April 23,
2012
Tonight my
mind is going back to June 2005. Kristi
had a colonoscopy performed that day in June and we did not get the report that
I had hoped to hear. I sat on my back
steps crying out to God. How I wanted to
handle the situation correctly! How I
handle this would affect my children.
But I must
admit I was very disappointed in the report received and wondered how long before
we saw the manifestation of what we were standing on God’s Word for. In 2001 Kristi was diagnosed with Crohn’s. I
believed God gave me a promise. John
16:14 says the Holy Spirit will transfer the things of Jesus to us. I believed God was showing me that His
healing power would be transferred to Kristi.
I also knew God had spoken to me that Kristi would come out of this
affliction and she would be blessed double.
Yet on this night none of this seemed to be happening.
I had a
choice. Was I going to believe
circumstances or was I going to believe God’s Word? Tonight as I was looking through journals I
found the prayer that I offered to God and my determination to be thankful for
His faithfulness in so many other areas.
I was not giving up and I was going to hold fast to my profession of
faith.
The next day
my son called me outside to see something in our yard next to our deck. Much to my surprise were some beautiful zinnias
that had come up voluntarily! I had not
seen them previously. I thought how
beautiful!
As I drove
to church that night my thoughts went to how wonderful my God was that He
planted the seeds in the ground so that just when I needed uplifting the
zinnias would be in full bloom! I was rejoicing in the gift, when I began to
sense the Holy Spirit stirring inside me speaking to me. It was as though He was reminding me of
Abraham and the covenant promise God had spoken to him concerning how God was
going to bless him through his seed.
When Abraham got discouraged God brought him outside and told him to
look at the stars and that the number of his descendants would be more numerous
than the stars. God also had him look at
the sand and asked him could he count the number of grains of sand. Of course Abraham couldn’t and God told him
that his descendants would outnumber the grains of sand. (Of course I am
paraphrasing this. You can read the
accurate account for yourself in Genesis).
I believed the Holy Spirit was speaking to me that just as surely as God
had given Abraham a sign He was bringing me encouragement as well. Just as surely as there was power in the
zinnia seed to burst through the ground and bring forth the flower and that God
had tended to the seed for me so that I could enjoy the beauty of the flowers
He would also tend to the seed of His Word and that Kristi would be healed of
Crohn’s.
I rejoiced
all the way to church. When I got home I
made everyone go outside with me including her boyfriend at the time and told
them what I believed God had spoken to me.
We were not
going to give up! We were not going to
allow discouragement to rule over us! We
were going to continue to believe God and the power of His Word!
Praise
God! Today I heard the words I have
longed to hear a doctor speak, “There is no sign of Crohn’s!”
I share this
in part because many months ago a friend asked me to write in a blog my story
of the zinnias. I had shared it in a
Bible study and God used it to minister to her.
Today it seems appropriate to share!
Thank God
for His faithfulness! Thank God for His
grace – the grace to give us the strength to stand when we wanted to give
up. Hebrews 11:11 says that God
strengthened Sarah that she might conceive the seed.
All I can say is “Thank you, Jesus!”
