A couple of weeks
ago, a friend of mine shared a powerful message her pastor had preached one
Sunday morning. I noted many things that he said but there was one thing that
spoke to me and was a revelation to what my family and I had been going
through. It was as if he was talking directly to me.
About two years ago
my parents were called to ministry. They pastor a growing church in the
heart of West Miami called Word of Truth. We have been more than blessed to
have obeyed God and taken this adventure with Him. Learning along the way and
being able to see others grow in His faith is something beautiful to
experience. After our one year as a church we received grieving news that our
house had to be sold. The person, who once helped us buy the house, claimed that
it was no longer ours. He was taking all
legal action to remove us from what had been our home for ten years! As a family,
we were filled with disbelief and sorrow. We felt cheated, betrayed,
humiliated. My parents put years of work into the house that was never ours.
So we began to
act quickly and looked for houses to rent. We were given a deadline to move out
in a time frame of ONE MONTH- it seemed
impossible! Disbelief, lack of faith, frustration, stress and tension filled
our home through out that time. We felt
beaten down. The enemy began to attack us and make us feel like we were not
called to what God had already placed in our hearts. All we could think about was
how we could manage a church if we didn’t even have a house of our own. We had
nowhere to go. It had reached our very core. It tested our faith to the max,
and yet we still had to give a testimony to the church on having faith when we
ourselves were being tested on this.
One month passed
and nothing. We were out cold. Houses that we would put an offer to would get
denied because someone else offered more. And when we offered more, something
else came up and we were denied again. Desperation kicked in and we all felt as
if we could no longer keep going. So I
now look back and contemplate on what the preacher said that Sunday morning: “The
church in affliction is a church that is strong and growing, and a mighty force
the devil has no power against!”
We were in
affliction. Even though it was not our church per say but it was our home,
where God begins; our family. It was a moment of having to give it all we had.
And despite the fact we felt such pressure God kept renewing us and telling us
to keep going; to keep fighting; to keep resisting because the day will come- and
it did. After the many houses we sought out, one came back and accepted our
offer. We finally entered into the
application process and in faith kept hoping for good news. A week passed and
we got approved! That same weekend we moved out from the old and into the new
house. In a matter of a day, God changed our lives completely and gave us a
better home and better accommodations. He gave us something we never imagined.
Tears come to my
eyes as I write of this because the experience was tough and frightful but God
stood by our side. His promises are real to those who wait on Him. “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and
they shall walk, and not faint.” -Isaiah 40:31..
You are strong and growing.
I now come to you and speak words of hope to
those who have ever felt that the answers are not there, to those who have felt
as if all possibilities have exhausted. I tell you now that our God,-your God-
is real beyond measure.
My family is now
rejoicing in what could’ve been a loss for us. We look back and smile at all we
went through because we now see what God was doing in us. He was strengthening
and helping us grow to show others especially those in our church that anything
is possible to those who believe in Him. He hears your every cry and knows your
every hurt. He understands all your frustrations and sees all. God wants to
remind you today that no matter how big or small your battle is He will always
bring forth about newness and renovation.
So every time you feel like giving up remember that you are growing and
strong in Him.
Read: 2 Corinthians 12: 9 - 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.
***
About the Author: Mariel Duron
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