Monday, February 9, 2015

Testimony-Finding True Rest and Peace in Jesus

From my friend and sister in Christ Kara:

Well I can't sleep. This is not a problem I normally have but after prayerful consideration, I feel prompted to share my thoughts. Some of you may have noticed over the course of my six years of posting to Facebook that I have changed and in some ways quite drastically. We all change but sometimes the changes we make may cause our "friends" to become uncomfortable with us. I have been there, peering into the Facebook life of someone whose posts and comments made me uncomfortable. I remember asking myself, "I wonder what happened in his or her life to make them so preachy preachy about God?" I would judge them. I found their openness almost offensive. You see, I grew up in a Christian family with a Catholic grade school and high school education. I knew just enough about Christianity to be dangerous. I suppose I had become one of "those Christians" that picked and chose what I believed in. I believed in God, in Jesus, in the Holy Spirit and even in the Trinity. But, ironically, I wasn't a firm believer in the bible. I had never bought into the fact the bible is the living word of God. I thought the bible was more anecdotal, fable-like, morality driven to help us lead good lives. After 10 years of straying from God, life hit me with a very difficult situation. I remember feeling so overwhelmed with emotion and anxiety that I literally cried out to God in desperation asking for Him to speak to me. I remember saying very demandingly that I needed to hear from Him as I cried myself to sleep. The next morning when I opened my eyes, a bible verse was written in plain site before my eyes. 2 Chronicles 20:15. I panicked! I didn't even own a bible. Thankfully, my good'ol southern baptist boyfriend had one on his nightstand. I grabbed his bible thinking to myself, "Chronicles" is a book in the bible? I had no clue where in the bible it was but thanks to my upbringing, I at least understood how to look up the verse. The verse stated: "Thus says The Lord to you : 'do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude for the battle is not yours, but God's." I cried out to God and He spoke to me with the exact instruction I needed in his own words from the bible, using an Old Testament book nonetheless! This one moment in my life has had the most profound effect on me as a person. I can honestly relate to the lyrics in this song by the Rhett Walker Band: "In one moment everything changed, Who I was got washed away, When mercy found me, My Savior's arms were open wide, And I felt love for the very first time, When mercy found me." After an experience like that, it is just impossible to go back to the person I once was and honestly I wouldn't want to. My eyes have been opened to the truth. I can't turn away and I can't not talk about it. I will boldly face the skeptical public arena of Facebook with confidence that there is only one judge in my life and He is not in this world. My hope is that the next time you read a Christian post or a bible verse that someone has posted on Facebook that you read it, thoughtfully, with openness, without judgement, with the boldness to possibly hit the like button and open you heart to the Creator. He is seeking you.

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