and was in an adulterous affair. I hurt every person in my life that I was supposed to care about. Through my stupidity and selfishness I left a huge wake of destruction. I wish I could undo all the harm that I caused.
But God never gives up on us. He is always trying to draw us back to Himself through His grace, love and kindness. And He used my Mom a great deal in that redeeming work of His grace in my life. Throughout the next several years He led me back to Himself and healed my broken life and marriage. My wife and I are still happily and miraculously married after thirty three years as of this writing. That was only possible through the power of God's amazing love, grace and forgiveness! Glory to Him!
Never despise the day of small beginnings.
We may be doing something that we believe God called us to do and it may seem like nothing is happening. Not many people appear to be responding. It may seem like no one is listening. No one cares.
"Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" (Esther 4:14)
Through a former client, who encouraged me to start a blog after I lost my job in 2010, God began to call me to start writing. I stumbled my way through building my first blog website, and prayed a lot asking God what He wanted me to write. Once I started I couldn't stop! He used this little Love Never Fails blog to help me find my voice. And I soon discovered that basically everything He had me write was meant for me to read and heed first. He was ministering to me through this blog. Sure, I was ministering to others and sharing my testimony and had a heart to want to help people.
But as always, I am the one in the most need of His help.
Now here we are ten years later, and God helped me to write and publish my first book: "A Letter From My Father." And I believe it is for such a time as this. In a time of unprecedented fear, uncertainty and worry, to point people to God as Father. To encourage His people. To share the Savior Jesus Christ and His Gospel with the lost. And to give hope to all who are afraid and suffering.
In terms of numbers, not a lot of people appear to be reading the book thus far. I have no way of knowing if this book will have a huge impact on the people I want so desperately to reach out to in Christ's love and encourage them.
"We're not responsible for peoples response—were only responsible to be faithful".
That comforts me.
But Jesus came to seek and save the lost. And that is, or should be, the driving force of love behind everything we do and say.
It is for me anyway.
In terms of timing, I had no way of knowing a little over a month ago when my book was published that a global pandemic would be sweeping the earth. That people the world over would soon be living in panic and fear. Many without hope.
And yet, in such a time as this, my Father God used a not-too-educated, simple person like me to plant seeds of hope, grace, love and salvation through making a way when there seemed to be no way, for me to write and publish a book pointing people to Him as their Everlasting Father.
The results are up to Him.
However I would ask that if you haven't already, please read the book then share it with others.
We're all just seed planters.
Others water.
But Father God gives the increase.
"In a world where there are no perfect fathers, imagine how your
relationship with God would change if you knew He wrote a letter to you
so you could know Him more deeply and more personally. So that you would
know His Fatherly love, care and promises to you.God didn't give us the
Scriptures so that we can know the Bible cover to cover. He gave us the
Bible so that we can know Him. Author Mark Faulkner weaves his own
story into the pages of this book of a lifelong journey of knowing God
as His Father."
No comments:
Post a Comment